Arts and Culture

Black Panther Party Illustrator Artist Emory Douglas Empowered the People Through Art

Published

6 years ago

December 18, 2017

Graphic Artist Emory Douglas served as the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party. Douglas displays his artwork on tour in Auckland, New Zealand.

Graphic Artist Emory Douglas served as the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party, from the late sixties until its disbandment in the eighties. In doing so, he produced hundreds of illustrations that spoke to the times: a shift during the Civil Rights Movement that centered on “Black Power” and self-sufficiency, steeped in the Party’s demands. While spreading their mission, the BPP produced a regular publication featuring “cartoons for the cause,” for several years.

As the main illustrator, Douglas created graphic illustrations that voiced the struggle for equality in housing, employment, opportunities and the fight against blatant police brutality in each issue. During the height of the resistance, the newspaper peaked at nearly 140,000 in circulation throughout the United States and beyond. Douglas was a part of the Black Arts Movement at City College and was recruited by the BPP founders, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. The BPP recognized the rate of illiteracy in the community and wanted to ensure those that could not read the publication were still informed and Douglas’ skills were put on task.

By using his talent as a weapon against injustice, Douglas could portray in one caption and cartoon depiction, the desperation that plagued the Black community: a mother and her child with rodents in dilapidated housing, spoke to inequitable housing or a child with a raised fist, showed the communities strength. However, it was the pig in uniform that shouted out loud, the communities disdain for the rampant abuse and killings of unarmed Blacks at the hands of police.

Douglas, a humble and soft spoken man, pushed the envelope with every illustration as he and the BPP, unapologetically fought for justice and the right of future generations to affordable housing, access to healthy food and equitable schools.

While the media often depicted the Party as gun toting revolutionaries, Douglas says they sought to protect the community and began a breakfast school program for hungry children in public schools.
“We knew our families and children depending on us to take a stand and make much needed changes in the community,” said Douglas.

Douglas’ illustrations have been displayed throughout Australia, Canada, South and Central America. He often shares his historical involvement in the movement along with coaching aspiring artists and students at Yale University, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and many other institutions of higher learning.

“My artwork was a reflection of the times we lived in during the struggle,” said Douglas. “I want to ensure that this generation knows the truth about our fight and that we fought to make a difference in our communities.”

His work is on display at Bay Area museums and the Smithsonian. A retrospective of Douglas’s graphic artwork titled: “Black Panther, The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas” provides a comprehensive collection of Douglas’s graphics from the 1960’s and 70’s. Douglas also collaborated with Australian Aboriginal artists.

While discussing his social justice artwork he shared the irony of how his artwork from 50 years ago mirrors America’s current adversities.

“It’s hard to believe that the very things we fought so hard for and the illustrations I created could very well apply to today,” said Douglas. “But on the other side, the world is ever changing and this new generation has the tools and hope to come together and bring about a change.”

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Arts and Culture

Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Dr. Carl Blake

By Barbara Fluhrer

Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.

One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.

Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.

At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.

Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.

Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”

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Arts and Culture

Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

(L-R) Del Handy, John Handy, Roger Glenn, and Joe Warner celebrate John Handy Day at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, Oakland. Photo by Lady Bianca.

By Conway Jones

World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.

Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).

“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.

In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.

Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.

“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.

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Arts and Culture

Musical Chronicling Life of Betty Reid Soskin Set for Bay Area Debut

Betty Reid Soskin’s storied 102 years includes time spent as a WWII defense worker, activist, business owner, songwriter, National Park Service park ranger and so much more. Now the Richmond icon is the subject of a musical based on her incredible life.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Betty Reid Soskin. Photo courtesy of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond.

The Richmond Standard

“Sign My Name to Freedom,” a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) production which will focus on the life, music and writing of Ms. Soskin, will premiere at San Francisco’s Z Space Friday, March 29 and continue through Saturday, April 13. Tickets range from $15–$65 and can be purchased online at https://www.sfbatco.org/smntf

The musical is directed by Elizabeth Carter, while playwright Michael Gene Sullivan integrates Ms. Soskin’s own music throughout dialogue between what SFBATCO calls “The Four Bettys” as they progress through a century of experiences of this awe-inspiring American woman.

The cast of “Sign My Name to Freedom” features Tierra Allen as Little Betty, Aidaa Peerzada as Married Betty, Lucca Troutman as Revolutionary Betty and Cathleen Riddley as Present Betty Reid Soskin, according to Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and Managing Director Adam Maggio. Other casting will be announced in the future.

Jackson said that having Soskin’s blessing to steward her life’s story is an honor and career highlight for him and that her journey stands as “a beacon for Black Americans, women and people of color all across the world [and] is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.”

San Francisco’s Z Space is located at 450 Florida St. in San Francisco. Check out the trailer here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ap9N2XBB0