In October 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded in Oakland, California, igniting a movement that would transform the political, cultural, and visual landscape of the United States and reverberate around the world.

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Sixty years later, MoAD Mix: Keeping the Fire — Art, Resistance & the Black Panther Legacy honors that history with an afternoon of art, conversation, music, and community reflecting on the enduring influence of the Black Panther Party.

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At the heart of the afternoon, MoAD will be in conversation with Dr. Xavier Buck, founding director and head curator of the Black Panther Party Museum; and artists and former Black Panther Party members Malik Edwards and Gayle “Asali” Dickson. Together, they will reflect on the Party’s history, its extraordinary visual culture, the role of artists in advancing its message, and the ways its principles of self-determination, political education, creativity, and community care continue to resonate today.

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The Panthers understood culture as a powerful tool for liberation. Through the unmistakable imagery of The Black Panther newspaper, posters and graphic works, as well as community programs designed to meet people’s everyday needs, the Party developed a language of resistance that was at once political, artistic, educational, and deeply rooted in service.

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Keeping the Fire brings firsthand experience into dialogue with historical interpretation to consider the Black Panther Party not only as history, but as a living legacy. What can artists and communities today learn from the Panthers’ understanding of culture as a tool for change? What does it mean to inherit a revolutionary legacy? And sixty years later, what do we carry forward—and what must we reimagine for our own time?

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Come gather, reflect, celebrate, and help us keep the fire.

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MoAD Mix brings together art, music, conversation, and community to explore the ideas and cultural movements connecting people across the African Diaspora.

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About the Speakers

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Dr. Xavier G. Buck is a public historian, nonprofit executive, and founding director and head curator of the Black Panther Party Museum in Oakland. As Executive Director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, he leads efforts to preserve, interpret, and expand the legacy of the Black Panther Party through exhibitions, archives, educational initiatives, public programming, and community engagement. Buck earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and his B.A. in History from St. John’s University. He is also the creator of the digital history platform @historyin3, where he makes Black history, politics, and global liberation movements accessible to broad audiences.

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Malik Edwards is an artist, graphic designer, educator, Vietnam veteran, and former member of the Black Panther Party. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Edwards moved to Northern California and apprenticed with Emory Douglas, the Black Panther Party’s Minister of Culture, learning the techniques of drawing, printing, and layout that helped define the Party’s revolutionary visual language. He contributed artwork to The Black Panther newspaper and, as head of the Party’s Washington, D.C. regional branch, created posters, flyers, and publications for pro-Black events and anti-drug campaigns. Throughout his career, Edwards has continued to explore art as a vehicle for political consciousness and social change. His work with Emory Douglas is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

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Gayle “Asali” Dickson is a Bay Area artist, educator, retired ordained minister, and former member of the Black Panther Party. Dickson joined the Party in Seattle in 1970 and relocated to its Oakland headquarters in 1972. From 1972 to 1974, she was the only woman artist working for The Black Panther newspaper, where her illustrations frequently centered women and children. She later taught at the Party’s Oakland Community School, using art as a tool for learning and liberation. Her lifelong commitment to the Panther principle of serving the people has continued through her work as an educator, minister, community organizer, and artist dedicated to preserving and sharing Black history. 

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