The Berkeley Revolution

A digital archive of the East Bay's transformation in the late-1960s & 1970s

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“Obvious Communication”-Betye Saar, Arthur Moore, and Cleveland Bellows


photo from copy of post article arthur moore and betye saar

Date: 2/3/1972

Citation:

Source unknown, Rainbow Sign archive, courtesy of Odette Pollar.

View the Full Document

Categories:

The Rainbow Sign

Tags:

Afro-American StudiesArthur MooreBetye SaarCleveland BellowUC BerkeleyVisual arts



  • 1. A New Kind of Black Arts Venue Opens (1971)

    • Membership Brochure

      Membership Brochure
      –1973–

      A sixteen-page guide to this "multi-dimensional club where beautiful people meet, greet and eat"

    • A Look Inside the Rainbow Sign

      A Look Inside the Rainbow Sign
      –May 2017–

      A glimpse inside the building today

    • Rainbow Sign Pin

      Rainbow Sign Pin
      –1970s–

      Even in its swag, Rainbow Sign had style

    • First Anniversary Brochure

      First Anniversary Brochure
      –8/9/72–

      Rainbow Sign's greatest hits (Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln) from its first year

    • Rainbow Sign Contact Sheet

      Rainbow Sign Contact Sheet
      –1970s –

      A glimpse inside the building back in the day

    • Invitation to the Opening of the Rainbow Sign

      Invitation to the Opening of the Rainbow Sign
      –8/21/71–

      An invitation that connected the era of Soul back to the turn-of-the-century

    • Temporary Membership Card

      Temporary Membership Card
      –September 1971–

      Just after Rainbow Sign opened, it used a promotion to get people in the door

    • Rainbow Sign Floor Plan

      Rainbow Sign Floor Plan
      –1970s–

      The layout

    • Tuesday Menu

      Tuesday Menu
      –1974-1975–

      Rainbow Sign served food for the body as well as the soul

  • 2. Ain't that Bad, Ain't that Black, Ain't that Fine: Performing Arts

    • Nina Simone Photographs

      Nina Simone Photographs
      –3/31/72–

      Two entrancing photos used to publicize her Rainbow Sign appearance

    • Rainbow Sign Presents Nina Simone

      Rainbow Sign Presents Nina Simone
      –3/31/72–

      "The high priestess of soul" visits the Rainbow Sign

    • Nina Simone Contact Sheet

      Nina Simone Contact Sheet
      –3/31/72–

      Thirty rare images of the incomparable Ms. Simone

    • Rainbow Sign Presents the John Handy Sextet

      Rainbow Sign Presents the John Handy Sextet
      –6/4/72–

      Handy and friends jazz up the place

    • Rainbow Sign Presents Bobby Hutcherson

      Rainbow Sign Presents Bobby Hutcherson
      –9/30/72–

      Electric vibes at the sign

    • Invitation to Black Mime Show

      Invitation to Black Mime Show
      –4/20/74–

      "a black face...which portrays through corporal silence the spirit of all human experience"

    • Photograph of Mardi Gras Indian

      Photograph of Mardi Gras Indian
      –c. 1970s–

      New Orleans comes to Rainbow Sign

    • Odetta and Liberian Tribal Dance Company

      Odetta and Liberian Tribal Dance Company
      –4/15/75–

      A folk legend sings for the Rainbow cause

    • Jazz Festival After-Party

      Jazz Festival After-Party
      –6/22/76–

      Music from midnight until breakfast, courtesy of the Rainbow Sign's afterparty

    • Nina Simone Celebrated at Rainbow Sign

      Nina Simone Celebrated at Rainbow Sign
      –3/31/72–

      Rare footage of Nina Simone celebrated by Berkeley's mayor and the Urban League

  • 3. My Dungeon Shook and My Chains Fell Off: Literature and Liberation

    • See Maya Angelou at Rainbow Sign

      See Maya Angelou at Rainbow Sign
      –4/20/72–

      The singer-dancer-poet-memoirist, promoting her new book "Just Give Me a Cool Glass of Water 'Fore I Die"

