Free John Sinclair
New Left
Founder of the Black Panther counterpart, the White Panther Party, John Sinclair was arrested in 1969 for drug possession. Labelled a political prisoner by the New Left, Sinclair’s case inspired landmark litigation, specifically the 1972 Supreme Court ruling, U.S. vs. U.S. District Court, which stated that law enforcement officials were required to issue a warrant prior to conducting investigations on electronic media.
This particular button promotes the "Free John Sinclair Rally" at the Grand Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, on January 24, 1970, a date proclaimed ‘International Free John Sinclair Day’ by The Fifth Estate and The Seed. The rally featured 24 acts, including MC5, The Stooges, Commander Cody, Amboy Dukes, Bob Seger. Speakers included Abbie Hoffman and attorney Ken Cockrell.
The following year, an even bigger "John Sinclair Freedom Rally" was held at the University of Michigan's Chrisler Arena on December 10, 1971, to honor of John Sinclair and to encourage an end the state ban on marijuana. John Lennon & Yoko Ono headlined this event, which also featured Allen Ginsberg, Jerry Rubin, Bob Seger, Phil Ochs, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, poet Ed Sanders, Black Panther Party chairman Bobby Seale, Chicago Seven defendant Rennie Davis, radical priest Father James Groppi, and jazz legend Archie Shepp. Sinclair was released from jail shortly after the 1971 event.
Free John Sinclair
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. 1970
Button
Physical Object
Children’s Community School
Alternative Education
The Children’s Community School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was an experimental primary school modeled after Summerhill, the more famous alternative school in England that was popular among education reformers and counterculturists during the 1960s. The CCS, which was established in the mid-1960s, was student-led, emphasized "love and understanding" toward children and practiced equality between black and white students.
Bill Ayers and Diana Oughton, who both went on to greater fame (or, is it infamy?) as members of SDS and the Weather Underground, served as early leaders of the school. By 1968, a series of challenges forced the school's closing.
Diana Oughton created this fundraising button for the Children's Community School, which features the CCS logo, a hand drawn smiley face, and the phrase, “Kids are only newer people.”
Children’s Community School
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. mid-1960s
Button
Physical Object
Ann Arbor Sun, January 1975, vol. 3, issue 1
New Left
The Ann Arbor Sun was a newspaper founded by John Sinclair in November 1968 as a vehicle for the White Panther Party. In the 1970s, the newspaper transitioned into an independent publication covering local issues, left-wing politics, music, and arts. Finally in 1976, publication was suspended indefinitely.
This issue includes articles on military science and research at the University of Michigan; ROTC; cuts to social services; Gerald Ford inquiry into the CIA; international briefs; the war in Vietnam; Kissinger and the Middle East; police Turn in a Pusher program; history of cocaine; Showcase of International Wares; community calendar; book, music and performance reviews.
Ann Arbor Sun, Inc.
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
January 1975
newspaper
The Sun, October 1975
New Left
The Ann Arbor Sun was a newspaper founded by John Sinclair in November 1968 as a vehicle for the White Panther Party. In the 1970s, the newspaper transitioned into an independent publication covering local issues, left-wing politics, music, and arts. In 1975, the newspaper evolved into The Sun, which focused more on Detroit than Ann Arbor. Finally in 1976, publication was suspended indefinitely.
This issue includes articles on the state of the city; red-lining; overdoses; busing in Detroit; rent strikes in Ann Arbor; Police Athletic League; Angola; heroin industry and police; interview with Howard Kohn; Francis Ford Coppola interview; music and performance reviews; community calendar.
Ann Arbor Sun, Inc.
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
October 1975
newspaper
Ann Arbor Sun, September 24 to October 8, 1973
New Left
The Ann Arbor Sun was a newspaper founded by John Sinclair in November 1968 as a vehicle for the White Panther Party. In the 1970s, the newspaper transitioned into an independent publication covering local issues, left-wing politics, music, and arts. Finally in 1976, publication was suspended indefinitely.
This issue includes articles on media coverage of Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival; an interview with John Sinclair; women’s health; Lee Gill; acupuncture; tuition increases; community calendar; music and film reviews; letters.
Sun Tribe
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
September 24 to October 8, 1973
newspaper
Ann Arbor Sun, December 1974
New Left
The Ann Arbor Sun was a newspaper founded by John Sinclair in November 1968 as a vehicle for the White Panther Party. In the 1970s, the newspaper transitioned into an independent publication covering local issues, left-wing politics, music, and arts. Finally in 1976, publication was suspended indefinitely.
This issue includes articles on the Oneida community; military intelligence and the Ann St. Armory; Midland Nuclear Plant; rent control; food coops; community radio; the Rockefellers and oil industry; Warren Commission; “Planet News”; the sugar industry; consumer’s guide to stereos; the great quadrophonic sound debate; music reviews; community calendar; letters.
Ann Arbor Sun, Inc.
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
December 1974
newspaper
New Harbinger, 1972
Food Coops
The Journal of the New Harbinger was published by the North American Students of Cooperation, a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968 and centered in Ann Arbor. The Journal of the New Harbinger focused on the promotion and development of food coops. This issue includes articles about food coops in Madison, Montreal, Oakland, Amherst, Philadelphia, New York, Berkeley and Boston.
North American Students of Cooperation
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
February 1972
small press publication