The Women

Photos by Stephen Shames

Unknown to most, Women of the Black Panther Party (WBPP) were the foundation of The Party. Women were at the core of the BPP’s 60+ Survival Programs for improving human lives in the U.S. and around the world. Like many freedom movements throughout history, women were the backbone.

Young women filled the roles of boots on the ground community organizers, Central Committee leaders, Survival Program administrators, BPP Newspaper writers, artists and editors, community board members, teachers, mothers, grandmothers. They were coalition-builders who learned from the people on the job. 

In many chapters of The Black Panther Party women outnumbered the men 3:1. By the early 70s the BPP members were 70% women. These are just a few of the faces of the warriors that helped build the world we live in today.