“History is written by the victors” is a well known quote clearly illustrating that oppressors are often the writers of history. In her posthumously released, The War Before (the Feminist Press at City University of New York, 2010) former Black Panther, political prisoner and community organizer Safiya Bukhari shares truth. In just over twenty speeches, interviews and essays with a foreword by Angela Davis and an afterward by Mumia Abu-Jamal this is a work that is important to educators, organizers, and historians but above all our children.

Bukhari came to political consciousness in the streets of New York City and utilized lessons learned from her time with the Black Panther Party, the Black Liberation Army and eight years in prison to help build a movement that would politically empower Blacks. Or as Safiya states plainly in the book, “Our struggle was not a struggle to be liberated so that we could move into the workplace, but a struggle to be recognized as human beings.”

It is clear from Bukhari’s speeches, organizing and leadership roles that she cared more about doing the work of liberation than telling her story. If not for her daughter and comrades in struggle this book would not exist. The War Before is not just another book by a former panther it is a glimpse into the unglamorous and ceaseless work of a nationalist and yet another piece of the history of the Black Liberation struggle in America.—Adisa Vera Beatty

TAGS: Adisa Vera Beatty, Angela Davis, Black Liberation, Black Panther Party, City University of New York, Feminist Press, Mumia Abu-Jamal, New York City, Safiya Bukhari, The War Before