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Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention
In the 1960s he exhorted students at Columbia University to burn their college to the ground. Today he’s chair of their School of the Arts film division. Jamal Joseph’s personal odyssey—from the streets of Harlem to Riker’s Island and Leavenworth to the halls of Columbia—is as gripping as it is inspiring.Eddie Joseph was a high school honor student, slated to graduate early and begin college. But this was the late 1960s in Bronx’s black ghetto, and fifteen-year-old Eddie was introduced to the tenets of the Black Panther Party, which was just gaining a national foothold. By sixteen, his devotion to the cause landed him in prison on the infamous Rikers Island—charged with conspiracy as one of the Panther 21 in one of the most emblematic criminal cases of the sixties. When exonerated, Eddie—now called Jamal—became the youngest spokesperson and leader of the Panthers’ New York chapter.He joined the “revolutionary underground,” later landing back in prison. Sentenced to more than twelve years in Leavenworth, he earned three degrees there and found a new calling. He is now chair of Columbia University’s School of the Arts film division—the very school he exhorted students to burn down during one of his most famous speeches as a Panther.In raw, powerful prose, Jamal Joseph helps us understand what it meant to be a soldier inside the militant Black Panther movement. He recounts a harrowing, sometimes deadly imprisonment as he charts his path to manhood in a book filled with equal parts rage, despair, and hope.
280 pages, Paperback
First published February 7, 2012
41 people are currently reading
1138 people want to read
About the author
Jamal Joseph
8 books22 followersJamal Joseph is a writer, director, producer, poet, activist, and educator. Joseph was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. He was prosecuted as one of the Panther 21. Joseph earned his BA from the University of Kansas while at Leavenworth. He is a full professor and former chair of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Division and the artistic director of the New Heritage Theatre Group in Harlem. He is the author of a biography on Tupac Shakur, Tupac Shakur Legacy and his own autobiography, Panther Baby.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
March 27, 2012
Honestly, I didn’t want to read Panther Baby when Doret first suggest it. However,since I trust her judgment of books, I read the book and I’m so glad I did! I’ve wanted to put Panther Baby into the hands of every young man and every teacher of young men that I’ve seen since finishing it.
In Panther Baby, Jamal Joseph (born Eddie Joseph) relates personal and historic reason that brought him to join the Black Panther Party. Quickly tracing developments from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights movement through the history of the family with whom he is living, we see how revolutionaries of the sixties were almost a natural development from previous generations. Joseph was an intelligent, keenly aware and angry young Black man who through a series of circumstances decided to join the Black Panther Party. In his anger, he sees the Panthers as a militant organization that will allow him to fight any and every person who crosses his purposeful path. He quickly learned however, that the Panthers were more about doing right than being right; that their struggle was more a class struggle than a race struggle and that their aim was to overthrow the capitalist system that perpetuated inequality and injustice. Readers soon learn that Panthers were not anti-White. They were anti-establishment and anti-government.
Joseph details many community programs run by the Panthers as well as their training with firearms. When he ends up in prison the first time, I think I as a reader began to really see Jamal’s deep commitment to the organization. He never seemed to question how he was betrayed. Rather, he took what he had learned from the Panthers and used it to empower his fellow prisoners. He learned the ways of prison life just as he learned the ways of the street and the ways of the Panthers, all of this being a code of decency which when maneuvered correctly allowed one to give and receive respect through proper treatment of others. While interactions with women were somewhat limited in the book, Joseph even learned how to give proper respect to women through both implicit and explicit lessons.
Joseph managed to write a complex story in a voice that rings clear and true. Make no mistake: Joseph’s story is a controversial piece of history told from one perspective. While part of me wondered what the story would look like told from another perspective, this is Joseph’s story and as a biography, its merit is on the author’s ability to express his life’s story with honesty and integrity to that others will want
I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. ~Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849
to read it. I wanted to finish this book because of the story Joseph was telling about fighting for humanity.
Part of me wants to excuse myself for not knowing about this piece of history because I was in elementary school when much of it happened. However, Jamal Joseph was all of 15 when he first joined the Black Panthers. His activism began early and did nothing but grow from that point. I think Doret wanted me to read this book because much of it occurs during Joseph’s young adult years and we’re with him as he acquires important life lessons.
Although released as an adult book, Panther Baby belongs in every high school and public library collection.
In Panther Baby, Jamal Joseph (born Eddie Joseph) relates personal and historic reason that brought him to join the Black Panther Party. Quickly tracing developments from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights movement through the history of the family with whom he is living, we see how revolutionaries of the sixties were almost a natural development from previous generations. Joseph was an intelligent, keenly aware and angry young Black man who through a series of circumstances decided to join the Black Panther Party. In his anger, he sees the Panthers as a militant organization that will allow him to fight any and every person who crosses his purposeful path. He quickly learned however, that the Panthers were more about doing right than being right; that their struggle was more a class struggle than a race struggle and that their aim was to overthrow the capitalist system that perpetuated inequality and injustice. Readers soon learn that Panthers were not anti-White. They were anti-establishment and anti-government.
