Sadie Barnette's Exhibition 'Do Not Destroy' Explores FBI File of Black Panther Father

Sadie Barnette's exhibition 'Do Not Destroy' at Baxter St Camera Club of New York from 18 January to 18 February 2017 centered on her father Rodney Barnette's FBI file. Rodney Barnette, who served in Vietnam before joining the Black Panther Party and founding its Compton branch, was monitored by the FBI for five years. The exhibition featured 'My Father’s FBI File: Part II (2017)', which displayed pages from the file arranged across a wall, revealing meticulous logging of banal details and connections to political figures like Angela Davis. Barnette intervened in the documents with black and pink ink spray, pearlescent crowns, and glittery crystal appliques, creating tension between institutional redactions and personal narrative. A diptych titled 'Untitled (Dad, 1966 and 1968), 2016' contrasted her father in military uniform versus black beret and leather jacket, highlighting identity shifts. The FBI file included background checks from neighbors and colleagues, and noted personal details like living out of wedlock, which cost him a job. Barnette's drawing 'Untitled (We All We Got) (2016)' repeated the phrase in arcs on a blank page, embodying her ambiguous response. The exhibition, reviewed in ArtReview's April 2017 issue, explored themes of systematic racism, institutional power, and familial reconciliation through biographical vignettes.