    • Invitation to Huey P. Newton’s Book Party

      Invitation to Huey P. Newton’s Book Party
      –11/19/1972–

      The Rainbow Sign positioned itself somewhere between assimilation and revolution--but it was all Black Power

    • A Rainbow of Poetry: The Berkeley Marathon

      A Rainbow of Poetry: The Berkeley Marathon
      –7/1/1975–

      Rainbow Sign sponsored the longest poetry marathon ever, according to the Guinness Book of World Records

    • Jayne Cortez at the Rainbow Sign: Berkeley ’75

      Jayne Cortez at the Rainbow Sign: Berkeley ’75
      –1976–

      A tribute, in Yardbird, to Rainbow Sign's "sisterly feeling" and Jayne Cortez's poetic wit and power

    • Rainbow Sign Presents Alice Walker

      Rainbow Sign Presents Alice Walker
      –4/09/1976–

      Rainbow Sign was, like Alice Walker's real and imagined worlds, populated by uncompromising black women

    • James Baldwin Contact Sheet

      James Baldwin Contact Sheet
      –5/3/76–

      Mary Ann Pollar and Baldwin appear here as comrades and co-authors of the Rainbow Sign

  • 4. Aunt Jemimas and Jazz Masks: A Fresh Vision for Black Art

    • E.J. Montgomery

      E.J. Montgomery
      –1970s–

      Black Art consultant extraordinaire

    • Invitation to Artist Reception for Rosalind Jeffries

      Invitation to Artist Reception for Rosalind Jeffries
      –10/25/71–

      From West Africa to the West Coast

    • Invitation to Artist Reception for Herman Kofi Bailey

      Invitation to Artist Reception for Herman Kofi Bailey
      –12/5/71–

      "The essence of Black folk the world over"

    • Invitation to Artists Reception for “Black Contributors”

      Invitation to Artists Reception for “Black Contributors”
      –1/29/72–

      Calling black artists near and far

    • The Liberation of Aunt Jemima

      The Liberation of Aunt Jemima
      –1972–

      The assemblage that, according to Angela Davis, marked the start of the black women's movement

    • Invitation to Artist’s Reception for Dr. Samella Sanders Lewis

      Invitation to Artist’s Reception for Dr. Samella Sanders Lewis
      –4/2/72–

      Prints, films and lectures from a Black arts icon

    • Invitation to Artists Reception for Africobra

      Invitation to Artists Reception for Africobra
      –6/4/1972–

      The first exhibition on the West Coast for the "African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists"

    • Invitation to Artists Reception for “IMP Dolls” Creators

      Invitation to Artists Reception for “IMP Dolls” Creators
      –8/6/1972–

      "Framed doll-like figures for the young at heart"

    • KPIX coverage of Rainbow Sign

      KPIX coverage of Rainbow Sign
      –9/9/1972–

      Invaluable footage of the club as it celebrated Black Arts Day with an Elizabeth Catlett exhibition

    • Invitation to Elizabeth Catlett Exhibition

      Invitation to Elizabeth Catlett Exhibition
      –9/10/72–

      "the Black artist has a chance others don't to get out of the copout, freakiness and commercialism"

    • Invitation to Artist’s Reception for Larry Walker

      Invitation to Artist’s Reception for Larry Walker
      –11/26/1972–

      The perfect holiday gift?

