Book Review: Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination

Published in Issue 464 of The Black Commentator on March 22, 2012
Republished in 107cowgate.com on March 22, 2012

University of Minnesota Press book review by The Black Commentator’s Larry Pinkney of Dr. Alondra Nelson’s book, BODY AND SOUL: The Black Panther Party And The Fight Against Medical Discrimination (upress.umn.edu, 2012):

“Alondra Nelson has brought forth highly informative, meticulously documented, extremely relevant, and deeply engaging historical account of precisely how the daily activism of the Black Panther Party, in the area of health care, positively impacted Black and poor communities throughout the United States. It is an important narrative that heretofore has been largely untold and unknown.”

By Larry Pinkney

One of the political rallying cries of the Black Panther Party was, “Serve the people body and soul.” Alondra Nelson has brought forth a highly informative, meticulously documented, extremely relevant, and deeply engaging historical account of precisely how the daily activism of the Black Panther Party, in the area of health care, positively impacted Black and poor communities throughout the United States. It is an important narrative that heretofore has been largely untold and unknown.

The book delves deeply into various Free Medical Clinics, etc., established by the Black Panther Party, in addition to giving examples of how the medical establishment of this nation often callously marginalized the health needs and concerns of Black and poor people, and the concomitant efforts by the Black Panther Party to address that devastating and debilitating reality. Whether describing the Black Panther Party’s organizing efforts against the ravages of Sickle Cell Anemia or the authoritarianism of the entrenched medical establishment, Alondra Nelson breaks it down in a clear, concise, and thought-provoking fashion. Moreover, if indeed “a picture is worth a thousand words,” then the many photos and illustrations also contained in this book serve to complement Nelson’s already incisive writing. Her numerous primary sources are varied and impeccable.

Professor Alondra Nelson’s straight-forward, no nonsense, easy to understand style of writing entices the reader, making it virtually impossible to put the book down. She brilliantly demonstrates her combined passion and intellect for her subject.

Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination is not only about the important historical role of the Black Panther Party in the struggle against medical discrimination; it also imbues the reader with an understanding and a profound sense of urgency for the present.

Alondra Nelson’s book should be required reading in colleges and universities throughout this nation. It should also be spread far and wide in local communities everywhere, as many, if not even more, of these fundamental and serious health issues are with us today. The politics related to physical and emotional health remain an integral part of the politics of survival.

Irrespective to where we may be in the United States, or anywhere else on this precious planet of Mother Earth, the physical and emotional well-being and health of everyday, ordinary people is of paramount importance, and the struggle continues. The rallying cry remains: “All Power to the People!”

Read Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination! It will remind you of what has been done, and what can and must yet be done today. In the words of Rosa Luxemburg, “History is the only true teacher…”

Onward, then, my sisters and brothers. Onward!

Larry Pinkney is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil/political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities, Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS News Hour, formerly known as The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, and more recently on the nationally syndicated Alex Jones Show. Pinkney is a former university instructor of political science and international relations, and his writings have been published in various places, including The Boston Globe, San Francisco BayView newspaper, Black Commentator, Intrepid Report, Global Research (Canada), LINKE ZEITUNG (Germany), 107 Cowgate (Ireland and Scotland), and Mayihlome News (Azania/South Africa). He is in the archives of Dr. Huey P. Newton (Stanford University, CA), cofounder of the Black Panther Party. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book.)