robin spencer is assistant professor of history at lehman college where she teaches courses on the black freedom movement. her areas of research include civil rights and black power urban and working class radicalism and gender. her writings on the black panther party have appeared in the journal of women's history souls, radical teacher and many collectionses of essays on the 1960s. she's completing a book on gender and the organizational evolution of the black panther party in oakland with duke university press and starting a second book project on the intersections between the movement of -- for black lib rawtion and the anti-vietnam war movement. next to her is barbara winslow a professor in the women's and gender studies program in the department of secondary education at brooklyn college. one of my oldest and best friends. there's a little nepotism involved in my selection of people to write these books. [laughter] not because they're my friends but because i know them well enough that i know they write well, they want to communicate with college students and with the general publi