Outspoken: Chicago's Free Speech Tradition
October 1, 2004, through January 15, 2005
Contact: Erika Hartings
Release date: June 9, 2004
(312) 255-3553
hartingse@newberry.org
www.newberry.org

OUTSPOKEN: CHICAGO'S RADICAL HISTORY EXAMINED IN FREE SPEECH EXHIBITION

"Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

- First Amendment, U.S. Constitution

CHICAGO—From October 1, 2004, through January 15, 2005, Chicago's Newberry Library presents Outspoken: Chicago's Free Speech Tradition, an exhibit about the principles that unite Americans and the conflicts that divide them. From the antislavery groups of the 1840s to the gay pride celebrations of the 1970s, from the 1968 Democratic Convention to the recent protests against the war in Iraq, Chicago has been a vibrant center for free speech and activism.

Co-curated by the Newberry Library and the Chicago Historical Society, the exhibit draws on the institutions' powerful historical collections to reveal the city's fascinating evolution of political, cultural, and artistic dissent. Come see how Chicago leads or mirrors a nation continually struggling with one of its most profound freedoms.

Outspoken: Chicago's Free Speech Tradition features nearly 130 historical objects, including artifacts, photographs, letters, magazines, newspapers, and ephemera. Highlights include: slave manacles; reproductions of abolition-era certificates of freedom; a police billy club from the 1886 Haymarket "riot"; a bomb casing presented as evidence in the Haymarket trial; flyers for an anti-war dance at the Dill Pickle Club and an anti-Red mass meeting at the Press Club; a police riot helmet worn during the demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; and gay marriage protest materials.

Outspoken: Chicago's Free Speech Tradition is free and open to the public at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., Chicago.

This exhibit is made possible in part with major funding by The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning. Generous support also provided by The Chicago Reader and Dr. and Mrs. Tapas K. Das Gupta.

To receive printed media materials on present exhibits, please contact Erika Hartings, Associate Director of Public Relations, at (312) 255-3553 or by e-mail: hartingse@newberry.org.