Thomas Strong photographs of New Haven May Day rally

Collection

Call Number: MS 2030

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of twenty-two color and black and white prints of Yale University and New Haven before, during, and after the May Day rally in 1970. Images concentrate on slogans painted on boarded-up store fronts around the Yale campus, banners and signs either hanging from buildings or carried by protestors, and crowds on the New Haven Green and the Yale campus.

Dates

1970

Creator

Strong, Thomas, 1938-

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creator(s) of this collection for unpublished works they have authored or otherwise produced. After the lifetime of the creator(s) or until 2040, whichever comes first, copyright passes to Yale University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Thomas Strong, 2015.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.2030

Additional Description

Abstract

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Strong has a BA from Dartmouth and an MFA in graphic design from Yale School of Art and Architecture, 1967. Walker Evans was his principle instructor in photography. Since 1968, he and Marjorie C. Gordon have directed the design firm Strong Cohen on Chapel Street in New Haven.

Biographical / Historical

The Black Panther Party was an African American revolutionary party founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. The group was originally founded to protect members of African American communities from police brutality. It quickly developed into a Marxist revolutionary group with chapters located throughout the United States. It also became a target of J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, an opponent of communist subversive groups. In 1969, Alex Rackley, a member of the New Haven chapter of the Panthers, was abducted, tortured and killed by fellow members who suspected he was a police informant. Nine defendants, the “New Haven Nine,” were indicted on charges related to the case, including Booby Seale and Warren Kimbro, George Sams, Jr., and Lonnie McLucas, the three individuals involved in the actual killing. Sams declared that Bobby Seale, who had been speaking at Yale University during the time Rackley was held prisoner, had directly ordered the murder. As jury selection for the trials began in May 1970, thousands of Black Panther supporters arrived for a May Day rally in New Haven, where organizers were urging violent action. Fears of rioting led to the stationing of National Guard units around the city and the temporary closure of many local businesses. In an attempt to defuse tensions and prevent violence, Yale opened its gates to the protestors and provided basic meals. Responding to rally organizers who were trying to incite the students to strike, students were allowed the option of not finishing their course work and receiving a pass/fail grade based on completed work but the university did not officially shut down.