Racism Chains Both [caption title]

New York: Communist Party USA & National Black Liberation Commission, 1970. Near fine.. Screenprint poster, 22.5 x 17.5 inches, printed in red, blue, and black on heavy stock. Minimal wear. An excellent example. An evocative and powerful poster designed by Hugo Gellert (1892-1985), whose previous work illustrated the pages of Masses during the First World War and New Masses magazines before gaining wider exposure through The New Yorker and The New York Times. Gellert was a lithographer, muralist, movie poster artist, designer of stained-glass windows for Tiffany, cartoonist, and left-wing provocateur. The present poster depicts the wrists of a Black man and a white man handcuffed together, both hands balled into fists. Gellert hailed from Hungary, and was a staunch Communist both there and in the United States. Like many others, Gellert was brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee; also like many others, he refused to answer most of their questions. In the present poster, Gellert brings together the struggles of both the Communists and the Civil Rights movements in one striking image.