Poster of the Week: Daniel Berrigan and Bob Fitch Presente!

Last week, two important members of the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s and 70s passed away.

Center for the Study of Political Graphics Center for the Study of Political Graphics
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Dan Berrigan, Catonsville 9
Bob Fitch, Bob Fitch Propaganda Posters
Offset, Circa 1970
Oakland, CA
9068
 
Poster detail on right: Photo of Dan Berrigan taken by Bob Fitch, 1970
 
Father Daniel Berrigan, pictured above, was a Jesuit priest, poet, and activist who died on Saturday, April 30th, at the age of 94. Bob Fitch, who took the photo of Berrigan shown above, was an activist and photojournalist who documented the Civil Rights Movement; Fitch died on Friday, April 29th, at the age of 77.

Dan Berrigan was the first Catholic priest to land on the FBI's most wanted list for his dedication to the anti-war and anti-draft movements. One of his most famous acts of protest was his involvement in the Catonsville Nine in 1968. The Catonsville Nine was a group of Catholic activists who stole 378 draft files from a draft board office and set them on fire using homemade napalm, a highly flammable liquid used by the U.S. military during the Viet Nam War. Berrigan would later write about the incident, "Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children." He was arrested and sentenced to prison after a highly publicized trial that inspired protests across the country. Berrigan continued fighting for peace well into his 80s.

 
Bob Fitch was a photographer and activist best known for his powerful photographs of the civil rights and farmworkers movements. Fitch was the official photographer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other black civil rights leaders. When talking to college students a few years ago, Fitch explained, "I'm not a professional photographer, I'm a political organizer. I happen to use the camera to tell the story of the work I do." Through his iconic photos, Fitch drew national attention to growing social movements and the people driving them forward.
 

If you attend any demonstrations regarding police shootings, immigration, the environment, Fight for 15!, repealing Citizens United, Ayotzinapa 43, etc., please try to collect and send posters to CSPG.

Thank you!
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