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Catalog Data

Artist:
Stephen Shames, born 1947  Search this
Sitter:
Eldridge Cleaver, 1935 - 1998  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image/Sheet: 13.8 × 12.3 cm (5 7/16 × 4 13/16")
Mat: 45.7 × 35.6cm (18 × 14")
Type:
Photograph
Date:
1968
Exhibition Label:
Having grown up in poverty in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Eldridge Cleaver spent much of his early life serving time in jail for a number of offenses, including rape. By the mid-1960s, however, his gifts for articulating the grievances of African Americans had drawn him into the radical wing of the black civil rights movement. Soon he was a leading spokesperson for the militant Black Panthers, who advocated arming for self-defense against the white establishment.
His most significant contribution to the cause was a collection of fiery essays Soul on Ice, which became one of the most widely read statements of black anger in America after it was published in 1968. That same year, an armed confrontation with police drove Cleaver into exile, and after his return to the United States in 1975, his outlook grew increasingly more conservative.
Habiendo crecido en la pobreza, en el sector Watts de Los Ángeles, Eldridge Cleaver pasó buena parte de su juventud en la cárcel por diversidad de delitos, incluso violación sexual. Sin embargo, hacia mediados de los años sesenta ya se distinguía por sus dotes para articular los reclamos de los afroamericanos y se había incorporado al ala radical del movimiento de los derechos civiles. Pronto se convirtió en un destacado portavoz de los militantes Panteras Negras, quienes abogaban por la autode- fensa armada contra la clase dirigente blanca.
Su aportación más significativa a la causa fue un conjunto de fogosos ensayos publicado en 1968, Soul on Ice, que se convirtió en una de las más leídas expresiones de la indignación del pueblo negro en Estados Unidos. Ese mismo año, a raíz de una con- frontación armada con la policía, Cleaver tuvo que exiliarse, y al regresar al país en 1975 sus puntos de vista se fueron haciendo más conservadores.
Topic:
Printed Material\Book  Search this
Exterior\Cityscape  Search this
Equipment\Sign  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses\Sunglasses  Search this
Human Figures\Crowd  Search this
Costume\Outerwear\Coat\Jacket\Leather jacket  Search this
Eldridge Cleaver: Male  Search this
Eldridge Cleaver: Literature\Writer  Search this
Eldridge Cleaver: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer  Search this
Eldridge Cleaver: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist  Search this
Eldridge Cleaver: Religion and Spirituality\Founder\Church founder  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.2001.54
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Stephen Shames
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4147a071b-1068-4100-833b-a5b0845bda3f
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2001.54