Former Black Panther Leader Elaine Brown Delivers Keynote at Black Caucus MLK Breakfast
A group photo of attendees at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast in Sacramento on Jan. 15. From left to right: Assemblymembers Mike Gipson (D-Carson), LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-La Mesa), Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights); keynote speaker Elaine Brown; Sen. Akilah Weber-Pierson (D-San Diego); Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro); Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; Asm. Mia Bonta (D-Alameda); California Attorney General Rob Bonta; and Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.
Bo Tefu and Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
Former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown was the keynote speaker at the annual California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Breakfast held at the Sacramento Masonic Temple on Jan. 15.
Introduced by CLBC Chair Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego), Brown delivered a powerful message emphasizing responsibility, activism, the ongoing fight for justice, and the need for sustained action to achieve equity.
Brown reminded the audience of the harsh realities of Jim Crow, including the physical signs and rigid social codes used to attempt to enforce the second-class status of Black Americans. She also highlighted the long struggle to dismantle segregation, political disenfranchisement, and racial terror.
“So much blood was shed in those fights just to integrate ourselves into a society that didn’t want us in the first place,” Brown said. “We were no longer valuable. We were only valuable when we were enslaved.”
Brown also spoke about Dr. King’s vision of a just society – one where systemic racism, poverty, and economic exploitation are no longer tolerated.
The Black Panther Party (BPP) was founded in Oakland in 1966 to make “revolutionary” changes for the betterment of the Black community, Brown said. However, the organization was infiltrated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she shared.
Brown was a pivotal and trailblazing figure in the BPP, becoming the first and only woman to lead the organization as its chairwoman from 1974 to 1977.
Under her guidance, she expanded community services like the Free Breakfast for Children program, and later became an author, musician, and social justice activist known for her work in prison reform and Black liberation.
Brown led the development of a major affordable housing project in Oakland called “The Black Panther Apartments.” Fully leased by December 2024, the 79-unit building provides 100% affordable housing for low-income and formerly incarcerated individuals with incomes at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
“When I think about Dr. King, I think of the work we did with the Black Panther Party,” Brown said. “There was a leader of our party named Fred Hampton. Fred Hampton would say, ‘I ain’t going to die slipping on ice. I ain’t going to die in no airplane crash. I’m gonna die for the people because I live for the people. I love the people. Power to the people.’”
The breakfast is an annual event organized by the CLBC and held in Sacramento to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
CLBC members, California state leaders, city government officials, professional sports figures, constitutional officers, law enforcement, and community members all attended the event.