Joseph details many community programs run by the Panthers as well as their training with firearms. When he ends up in prison the first time, I think I as a reader began to really see Jamal’s deep commitment to the organization. He never seemed to question how he was betrayed. Rather, he took what he had learned from the Panthers and used it to empower his fellow prisoners. He learned the ways of prison life just as he learned the ways of the street and the ways of the Panthers, all of this being a code of decency which when maneuvered correctly allowed one to give and receive respect through proper treatment of others. While interactions with women were somewhat limited in the book, Joseph even learned how to give proper respect to women through both implicit and explicit lessons.
Joseph managed to write a complex story in a voice that rings clear and true. Make no mistake: Joseph’s story is a controversial piece of history told from one perspective. While part of me wondered what the story would look like told from another perspective, this is Joseph’s story and as a biography, its merit is on the author’s ability to express his life’s story with honesty and integrity to that others will want
I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. ~Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849
to read it. I wanted to finish this book because of the story Joseph was telling about fighting for humanity.
Part of me wants to excuse myself for not knowing about this piece of history because I was in elementary school when much of it happened. However, Jamal Joseph was all of 15 when he first joined the Black Panthers. His activism began early and did nothing but grow from that point. I think Doret wanted me to read this book because much of it occurs during Joseph’s young adult years and we’re with him as he acquires important life lessons.
Although released as an adult book, Panther Baby belongs in every high school and public library collection.
October 25, 2011
The 1960s is a fascinating decade especially for those of us who weren't born yet. As I grow older the whole idea of biography as true fiction has come to fascinate me. I came across this title pre-pub at BEA. I requested a copy and ended up writing a review. I must admit that Joseph's story starts out with a orphaned young man being reared by loving grandparents. Good formula for straight and narrow -- right? Joseph, and only child in his grandparent's home explained the lure of street life in 1960s New York. The lure was not violence and vice but consciousness and respect. The idea of being a punk was suicide - while being bad/crazy was preferred. People feared you and left you alone. The Black Panther Party held the highest esteem in the mind and eyes of highschoolers in NYC. Joseph is transparent with his sense of desire to belong and be approved -- not as a follower but as a brother. His involvement with the BPP shaped his teen years and contributed to his adult growth. A WOW reading for those interested in knowing how the average young person on the east coast was drawn to the BPP and the impact and affect invovlement had on their sense of community, self and nation.
April 22, 2012
Note: This review contains numerous spoilers and detailed information about the author's life and the history of Black Panther Party. Anyone who is seriously thinking of reading this book may want to skim it, or skip it altogether.
This gripping and inspiring memoir begins in New York City in 1968. Eddie Joseph, a 15 year old boy being raised by his doting and deeply religious grandmother, excels in school, but his experiences as a young child make him aware of the racial turmoil that exists within and outside of his "up south" community in the Bronx. As a first grader, he innocently kisses a white girl on the way home from school, and her parents then forbid her to ever speak to him again. During a summer trip to visit his grandmother's relatives in rural Virginia, he bloodies the nose of a white bully, who turns out to be the son of a local Ku Klux Klan leader, and he is forced to take the first bus back to New York after several KKK members pay a less than cordial visit to his aunt's house that evening.
Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in May of 1968 radicalized many young blacks in America, and young Eddie was no exception. The Black Power movement had been gaining in strength and importance since 1966, when Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) chairman Stokely Carmichael first used the term to describe an alternative movement to Dr. King's Civil Rights movement, one which emphasized black solidarity in order to achieve political equality and socioeconomic independence. After seeing the Black Panthers on television, he is attracted by the young men wearing berets and leather jackets and toting guns, as they defiantly protest California legislators and policemen who wish to take away their constitutional right to bear arms. Eddie then decides to join the organization, along with his closest friends.
Eddie adopts the name Jamal, and becomes a devoted and respected young leader within the New York City chapter of the Black Panther Party. His youthful exuberance and radicalism is both encouraged and tempered by several older Panther leaders, most notably Afeni Shakur, one of the most influential women in the organization, whose own fame would be superseded by that of her son Tupac. The Panthers serve a vital purpose within black communities in the city, providing free breakfast and after-school programs for school children, distributing food to needy families, organizing tenants in substandard and unsafe housing to stand up for their right to live decently, combating the influx of illegal drugs in the community, and aiding individuals in need of medical care or legal aid, while distributing literature and eliciting donations to support their activities. Although many Americans viewed the Black Panther Party as a dangerous and subversive organization, liberal whites and Jews including Jane Fonda, Norman Mailer and Leonard Bernstein recognize their good work, and hold fund raising parties in their name.
The Panthers' more radical activities, particularly in Oakland and Chicago, come to the attention of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who proclaims that "{t}he Black Panther Party without question is the greatest threat to the internal security of the country." Local police, aided and encouraged by FBI agents, begin to crack down on Panther chapters throughout the country, raiding local Panther offices and engaging in shootouts with them, which include the notorious assassination of Chicago Panther leader Fred Hampton, who is shot to death at night, unarmed, as he sleeps alongside his pregnant girlfriend.
In April of 1969, Jamal and 20 other Panther leaders, known subsequently as the Panther 21, are arrested and charged with conspiracy to bomb several public building and to commit murder. The case draws local and national attention, as most blacks and liberal whites believe the charges are without merit. Jamal is eventually freed after several months of imprisonment along with several others, and the remaining incarcerated members of the Panther 21 are acquitted of all charges by a grand jury, which needed only 45 minutes of deliberation to find them free of guilt.
