Sep 24, 2020 - Sale 2546

Sale 2546 - Lot 182

Price Realized: $ 2,750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
(POLITICS.) Papers of a delegate of the Peace and Freedom Party. 75 items laid into one binder; generally strong condition, a few items worn. Los Angeles area, 1967-69 and undated
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Additional Details

The Peace and Freedom Party arose as a left-wing alternative to the Democratic Party in 1966, and reached its highest profile by achieving ballot status in California in January 1968. Opposition to the Vietnam War and police brutality were principal issues. The party formed a close alliance with the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, and nominated Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver as their presidential nominee for the 1968 election.
This file consists mostly of mimeographed and photocopied documents issued to party members during the period of its rapid expansion in early 1968: rally fliers, platform position papers, circular letters, press releases, meeting agendas and minutes, and an invitation to meet with Cleaver (illustrated). A 7 x 5-inch photograph depicts Cleaver and other party leaders. Also included are papers from the California state branch of the party to the Los Angeles County Council and the local West San Gabriel Valley Peace and Freedom Club, as well as a small number of fliers not related to the Peace and Freedom Party, including anti-war and anti-racism protests and the screening of a film by poet LeRoi Jones [Amiri Baraka].
This file was compiled by art student Frank "Ralph" Brown of Alhambra and Pasadena, CA, who was active in the party. It contains what appears to be a handmade convention admission placard in his name, as well as a letter he received in 1968. One circular letter is addressed to "West San Gabriel P&F c/o Frank Brown." 11 pages of manuscript notes on political theory, including discussion of Marx and Che Guevara, are presumably in his hand. Brown later found notoriety in 1976 as director of the art gallery at California State University, when he hosted a controversial performance art piece which resulted in his firing.