Poster for a Free Huey Rally at De Fremery Park: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A poster for the Free Huey Rally at De Fremery Park, Oakland, California, 1968. Depicted on the left is a drawing of Huey P. Newton wearing a black beret, collared shirt, and jacket. In small text near his shoulder is the illustrator's name [Emory]. Above his head to the right is the animal icon of the black panther. Below the image of Newton black block text reads: [HUEY MUST BE TRIED BY HIS PEERS]. Beneath the extended underscore of the previous text is a list of names: [MELVIN NEWTON / MINISTER OF FINANCE / KATHLEEN CLEAVER / COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY]. The poster designer's signature is printed and underlined vertically besides Newton’s image at the upper back. From the top of the poster down, in large black type, after the panther paws, is: [FREE HUEY RALLY / DEFREMERY PARK I P.M. / SUNDAY / JULY 14TH / WEST / OAKLAND]. The image of a rifle with body strap is printed above the continuing text, now listing: [SPEAKERS: / BOBBY SEALE / CHAIRMAN, B. P. P. / ELDRIDGE CLEAVER / MINISTER OF INFORMATION / DAVID HILLIARD / NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS CAPTAIN / AND OTHERS]. There are stray smudges and marks along the sides of the poster, recto; wrinkling is evident, verso.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1968
• Created by: Black Panther Party, American, 1966 - 1982
• Illustrated by: Emory Douglas, American, born 1943
• Subject of: Dr. Huey P. Newton, American, 1942 - 1989
• Subject of: Kathleen Cleaver Ph. D., American, born 1945
• Subject of: Bobby Seale, American, born 1936
• Subject of: Eldridge Cleaver, American, 1935 - 1998
• Subject of: David Hilliard, American, born 1942
• Subject of: Melvin Newton, American
• Type: posters
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 21 15/16 × 16 15/16 in. (55.7 × 43.1 cm)
• Place depicted: Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Object number: 2019.28.19
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.