Emory Douglas
Black Panther Minister of Culture 1967–1980
All of that state sponsored intimidation, prejudice and corruption eventually ground down the formal party structure of the Panthers. When the Party receded, how did you cope with that loss? Where did your revolutionary journey take you after the Panthers voice had been subdued? Did you find yourself still able to express yourself artistically with the same confidence and fearlessness after the party had been so ruthlessly attacked?
Well the struggle continues. The loss is something you see as loosing the battle but not the objective which is still to overcome human rights abuses and obstacles, continuing in the spirit of my comrades who are still political prisoners and those who sacrificed their lives for equality. Being in the party became a 24 hour, 7 day a week operation, 365 days a year. The Party became so large in what it was doing that we had to create work shifts and develop our structure to a higher level. So all these things, the political and education classes, the discussions that took place and the critiquing and evaluating our daily activities and the relationship between party members and the party, all of these things played into who you became thereafter. All of those things stay with me in relationship to carrying on and being able to see things in the world that exist today that are negative and destructive and aren’t in the true interests of human beings, developing and improving the quality of our lives. And so yes I continued to work in that spirit. My artwork today is around issues such as HIV aids, Health Is Wealth, Unemployment, Education, The Prison Industrial Complex and many other concerns. So social concerns that were part of the programs of the Black Panther Party are still reflected in the artwork right now.
How would you define your own political philosophy of the world and how it works. I guess back in the day the Panthers were heavily influenced and instructed by Maoist revolutionary theory. Today in a world that seems in some ways far removed from the ‘60s and certainly more apathetic and politically unaware and uninspired in some ways, how do you rationalise those ideas and your own beliefs with the world as it stands today?
Well we always made a concrete analysis of the situation. We always understood that things were in a constant state of change and transformation. Nothing was ever stagnant. You could have positive change and you could have negative change. It all depends on how people would rise up and impact change- for the better or maybe not for the better. It depends on how strong and inspired folks are, and their desire and the movement. So in that respect the party was just guided by some of the principles of the Red Book.
© 2008 EMORY DOUGLAS -ARTIST RIGHTS SOCIETY- (ARS)