(Black Panther Party) The Black Panther Black Community News Service, Vol. II, No. 18, Saturday, December 21, 1968. San Francisco, CA: The Black Panther Party Ministry of Information, December 21, 1968. FIRST EDITION. Elephant folio - 17-1/2" x 11-3/8". 24 pp. The Black Panther Black Community News Service was a weekly newspaper published by the Black Panther Party between 1967-1980. Each issue featured a range of articles and op-eds on the activities of the Party, Black Power, police brutality, communism, party leadership, etc. The back of most issues featured revolutionary artwork by the graphic artist and Black Panther Minister of Culture, Emory Douglas.
The front page headline of this issue: "Pig Xmas Sham Ending" with an illustration by "Emory" [Douglas] showing a Black family in their home ready for Christmas; the father armed with a rifle or shotgun, the mother armed with the Christmas tree and the child armed with a pistol, all surrounding and aiming at a pig dressed as Santa Claus that has just come down their chimney.
Articles in this issue include: "Letter From the Wife of W.E.B. du Bois" on the "Black Olympic Game Heroes" Tommie Smith and John Carlos, "Montreal Conference on Viet Nam,'" "Breakfast For School Children," "Guerrilla Tactics Against Illegal Laws," "Seattle Chapter Calls for Investigation of Panther Brother's Murder" and "Denver Pigs Raid and Ramsack [sic] Panther H. Q."
The back page artwork: Titled "Black Revolutionary Xmas Wishes" consists of a central illustration by "Emory" [Douglas] of a Black man armed with an assault rifle peering out a window at a helicopter hovering outside; this central image with three small panels above consisting of a pistol, 5 identified rifle bullets and another pistol, and three small panels below consisting of an assault rifle, 5 handgun bullets and a hand grenade; drawing is captioned "In Order to Get Rid of the Gun ... It Is Necessary to Pick Up the Gun"; the paper is lightly age-tanned, most prominently along the horizontal and vertical folds of the outside sheet and folded as issued with minor wear at the intersecting folds of the outside sheet. The condition of the newspaper is VERY GOOD +. # 001249