    • Invitation to Artists Reception for John F. King

      Invitation to Artists Reception for John F. King
      –6/9/74–

      Hearts, Spades and Infinity

    • Depicting Black Struggle

      Depicting Black Struggle
      –4/11/1975–

      Elizabeth Catlett's art "celebrates her cultural heritage and protests her people's persecution"

  • 5. A Closed Fist is Very Strong: City Politics, American Politics

    • Mary Widener in Rainbow Sign Conference Room

      Mary Widener in Rainbow Sign Conference Room
      –9/9/1971–

      Like many local black leaders, Warren Widener and his took advantage of Rainbow Sign's rentable community space

    • Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Covers Weighty Subjects

      Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Covers Weighty Subjects
      –10/30/1971–

      Chisholm and Mary Ann Pollar: women unbought and unbossed

    • Contact Sheet: Shirley Chisholm on the Campaign Trail

      Contact Sheet: Shirley Chisholm on the Campaign Trail
      –10/30/1971–

      The Rainbow Sign was a magnet for powerful black women with integrity such as Chisholm

    • Bowker Bumsout Blacks

      Bowker Bumsout Blacks
      –1/29/1972–

      When the Cal administration installed its own chair of Afro-American Studies, dissenters went to the Rainbow Sign to strategize

    • Mayor’s Proclamation of Nina Simone Day

      Mayor’s Proclamation of Nina Simone Day
      –3/31/72–

      On the occasion of Nina Simone's concert at Rainbow Sign, Mayor Widener honored both the singer and the club

    • 83 Black Mayors Feted Here

      83 Black Mayors Feted Here
      –6/16/1973–

      Local black residents certainly benefited from meeting black leaders, but the benefits went both ways for politicians seeking support

    • Mary Ann Pollar invited by Black Women Organized for Action

      Mary Ann Pollar invited by Black Women Organized for Action
      –11/29/1973–

      Mary Ann Pollar helped develop strategy to secure economic opportunities for local black women

    • High school senior thanks Mary Ann Pollar

      High school senior thanks Mary Ann Pollar
      –1973–

      A high school senior and budding artist credited her graduation partly to help from the women of Rainbow Sign

    • Depicting Black Struggle

      Depicting Black Struggle
      –4/11/1975–

      Elizabeth Catlett's art "celebrates her cultural heritage and protests her people's persecution"

  • 6. Look About You, Think About This: Education Pending Revolution

    • Girls Holding Rainbow Sign balloons

      Girls Holding Rainbow Sign balloons
      –1970s–

      Children were key to Rainbow Sign's project--the next generation had to love and be loved

    • Bowker Bumsout Blacks

      Bowker Bumsout Blacks
      –1/29/1972–

      When the Cal administration installed its own chair of Afro-American Studies, dissenters went to the Rainbow Sign to strategize

    • “Obvious Communication”-Betye Saar, Arthur Moore, and Cleveland Bellows

      “Obvious Communication”-Betye Saar, Arthur Moore, and Cleveland Bellows
      –2/3/1972–

      A meeting of the minds for Black Arts Day

    • Photographs of Dance Class at Rainbow Sign

      Photographs of Dance Class at Rainbow Sign
      –1973–

      Groove lessons from an international professional

    • High school senior thanks Mary Ann Pollar

      High school senior thanks Mary Ann Pollar
      –1973–

      A high school senior and budding artist credited her graduation partly to help from the women of Rainbow Sign

    • The Rainbow Sign Can Use Some Help

      The Rainbow Sign Can Use Some Help
      –4/18/1975–

      With Nina Simone's help, Mary Ann Pollar clarified the Rainbow Sign's educational mission

  • 7. For the Love of People: The Players Who Made the Rainbow Sign

    • Electra Price

      Electra Price
      –1970s–

      Rainbow Sign board member, best friend of Mary Ann Pollar, and community firestarter

    • E.J. Montgomery

      E.J. Montgomery
      –1970s–

      Black Art consultant extraordinaire

    • Charles Brown

      Charles Brown
      –1971–

      Brown brought his activist orientation and love of the arts to Rainbow Sign

Archive created by UC Berkeley students under the supervision of Scott Saul, with the support of UC Berkeley's Digital Humanities and Global Urban Humanities initiatives.

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