Zapantera Negra: An Artistic Encounter Between Black Panthers and Zapatistas

by Marc James Leger (Editor)

What is the role of revolutionary art in times of distress? When Emory Douglas, former Minister of Culture of the Black Panther Party, accepted an invitation from the art collective EDELO and the Rigo 23 to meet with autonomous and Indigenous and Zapatista communities in Chiapas, Mexico, they addressed just this question. Zapantera Negra is the result of their encounter. It unites the bold aesthetics, revolutionary dreams, and dignified declarations of two leading movements that redefine emancipatory politics in the twentieth and twenty-first century.
The artists of the Black Panthers and the Zapatistas were born into a centuries-long struggle against racial capitalism and colonialism, domestic repression and international war and plunder. Not only did these two movements offer the world an enduring image of freedom and dignified rebellion, they did so with signature style, putting culture and aesthetics at the forefront of political life. A powerful elixir of hope and determination, Zapantera Negra provides an electrifying presentation of interviews, militant artwork, and original documents from these two movements' struggle for dignity and liberation.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Social Justice, Theory, Politics, Activism

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2020

Reviews

[Margaux Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it was going to be and up front I will say I made it 80% of the way through before I simply couldn't continue on.

Some of the artists in the book claim that they oppose the western art world, steeped in academia - but in reality they oppose the racism in that world, not the intellectualism that fuels said world. This is a noble pursuit obviously, we should oppose racism everywhere, but this project basically romanticized la gente and liberation movements of the past through an overly academic lens.

I am terrified that someone who wants to learn about BPP would pick up this book because the interviews with Emory Douglas out of context of the historic moment in which BPP was formed & developed portray a decentralized, horizontalist organizational structure.

In reality - while the Black Panthers did admittedly go through organizational growth and changes the Black Panthers were ultimately a Marxist-Leninist organization. Though both the Panthers and the Zapatistas fought for liberation, those struggles were in totally different contexts, with different organizational styles - and I would caution against equating the Panthers' assertion of the right to self determination as being the same thing as the Zapatistas' establishment of their autonomous municipalities, which are somewhat isolationist in nature.

This isn't a terrible book and some people may think it is great. The art is interesting and beautiful conceptually - I would just say it isn't popular art, and you should get your history on these groups from historians and not this book.

[Hazelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes the ideas didn’t flow as smoothly as i’d hoped. still it’s a good read if you’re into the topic, just wish it had been a bit more organized.

[Oscar Trickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viva Zapata