2010.54.2921

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The Lumpen
The Lumpen
1970
22.50 in HIGH x 15.00 in WIDE
(57.15 cm HIGH x 38.10 cm WIDE)
All Of Us Or None Archive. Gift of the Rossman Family.
2010.54.2921

Lower left corner has: "Revolutionary Art By Emory / Minister of Culture Black Panther Party U S A". Lower right corner has: "Ministry Of Information / P.O. Box 2967, Custom House / San Francisco, CA 94126". The lower right corner of the drawing has the text: "Emory".





The top edge of the poster has the text: "The Heir Of Malcolm Have Picked Up The Gun / And Now Stand Millions Strong Facing The Racist Pig Oppressor". Below the poster has a large stylized drawing of a male and female figure. Shown from the waist up the two figures are located towards the right side of the poster with the female figure slightly in front of the male. The female figure is wearing an orange garment and a button with the text: "Free / All / Political / Prisoners", she is holding a rifle with a bayonet. The male figure is holding a handgun that is partially cut off by the left edge of the drawing, he is wearing a button with the text: "All / Power / To The / People". The bottom edge has the text: "The Lumpen" with a small Black Panther logo at center. "Lumpen" is short for lumpenproletariat, a term originally used by Karl Marx to describe the most impoverished classes that are unlikely to achieve class consciousness, but the term later came to include all of the lowest classes. In this case it was taken up by the Panthers as a self-defined rank of pride and authenticity. [LMC]
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