Over half a century after the Black Panther Party formed during the height of the Civil Rights Era, a new exhibit at the California Museum is celebrating the lives and legacies of some of its members.
“Revolutionary Grain: Celebrating the Spirit of the Black Panthers in Portraits and Stories” is based on a book of the same name by photographer Susanna Lucia Lamaina. It features contemporary portraits of 42 former Black Panthers, and the stories of their activities after leaving the party. The exhibit also features artifacts from the organization’s history like newspapers, photographs and clothing.
The museum held a grand opening event Saturday, featuring discussions and presentations by multiple former Panthers along with local food, music and dancing. These connections linked the larger history and impact of the party to Sacramento — which saw its own chapter of the Black Panther Party emerge in Oak Park during the 1960s.
The humanity of the Panthers
Lamaina studied with former Black Panther and professor Angela Davis and photographer Pirkle Jones. In 1968, Jones and his wife Ruth-Marion Baruch photographed multiple Panther members, a project that became the book “The Vanguard.”…