Barbara Easley-Cox is a

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

, best known for her involvement with the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. At the time of her first involvement, she was attending

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

. She now works in Philadelphia with a focus on literacy and education for youth.

Work in the Black Panther Party

Barbara Easley-Cox became involved with the Black Panther Party in 1967 during her college years. Throughout her experience with the Party, she worked in the Oakland, California, Philadelphia, New York, and international chapters. She participated in the Free Breakfast for Children Program, collected apparel for the Free Clothing Program, and aided in other survival programs hosted by the Party. Easley-Cox traveled around the world, spreading chapters and involvement of the Black Panther Party to Algeria and Germany. In 1970, following Donald Cox fleeing to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

after being charged in connection with a murder case in Baltimore, Barbara joined him there for a time, where she partook in the work of the newly formed "International section" of the Black Panther Party. Later, she moved to Germany, where she worked with soldiers of color until 1973. In the 1970s she would move to Philadelphia and settle there. She became involved in Philadelphia's oldest anti-poverty organisation, the Advocate Community Development Corporation. By the 1980s she had been elected to its board and by the 1990s she was chairing the organisation.

Family

Barbara Easley-Cox married her husband,

Donald L. Cox Donald Lee Cox (April 16, 1936 – February 19, 2011), known as Field Marshal DC, was an early member of the leadership of the African American revolutionary leftist organization the Black Panther Party, joining the group in 1967. Cox was title ...

in 1970 while working in Algiers. While in Algiers, Easley-Cox was invited to the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

, where she gave birth alongside fellow woman of the Black Panther Party,

Kathleen Cleaver Kathleen Neal Cleaver (born May 13, 1945) is an American law professor and activist, known for her involvement with the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party, a political and revolutionary. Early life Juette Kathleen Neal was born ...

References

External links

Black Panther Barbara Easely Cox Discuss Her Experiences And The Party’s Legacy
* Barbara Easley-Cox interview with PBS
A Panther in Africa
* Barbara Easley-Cox reflects on history with the Black Panther Party
Panther Women Look Back

Women of the International Section of the Black Panther Party

Interview with Barbara Cox Easley
�by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s, January 26, 2012

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easley-Cox, Barbara American activists Living people Members of the Black Panther Party Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Activists for African-American civil rights