Jamal resumes his activities in the Party, but finds that the organization, both locally and nationally, has been fractured, due to the FBI's successful efforts to infiltrate the organization. This sowed widespread distrust and dissension within the Party, particularly between its West Coast and East Coast sections, and culminated in a split between Eldridge Cleaver, who favored revolution and violence, and Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, David Hilliard and others, who preferred to focus on community development and education. As a result, the local chapters' positive influences on the community wane in the early and mid 1970s, and the influx of illegal drugs, along with the migration of middle class blacks from inner city communities, increased unemployment, and cutbacks in city programs due to the worsening recession, decimate the inner city neighborhoods of New York City and most American cities.
He is arrested again, as he and other Panthers attempt to break up a local drug den by armed force, and he receives a 12 year sentence. He serves the majority of his prison time at Leavenworth, the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States, alongside the most dangerous of criminals, many of whom will never see leave the prison alive. He begins to study and read intensely, writes several plays for fellow inmates, and obtains a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, graduating summa cum laude. Upon his release in 1987 he moves back to New York, where he reunites with his wife and children. He is hired by Touro College as a professor and counselor, writes several screenplays, which win several awards and earn him a fellowship in playwriting, and is subsequently hired to teach screenwriting at Columbia University, where he continues to work as a professor in the School of Arts.
Panther Baby is a fascinating account of a remarkable life, which kept my rapt attention from the first page to the last. Joseph is a gifted writer, and this book provided me with a succinct yet excellent insider's analysis of the Black Panther Party, the life of a former Panther, and the measure of this inspiring man. This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
This gripping and inspiring memoir begins in New York City in 1968. Eddie Joseph, a 15 year old boy being raised by his doting and deeply religious grandmother, excels in school, but his experiences as a young child make him aware of the racial turmoil that exists within and outside of his "up south" community in the Bronx. As a first grader, he innocently kisses a white girl on the way home from school, and her parents then forbid her to ever speak to him again. During a summer trip to visit his grandmother's relatives in rural Virginia, he bloodies the nose of a white bully, who turns out to be the son of a local Ku Klux Klan leader, and he is forced to take the first bus back to New York after several KKK members pay a less than cordial visit to his aunt's house that evening.
Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in May of 1968 radicalized many young blacks in America, and young Eddie was no exception. The Black Power movement had been gaining in strength and importance since 1966, when Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) chairman Stokely Carmichael first used the term to describe an alternative movement to Dr. King's Civil Rights movement, one which emphasized black solidarity in order to achieve political equality and socioeconomic independence. After seeing the Black Panthers on television, he is attracted by the young men wearing berets and leather jackets and toting guns, as they defiantly protest California legislators and policemen who wish to take away their constitutional right to bear arms. Eddie then decides to join the organization, along with his closest friends.
Eddie adopts the name Jamal, and becomes a devoted and respected young leader within the New York City chapter of the Black Panther Party. His youthful exuberance and radicalism is both encouraged and tempered by several older Panther leaders, most notably Afeni Shakur, one of the most influential women in the organization, whose own fame would be superseded by that of her son Tupac. The Panthers serve a vital purpose within black communities in the city, providing free breakfast and after-school programs for school children, distributing food to needy families, organizing tenants in substandard and unsafe housing to stand up for their right to live decently, combating the influx of illegal drugs in the community, and aiding individuals in need of medical care or legal aid, while distributing literature and eliciting donations to support their activities. Although many Americans viewed the Black Panther Party as a dangerous and subversive organization, liberal whites and Jews including Jane Fonda, Norman Mailer and Leonard Bernstein recognize their good work, and hold fund raising parties in their name.
The Panthers' more radical activities, particularly in Oakland and Chicago, come to the attention of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who proclaims that "{t}he Black Panther Party without question is the greatest threat to the internal security of the country." Local police, aided and encouraged by FBI agents, begin to crack down on Panther chapters throughout the country, raiding local Panther offices and engaging in shootouts with them, which include the notorious assassination of Chicago Panther leader Fred Hampton, who is shot to death at night, unarmed, as he sleeps alongside his pregnant girlfriend.
In April of 1969, Jamal and 20 other Panther leaders, known subsequently as the Panther 21, are arrested and charged with conspiracy to bomb several public building and to commit murder. The case draws local and national attention, as most blacks and liberal whites believe the charges are without merit. Jamal is eventually freed after several months of imprisonment along with several others, and the remaining incarcerated members of the Panther 21 are acquitted of all charges by a grand jury, which needed only 45 minutes of deliberation to find them free of guilt.
Jamal resumes his activities in the Party, but finds that the organization, both locally and nationally, has been fractured, due to the FBI's successful efforts to infiltrate the organization. This sowed widespread distrust and dissension within the Party, particularly between its West Coast and East Coast sections, and culminated in a split between Eldridge Cleaver, who favored revolution and violence, and Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, David Hilliard and others, who preferred to focus on community development and education. As a result, the local chapters' positive influences on the community wane in the early and mid 1970s, and the influx of illegal drugs, along with the migration of middle class blacks from inner city communities, increased unemployment, and cutbacks in city programs due to the worsening recession, decimate the inner city neighborhoods of New York City and most American cities.
