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Free Huey
Douglas, Emory - Enlarge image
Free Huey
- Object:
Poster
- Place of origin:
USA, USA (made)
- Date:
1970 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Douglas, Emory (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Colour offset lithograph
- 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
- Museum number:
E.300-2004
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, case Y66, shelf E
Huey P. Newton (1942-1989) was a co-founder of the Black Panther party and its Minister for Self-Defence. He was jailed for manslaughter after a shoot-out between Panthers and the police in 1967. The 'Free Huey' campaign called for his release. Posters were among the techniques used to turn the campaign into a rallying cry for the party, helping it to expand its membership and influence across America. The posters featuring seemingly vulnerable black children, such as this one, were particularly effective at toning down the militant aspects of the organisation which some people, particularly white Americans, found intimidating. It is interesting to note, however, that the militant aspects remained: the little boy carries a shotgun slung over his shoulder.
