An exhibition from the archive
In the last week of August 1968, as the Democratic Party met in Chicago to nominate Hubert Humphrey, thousands of anti-war demonstrators gathered in Lincoln Park and Grant Park. Mayor Richard J. Daley met them with police, National Guardsmen and barbed wire, and the clashes went out on live television as the crowd chanted “The whole world is watching”.
In March 1969 eight organisers were indicted for conspiracy and for crossing state lines to incite a riot. Their trial before Judge Julius Hoffman opened on 24 September 1969. Within weeks the judge had the Black Panther Bobby Seale bound and gagged in court, then cut him from the case, and the Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven. Songwriters took sides on both.
Beyond the gallery
The archive holds 68 songs and spoken-word recordings about the Chicago demonstrations and the trial, from news documentaries and country singles to Black Panther soul, hip hop and a Hollywood film score.
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