(CIVIL RIGHTS KING MARTIN LUTHER JR) Before We Lynch Fred A

Sale 2408 - Lot 243

Price Realized: $ 2,000

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500

(CIVIL RIGHTS--KING, MARTIN LUTHER JR.) "Before We Lynch Fred Ahmed Evans a Few Nagging Questions." Black and white poster 34-1/2 x 23 inches, with considerable restoration to the margins, backed with archival paper. Cleveland, 1968

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an exceptionally strong piece of poster art, coming out of the 1968 cleveland riots. The months following the death of Martin Luther King Jr. saw cities around the country erupt in violence. But Cleveland remained relatively calm, thanks in great part to America's first black mayor, Carl B. Stokes. However, Cleveland's poor, black suburb of Glenville, the anger and disappointment combined with the summer heat, was just too much, and on July 23rd all hell broke loose. Shots were fired, and an all out battle between armed residents and police ensued. An hour and a half later, seven people lay dead, including three Cleveland policemen, fifteen more were wounded. Five days more of violence and rioting continued until Mayor Stokes called in the National Guard, and order was finally restored. Fred Ahmed Evans a local and vocal radical leader was arrested and charged with seven counts of murder. There was no direct evidence, but Evans nonetheless was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. The sentence was later reduced to life in prison. This is the first example of this poster we have seen.