The Black Panther Party

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's was a time full of police brutality, racial inequality, civil tension, large protests, and propaganda. Waves of inner city riots within black communities brought a lot of attention to the discrimination against African Americans. Famous civil rights leaders, like Dr. Martin Luther King, rejoined politics to help shed light on these growing issues. Malcolm X joined in, bringing violence as his tool to get his message across. The Black Panther Party formed as a way to unite black communities to stand up for and defend themselves. And in the near center of this party, a young emerging artist named Emory Douglas was drawn in.
Emory Douglas was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. At age 8, his family moved
In that image, everyone was white, middle class, employed, and had their basic needs met. Post–Civil Rights America was presented as a land of equal opporunity. The Black Panthers relentlessly pointed out the hypocrisy in America. While major black newspapers and magazines concentrated on motivating people toward upward mobility despite racism, publications like the Black Panther focused on inequality’s roots. These publications’ insisted on not accepting racism as an inevitable reality, but developed strategies for fighting and dismantling it. People had never seen images like Douglas’s in any other newspaper. Editorial illustrations filled the tabloid sized Black Panther’s pages. Douglas illustrated poverty without patronizing those he portrayed. The people in his drawings resembled his relatives and friends. Douglas’s work showed everyday experiences of so many black people in the
Douglas established a character that could put over empowered police officers in their place with "The Pig." It is an iconic image that lives on today in movies, modern protests, editorial illustrations, and more. It is an image used by many more than just the BPP. Douglas was also able to spread knowledge and courage to his community by using his paintbrush instead of his fist. Despite being surounded by violence, he managed to "keep his cool" and produce more creative work. He didn't just empower his peers by saying" fight back!" With his artwaork, he managed to inform his community and have his community all the more knowledgeable. And he did not falter when his activist party dissolved and withdrew. He continues, even through retirement and old age, to create images that spread knowledge and inspire any and all who see it. He speak at schools, protests, and communities all across the world. he is a prime example of how a pen can be a much stronger weapon than a