He is arrested again, as he and other Panthers attempt to break up a local drug den by armed force, and he receives a 12 year sentence. He serves the majority of his prison time at Leavenworth, the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States, alongside the most dangerous of criminals, many of whom will never see leave the prison alive. He begins to study and read intensely, writes several plays for fellow inmates, and obtains a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, graduating summa cum laude. Upon his release in 1987 he moves back to New York, where he reunites with his wife and children. He is hired by Touro College as a professor and counselor, writes several screenplays, which win several awards and earn him a fellowship in playwriting, and is subsequently hired to teach screenwriting at Columbia University, where he continues to work as a professor in the School of Arts.
Panther Baby is a fascinating account of a remarkable life, which kept my rapt attention from the first page to the last. Joseph is a gifted writer, and this book provided me with a succinct yet excellent insider's analysis of the Black Panther Party, the life of a former Panther, and the measure of this inspiring man. This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
June 10, 2013
Author Joseph was the youngest of the 21 Black Panthers rounded up on charges of conspiring to blow up buildings and historical monuments in NY back in the early '70s. You'll recall that 2Pac's mother was also nabbed in this sting, while she was pregnant with 2Pac, who was almost born in the pokey. There was a music video about it back in like '95.
Panther Baby is the story of how he went from being a regular black kid in the hood in the late '60s, living with his grandma, to being caught up with the Black Panthers back when they were really about something: shooting it out with 5-0, blowing up buildings, fucking on mattresses on the floors of communal flop houses, getting high, beefing with Huey P. Newton and West Coast factions of the Panthers, which was rapidly deteriorating in a haze of drugs and COINTELPRO-fueled paranoia.
It's told almost like a Hollywood film, with a ready-to-be-adapted-into-a-screenplay three act structure, and lots of emphasis on parts that would play well onscreen, including a confrontation with a sort of father figure in the Panthers who turned out to be not who he seemed to be, a few hairy run-ins with law enforcement, and of course the fucking on mattresses in communal flop houses. I found this to be silly and unnecessary, if not a full-on dealbreaker.
I'm actually more concerned with the aspects of the story that seem to be left out or glossed over. Obviously it would be hard for me to say, having not been born until decades after the fact, but this certainly feels like a whitewash. I just so happened to read TJ English's The Savage City this spring, not too long after I read this, and I notice none of the Joseph stuff in it quite merited inclusion in Panther Baby. There's even a fairly important figure in his life who's not mentioned here.
Panther Baby is the story of how he went from being a regular black kid in the hood in the late '60s, living with his grandma, to being caught up with the Black Panthers back when they were really about something: shooting it out with 5-0, blowing up buildings, fucking on mattresses on the floors of communal flop houses, getting high, beefing with Huey P. Newton and West Coast factions of the Panthers, which was rapidly deteriorating in a haze of drugs and COINTELPRO-fueled paranoia.
It's told almost like a Hollywood film, with a ready-to-be-adapted-into-a-screenplay three act structure, and lots of emphasis on parts that would play well onscreen, including a confrontation with a sort of father figure in the Panthers who turned out to be not who he seemed to be, a few hairy run-ins with law enforcement, and of course the fucking on mattresses in communal flop houses. I found this to be silly and unnecessary, if not a full-on dealbreaker.
I'm actually more concerned with the aspects of the story that seem to be left out or glossed over. Obviously it would be hard for me to say, having not been born until decades after the fact, but this certainly feels like a whitewash. I just so happened to read TJ English's The Savage City this spring, not too long after I read this, and I notice none of the Joseph stuff in it quite merited inclusion in Panther Baby. There's even a fairly important figure in his life who's not mentioned here.
October 12, 2012
I asked a friend in New Orleans who is studying the Black Panthers what the one book I should would be and she pointed me towards Panther Baby. For a number of reasons, she's likely correct.
It's a quick and easy read that covers a great number of years in only a few pages. We see Jamal's entrance into the Panthers as a mere child, his battle for a place within the organization, his ensuing struggles with the systemic forces targeted by the movement, the internal strife that ended up splitting the organization down the middle, and, the long road to where he is now, a professor at Columbia University.
The book is not an in depth account of the movement's history or the radical philosophy behind the Panthers. Instead, it is simply one young man's story of growth, exploration, outrage, acceptance and search for meaning. Jamal's story is spread wide enough to touch on love, peace, war, crime, prison, family, community and courts but doesn't dwindle on any for very long.
So, as a 'one book,' it does a pretty good job of painting a rough picture. For further reading there's likely more academic, more in depth, or more nuanced works, but then again, if you want to learn about an organization, who best to hear from then those who were deeply involved.
It's a quick and easy read that covers a great number of years in only a few pages. We see Jamal's entrance into the Panthers as a mere child, his battle for a place within the organization, his ensuing struggles with the systemic forces targeted by the movement, the internal strife that ended up splitting the organization down the middle, and, the long road to where he is now, a professor at Columbia University.
The book is not an in depth account of the movement's history or the radical philosophy behind the Panthers. Instead, it is simply one young man's story of growth, exploration, outrage, acceptance and search for meaning. Jamal's story is spread wide enough to touch on love, peace, war, crime, prison, family, community and courts but doesn't dwindle on any for very long.
