Panther 21 Fundraising Appeal

Who Is Joan Bird?

Notes: A printed fundraising brochure to help bail Joan Bird out of Rikers Island jail, where she had been held for more than a year as part of the Panther 21. Bird and twenty other members of the Black Panthers were arrested in 1969 for allegedly planning to attack police stations in New York. They were acquitted in 1971 of all charges following an eight-month trial.

There were widespread fundraising campaigns for legal defense and bail funds, one of which was described by Tom Wolfe in his essay, "Radical Chic." This appeal focuses on Joan Bird, a twenty-year-old Panther who was attending night school and working in the party's free breakfast program. She was freed on bail in July 1970 but when two of her co-defendants eloped to Algeria, her bail was revoked.

Material relating to Panther women in general and Joan Bird in particular are scarce. OCLC records a small group of items (84331894), but does not identify their location.

A single sheet folded to make four oblong pages, 11 by 8-1/4 inches.

Edition + Condition: Folded twice (for mailing?), else near fine.

Publication: New York: Women's Committee to Free Joan Bird, [1970].

Item No: #361048

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