Poster of Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman, Chicago Chapter, Black Panther Party: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A poster depicting Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman, Chicago Chapter of the Black Panther Party, distributed by the Black Panther Party. The primarily blue and black poster is printed on white paper and features two superimposed photographs of Hampton, a Hampton quotation, and biographic information about Hampton. In the bottom right quadrant of the photograph is a large close-up, blue-and-white photograph of Hampton. He is wearing a dark tone jacket over a dark turtleneck with a white stripe across the center of the turtleneck collar and a black fur cap with a brim. Hampton’s chin is tilted upwards, he is looking into the distance towards the left edge of the poster, and he appears to be speaking. Superimposed over this image, in the bottom right corner, is a second, smaller, black-and-white image of Hampton. He is shown in profile, facing the left edge of the poster, and is speaking into a freestanding microphone directly in front of him. His proper right arm is raised, and he is pointing with his index finger. He is wearing a medium tone, sherpa lined jacket over a light tone V-neck sweater. Printed over his proper left jacket lapel is diagonal black text that reads [I AM A REVOLUTIONARY]. The larger image of Hampton is accented by blue rays radiating from around the outline of his head. In the top left corner, within a band of black, is diagonally printed blue block text that reads ["YOU CAN JAIL A REVOLUTIONARY, / BUT YOU CAN’T JAIL THE / REVOLUTION. YOU CAN RUN A / FREEDOM FIGHTER AROUND THE / COUNTRY BUT YOU CAN’T RUN FREEDOM / FIGHTING AROUND THE COUNTRY. YOU / CAN MURDER A LIBERATOR, / BUT YOU CAN’T MURDER LIBERATION"]. Printed in the bottom left corner is diagonal blue text that reads, [Fred Hampton Deputy / Chairman Illinois Chapter / Black Panther Party / Born August 30, 1948 / Murdered By Fascist Pigs / Dec. 4, 1969]. The poster has a thin white frame along the top and side edges. The bottom of the frame is wider and features printed black text in the bottom right corner that reads, [PHONE NO. / 312 / 243-8276 / 738-0778] and [BLACK PANTHER PARTY / 2350 W .MADISON(sic) ST. / CHICAGO ,ILLINOIS(sic) / 60612]. Between the two text blocks is a graphic of a crouching black panther, the symbol of the of the Black Panther Party. The back of the poster is plain and white.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1969-1970
• Designed by: Emory Douglas, American, born 1943
• Distributed by: Black Panther Party, American, 1966 - 1982
• Subject of: Fred Hampton, American, 1948 - 1969
• Type: lithographs
• Type: posters
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 22 1/16 × 16 7/16 in. (56 × 41.8 cm)
• Place captured: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Graphic design
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Resistance
• Object number: 2022.56.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jerry Dommer
• 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: © Emory Douglas Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.