Black History is Poster History

From 1967 to 1980, Emory Douglas served as the official Revolutionary Artist and then Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party (BPP).  In these positions, he art directed, designed, and created most of the illustrations—including the back page posters—for the Black Panther newspaper, spreading the Party’s message around the country if not the world. Almost sixty years later, he continues to advocate for securing what the Black Panther Party outlined in its famous ten-point program: “land, bread, justice, housing, and peace” for all people. By creating new posters as well as remixing and updating some from the Black Panther newspaper, Douglas maintains “All Power to the People” as his enduring graphic legacy.

Colette Gaiter is a Professor in the Departments of Africana Studies and Art & Design at the University of Delaware. After working in graphic design in New York City, she became an educator, artist, and writer. Her visual work, exhibited internationally, covers a range of media and forms, including artist books. Since 2005, she writes about former Black Panther artist Emory Douglas’s work, including his current international human rights artist activism. Her essays on his work appear in Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas (for which she wrote introductions to the 2014 edition and current third edition), and other books and publications. The 2022 book The Black Experience in Design includes her interview with Emory Douglas and an essay on evolving visual literacy.

This online event will be hosted on Zoom with attendees’ cameras off.  Automatic closed captioning will be provided. ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or a CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is available upon request with two weeks notice — please email access@posterhouse.org to request interpretation services. A recording of this event will be made available for all registered attendees. Questions about accessibility? Please contact Sarit Cahana, Access Coordinator, at access@posterhouse.org or (914) 295-2387‬. For all other event related questions, please contact info@posterhouse.org