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[Editor’s notes: FBI document uses this reference number twice.
[Pages three and four of this document are in reverse order on the pdf.]
Charles Gary [Garry]
I, Barbara J. Walker, as a former member of the Black Panther Party, am writing to inform you of my knowledge of Elaine Brown.
I joined the BPP during the summer of 1969 in the LA chapter that was located at 47th and Central at the time. My major function in the party was to be the link between the Black Students Union at Thomas Jefferson High, the school (that I attended as well as neighborhood school) due to the tremendous amount of harassment from student undercover pig spies who were put on campus by the LAPD, as well as our struggle in attempting to get a fairly decent education so that we would be able to get into college if we chose. I wrote articles for the Panther newspaper relating to brutality of pigs as well as other injustices that happen in the neighborhood.
I met Elaine Jan. of 1970 after the shootout between the Pigs and Panthers on Dec. 13, 1969 in LA. She had been moved from Oakland to LA permanently at the control command that was located on 103 [illegible name] in Watts, where I had just moved also. She was always very jumpy, smoked a lot, never seem sure of herself, and talked so fast you
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could barely understand what she was saying. She was in the process of composing songs. Since I was a writer also at the [illegible word] assigned by John Seale, and David Hillard to work along with me, editing my articles for newspaper publication. I never liked her because she didn’t seem too emotional about what was happening at school. She never wanted me to write anything that would put the pigs in the neighborhood in too bad a light, although she did use the poetry in her own songs.
Later I found out that Elaine had been sent to LA because she was causing a great deal of internal chaos due to her highly aggressive social involvement with party leaders, particularly Leroy [eligible last name, could be Hewitt], who at the time was the Minister of Education. His wife was deeply involved in the party although I never met her. Elaine was very pregnant, which would have been okay if both parties have consented, otherwise severe discipline for sure would have been taken, but neither was the case except to live in LA while Leroy and. All of this happened at a bad time, other party leaders tried to patch up the chaos especially since everybody in the party were wondering on how to fight the conspiracy charges and how we were going to get bail, money for Panthers in general, and planning “Free Huey” rallies to keep them from being electrocuted.
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She seemed to always be out of reach when we had to rally or stand up against injustice in the neighborhood. She always used her singing to be out of the way when anything went down. She did talk about Huey a lot and whether he would be set free. She spent most of her time with people who did commercials, and people who could help her sell her. The last one that I remember was “Songs the Time”, an album. After the baby was born a month or two later around Easter of 1970 I think, she took great pride in flashing it around, even though it was terribly inconsiderate and disgusting for most. She only hung around the men in the party, because (maybe) none of the women liked or respected her, we just had to live with her.
Due to the conspiracy charges the party was up against, and my living in a commune under age (16), and having been indirectly involved in the shootout of Central along with threats from my dad for allowing Panthers to hide his house (around the corner from headquarters (41st Pl.) it was advised by leaders, Geronimo [Pratt] and Leroi [Jones] that I go back home and lay low until the heat was off (around June) I went to New Orleans around July. Jane finder was also there, and had been to the[illegible name] Project, where another chapter was located.
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In 1971 when I returned to LA, the LA chapter have been practically destroyed. The LA 18, most of whom I had lived or closely associated with, were either in jail, had been bought off, or had given up in disgust.
Two of my children’s dad, Gilbert George Parker, associated with Elaine Brown after he left the party. We both worked with David Marley, who is a black artist in San Francisco, but formerly lived in LA.
Gilbert Parker has talked to Elaine extensively during her visits to LA just last year when they were trying to reopen the headquarters there. I have not seen her, nor have I had any dealing with the party since 1971 .
Gilbert Parker, 2002 4th Ave., LA Calif
Thank you
Barbara J. Walker