So, as a 'one book,' it does a pretty good job of painting a rough picture. For further reading there's likely more academic, more in depth, or more nuanced works, but then again, if you want to learn about an organization, who best to hear from then those who were deeply involved.
March 7, 2012
"All Power to the people" Leaning about the Black Panther Party and Brother Jamal was an interesting experience to say the least. What a life, from honor student to Black Panther, to prisoner of war, freedom fighter and back to prison again to Columbia professor and mentor. The life of Jamal Joseph is extraordinary and his passion for change inspiring. I found myself frustrated, angry and mad at the things that the U.S. government did to discredit the Panthers, but not surprised. But I am glad that there was a happy ending that Jamal did not fall victim to the deadly game that the government, the streets and prison played. he made it out and he is still making a difference despite the many obstacles that stood in his way. A must read for anyone interested in the history of America, Black Culture. A powerful glimpse at what it took to get here and a few seeds to grow the necessary structure to restore glory to the people. "All power to all people."
January 26, 2012
Jamal Joseph was 15 when he joined the Black Panthers. Within months of joining the party, he landed in prison. Once out of prison, Joseph returned to the Panthers, working in community assistance programs, and fighting to free his fellow Panthers in prison. Joseph's book is part history of the New York Black Panthers, part thriller, and part memoir of personal transformation.
February 26, 2012
Joseph did a fabulous job of capturing the spirit of the late 60's when so many hoped to improve society and the actions of COINTELPRO, Hoover crushed the movement and many lives. Panther Baby is a strong testament to the human spirit and one man's determination to make a difference and adhere to his own vision. A page turner about a very impressive person.
February 28, 2012
A good book. Written well, a page turner. Reads like a fast paced novel. Takes you back in time to the late 60's and early 70's. The stories about prison life, prison culture and survival in prison are great. But even better is his overall message about the struggle. Jamal has come full circle and for anyone who enjoyed the autobiography of Malcom X, they will definitely enjoy "panther baby".
December 17, 2015
Real interesting story of the destruction of the Black Panther party and the lives of many of it's members by an all consuming assault from all facets of government. Solid 4 stars and will now search out more of this story!!
March 30, 2016
I found this read amazing; it was smooth and yet gripping with some many intricate details of his life. The progression of his events were beyond inspiring and yet, completely surprising at turns.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, would definitely pick up again.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, would definitely pick up again.
Want to read
February 14, 2012Cannot wait to read this! He is speaking at Columbia on Friday 2/17 at Miller Theater. Afeni Shakur will be there too!
June 3, 2020
Reading this showed me how little I know of true black history in America. I feel that not much has changed since the 60s but Joseph’s book felt like a call to love and create change with your community.
June 1, 2016
Well, what did I think? 1st, I'm sorry to say it took me so long to finish. Reason being, I just didn't enjoy it any longer. It started off exciting (I think - see! this is the problem) then it tapered off. I found it hard to keep my attention. I purchased the book because a: the cover caught my attention about someone so young being part of that organization; b: I remember hearing about them (Black Panthers) as a child but not understanding who or what they stood for. The old videos I remember seeing in schools & TV depicted them as "trouble makers" and "separatist." C: The hardcover's flap info had me wanting to read it even more plus I had a boss who said he knew some people from the Panthers when he lived in NY. Oh! and the movie "Panthers" was really good. Alas, the book couldn't keep that passion going. All I wanted to do was "...hurry and finish this dang book!" Yet I couldn't force myself, at times, to pick it up. I just can't quite put my proverbial "finger on" where the problem lies. Was it the writing? Hard to follow because, at times, I didn't know where the timeline came in. No notice (I think). Could it be I felt as though Mr. Joseph was "name dropping" which I hate? Then again, I guess he had to to show support from others and the Black Panthers who have become successes in their own right.
I found a couple of discrepancies in the story which turned me off as well. He said his wife was the 1st Black model for "Seventeen" magazine but I checked it out (to see what she looked like) and it was noted another (not Whitney Houston) was actually the 1st. This could have been an editing mistake though. Then he said that Tupac Shakur was his God-son. Again I checked for information about his hospitalization after being shot, and Wikipedia credited another gentleman as his God-father. Now, I don't look at Wikipedia as being "gospel" because I've come across many false reports on that site so please! I don't know. I don't want to give this book a bad rep, because I found a lot of good-reading in it. It just couldn't hold my interest where I should have completed reading it in 1 day (it's just that short: 280 pgs). The language I didn't care for but that's any book I've read that results in the removal of a star for that reason. Why so much cursing? I grow weary of replacing the words with a clean one or skipping over it. Cursing just takes away the beauty of writing for me, in my opinion.
Anywho, I suggest reading the book. If you're like me & cursing & swearing is offensive along with the crude, descriptive language of body parts, be prepared to substitute. I'm going to give this book another chance. Not now though! I'll re-read it again at a later date. If I come across the same problem, then it's the book entirely and I have no ill-hand in the outcome. For now, I'll rate the book 3 stars out of 5, again only because of the language which robbed it of 1 star. I hope I wasn't too hard on the book. I apologize to you, Mr. Joseph, if you've read this. I had to be honest.
