Poster for a concert to aid sit-in movements and the Martin Luther King Defense: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A poster for a concert. Across the top is [TO AID / SOUTHERN STATES SIT IN MOVEMENT / MARTIN LUTHER KING DEFENSE]. The poster consists of black and red text against a white background, with some of the text highlighted with yellow. The left side of the poster features black and white images of Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Diahann Carroll. Bold text at the center of the poster reads [AN EVENING OF / MUSIC AND DRAMA / FOR FREEDOM NOW / STARRING IN PERSON / HARRY BELAFONTE / MAHALIA JACKSON / SIDNEY POITIER / SHELLEY WINTERS / (1960 ACADEMY AWARD WINNER) / DIAHANN CARROLL / PRODUCTION SUPERVISED by / OSSIE DAVIS and RUBY DEE / FREEDOM DRAM WRITTEN by / Lorraine Hansbury John Killens George Tabori / Author of ‘Raisin In The Sun’.] The right side of the poster features black and white images of Mahalia Jackson and Shelley Winters. A yellow box with black and red text at the bottom left of the poster reads [TUES. / MAY 17 / 8 P.M. to 11 P. M.] A yellow box with black and red text at the bottom right of the poster reads [369th / ARMORY / 142nd St. & 5th Ave., NYC.] The bottom of the poster has a list of places tickets can be purchased.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1960
• Printed by: E. J. Warner Poster Corp., American
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Subject of: Harry Belafonte Jr., American, 1927 - 2023
• Subject of: Mahalia Jackson, American, 1911 - 1972
• Subject of: Sidney Poitier, Bahamian American, 1927 - 2022
• Subject of: Shelley Winters, American, 1920 - 2006
• Subject of: Diahann Carroll, American, 1935 - 2019
• Subject of: Ossie Davis, American, 1917 - 2005
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 24 3/16 × 18 1/16 in. (61.5 × 45.9 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2019.28.22
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.