Broadside No. 4: The Ballad of the Free: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A poem titled "The Ballad of the Free" written by Margaret Walker and published by Broadside Press as Broadside No. 4. The poem is printed on blue paper in red ink. The body of poem is centered with alternating stanzas indented further. The copyright, broadside number, and publisher information is printed at the bottom of the page. The back side of the page is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1966
• Written by: Margaret Walker, American, 1915 - 1998
• Published by: Broadside Press, founded 1965
• Subject of: Nat Turner, American, 1800 - 1831
• Subject of: Gabriel, 1776 - 1800
• Subject of: Toussaint Louverture, Haitian, 1743 - 1803
• Subject of: Denmark Vesey, American, ca. 1767 - 1822
• Subject of: John Brown, American, 1800 - 1859
• Type: poems
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 x 7 1/2 in. (27.9 x 19.1 cm)
• Place printed: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Press
• Topic: Freedom
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Mass media
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: Slavery
• Object number: 2013.154.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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: © 1966 by Margaret Walker Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.