Emory Douglas

Douglas was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and, at age eight, moved to San Francisco, California. At age 13, he was sentenced to 15 months at the Youth Training School in Ontario, California, where he worked in the juvenile correctional facility's printing shop and learned the basics of commercial printing.

In 1960, Douglas studied graphic design at the City College of San Francisco. He joined the college's Black Students’ Association and worked closely with Amiri Baraka, a voice in the black arts movement, to design theater sets.