Skip to main content

New York Revolutionary Groups collection

 Collection
Identifier: 8118

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Materials documenting influential radical groups of the 1960s. The collection includes a complete run of Black Mask and 61 issues of Rat Subterranean News, 90 flyers and handbills relating to the New York anarchist groups Black Mask and Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers, as well as related affinity groups and others such as the Yippies, ESSO (The East Side Service Organization, or the East Side Survival Organization), and New York Provo.

Dates

  • 1966-1971.

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Black Mask was a radical group and newspaper created in 1966 by abstract painter Ben Morea, poet Dan Georgakas, and Ron Hahne. Inspired by the actions of the French Situationists and Dutch Provos among others, Black Mask produced a ten issue run newspaper and some broadsheets before going underground. Morea, along with some others involved with Black Mask emerged as the Up Against The Wall Motherfuckers, a name taken from the poem "Black People!" by Amiri Baraka (then still known as LeRoi Jones). In the late 1960s these groups became infamous for actions such as dumping uncollected trash from the Lower East Side in the fountain at Lincoln Center and organizing a protest of The Filmore East through a series of free concerts offered to promote community use of the venue.

Extent

1.9 cubic feet. (1.9 cubic feet.)

Abstract

Materials documenting influential radical groups of the 1960s. The collection includes a complete run of Black Mask and 61 issues of Rat Subterranean News, 90 flyers and handbills relating to the New York anarchist groups Black Mask and Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers, as well as related affinity groups and others such as the Yippies, ESSO (The East Side Service Organization, or the East Side Survival Organization), and New York Provo.

RELATED MATERIALS

Related collections: #8111, Situationist Collection and #8060, Johan Kugelberg punk collection.

Physical Description

Printed material, publications, photocopies, newspapers.

General

Contact Information:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524rareref@cornell.eduhttp://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:
RMC Staff
Date completed:
November 2017
EAD encoding:
Jude Corina, November 2017
Status
Completed
Author
Compiled by RMC Staff
Date
November 2017
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Repository

Contact:
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-3530
607-255-9524 (Fax)