Framing the Black Panthers : The Spectacular Rise of a Black Power Icon

Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Contents -- Preface to the New Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Forty Years in Hindsight: The Black Panthers in Popular Memory -- 2. Black America in the Public Sphere -- 3. Becoming Media Subjects -- 4. Revolutionary Culture and the Politics of Self-Representation -- 5. Free Huey: 1968 -- 6. A Trial of the Black Liberation Movement -- 7. From Campus Celebrity to Radical Chic -- 8. Servants of the People: The Black Panthers as National and Global Icons -- 9. The Rise and Fall of a Media Frenzy: The 1970s -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author A potent symbol of black power and radical inspiration, the Black Panthers still evoke strong emotions. This edition of Jane Rhodes's acclaimed study examines the extraordinary staying power of the Black Panthers in the American imagination. Probing the group's longtime relationship to the media, Rhodes traces how the Panthers articulated their message through symbols and tactics the mass media could not resist. By exploiting press coverage through everything from posters to public appearances to photo ops, the Panthers created a linguistic and symbolic universe as salient today as during the group's heyday. They also pioneered a sophisticated version of mass media activism that powers contemporary African American protest. Featuring a timely new preface by the author, Framing the Black Panthers is a breakthrough reconsideration of a fascinating phenomenon.| Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface to the New Edition Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Forty Years in Hindsight: The Black Panthers in Popular Memory 2. Black America in the Public Sphere 3. Becoming Media Subjects 4. Revolutionary Culture and the Politics of Self-Representation 5. Free Huey: 1968 6. A Trial of the Black Liberation Movement photo section 7. From Campus Celebrity to Radical Chic 8. Servants of the People: The Black Panthers as National and Global Icons 9. The Rise and Fall od a Media Frenzy: The 1970s Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index | "By tracing the history of the Black Panther Party through the evolution of its popular imagery, Jane Rhodes has made a major contribution to scholarship. Her treatment of this controversial organization is well-researched, admirably balanced, singularly insightful, and a pleasure to read."—Clayborne Carson, Director, Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute "No scholar has better documented and explained the Black Panther Party 's continuing hold on the popular imagination than Jane Rhodes. In a moment when black men and women dying at the hands of police is once again in the public eye, and insurgent political confrontation takes form through mediated images and pithy slogans, the republication of Framing the Black Panthers is both timely and relevant."—Nikhil Pal Singh, author of Black Is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy | Jane Rhodes is professor and department head of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the author of Mary Ann Shadd Cary: The Black Press and Protest in the Nineteenth Century . "The 1960s may be over, but the Black Panthers--the ultimate symbol of black power, radical inspiration, and the excesses of the decade--live on. Books on the Panthers continue to be written, hip-hop artists continue to draw inspiration from them, and so many films are made about the Panthers that there is now an annual Black Panther film festival. Cultural historian Jane Rhodes examines the extraordinary staying power of the Panthers in the American imagination by probing their relationship to the media. Rhodes argues that once the media and pop culture latched onto the small, militant group, the Panthers became adept at exploiting and manipulating this coverage--through pamphlets, buttons, posters, ubiquitous press appearances, and photo ops--pioneering a sophisticated version of mass media activism. Paradoxically, the news media participated in the government campaign to eradicate the Panthers while simultaneously elevating them to a celebrity status that remains long after their demise. This new edition will feature a new preface putting the Panthers relationship with the media in context with Black Lives Matter and recent activism against racial profiling and police brutality."--Provided by publisher.