Black Power in Print: Iconography of the Black Panther Party

Introduction

A combination of political unrest and racial tension in the United States made the 1960s a fraught landscape for activism. Elevated attention to police brutality and injustice manifested in Black political organizing. One of the more infamous groups to come out of this period was the the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP). Their message of Black empowerment, anti-capitalism, and armed self-defense against police brutality gained them an international following. The Panthers’ iconic style, in the form of fashion, gestures, and independent publications, spread their political points even further.

This article, focusing on print objects produced by and about the BPP, looks at how the Panthers’ image became an icon of Black power and resistance.

Grassroots to Icons

Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California, in 1966. The grassroots organization mixed tenets of Marxism with Black power. Incensed by continued police violence and harassment of African American communities in Oakland, the BPP began by advocating for anti-policing measures. Their platform grew to include survival and service programs including free food and educational programming. Their membership and supporters grew to include thousands worldwide.¹ As the BPP expanded, its members were increasingly made the target of police violence and threats. Although the BPP disbanded in 1982, their influence on politics and popular culture continues because of their sharp deployment of iconic imagery.

Looking at the history and printed output of the BPP brings to light an important question: How does a grassroots group targeted by mainstream media and law enforcement spread word about its cause and grow its numbers while also evading destruction? This tension between community visibility and increased surveillance can be seen in materials produced by the BPP.

Unity in Uniform

The Panthers used visual symbols such as distinctive black berets and leather jackets, dark glasses, and raised fists to present themselves as a cohesive group with a clear message. Black berets, like the one below, were often worn as a part of the Black Panther uniform. The beret, often donned by paramilitaries and political nonconformists around the world, symbolized for the Panthers a united front for Black self-defense. It became a popular symbol of Black power and pride for supporters of the Black Power movement.

The Party produced their own pamphlets, newsletter, and posters to their advantage to spread their message throughout local communities. They understood that most of their intended audience got their information from visual sources.² They brought their message to the people through prints, pinning them up and passing them hand to hand. They used their style and image to set themselves apart from the more conventional displays of nonviolent protest at the time. Their fashion and gestures became the image of Black self-representation and the fight against systemic oppression.

Posters like the one above advertised the BPP as a strong, unified, armed force against police violence. This revolutionary look appealed to many Black activists looking for communities of resistance and change.

Absent from these early posters is any representation of the women of the party. Former Black Panther Ericka Huggins muses on these images of homogeneity the stereotypical Panther image, saying, “A great legacy of the Black Panther Party was the women who ran it, because the women ran the show.”³ Huggins emphasizes that, because we live in a misogynist society, men of the BPP were more often seen as threats and therefore the most direct victims of police brutality and arrest. Women were not arrested as readily and were often organizing for those that were incarcerated.

In fact, at least 66% of the Black Panthers' membership consisted of women, many of whom lent greatly to the media presence of the BPP.⁴ Kathleen Cleaver became the first woman in the organizing body of the BPP when she became the Communications Secretary in 1967. As Communications Secretary, Cleaver worked on organizing demonstrations, creating pamphlets, holding press conferences, designing posters, and speaking at rallies and on TV, including organizing the campaign to free Huey Newton.

The Crouching Panther Logo

Designed by Ruth Howard and finalized by Dorothy Zellner, the logo of the Black Panther Party—a crouching black panther with teeth and claws bared, ready to strike—became a representation of the Party and its revolutionary politics. A member of the SNCC Alabama chapter, Howard was tasked with “finding an emblem that could communicate their message of Black power and autonomy.”⁵ She based her sketch on the historically Black Clark College’s school mascot, meaning it would be recognizable to the local Black community. Zellner then cleaned up the drawing and presented what would then become the Black Panther Party logo.⁶ The panther is recognizable to this day as a symbol of Black power. It has since been used by multiple organizations as a way to signal strength and solidarity.

Motifs of Self Defense

One of the most appealing aspects of the Black Panther Party was their emphasis on self-defense for Black people. The Black Panther Party created a stir in Oakland, California by openly carrying loaded guns. They tried to convince anyone who would listen that a crucial first step toward improving conditions for Black communities was to monitor the police.⁷ This differentiated the BPP from other organizations and movements that favored more passive forms of protest. Carrying weapons was not only about being ready to protect their leaders and constituents, but looking ready.

The above photo of Huey P. Newton appeared in the second issue of the party's weekly newspaper, The Black Panther. In this iconic image, Newton holds a gun and spear in each hand with two Zulu style shields visible in the background, symbolizing his protection of Black people and bonds with the community by drawing parallels to warrior traditions of southern Africa.

The Black Panther Newspaper

The support and organization of people in the community were essential to the BPP’s political platform. In order to get their message out to their constituents, the organizers of the BPP created their own newspaper, The Black Panther, in 1967. The Black Panther allowed the BPP to get information to its constituents on vital matters such as food and housing resources, connection to legal counsel, and political opinion and strategies. “The Black Panther Party (or any Black liberation force) cannot be successful without the complete support of the people. All power comes from the people,” read an issue from October 26, 1968. During the height of its popularity, more than 300,000 copies were distributed every week.⁸ It contained articles that informed its constituents of the Party’s activities and expressed its ideology, focusing on racial struggles of African Americans across the United States and abroad. Printed until the Party’s dissolution in 1982, the newspaper is a large part of the print legacy of the BPP.

One of the paper’s most striking features was the visual design. Like many newspapers at the time, The Black Panther included comics and illustrations. For the first few years of the paper’s run, these images were largely designed by Emory Douglas. Douglas began printmaking as part of a prison work-study program. Originally drawn to the self-defense mission of the BPP, he became the Party’s Minister of Culture during their early years and was a lead designer on the paper.

Douglas was known for his bold graphic style and direct imagery. His posters were printed by the tens of thousands by the BPP and circulated through Black neighborhoods.⁹ The above poster, designed by Douglas, is for a rally to free Huey Newton after his incarceration in 1967. In the poster, we can see the motifs of the Black Panther Party all come together to express a message. Douglas’s graphic rendering of Newton’s face includes the beret and leather lapels, while the automatic rifle and the crouching panther call back to the Panthers’ platform of armed self-defense. It advertises one of the rallies of the "Free Huey" campaign, which over three years brought together tens of thousands of people in protest across North America.¹⁰ After the massive campaign, Newton’s conviction was overturned in 1970, and he was released from prison.

Resistance Art: The Black Panther Legacy in Print

The impact of the Black Panther Party’s iconic visuals can be seen in much of the resistance art created in the past fifty years. Examining this influence can show us how images can inspire people to take action.

Black printmakers interested in Black history and community replicated some of the BBP’s iconic symbolism. Elizabeth Catlett used raised fists and a rifle to acknowledge the revolutionary ideals of the men and women depicted in her 1993 artwork, Homage to the Panthers.

The above poster, created by designer Michael Hoerger in the 2010s, visualizes the impact of police brutality on the Black Panther Party and Oakland community in the early years of the party, from 1968–1969. The stark black and white print shows the influence of the BPP propaganda posters of Newton and Seale. Meant to be hung up and displayed, this poster employs repetitive symbols to impress upon the viewer a sense of the relentless aggression faced by the BPP. We can also see the echoes of Emory Douglas’s bold style and frank messaging.

Just like the BPP prints of the past, Hoerger’s work takes a page from the BPP to exhibit the relentlessness of police aggression, confronting the audience, and hopefully inspiring people to use their power to take action. This poster also illustrates the way their visual style has become inextricable from their politics. When we think of organized revolutionary action, the Black Panthers often leap to the forefront of our minds, not only politically but aesthetically.