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Emory Douglas

San Francisco, CA

Emory Douglas risked his life to make radical, revolutionary art as the Black Panther Party’s Minister of Culture and in-house artist. Douglas was subjected to frequent harassment, with one anonymous person even threatening to cut off his hands to prevent him from making art. He and his colleagues were persecuted and jailed — some killed along the way. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and raised in San Francisco, Douglas learned basic graphic design in a youth detention facility and later took classes at San Francisco City College. He joined the Black Panther Party in 1967, and his illustrations for the BPP newspaper, as well as its postcards, flyers and postcards still stand as iconic branding images for the entire Black Power movement.

 

BEYOND THE STREETS New York, 2019. Photo by Ian Reid.