Michael Lewis, also known as “Little B,” was 13 years old in January 1997, when a Fulton County jury convicted him of murdering a 23-year-old man outside of a convenience store in Georgia after a dispute. He was sentenced to life in prison. In 2004, the Georgia Supreme Court denied his appeal, upholding the conviction.

Former Black Panther Party Chairwoman Elaine Brown frequently referred to Lewis’ case during her lecture on “New Age Racism” Thursday night in the University Union Ballroom at Sacramento State.

She said newspapers and television media referred to “Little B” as a “thug,” while O.J. Simpson was called a “brother.”

Brown was the first and only female leader of the Black Panthers in 1974. Since then, she has written two books, “A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story” and “New Age Racism and the Condemnation of Little B.”

Brown also commented on some black public figures and officials, such as comedian Bill Cosby. She did not agree with his comment that “black people are giving their children ugly names.”

She spoke of former National Basketball Association player Charles Barkley.

“What is the significance of basketball players?” Brown said. “(Barkley) acts like he can comment on what’s going on in America.”

She talked about racist ideas, like “The Bell Curve,” which was written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray in 1994.

The Bell Curve idea offered the notion that blacks do not have the same intelligent capabilities as whites.

Brown gave a short version of black history in the United States since the 1620s, and how life in America really has not changed for black people since the Revolutionary War.

“Today, 50 percent of prison inmates are black. Black women make up 65 percent of AIDS victims,” Brown said.

She also spoke of the Black Panther Party and how the organization has helped other groups, such as homosexuals, oppressed women and the Irish Republican Army.

She said former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s labeling of the Black Panther Party as “a threat to national security” was incorrect.

Brown left the lecture by asking the students, faculty and staff, “Where do we go from here?”

The audience responded with a standing ovation.

According to Dean Sorensen, the program director of the University Union, about 400 people attended her lecture.

“I thought it was informative,” said Soraya Montgomery, a graduate student majoring in business. “She said what other people are afraid to say.”

Ryan Thayer, an undeclared sophomore, said, “It was interesting to see those views. I’d like to see more of that on campus.”

Now Brown is the president of the nonprofit corporation Field of Flowers, and the director of political affairs for the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform.

Brown was invited to speak on behalf of UNIQUE, the Multi-Cultural Center and the Women’s Resource Center.

Jamie Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]