Ericka Huggins
"Love is the expression of power. We can use it to transform our world."
Ericka Huggins
In light of the global protests for justice ignited by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, I wondered what wisdom could be gleaned from the ancestors and elders. The Women of the Black Panther Party immediately came to mind. . While searching through old articles, books, and videos, I began to truly understand, not just the message and mission of the Party, but the powerful spirit that was lodged in those young people.
So many of them sacrificed their lives--either to death or imprisonment. The four women I have chosen to highlight--Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, Ericka Huggins, and Assata Shakur--are thankfully alive and blooming.
I urge you to read their books, seek out their videos, and hear their voices. The timeless wisdom they have to offer is a gift to this and future generations.
I am struck by the magnitude of what was taken from us; what has been lost, and what remains. The struggle continues.
All Power To All The People - Fred Hampton
Passionate About Inspiring Transformation
I am a human rights activist, poet, educator, Black Panther Party leader and a former political prisoner. For the past 36 years, I’ve lectured throughout the United States and internationally. My life experiences have enabled me to speak personally and honestly on issues relating to the physical and emotional well-being of women, children, and youth, whole being education, the incarceration of men and women of color, and the role of the spiritual practice in sustaining activism and promoting social change.
BIOGRAPHY
As a result of my 14-year tenure as a leading member of the Black Panther Party, I bring a unique perspective to the challenges and successes of the Black Panther Party and, its significance today.
My desire to serve humanity began in 1963 when I attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. There, I committed to serving people for the rest of my life. In 1968, at age 18, I joined the Black Panther Party. I soon became a leader in the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party with my husband John Huggins.
Three weeks after the birth of our daughter, on January 17, 1969, my comrade, Alprentice “Bunchy Carter” and John Huggins my best friend, and the father of my daughter, was killed. That day I became a single mother and a widow.
After returning to New Haven, Connecticut to be with John’s family, I was invited by community members and Yale University students to open a party chapter there. I accepted the invitation. In May 1969, Bobby Seale and I were targeted and arrested on conspiracy charges sparking “Free Bobby, Free Ericka” rallies across the country.
While awaiting trial for two years before charges were dropped, including time in solitary confinement, I taught myself to meditate as a means to survive incarceration and separation from my baby daughter. From that time I’ve incorporated spiritual practice into my community work, as a speaker and facilitator, teaching as a tool for change - not only for myself but for all people, no matter their age, race, gender, sexuality or culture. As a lifelong writer, upon my release from prison in 1971, I became writer and editor for the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service. In 1974, the book of poetry chronicling my experience of incarceration and liberation, Insights and Poems, co-authored with Huey P. Newton, was published. My poetry and other writings have appeared in numerous magazines and books.
From 1973–1981, I was the Director of the Oakland Community School, the groundbreaking community-run child development center and elementary school founded by the Black Panther Party. Working with a team of incredibly talented party members and local educators a vision for the innovative curriculum for the school was written. This curriculum and the principles that inspired it became a model for and predecessor to the charter school movement.
During that time, with community support, I became both the first woman and the first Black person to be appointed to the Alameda County Board of Education, which serves children with cognitive, emotional, and physical disabilities and, incarcerated youth in the county’s many school districts.
Ten years after my release from prison, in 1981, I returned to California state, county, and federal prisons and jails to share my experiences of yoga and meditation. A focus of my volunteer efforts has been with incarcerated youth. I have continued this work with adults and, in addition, I have continues this work in homes for foster and adopted children and teens. For the past 20 years, I’ve also taught relaxation and mindfulness in California youth correctional facilities, in addition to many California public school districts and community colleges.
In 1990, at the height of public awareness of HIV/AIDS, I was the first woman practical support volunteer coordinator at the world-renowned Shanti Project. I also developed a unique volunteer support program for women and children of color, living with HIV, in the Tenderloin and Mission districts of San Francisco. During my time at Shanti Project and later Aids Project of Contra Costa County, I helped develop citywide programs for the support of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, and questioning youth and adults with HIV/AIDS.
From 2003-2011 I was a professor of Women and Gender Studies at San Francisco State University and California State University, East Bay. From 2008-2015 I was a professor of Sociology and African American Studies in the Peralta Community College District.
Currently, I am one of the facilitators with World Trust. World Trust uses films that document, through story, the impact of systems of racial inequity. These films are tools to foster conversation about race and all structural inequities. These conversations are powerful to personal and global transformation. Below are the films that I use to stimulate dialogue as I travel and speak to audiences large and small:
The Way Home: Women Talk About Race in America
Light in the Shadows: Staying at the Table When the Conversation About Race Gets Hard
Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible
Cracking the Codes: A System of Racial Inequity
Healing Justice: Cultivating a World of Belonging
"What simple action can we each take, using our knowledge of the environment and the conditions of all the people who live in it?
I forgive myself for not taking care of me, and my family, as I care for humanity.
We can practice unity-consciousness. We say we are connected. We can model it!
By sitting still in reflection, in prayer or in meditation, in small kindnesses, in feeding the hungry, in teaching a child, in facing the coinciding realities of all living beings—through spiritual practice—we open.
When I recognize the love inside a human heart, even as the darkness struggles to gain power, I can breathe more easily, I have hope.
We can form alliances across formations and identities. We can rest in unity.
Starting with ourselves-we can end poverty, both physical and spiritual
We can restore justice by being inclusive in our thinking and saying; inclusive in our staffing, inviting, and decision-making.
We can abolish the idea that any form of incarceration, as we know it, is our only option.
Love is a great power. Use it to transform your world."
Ericka Huggins
Resources
Women of the Black Panthers: A Discussion In The Wake Of Huey Newton's Death
Ericka Huggins: The Role of Spiritual Practice in Social Justice Work
Contact
Profiles
Elaine Brown
Kathleen Cleaver
Denise Oliver-Velez [coming soon]
Assata Shakur [coming soon]