Revolutionary Art Work- Giving Life to the Revolution
The mention of the Black Panther Party can educe a wide range of responses, after all, according to mainstream media accounts, their mission was to frighten whites about armed revolution in retaliation for discrimination. Visually speaking, most people equate gun-toting, beret-wearing, angry young black men with the Black Panther Party from the 60s and 70s. Many cease to realize or even pay attention to the visual campaign of the Party, which was an enormously critical element of the message to “the people.” In part, Emory Douglas, the Panthers’ Minister of Culture, crafted the visuals that cultivated the party’s image.
Speeding up the story a little, in 1967, 22-year-old Black Panther and artist Emory Douglas met with Panther leaders Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton, who published the first two issues of The Black Panther newspaper. Newton and Cleaver both understood and wanted to discuss the importance of the emerging visual media culture and how the party should be portrayed graphically; showing the party’s work assisting people in their communities and preparing the oppressed for a violent revolution, if necessary. Douglas was the man for the job. Until The Black Panther ceased publication in 1979, he was committed to producing and maintaining its visual identity.
Photostats and presstypes, textures and patterns made publishing a two-color heavily illustrated, weekly tabloid newspaper possible. At its peak in 1970, The Black Panther had a weekly circulation of 139,000. Douglas’s distinct style featured thick black outlines and resourceful tint and texture combinations. He also collaged and re-collaged photographs and drawings, while performing graphic tricks. Two purposes were served by Emory’s images, 1) to illustrate the conditions that made the revolution concept seem necessary, and 2) to construct a mythology of power for people who felt powerless and victimized. Douglas maintained the dignity of the poor and oppressed while graphically illustrating the harsh occurrences.
Many of Douglas’s political cartoons involved showing policeman and those in power as pigs, which became another signature element of his images. He also illustrated components of the party’s Ten Point Program in his works, which outlined obtaining full employment, healthcare, decent housing, education, and control of modern technology. Black Panther community programs such as art events, clinics, schools, and free breakfast for children were featured in the paper, representing the implementation of the ten points. Exemplifying the strict coordination between the party, the paper, and the mission, most of the back page posters directly referred to one of the ten points. In addition, these back pages were often reprinted separately; throughout the ghetto these posters were pasted on walls and abandoned buildings.
Retrospectively, The Black Panther, as well as Emory’s drawings, were tools of liberation. The depiction of post-civil rights ghetto life for African-Americans elicited revulsion at the graphic violence, which encouraged physical (armed confrontation) or metaphoric (fighting oppression via self-help) revolutionary action.
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2 comments:
I feel like I am falling love with your blog. I can't put into words what your blog means to me. You obviously get what music means to me, but this article stirs up a lot of emtoions for me. I am from Detroit and we are having a hard time with trying to mantain, or gain, dignity in the countries' eyes. People from the outside see the city as crime infested, uneducated, dirty and in general a scary place to be. It breaks my heart that people who've never been would not believe all of the wonderful stories and the very good upbringing I had in this city.
I would love for people to take the time to look at a seemigly ugly group of people and learn about the
reasons for their pain and their struggle. The Black Panthers did not always "Do the Right Thing" but they had a purpose and were needed by so many. People who feel like they don't have a voice, or that others feel are beneath them need for someone strong to stand up for them until they can get strong enough to stand up for themselves. Thank you for writing this.
I'm really glad u enjoyed the article. I totally agree with ur comments. Many people have no idea and have not taken the time to figure out what the Black Panthers stood for. I'm glad I was able to shed some light on a wronged organization that had "the people" in mind when they joined.
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