How the Peacock Chair Became a Symbol of Black Power and Liberation

In the late 1960s, Black Panther Party cofounder Huey P. Newton was immortalized in an iconic photo. Holding a spear in one hand and a rifle in the other, with traditional West African shields on either side, the activist is defiantly seated in a peacock chair. With its rounded base, intricately woven detailing, and unique circular backpiece, the peacock chair has surprisingly become an enduring symbol of Black empowerment, liberation, and kinship. And the story behind that association is fascinating.

The origins of the peacock chair design have been debated for decades, with some arguing that it originated from Africa, while others point to Asia as its genesis. For African Americans, the chair has become a powerful cultural symbol, serving as a throne of sorts. “It is a recurring icon,” says Michelle Wilkinson, a curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “One of the first images where African Americans recognized themselves and identified with the chair was with Huey Newton. Many cultures have versions of seats as thrones, and within African American culture, the peacock chair has become a throne chair.”

When Newton’s famous photo was taken, the nation was still reeling from the brutality of Bloody Sunday, a march in Selma, Alabama, that became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement when peaceful protestors were attacked by white mobs and police. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were in the middle of building the Poor People’s Campaign, a social justice initiative that addressed economic inequality. Vietnam War protests were at an all-time high, and the Black Panther Party was consistently holding rallies to educate, feed, and strengthen Black communities. 

It was this climate that gave birth to Black Power philosophy, which promoted self-love and the beauty of Blackness, best summed up by James Brown’s famous lyric: “Say it loud! I’m Black and I’m proud!” In explaining Black Power as a personal and political philosophy, leader Stokely Carmichael once said, “It is a call for Black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community.” Though different groups had different approaches concerning the path to liberation, protecting and elevating Black communities was at the forefront, and the peacock chair became emblematic of this determination. 

“Within African American culture, and in representations of African Americans, we have seen [the chair] reproduced on magazine covers, on album covers, everywhere,” Wilkinson says. “From that point on, about 1967 or 1968, there is a recurrence of that chair as an iconic way to self-represent for African Americans.” Celebrities from Diana Ross to Al Green and Donna Summer were photographed sitting in peacock chairs, and many (if not most!) Black households have owned one at some point. Its ubiquity ranged from its presence in casual family photos at home to being featured at an array of events, including weddings, family reunions, and dances. Michelle Obama’s high school prom photo captures the former first lady sitting regally in a peacock chair staged for formal prom photography.