Emory Douglas
Black Panther Minister of Culture 1967–1980
What do you think art has to do for it to become revolutionary? In a sense all art tries to reshape the world around us, and it can make people think differently about that world whether it’s the express mission of the artwork or not. What is it about revolutionary art that sets it aside from other artistic pursuits?
Well basically it’s really a reflection of the concerns of the community. It’s about where the community is on the planet. It’s about social commentary. It’s about informing, enlightening and educating people. It’s a guide to action. It’s like a language- communicating with the people about their concerns. Seeing those concerns and reflecting them back into the art images that they can see and be inspired by. Revolutionary art is about change. It’s about being a part of the movement.
Before you mentioned Bobby Seale and Huey Newton and they, like many of the high-ranking members of the party paid a very heavy price for their beliefs and their defiant courage. In your life what price did you have to pay to be a member of the Black Panthers?
Well everybody, you have to understand… unfortunately there were those who were incarcerated, imprisoned. You were under surveillance 24/7 by the state and what have you. But we enjoyed what we did. We were young people. Initially the original party member ages were from age 15 to around 23 years of age. Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver were considered old men at the time. Bobby Seale was 28 and I think Eldridge Cleaver was 30 when he came around. So it was a very young organization at the time. We still had that arrogance and swagger about ourselves, and at the same time we knew what we were up against what was going on. So yes there was the harassment, the intimidation factor, trying to demonise us and call us hoodlum thugs instead of revolutionaries, characterizing us into something other than what we were as an organization. So it was many things. You had Panthers who were murdered by the police, who were actually set up by agent provocateurs, the United States government with the involvement of the President on down, during the Richard Nixon administration. This is documented fact in the governments counter intelligence records.
© 2008 EMORY DOUGLAS -ARTIST RIGHTS SOCIETY- (ARS)