The University Library Art Gallery at Sonoma State University celebrates Black History Month and the start of a new semester with the exhibition "We Want Freedom," a photo essay about the Black Panthers by Bay Area photographer Ilka Hartmann.
The exhibition, which opens Jan. 27 and runs through Feb. 28, includes photographs, original newspapers, documentary film footage, and an audio clip of Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party.
On Feb. 5, Hartmann will speak about the photographs in the University Library Art Gallery from noon until 1pm.
The title of the exhibit, "We Want Freedom," is from the first three words of the Party's Platform and Program of 1966. "We Want Freedom" displays over 40 black and white photographs taken from 1968 to 1970 at public events organized by the Black Panther Party in the Bay Area.
The images tell the story of the events of the times beginning with the memorial march and rally for Lil' Bobby Hutton who, at 16, was killed by Oakland Police, to the great May Day demonstration at the San Francisco Civic Center.
Photographer Ilka Hartmann, originally from Germany, was a graduate student at UC Berkeley during the period the images were taken. The majority of the photographs are being shown for the first time. A handful of the pictures have been published in such noted places as the Encyclopedia Britannica and the German publication Der Spiegel.
Hartmann says her photojournalism has been "documenting the life of those out the mainstream" for over 3 decades. Her largest body of work depicts the life of Native Americans, beginning with the Occupation of Alcatraz. These images have been published in many books and films, including the November 2002 PBS production "Alcatraz is Not an Island." For more information on Hartmann's other publications visit www.ilkahartmann.com
The exhibition is sponsored in part by the Friends of the University Library. The University Library Art Gallery is open Monday - Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and closed on Sundays. A daily parking permit ($2.50) is required M-TH 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. and 6 a.m .- 5 p.m. Fridays except holidays. Daily permits are not valid in reserved lots.
