Free Bobby and the New Haven Panther 9
Poster
ca. 1970 (made)
ca. 1970 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The legal trial of the "New Haven Nine" concerned nine members of the Black Panther Party who were charged in connection with a brutal murder. The severely tortured body of Alex Rackley was found in a Connecticut river. Rackley was himself a former Black Panther but was believed to be a police informant by Party members. The trial became a symbolic political and media event, raising national awareness of the Panthers. The case was significant because the brutal crime at its centre was largely subsumed by the dramatic split in the Panthers' public perception as either violent and threatening militants or victimised and oppressed freedom fighters. Campus radicals at Yale University rallied around the defendants, believing the case to be a further example of injustice towards black Americans.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Free Bobby and the New Haven Panther 9 (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Paper and ink |
Brief description | "Free Bobby and the New Haven Panther 9" poster. United States, ca. 1970 |
Physical description | Portrait format poster with a grid composition. The Black Panther Party's symbol, a stalking panther lunging forward, is depicted behind bars. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko |
Production | Distributed and posted at Yale University Law School, New Haven, Connecticut on 18 April 1970 |
Subjects depicted | |
Places depicted | |
Associations | |
Summary | The legal trial of the "New Haven Nine" concerned nine members of the Black Panther Party who were charged in connection with a brutal murder. The severely tortured body of Alex Rackley was found in a Connecticut river. Rackley was himself a former Black Panther but was believed to be a police informant by Party members. The trial became a symbolic political and media event, raising national awareness of the Panthers. The case was significant because the brutal crime at its centre was largely subsumed by the dramatic split in the Panthers' public perception as either violent and threatening militants or victimised and oppressed freedom fighters. Campus radicals at Yale University rallied around the defendants, believing the case to be a further example of injustice towards black Americans. |
Other number | LS.1050 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.1438-2004 |
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Record created | July 2, 2004 |
Record URL |
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