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• 1 2019-10-23T18:02:53-04:00 "Huey is Free!" 18 image_header 2020-03-17T23:43:12-04:00 This poster is a poster that the Black Panthers distributed shortly after Huey Newton was freed from prison (circa August 1970). This poster focuses on the corruption of the criminal justice system and the mission of the Black Panthers.

  The main takeaway that the Panther’s want readers of the poster to understand is the corruption and moral deficiencies of the current criminal justice system. The first way that they do this is by describing the $50,000 bail of Huey P. Newton as “Ransom”. A ransom is a sum of money paid to secure the release of a hostage. They describe this as ransom to help the reader understand the corruption of the criminal justice system. On the bottom of the poster is a line saying “Death to the Fascist Pigs”. Fascist Pigs is a reference to the police. By putting this on the bottom of the poster they are further encouraging their reader to see the moral deficiency of the police.

  This poster draws attention to the generic Black Panther holding a gun and chanting “Long Live the Minister of Defense”. This is meant to allude to their original name and the most known program of the Black Panthers, the Self-Defense programs. The next easily visible image is of Huey Newton. You do not know what he is saying or what he is doing but his arms are open which show a welcoming posture. The passage below it talks about his constant devotion to the people and to supporting black people, a critical part of the Black Panther’s mission. By using these two pictures, they call attention to two radical and critical aspects of their mission.

  But how is this poster radical? First, Huey P. Newton was a black radical. He advocated for radical changes to the social systems and the government of the US. This poster is radical in the way that it announces his freedom. As mentioned earlier, they directly call out the corruption of the criminal justice system and they do it while including their address to almost taunt the FBI. They also show a Black Panther in the photo holding a gun and declaring “Long Live the Minister of Defense”. The content and the images of the poster showcase the radicalism of the Black Panthers and Huey Newton. The images on this poster showcase the radicalism and direct approach used by the Panthers in their speeches, mission, and programs ( as mentioned in Baldwin’s “No Name in the Street”). And finally, this poster calls attention to the injustice of the criminal justice system that Angela Davis and George Jackson also talk about in their books (Angela Davis: An Autobiography and Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson).