Emory Douglas’s Lifetime of Revolutionary Art

A survey titled “Emory Douglas: In Our Lifetime” at San Francisco’s African American Art and Culture Complex traces the career of Emory Douglas, the former Black Panther Party minister of culture, who is 83. Douglas first learned commercial printing while serving a 15-month sentence in a juvenile correctional facility at age 13, and later designed the Black Panther Party newspaper and much of the movement’s visual language. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, and political cartoons spanning decades, and opens with a poster listing Douglas’s “Political Artist Manifesto,” including directives such as “Don’t be fooled by deception” and “Do not lose sight of what the goals are.” Works highlighted include “38th Puppet of the United States” (1974), depicting Gerald Ford as a corporate-controlled marionette, and “Cointelpro” (1978), referencing the FBI counterintelligence program linked to violence against Black revolutionaries including Fred Hampton.

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