A great woman behind the scenes
By: Jakyla Miller
For the February Edition of the Carver times I wrote an article about women in the black panther party. As an continuation of that I decided to highlight a woman from Philadelphia who was active in the BPP throughout her life. I interviewed her and she gave me really amazing advice and information about her life.
Her name is Rosemari Mealy. Her involvement in the black panther party rooted from, “hating not having the same access as white people and being called a nigger.” As a child she also had a father who encouraged her to speak up and parents who told her to go wherever she wanted. When she was growing up she believed that black people had to, “struggle to be better. We had to achieve in spite of the racism and ugliness of the environment.” Once she joined the black panther party in Philadelphia she described the house that she lived in like a, “commune where everybody lived.” The event that caused her to join the Black Panther Party was when she went to Chicago to look at Fred Hampton´s house where he was murdered.
She went through several struggles as a black woman such as “women always having to pay the price, especially black women” and the emotional challenges such as being separated from your family and making decisions.
If you are a young person and interested in speaking your opinion, activism, or just would like to read my notes from speaking with this lovely woman click here.