Just Another Nigger: My Life in the Black Panther Party

by Don Cox, Kimberly Marshall (Foreword), Steve Wasserman (Introduction)

This is Don Cox's revelatory, even incendiary account of his years in the Black Panther Party. He participated in many peaceful Bay Area civil rights protests but hungered for more militant action. His book tells the story of his work as the party's field marshal in charge of gunrunning to planning armed attacks—tales which are told for the first time in this remarkable memoir—to his star turn raising money at the Manhattan home of Leonard Bernstein (for which he was famously mocked by Tom Wolfe in Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers), to his subsequent flight to Algeria to join Eldridge Cleaver in exile, to his decision to leave the party following his disillusionment with Huey P. Newton's leadership. Cox would live out the rest of his life in self-imposed exile, where he began writing these unrepentant recollections in the early 1980s, enjoining his daughter to promise him that she would do everything she could to have them published—with the title he insisted upon, a nod to W. E. B. Dubois's remark that “In my own country, for nearly a century I have been nothing but a nigger.”

Genres: Politics, Race, History, Nonfiction, Memoir

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don Cox's memoir of his years in the Black Panther Party makes for uncomfortable reading at times. He is candid about the internal warfare that contributed to the organization's disintegration and he pulls no punches in his recounting of intra-party violence. His account of his time in Algeria with Eldridge Cleaver is particularly revealing.

My interest in the Panthers goes back decades. I admired and respected them for their fearlessness, their analysis of racism, and their community work. I still respect them for these qualities. But I've had to come to terms with their unsavory aspects. Cox's thoughtful afterword seeks to examine the causes of the ultimately fratricidal disunity that helped tear the party apart.

This book is an important addition to the shelf of Panther memoirs.

[Libertie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Those of us with experiences in the struggle have a historical responsibility to pass them on; otherwise, every time a new formation comes along, they will be starting from scratch, just as we did. Mistakes are the nursery of new ideas, so we must share them too; if we continue to hide and distort our errors, those coming after us will be condemned to repeat them... We refuse our own history by blaming every negative thing that occurred on the COINTELPRO."

Cox is a masterful storyteller whose writing is humorous and unsentimental. Framed as the riveting story of a revolutionary—from the founding of the Panther's San Francisco chapter, to gun running and guerrilla attacks, to exile and the establishment of the Panther's International Section in Algiers—Cox offers an inspiring call to action coupled with a searing indictment of unchecked power. As a member of the Black Panther Party's Central Committee, Cox offers a uniquely credible examination of the Party's many mistakes, including its disastrous turn towards Leninism.

Highly recommended both for its critical political insights and the quality of author's astonishing exploits and anecdotes. I kept putting the book down and turning to my partner to exclaim, "OMG, you'll never believe what happened next!"

[Leo Vader · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty incredible account from inside a revolutionary movement. raw and real about how divisions formed, and how fighting the power madness of america's elite, without safeguards against the power madness among their own, poisoned any chance for actual change. everyone loves a noble leader, a messiah to put their faith in. and it turns out that, the world over, only those deeply unqualified to be a messiah eagerly take on that role. first red flag.

god bless the people who were brave enough to enact the radical actions described in this book. reading about people devoting their lives to their principles so quickly and completely and without doubt feels like reading a book about an alien planet. we are so used to giving up our principles to type our goodreads reviews on our sweatshop gadgets, that the idea of living by them is casually accepted as impossible. normalize having principles again. or frankly, in this age, sanctify your principles and worship them. far more worth putting your faith in than any single person.

[Kathryn Berla · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting first-hand glimpse into the history of the Black Panther Party. I always like to see more of the personal--the effect it had on his children (we get a little of his daughter's perspective in the Foreword (which I loved and wanted more of). I would also have liked to read about his post-Algeria life and his perspective as a much older man, 30 years after this story ends. But it wasn't written as that book and I appreciate it for what it was.

[Wayde Compton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cox disagrees with the interpretation that the BPP was destroyed by FBI repression, which he says, convincingly, actually grew party enrolment. Instead he illustrates how the party collapsed through a combination of cults of personality around Newton and Cleaver, the resulting split, sexism, and the failure of democratic centralism to produce a leadership accountable to the community. He arrives at a revolutionary left position, inclusive of armed struggle, that is critical of Leninism.

[Derron Flood · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of 2020 completed... an inside look at what the party was all about. As a black man in america I've never been so happy, disappointed, proud, and excited before simultaneously in my entire life... a must read, if you're interested in the unadulterated truth..

[John Marricco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Cox is an incredible man. One of my only issues is with all the violence, but I get it. One of my popular sayings around my house is that "you can't bring a knife to a gunfight". The challenges the Panthers faced were always daunting, but as with a lot of situations, and common in present day politics, egos were the eventual downfall of what could have been. Huey, David, and to a lesser extent Eldridge just fell apart. Great book, thank you Don.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A narrative masterpiece and a must-read for serious thinkers interested in more than the Sesame Street version of emancipatory struggle tailored for the victorian sensitivities of affluent cosmopolitan whites

[Seth Shimelfarb-Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot. Am certainly not more optimistic after having read this! Thinking about surveillance then to surveillance now is disturbing. And here I am cataloging this on a public app! Always an extreme honor to read memoirs from folks who actually did something real with their lives.

[Mark Agard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an immensely useful read. Don Cox does an amazing job explaining critical organizational issues in the BPP and in particular the need to combat unchecked hierarchies in radical spaces.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, it’s 4.9 stars, the last paragraph is dumb.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and balanced history of the Black Panther Party

[Allison Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valuable. Wonderful afterword.

[Trey Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was powerfully. the perfect book for this present moment in time. highly recommend for anyone looking to build community.