Heritage of Power: Marie LaVeaux to Mary Ellen Pleasant (Enhanced Edition)

This, the latest and "enhanced" edition of Heritage of Power, provides a new index, additional images, and new, in-depth research on the life and civil-rights legacy of Mary Ellen Pleasant -- called "The Mother of Civil Rights in California." Did this daring "woman of mystery" really aid the abolitionist John Brown in his raid on Harper's Ferry, and was she aided by New Orleans’ most famous voodoo queen Marie LaVeaux with a “Heritage of Power”? If so, what was this heritage, and how did their meeting come about? Heritage of Power answers these questions, clarifies the lives of both women, explains Pleasant's title, and establishes her importance to modern-day civil rights. As it demystifies the lives of both women, the work presents new research and documents Pleasant's work with John Brown. Using the latest research, this work asserts that Pleasant met LaVeaux, who empowered her to become "The Mother of Civil Rights in California," and it supports Mary Pleasant’s claim that she indeed "was a friend of John Brown." In so doing, Heritage of Power chronicles Pleasant's life, sets Pleasant's it in the context of social activism, and clarifies her traditional Diaspora faith, voodoo/vodou, which aided both women. The 1998, 2011 revised edition, and the 2012 enlarged size have been retired. Read more