Completed in 1940, California Highway 17 – now Interstate 880—bulldozed An enormous amount of Oakland’s African -American community to make room for the route. Cut off from the center, these neighborhoods were stripped of their economic connections with the commercial center, as a result of which social cohesion and, among other things, policy and attitudes were disrupted at the time, which initiated an era of increased unrest.
One of these harmful policy measures took the form of the systematic program of the Federal Housing Administration to discriminate against people in a process known as Redlineing. During this time, black people were forbidden to buy houses, so that white, middle or lower class families could do this instead, and suburbs of the suburbs were that separated by design. It is something that the people of Oakland simply would not stand for.
From the mid -1940s, the city of Bay Area was the locus of countless demonstrations, from general strikes to peaceful protests to total riots. Excessive violence by the police of Oakland made the tensions worse and gave rise to numerous local organizations such as the Oakland Community Organizations (PICO/OCO), Unity Council, Intertribal Friendship House, and perhaps the most famous, the Black Panther Party.
Often simply called the Panthers or the BPP, the political organization was founded in 1966 by students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. The black berets and infamous so -called “copwatching” practices include open -Carry patrols with the mission to protect black civilians against abuse through law enforcement. What is even more important, the group has also ‘implemented’survival programs‘That offered essential things such as food, medicines, clothing and transport to residents.
Communicated photojournalist Stephen Shames Had a chair in the front row to the rise of the party. While they were still at the university, Seale invited him to be the official photographer of the BPP, and until 1973, Shames created hundreds of powerful images that emphasize the actions and ethos of the Panthers in California and the country.
“The Black Panther Party burst at our consciousness when Bobby Seale and other Panthers marched the Capitol in California in Sacramento – armed with weapons,” says Smames in a statement. “This approach electrified a generation of black youth.” More than 65 percent of membership of the group consisted of women.
The BPP image was carefully choreographed, from militaristic uniforms to its distinctive logo to a deliberate and carefully designed weekly newspaper, with Art Director Emory Douglas, the visual identity of the party “craftsman“At the helm.
In 2016, Shames and Seale Co-author of the book authorized Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers” who shows black pride, resilience and empowerment in this revolutionary era. He says:
The Panthers did not encourage hatred … The Black Panther Party tried to build a community through service to the people who offer free food and clothes. They gave the goal to the aimless, angry youth who persisted on street corners. The Panthers formed these young people in disciplined, hard workers who served their community and showed respect for mothers, fathers and the elderly.
This month a remarkable selection of the photos of Shames will open Black Panthers & Revolution: The Art of Stephen Shames bee Amar Gallery.
Striking black and white images portrays Seale, Newton and other renowned activists such as Angela Davis and James Baldwin between daily scenes of local youth and families, the Panthers’ Food Distribution Program and demonstrations. The photos of Shames evoke a series of emotions, from the intensity of BPP meetings to the energy of local programs to the fundamental joy of solidarity and community.
Shames is known for its daring and emphasis on photo -ingays that shine light on social issues around the world. His work is located in the permanent collections of MoMa, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Art, the National Museum of American History and dozens.
Black Panthers & Revolution Open May 28 and will continue until July 7 in London. If you are in Los Angeles, pay attention to the SOLO exhibition of Shames, Kamerrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party, which opens on the 7 August on the Museum of Social Justice. Find more about the artist website.
