En octobre 1966, Bobby Seale et Huey P Newton, deux étudiants de l'université d'Oakland en Californie, fondent le parti des Black Panthers. Leur organisation, d'esprit révolutionnaire, se donne pour objectif la transformation politique et sociale des Etats-Unis et la fin des discriminations raciales. Entre 1967 et 1973, période la plus intense de ce mouvement qui dura seize années, le photographe Stephen Shomes est rentré dans l'intimité des Panthers, témoignant de leur vie publique, de leur combat, de leur quotidien. Ce reportage photographique est un témoignage poignant sur l'engagement de ces jeunes Noirs américains et de leur organisation durant l'une des périodes les plus tumultueuses de l'histoire des Etats-Unis.
En 1977 pour le magazine Look, Stephen Shames photographie un groupe d'adolescents du Bronx, alors que le quartier est l'un des plus durs et des plus dangereux aux Etats-Unis. Ces garçons du Bronx vivaient dans des rues ravagées par la pauvreté, la drogue, la violence, organisés en gangs remplaçant la protection de familles absentes. Le photographe gagne la confiance de ses sujets et pendant plus de 20 ans, alors que le crack et la cocaïne dévastent le quartier, ils lui donnent un accès sans limite à leur quotidien, leurs lieux de vie et leurs bandes.
Many of us have heard these three words: Black Panther Party. Some know the Party's history as a movement for the social, political, economic and spiritual upliftment of Black and indigenous people of colour - but to this day, few know the story of the backbone of the Party: the women.
It's estimated that six out of ten Panther Party members were women. While these remarkable women of all ages and diverse backgrounds were regularly making headlines agitating, protesting, and organising, off-stage these same women were building communities and enacting social justice, providing food, housing, education, healthcare, and more. Comrade Sisters is their story.
The book combines photos by Stephen Shames, who at the time was a 20-year-old college student at Berkeley. With the complete trust of the Black Panther Party, Shames took intimate, behind-the-scenes photographs that fully portrayed Party members' lives. This marks his third photo book about the Black Panthers and includes many never before published images.
Ericka Huggins, an early Party member and leader along with Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, has written a moving text, sharing what drew so many women to the Party and focusing on their monumental work on behalf of the most vulnerable citizens. Most importantly, the book includes contributions from over 50 former women members - some well-known, others not - who vividly recall their personal experiences from that time. Other texts include a foreword by Angela Davis and an afterword by Alicia Garza.
