Brown, Elaine, 1943-

Elaine Brown was born in North Philadelphia and raised by her mother. Although she grew up in a single-parent home and experienced economic hardship, Elaine had the opportunity to attend a private school where she participated in extracurricular activities such as classical piano and ballet. She was noted to have had many white friends because of this. After high school, Brown briefly attended Temple University before withdrawing to pursue a music career in Los Angeles. While there, she enrolled in University of California, Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Brown became involved with Jay Richard Kennedy, a music executive who educated her on capitalism, communism, and social justice movements. Eventually Brown became active in the Black Liberation Movement. After their breakup, Brown began working for the African American newspaper Harambee. She attended her first Black Panther meeting after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 1968.

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