The Design of The Black Panther

Every movement, initiative, collective, and party needs design. The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense is no different. Design is a universal segway to communicate across borders, the use of art and design within the Black Panther Movement united black people not only across state lines but overseas. The party, anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, and pro-black attributes were inscribed into their designs. Their use of identity and unity was explored through fashion, newspaper prints, and poster design, curated by the Minister of Culture and Revolutionary Art, Emory Douglas. Their simplified compositions and conscious production methods help them to spread a universal message. Their movement and use of visual communication should be studied by socially aware studying designers. To showcase Douglas’ intentionality as a graphic designer, he states, “At that time, the African American community was not a large reading community. They learned from observation and participation. So we had a lot of visuals that they could identify with. Photographs and short captions, as opposed to long, drawn-out essays and editorials. They were visual interpretations of the conditions people lived in. Inner cities, poor communities. Combined with revolutionary imagery. The people saw themselves in the artwork. They became the heroes. They could see their uncles in it. They could see their fathers or their brothers and sisters in the art”

The Black Panther Party was the radicalization of black people who still faced the same amount of racial oppression after the civil rights movement. They was no longer waiting for the change; they are demanding it they’re patience has been stretched far enough. Huey P. Newton writes the 10 Point commandment; The May 15th 1967 newspaper writes,

“To those poor souls who don’t know Black history, the beliefs and desires of the Black Panther Party for self-defense may seem unreasonable. To Black people, the ten points covered are essential to survival. We have listened to the riot-producing words “these things take time” for four hundred years. The Black Panther Party knows what Black people want and need. Black unity and self-defense will make these demands a reality.”