The Center for Documentary Studies is currently playing host to Stephen Shames' evocative photography exhibition entitled "The Black Panther Party: Making Sense of History." Through his photos, Shames gives the viewer a fresh look into the controversial party.
Shames' exhibition started out as a photography class project while he was an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley during the late 1960s. Shames set out to photograph the on-the-rise Black Panther Party and ended up documenting history in the making.
His photographs capture a wide variety of events and happenings and give the party a more multi-dimensional representation. At the time, the media portrayed a gun-toting, black beret and leather jacket-wearing, divisive militant group.
The exhibition, however, also includes photographs that give the viewer a more personal look into the lives of the party members. There are pictures taken inside Panther homes that show intimate scenes, such as Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton listening shirtless to Bob Dylan or kissing party member Elaine Brown.
Shames contends that the Black Panthers stood not for division but rather for a strong black community that could control its own destiny. They turned the angry youth of the day into disciplined, respectful community members. "The media missed this," Shames lamented in a statement on the CDS website. "They couldn't see beyond the guns."
Shames will be at the Center for Documentary Studies Thursday, Feb. 16 for a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. and will speak at 7 p.m.
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