Upcoming Event: Black Women Radicals x Philadelphia PrintWorks Presents - Survival Pending Revolution: An IG Live Honoring M. Gayle Dickson
Promotional flier for IG Live “Survival Pending Revolution: Honoring M. Gayle “Asali” Dickson.”
Join us for an IG Live, “Survival Pending Revolution: Honoring M. Gayle “Asali” Dickson.
On Thursday, November 21st at 6:30 PM EST, join us for the IG Live “Survival Pending Revolution: Honoring M. Gayle Dickson.” This event highlights Philadelphia Printworks collection, “Survival Pending Revolution”, which honors M. Gayle Dickson, also known as Asali, the only woman artist in the Black Panther Party’s Intercommunal News Service from 1972 to 1974. Asali’s work powerfully illustrated the experiences of women, elders, and children, reflecting the Party's mission of resistance and community activism.
You can view and support the collection here.
This collection features her original artwork, which accompanied key initiatives like the Survival Pending Revolution campaign and the “Oakland: A Base of Operation” efforts. Each piece speaks to the ongoing struggles for social justice, drawing connections between the past and today’s challenges.
The IG Live will take place on @blackwomenradicals and will feature M. Gayle Dickson; Maryam Pugh, CEO of Philadelphia PrintWorks; Swati Rayasam, scientist and grassroots organizer’; and Jaimee Swift, founder and executive director of Black Women Radicals.
Photo of M. Gayle “Asali” Dickson. Photo courtesy of M. Gayle Dickson.
About the Panelists and Moderator
M. Gayle Dickson: The Rev. Gayle “Asali” Dickson is a Bay Area native. She is an artist, a member of the Black Panther Party, and an Ordained minister in the United Church of Christ denomination. Asali (as she was known at the time) joined the Black Panther Party in 1970 in Seattle, the first chapter formed outside of California. In 1972 she and other Seattle members migrated to the Oakland headquarters. She was the only woman artist for the Black Panther Party’s newspaper between 1972 and 1974, during the “Oakland A Base Of Operation” period. Her drawings were primarily of women and children. Between 1974 and 1976 she taught at the Oakland Community School using art as a teaching tool. In 2016 she was on the Host Committee for the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party celebrated at the Oakland Museum of California.
She was ordained in 1998, and served as Pastor of a church in South Berkeley for 8 years. While there she started the Friday Night Art and Dinner Program for the children in the neighborhood. The Vision of the program was to expose the children to world cultures through art and food. Additionally, she made it possible for the Little Bobby Hutton Literacy Program to operate out of the church. Presently she is retired from her service in that Capacity. As an artist she has exhibited locally, and nationally. She is currently working on a painting project of 6 women entitled: The Empowering Voice of Women from the Bible and African- American Women in History. Rev. Dickson is a member of both Sycamore Congregational Church and Beth Eden Baptist Church. She has two children and two grandchildren.
Maryam Pugh: Maryam Pugh (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based printmaker and the owner of Philadelphia Printworks, a platform dedicated to fundraising and advocacy. Her work centers on amplifying marginalized voices and empowering communities of color. Instagram and Twitter: @maryampugh_ | @PhilaPrint
Swati Rayasam: Swati Rayasam (she/her/hers) is a Southern fried scientist and grassroots anti-imperialist organizer raised in North Carolina and currently residing in the Bay Area.
Jaimee Swift: Jaimee Swift (she/her) is the founder and executive director of Black Women Radicals, a Black feminist advocacy organization dedicated to uplifting and centering Black feminist activism around the world.