I found a couple of discrepancies in the story which turned me off as well. He said his wife was the 1st Black model for "Seventeen" magazine but I checked it out (to see what she looked like) and it was noted another (not Whitney Houston) was actually the 1st. This could have been an editing mistake though. Then he said that Tupac Shakur was his God-son. Again I checked for information about his hospitalization after being shot, and Wikipedia credited another gentleman as his God-father. Now, I don't look at Wikipedia as being "gospel" because I've come across many false reports on that site so please! I don't know. I don't want to give this book a bad rep, because I found a lot of good-reading in it. It just couldn't hold my interest where I should have completed reading it in 1 day (it's just that short: 280 pgs). The language I didn't care for but that's any book I've read that results in the removal of a star for that reason. Why so much cursing? I grow weary of replacing the words with a clean one or skipping over it. Cursing just takes away the beauty of writing for me, in my opinion.
Anywho, I suggest reading the book. If you're like me & cursing & swearing is offensive along with the crude, descriptive language of body parts, be prepared to substitute. I'm going to give this book another chance. Not now though! I'll re-read it again at a later date. If I come across the same problem, then it's the book entirely and I have no ill-hand in the outcome. For now, I'll rate the book 3 stars out of 5, again only because of the language which robbed it of 1 star. I hope I wasn't too hard on the book. I apologize to you, Mr. Joseph, if you've read this. I had to be honest.
April 26, 2016
It's been Black Panther literature in recent years to draw me out of my malaise of disenchantment to rekindle the idealism I used to possess over social issues. I suspect this largely has to do with my near complete ignorance of the Black Panther movement: having grown up in a predominantly white, middle to upper-middle class suburban neighborhood, for most of my life what little I knew about the organization had to do with the violently militant side and not the grassroots efforts at the community level. I don't know whether more efforts are being made lately in K-12 education about the movement, but I sincerely hope this gets into teenagers' hands as it holds excellent crossover appeal that will absolutely appeal to a young person's activist concern for social change.
Jamal Joseph's memoir is a straightforward, heartfelt account of his transformative years as a teenager getting involved in the NY Panther chapter and how the revolutionary motives influenced his life, good and ill, long after the party dissolved. Though I found a few inconsistencies in terms of the relation of events and some figures who just seemed to disappear (Noonie, primarily--the last we hear of her occurs just after he's released from his initial imprisonment), I appreciated his candor in revealing the less altruistic motivations along with his noble fights, and for all the good that he's done, he is surely proud of his work but not boastful. To say he is a do-gooder is a gross understatement. I never got the feeling that he was ever stopping to self-congratulate and say, "Hey, look at me and how good I am" as I've seen so many others do. Clearly, the fire lit in him during the 60s never went out (even though sometimes it dimmed), and his concern is to constantly move forward and to exact as much change as possible, which overwhelmed me. His ideals influenced an incredible strength in mature and compassionate conflict resolution effectively used on the streets as well as in prison and enabled him to think creatively in how to direct the energy of his community. His accomplishments humble me and challenge me to examine my own life to see how I can make my world a better place. Highly recommended.
Jamal Joseph's memoir is a straightforward, heartfelt account of his transformative years as a teenager getting involved in the NY Panther chapter and how the revolutionary motives influenced his life, good and ill, long after the party dissolved. Though I found a few inconsistencies in terms of the relation of events and some figures who just seemed to disappear (Noonie, primarily--the last we hear of her occurs just after he's released from his initial imprisonment), I appreciated his candor in revealing the less altruistic motivations along with his noble fights, and for all the good that he's done, he is surely proud of his work but not boastful. To say he is a do-gooder is a gross understatement. I never got the feeling that he was ever stopping to self-congratulate and say, "Hey, look at me and how good I am" as I've seen so many others do. Clearly, the fire lit in him during the 60s never went out (even though sometimes it dimmed), and his concern is to constantly move forward and to exact as much change as possible, which overwhelmed me. His ideals influenced an incredible strength in mature and compassionate conflict resolution effectively used on the streets as well as in prison and enabled him to think creatively in how to direct the energy of his community. His accomplishments humble me and challenge me to examine my own life to see how I can make my world a better place. Highly recommended.
March 31, 2012
I really enjoyed this book - I flew through it in one afternoon and the story flows easily.
Joseph's narrative of his childhood, woven together with the greater history of the 1960s makes it easy to understand his anger and ultimate motivations for joining the Black Panther party. What I most appreciated, since this book is for younger audiences, is how Joseph highlights the missions of service of the Black Panther party. I think there is a great misinterpretation of what the goals and ideals of the Black Panther movement in the 1960s were - and Joseph's story brings light to their other, non-violent efforts that, in my experience, are not part of the public consciousness when thinking about the Black Panthers. There was violence - but there were positive, community enhancing works as well.
I'm impressed that Joseph was so motivated to activism at a young age, as well as his ability to adapt and flourish despite the many bumps in the road - following his year at Rikers, then going to Leavenworth, and then his rise at Columbia - though trite, his life is the personification of taking lemons and making lemonade.
