Just another day at Rainbow Sign. It’s no surprise that Mardi Gras was among the festivities celebrated at 2640 Grove St. – what other place in the Bay Area could match the spirit of New Orleans for lively energy and celebration of African heritage?
The Berkeley Revolution
A digital archive of the East Bay's transformation in the late-1960s & 1970s
Photograph of Mardi Gras Indian
Date: c. 1970s
Citation:
Photograph of Mardi Gras Indian. 1970s. Rainbow Sign Archive, courtesy of Odette Pollar.
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1. A New Kind of Black Arts Venue Opens (1971)
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Membership Brochure
–1973–A sixteen-page guide to this "multi-dimensional club where beautiful people meet, greet and eat"
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A Look Inside the Rainbow Sign
–May 2017–A glimpse inside the building today
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Rainbow Sign Pin
–1970s–Even in its swag, Rainbow Sign had style
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First Anniversary Brochure
–8/9/72–Rainbow Sign's greatest hits (Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln) from its first year
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Rainbow Sign Contact Sheet
–1970s –A glimpse inside the building back in the day
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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
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Temporary Membership Card
–September 1971–Just after Rainbow Sign opened, it used a promotion to get people in the door
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Rainbow Sign Floor Plan
–1970s–The layout
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Tuesday Menu
–1974-1975–Rainbow Sign served food for the body as well as the soul
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2. Ain't that Bad, Ain't that Black, Ain't that Fine: Performing Arts
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Nina Simone Photographs
–3/31/72–Two entrancing photos used to publicize her Rainbow Sign appearance
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Rainbow Sign Presents Nina Simone
–3/31/72–"The high priestess of soul" visits the Rainbow Sign
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Nina Simone Contact Sheet
–3/31/72–Thirty rare images of the incomparable Ms. Simone
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Rainbow Sign Presents the John Handy Sextet
–6/4/72–Handy and friends jazz up the place
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Rainbow Sign Presents Bobby Hutcherson
–9/30/72–Electric vibes at the sign
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Invitation to Black Mime Show
–4/20/74–"a black face...which portrays through corporal silence the spirit of all human experience"
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Photograph of Mardi Gras Indian
–c. 1970s–New Orleans comes to Rainbow Sign
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Odetta and Liberian Tribal Dance Company
–4/15/75–A folk legend sings for the Rainbow cause
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Jazz Festival After-Party
–6/22/76–Music from midnight until breakfast, courtesy of the Rainbow Sign's afterparty
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Nina Simone Celebrated at Rainbow Sign
–3/31/72–Rare footage of Nina Simone celebrated by Berkeley's mayor and the Urban League
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3. My Dungeon Shook and My Chains Fell Off: Literature and Liberation
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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"
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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
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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
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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
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Rainbow Sign Presents Alice Walker
–4/09/1976–Rainbow Sign was, like Alice Walker's real and imagined worlds, populated by uncompromising black women
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James Baldwin Contact Sheet
–5/3/76–Mary Ann Pollar and Baldwin appear here as comrades and co-authors of the Rainbow Sign
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4. Aunt Jemimas and Jazz Masks: A Fresh Vision for Black Art
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E.J. Montgomery
–1970s–Black Art consultant extraordinaire
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Invitation to Artist Reception for Rosalind Jeffries
–10/25/71–From West Africa to the West Coast
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Invitation to Artist Reception for Herman Kofi Bailey
–12/5/71–"The essence of Black folk the world over"
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Invitation to Artists Reception for “Black Contributors”
–1/29/72–Calling black artists near and far
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The Liberation of Aunt Jemima
–1972–The assemblage that, according to Angela Davis, marked the start of the black women's movement
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Invitation to Artist’s Reception for Dr. Samella Sanders Lewis
–4/2/72–Prints, films and lectures from a Black arts icon
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Invitation to Artists Reception for Africobra
–6/4/1972–The first exhibition on the West Coast for the "African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists"
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Invitation to Artists Reception for “IMP Dolls” Creators
–8/6/1972–"Framed doll-like figures for the young at heart"
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KPIX coverage of Rainbow Sign
–9/9/1972–Invaluable footage of the club as it celebrated Black Arts Day with an Elizabeth Catlett exhibition
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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"
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Invitation to Artist’s Reception for Larry Walker
–11/26/1972–The perfect holiday gift?
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Invitation to Artists Reception for John F. King
–6/9/74–Hearts, Spades and Infinity
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Depicting Black Struggle
–4/11/1975–Elizabeth Catlett's art "celebrates her cultural heritage and protests her people's persecution"
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5. A Closed Fist is Very Strong: City Politics, American Politics
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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
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Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Covers Weighty Subjects
–10/30/1971–Chisholm and Mary Ann Pollar: women unbought and unbossed
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Depicting Black Struggle
–4/11/1975–Elizabeth Catlett's art "celebrates her cultural heritage and protests her people's persecution"
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6. Look About You, Think About This: Education Pending Revolution
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Girls Holding Rainbow Sign balloons
–1970s–Children were key to Rainbow Sign's project--the next generation had to love and be loved
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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
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“Obvious Communication”-Betye Saar, Arthur Moore, and Cleveland Bellows
–2/3/1972–A meeting of the minds for Black Arts Day
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Photographs of Dance Class at Rainbow Sign
–1973–Groove lessons from an international professional
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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
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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
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7. For the Love of People: The Players Who Made the Rainbow Sign
