A fascinating portrait of life with the Black Panthers in Algiers:
a story of liberation and radical politics
Following the
Algerian war for independence and the defeat of France in 1962,
Algiers became the liberation capital of the Third World. Elaine
Mokhtefi, a young American woman immersed in the struggle and working
with leaders of the Algerian Revolution, found a home here. A
journalist and translator, she lived among guerrillas,
revolutionaries, exiles, and visionaries, witnessing historical
political formations and present at the filming of The Battle of
Algiers.
Mokhtefi crossed
paths with some of the era's brightest stars: Frantz Fanon, Stokely
Carmichael, Timothy Leary, Ahmed Ben Bella, Jomo Kenyatta, and
Eldridge Cleaver. She was instrumental in the establishment of the
International Section of the Black Panther Party in Algiers and close
at hand as the group became involved in intrigue, murder, and
international hijackings. She traveled with the Panthers and
organized Cleaver's clandestine departure for France. Algiers,
Third World Capital is an unforgettable story of an era of
passion and promise.