I'd recommend this book, keeping in mind that it is a memoir.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
Joseph's narrative of his childhood, woven together with the greater history of the 1960s makes it easy to understand his anger and ultimate motivations for joining the Black Panther party. What I most appreciated, since this book is for younger audiences, is how Joseph highlights the missions of service of the Black Panther party. I think there is a great misinterpretation of what the goals and ideals of the Black Panther movement in the 1960s were - and Joseph's story brings light to their other, non-violent efforts that, in my experience, are not part of the public consciousness when thinking about the Black Panthers. There was violence - but there were positive, community enhancing works as well.
I'm impressed that Joseph was so motivated to activism at a young age, as well as his ability to adapt and flourish despite the many bumps in the road - following his year at Rikers, then going to Leavenworth, and then his rise at Columbia - though trite, his life is the personification of taking lemons and making lemonade.
I'd recommend this book, keeping in mind that it is a memoir.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
November 11, 2018
Jamal paints a clear informative picture of what was at the heart of the Black Panther movement. Like many, particularly those naive about what was at the heart of this movement, Panther Baby gravitated towards its popular perceived militant miens. The ‘stand your ground’ type techniques appealed to him.
It took joining the Panthers, getting schooled about appropriate ways to treat women and elders, and being advised upfront “if you’re here because you hate the oppressor and don’t have a deep love for people, then you are a flawed revolutionary” to fully respect the hard work it would take to help his community. This was what made this memoir truly engaging. Hard as it was to read, I was mesmerized by the work it took building and assisting programs that fed people without food, and getting care for individuals without access to healthcare, and the fight to keep drugs off the streets, and the tough consequences for challenging systems that exploited vulnerable citizens. Many clear-cut... and ambiguous messages came out of these hard boiled lessons, the makings for a must read memoir. Highly recommended.
It took joining the Panthers, getting schooled about appropriate ways to treat women and elders, and being advised upfront “if you’re here because you hate the oppressor and don’t have a deep love for people, then you are a flawed revolutionary” to fully respect the hard work it would take to help his community. This was what made this memoir truly engaging. Hard as it was to read, I was mesmerized by the work it took building and assisting programs that fed people without food, and getting care for individuals without access to healthcare, and the fight to keep drugs off the streets, and the tough consequences for challenging systems that exploited vulnerable citizens. Many clear-cut... and ambiguous messages came out of these hard boiled lessons, the makings for a must read memoir. Highly recommended.
April 3, 2012
Jamal Joseph was in his teens when he joined the Black Panthers. At 16 he went to jail as one of the "Panther 21" (in 1969 21 members of the Black Panther Party were rounded up and imprisoned). Jamal is a gifted story teller and honest about his teenage views of the Panthers and life in jail. He admits to dreaming of Panthers dressed in ninja-like pajamas breaking into jail and busting him out. What I liked best about this books was that, although the FBI saw Jamal as a threat to national security and sent him to Leavenworth, I never pictured him as a criminal. He used his time in jail to earn 2 degrees, to lobby for equal rights among prisoners, to write and direct plays (with other inmates as his actors). None of this sounds to me like the actions of a hardened criminal. The world in which he lived – Harlem in the 1960s could have made him hard. The treatment he received by the police and in jail could have made him hard. I never saw him as hard, I just saw a kid then a man trying to do the best for himself and his community.
May 2012
May 2012
June 5, 2012
I received this book for free in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway
Jamal Joseph's life has been a struggle, from beginning in broken home to joining the Black Panthers at an astoundingly young age, to multiple stints in prison, to becoming a leader in the New York arts community. His memoir at an efficient, but effective, 287 pages begins a bit slowly but rises throughout to a rousing conclusion.
Through this autobiography, readers unfamiliarwith or misinformed about the history of the Black Panthers will gain a broader perspective of the movement's motivations and goals. Furthermore the reader is exposed to the story of a young boy who grew up in truly remarkable circumstances.
Well worth reading for students of the civil rights movement or of progressive causes and youth advocacy in general.
Jamal Joseph's life has been a struggle, from beginning in broken home to joining the Black Panthers at an astoundingly young age, to multiple stints in prison, to becoming a leader in the New York arts community. His memoir at an efficient, but effective, 287 pages begins a bit slowly but rises throughout to a rousing conclusion.
Through this autobiography, readers unfamiliarwith or misinformed about the history of the Black Panthers will gain a broader perspective of the movement's motivations and goals. Furthermore the reader is exposed to the story of a young boy who grew up in truly remarkable circumstances.
Well worth reading for students of the civil rights movement or of progressive causes and youth advocacy in general.
May 27, 2012
Jamal Joseph is a well-spoken revolutionary who came up through the Black Panther party and continues to work for social justice, especially regarding African-Americans and inner-city youth. This memoir is an enlightening overview of the Harlem contingency of the movement and Jamal's experience with the police, our legal system and incarceration. For someone my age who is not well-versed in this movement, this was engaging and informative, especially regarding the motivations of such names as Huey P. Newton, Tupac Shakur, and even, Jane Fonda.
I recommend it for anyone who enjoys biographies, those interested in social justice issues, high school students and teachers and anyone working with inner-city youth.
I recommend it for anyone who enjoys biographies, those interested in social justice issues, high school students and teachers and anyone working with inner-city youth.
