Research paper

Emory Douglas

                                                 Portrait of Emory Douglas by Bryan Shih.

Emory Douglas was born in 1943 in Michigan. His family later moved to San Francisco. He was sent to Juvenile Jail in Ontario, California (it wasn’t explicitly stated what he committed to be imprisoned). It was during his imprisonment he was introduced to graphic design and print when he worked in the print shop there. He later went to City College in San Francisco after he was released. During his undergraduate years, he got involved with the Black Panther after meeting the founder and co-founder who asked him to create political newspapers for their cause. He also created posters pamphlets leaflets, and even the cover of the 10-point program. His official title in the Black panther is the Minister of Culture. He also considered himself a revolutionary graphic artist.

A brief history behind the creation of the Black Panther Party is it was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 after the death of Malcolm X and after the police shot and killed a teenager called Matthew Johnson who stole a car. It was influenced by the civil rights movement as well. The party was started for self-defense and not to promote violence contrary to what people believe when they hear the Black Panther Party. There is a negative connotation associated with them due to the images the press at that shows which usually depict African Americans armed, but they are only defending themselves. They depict them as dangerous eventually the demonstrations caught the attention of the FBI who kept their eyes on them and declared them a threat. Conflict within the group started to drive them apart and it officially disbanded in 1982.

In the beginning, when Emory Douglas joined the Black Panther movement, they are a small group, and to save money most of his early pieces done with them are in monotone or with two colors and usually with ink, markers, and pen. He also uses an Exacto knife to make collages. In the past things were done by typewriter so the process is slow.

The illustrations he created support equality for African Americans and to denounce police brutality and influence people to join the movement or support it. These are some of the illustrations he did:

The background behind this illustration demonstrated his strong dislike for the corrupted police and their brutality by calling them “Pigs” to humiliate them. The police are supposed to protect everyone, but they are discriminated against and used their power against African Americans. It sends a strong message for whoever lays eyes on it by denouncing the police. He uses the imagery of a pig repeated in many of his pieces. When people think of a pig it is usually an animal that is lazy and dirty. He’s directly calling the police that.

Douglass uses a variety of mediums for his political artwork. This is a collage piece he did in 1974. This collage shows the major American companies that have substantial “power” in the United States. The figure in the center of this piece is Gerald ford who was the President of the United States in 1974-1977. It reads “I Gerald Ford is the 38th Puppet of the United States”. The message Douglas is trying to convey is the major corporations have an upper hand and contributed to the economic inequality in America and the president is doing nothing to help those who live in poverty which is mainly African Americans instead he is being manipulated by the big corporations.

As the Black Panther movement gained attraction and they are able to make some sort of profit selling newspapers, therefore, they can afford color ink for many of the artwork that’s one this on is especially colorful. Emory Douglass also supports equality for female African Americans with this piece. He developed his own style of woodcut using ink and marker. He uses bright bold colors to make the work pop out and bold thick lines to outline the figure and shadows throughout this piece and many of his other artworks. As said in the Youtube video on Emory Douglas he was inspired by political art from Cuba. The background behind the women is sun rays, a way to show they are going forward. The woman is holding a weapon as well. This is dedicated to the women who supported the movement and to showcase their strength and promote equality for all gender.

            His art became a weapon as well and to give a clear picture or even a voice to the black community who some are afraid to speak out about the injustice they must face. His work stands out and always conveys a message. People can take a glance instead of reading an entire paper can understand what he is trying to say. At the same time educating those who don’t know what’s going on: the social and economic injustice the Black community has to face. It is effective and powerful.

I first come across Emory Douglas when my professor in one of my courses started to talk about him. That pique my curiosity and I began to search him up and his artwork. I was fascinated with his bold use of graphic colors in his posters and his bold outline. His work is provocative, and it got me thinking of the recent Black Life Matter Movement last year. It’s eerily similar how even though it’s the 21st century police brutality, racial profiling social and economic injustice still rages on. I’ve seen the statics for myself the amount of people effects by Covid-19 came from a low-income household and many of them are Black or Hispanic. You can read it in this article called “US: Address impact of Covid-19 on Poor” This further shows the disparities and inequality.

  I’m Asian myself and part of the minority. In recent years since covid-19, there was a spike in Asian hate crimes and Asians getting specifically targeted. Witnessing the attacks on the news terrified me. I was quite worried for my parents who have to go to work every day and I hoped that nothing will happen to them, knowing that if something does happen, I’m powerless. In a sense, I can kind of relate to the fear Black must have felt but of course, I will never be able to fully understand what African Americans have gone through. That is why I like what Emory Douglass tries to do and what he stands for and I find him inspiring bringing issues into the eyes of the public and educating people on those important issues.

Sources:

“Fifty Years Later Black Panther Art Still Resonates” New York Times Article

Youtube video on Emory Douglas

Online auction that shows some of Emory Douglas artworks.

Interview featuring Emory Douglass

History on the Black Panther Party

Article that talks about COVID-19 impact on the poor

Another article that talks about Emory Douglas and the Black Panther

Another interview with Emory Douglass