An Introduction to the Black Panther Party: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 26 page pamphlet about the Black Panther Party. The pamphlet was originally written by the John Brown Society in May 1968 and later edited with new material by The Radical Education Project in May 1969. The front features a black and white image of two men, Bobby Seale and Huey Newton (holding a shotgun), standing in front of a banner reading [BLACK PANTHER PARTY]. The image is framed in red. Below the image, also in red, is the text [AN INTRODUCTION TO / THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY]. Below the title, in smaller red text and incased in a red box, is the text [WRITTEN BY: / THE JOHN BROWN SOCIETY / (P.O. BOX 3236 / SOUTH BERKELEY STATION / BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA / MAY, 1968 / EDITED, WITH NEW MATERIALS, BY: / THE RADICAL EDUCATION PROJECT / MAY, 1969]. At the top right corner is the handwritten description: [Ellen Siegel].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1969
• Written by: The John Brown Society, American
• Edited by: Radical Education Project, American, 1960s - 1970s
• Subject of: Black Panther Party, American, 1966 - 1982
• Type: pamphlets
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Political organizations
• Object number: 2012.28.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ellen Siegel
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Getty Images Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.