February 4, 2013
I chose this book for my Teen Book Club this month and I think we'll have A LOT to talk about! Consider this: Joseph is Tupac's godfather, and that might be one of the lesser interesting things about his life.
His memoir is about trying to be an adult and do the right thing while navigating some very different and strict social codes, like what it means to be a man (which, for Joseph, happens after he's lost his virginity, left his home, been to prison... it's not the moment you would think, and it's pretty moving), how to be a black man doing the best he can for his community, how to survive in prison without resorting to violence, etc. There's so much in here! And you can tell there could be more.
His memoir is about trying to be an adult and do the right thing while navigating some very different and strict social codes, like what it means to be a man (which, for Joseph, happens after he's lost his virginity, left his home, been to prison... it's not the moment you would think, and it's pretty moving), how to be a black man doing the best he can for his community, how to survive in prison without resorting to violence, etc. There's so much in here! And you can tell there could be more.
April 21, 2014
An interesting, worthwhile read. Joseph has led a very wild life, and he narrates his stories and experiences with a clear, honest voice. Some terrific information on the Black Panthers and African American life, with much intersectionality discussed clearly. It's sympathetic without being ignorant of the bad, and not dismissive of an entire, necessary social movement because of the bad parts like I have so often seen. The tone of the book is occasionally a bit didactic and plain; I see other reviews saying this was aimed at a younger audience, which may be true. While I might have preferred a little more sophistication in the storytelling, much like I said above - the style does not negate the message.
September 19, 2012
The book for the most part was highly believable, and made me feel as if I was transported to those activist years. Having not lived through it myself, and have only gained second-hand knowledge through tales my professors have weaved this book has given me further insight into what the Panther movement was about and how corruption spread through it. Jamal's story gripped me through to the end and I finished it in just a few days. The language is beautiful in its simplicity yet manages to enchant and draw one in. It brings the spirit of the movement alive, and makes one wish they were there to experience it firsthand, well, except for all the conspiracies and jail time.
June 8, 2015
Prior to reading this book, I really didn't know anything about the Black Panther organization. I thought this would be the typical story of a black man making it out of the dredges of his neighborhood, and while Joseph did make it out eventually --his story was quite intriguing. He discusses the Black Panther movement, the origination of the East Coast/West Coast battles, and critiques the American prison system. I found this book to be much more interesting than I expected.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Civil Rights movement, particularly the Black Panthers.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Civil Rights movement, particularly the Black Panthers.
October 19, 2012
I won this memoir through firstreads here on goodreads. Jamal Joseph tells the tale of his teenage years and beyond focusing on his time spent as part of the Black Panthers organization.
I previously didn't know more than basic information about the Black Panthers. Through Joseph's memoir I learned about the basic foundation of the Black Panthers and what their intended mission and goals were.
The book is very readable and Jamal Joseph does a good job bringing you into his life and making you understand his experiences in the Panthers and in prison.
I previously didn't know more than basic information about the Black Panthers. Through Joseph's memoir I learned about the basic foundation of the Black Panthers and what their intended mission and goals were.
The book is very readable and Jamal Joseph does a good job bringing you into his life and making you understand his experiences in the Panthers and in prison.
April 23, 2012
I loved this book! It was very easy to read and provided a good look at how Jamal Joseph matriculated through the Black Panther party, his views on the development of the party over the years, and how he looks back on his time in the party today. Joseph's story puts the Panther party in a personal context, which is a lot different from the hyperbole that is often used when talking about the party today. A great read for anyone interested in the Black Panthers, and the struggle to inspire a black revolution around the mid-twentieth century.
October 21, 2012
For the most part, I thought it was insightful into the Black Panther party movement and honest. I felt that at times it was a little bit sugar coated in a way and I wanted to hear more of the nitty-gritty parts. The tough sections of Joseph's life were dealt with poetically in the book, which doesn't always translate to descriptive. By the end, though, I was ready to take part in a people's revolution and find equality for all. Not as much as when I heard him speak, but his written word was still mightier than the sword.
November 14, 2012
Gritty but not sensationalized this is a first person view of the intent of the Black Panthers during the 1960s. The author who joined in protests calling for Columbia University to be burned now has a career as an academic at Columbia. Interesting as a historical accounting and as a look at education and criminal justice systems and socio-economic constructs. Applicable today with emergence of the Occupy movement.
Credible, relevant and highly readable. A book I would make required reading for mature high school students and all adults.
Credible, relevant and highly readable. A book I would make required reading for mature high school students and all adults.
February 14, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Having grown up in the 60's and 70's, I heard about the Black Panthers but feel I never really understood the what their goal was. This book helped me to understand the movement and the story of his life in the Black Panthers was fascinating. I'm so impressed that despite all the violence, his time in prison and mistreatment by the police that he completed his college degree and continued to be dedicated to helping out his community. There is so much more to this story and I highly recommend this book.
April 22, 2012
I have to say that Mr. Joseph writes in an earnest way that speaks to my condition. More than that--it's a well-told story that focuses on specific moments in history, issues, and the choices of people who make a difference. I got schooled, and enjoyed it. OK, there's one little moment of nookie with a famous lady that he probably should have left out, but it does not detract from the significance of the story. It's a good, good book--especially for teenagers.
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