By: Maryela Gallardo, Follow South Jersey Intern
GLASSBORO – In 1966, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) was established by groups of African Americans in response to acts of racial injustice. From suffering economic and social inequality, many African Americans were subject to poor living conditions, violence, and chronic health problems.
Formed from the party came The Black Panther newspaper, which released several editions of the party’s activities, ideologies, and illustrations. It became the most-read African-American newspaper in the country, selling 300,000 copies during its time. From this publication came the work of several artists who at the time of the paper, were only teenagers and young adults.
Recently, some of the artists’ work was featured at the Rowan University Art Gallery, in an exhibition called, “Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy.” The exhibition is on display now through March 15 and contains the work of four artists: Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon.
The exhibition explores each artist’s work as it is separated into different sections of the gallery, towards the middle of the exhibition, guests can view a timeline depicting African Americans during the 1600s, the Civil Rights Movement, the BPP, and in the present day.
The curator for this exhibition, Colette Gaiter, talked about the importance of showing the artwork they did and how it continues the legacy of the party.
“You probably noticed that there was a timeline in the exhibition, and I’m sure that there are many things in that timeline that people were not aware of,” said Gaiter. “Like for example that one of every three signers of the Declaration of Independence was an enslaver.”
Gaiter explains that these pieces highlight the issues African Americans went through during the BPP, how many black neighborhoods were subjected to public scrutiny and terrorized. She also talked about how the BPP had done a lot of community services for the people who needed it, by providing breakfast to school children. They donated food and started health clinics for doctors as well.
One of the first sections in the exhibition is by Emory Douglas, who was the BPP’s Revolutionary Artist and worked there for thirteen years. He had a lot of art that was remixes of the original, one was called All Power to the People, known as the original Paperboy. It is of a boy with the BP newspaper, holding it high, and there are three different versions of this. His work was vibrant, it caught the eye as it showed the way African Americans were impacted by guns and police. One of his works in the gallery was used as a promotional poster of the film, Judas and the Black Messiah.
The section after was of the timeline, starting from the enslavement era during the early 1600s, and into the Civil Rights Movement. Which eventually led to the birth of the BPP. This timeline allowed viewers to receive context, how these issues originated, and what were the motivations of the BPP.
Mary Salvante, the Director and Chief Curator at Rowan University Art Gallery, reached out to guest curator, Gaiter, to create an exhibition that highlighted BP newspaper artists and the importance of their work that impacts even today.
“The idea was to show their early work when they were members and kind of a timeline of their work and where they are now,” said Salvante. “They have continued to advocate, and they have continued to be activists, and they have continued to try to raise awareness of certain disparities that exist in our culture.”
Artists like Mailk Edwards and Akinsayna Kambon, who were both Vietnam veterans created art that showcased their beliefs of liberation, wisdom of mind, and thought. Edwards played with digital art as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create pieces of surrealism that symbolized Divine Consciousness and Mind.
Kambin worked with sculptures to create figures that signified narratives of the Black diaspora, African histories, and mythologies as well. Four of his sculptures are on display, one of them is Abdominal Pains II, a man standing straight with his hands folded below his chest.
Gayle Asali Dickson, who joined the BPP in 1970, was one of the only woman artists for the newspaper between 1972 and 1974. Her wall in the gallery has her “Protest” series, highlighting key leaders who fought for justice. Her most recent work, Stand… showcases the protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, which bring awareness to how the values of the BPP back then are applied in recent times.
Rowan University Art Gallery and Museum is located at 301 High Street in Glassboro.
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