African American Politics Socialism Newsletters Presidential Halstead Boutelle

Description: [Group of Flyers and Periodicals from the Halstead and Boutelle 1968 Presidential Campaign Compiled by African American Activist Couple] Title: [Group of Flyers and Periodicals from the Halstead and Boutelle 1968 Presidential Campaign Compiled by African American Activist Couple] Publication: Detroit, Michigan: 1967-1968 Description: Thirteen flyers and/or stapled periodicals most on 8½” x 11” sheets. Generally good to very good. This is a collection of 13 items from the Detroit-area offices of the 1968 presidential campaign of Fred Halstead and Paul Boutelle (H&B). They were compiled by an African American activist couple from Detroit, Jerry and Judy Watts. Little is known of either person. Years ago we acquired some of their papers and from the items on offer we know that Judy was the Michigan Coordinator for H&B and we learn more about her ideology in an article she wrote for an H&B newsletter included here. Thanks to a brief profile in a 1979 issue of the Detroit Free Press which includes an image of Jerry, we know that he was a television graphics artist for Detroit's local channel 2. He was trained in fine and commercial art at Detroit's Center for Creative Studies and in addition to graphics, he also did courtroom sketches for trial stories and composite drawings for police. As of 1975 he was listed as the art director for a periodical issued by Detroit's Pan-African Congress, The Spokesman. H&B ran as candidates for the SWP and according to a summary issued by the SWP, the 1968 campaign was a success in that: “millions heard Halstead, Boutelle or one of the 45 local SWP candidates on radio or television or read about them in the newspapers. Thousands heard them speak at campus and high school meetings and at antiwar rallies . . . Another significant achievement was the penetration of the campaign into the South. Both Halstead and Boutelle spoke in southern states and Boutelle made a tour of southern black campuses.”According to E. James West's article, “Paul Boutelle’s 1968 Vice-Presidential Campaign”, on the African American Intellectual History Society website, Boutelle was born in Harlem in 1934, “grew up in New York City and he became politically active as a young adult . . . [and] emerged as a key member of the Freedom Now Party, a short-lived Black political party formed around the time of the 1963 March on Washington, and was the Party’s candidate for the New York State Senate during the 1964 elections. Following Malcolm X’s split from the Nation of Islam, Boutelle joined the fledgling Organization of Afro-American Unity and was present when Malcolm was assassinated . . . After the collapse of the Freedom Now Party, Boutelle turned his attentions towards the Socialist Workers Party, running for Manhattan borough president in 1965 and state attorney general in 1966 on the Socialist ticket.” The collection has five campaign newsletters of varying lengths, some of which were also called “campaigners.” They begin in 1967 with Issue No. 1 of the “Michigan Newsletter” for the Young Socialists for Halstead and Boutelle (YSHB) which laid out the goals of the organization and had a separate leaf attached with a two page “Statement by Michigan Young Socialists for Halstead and Boutelle: YOUTH CAN SUPPORT BLACK LIBERATION THROUGH SUPPORTING SOCIALIST CANDIDATES.” The collection also has the YSHB's first Campaigner issued March 2, 1968. It's notable simply because it has survived, but is critically important for its column by Judy Watts who is identified as the “Michigan Coordinator—Afro-Americans for Halstead and Boutelle.” The column discussed “Choice 68,” a nationwide referendum performed on college campuses in April 1968 that measured interest in presidential candidates as well as proposed solutions to the war in Vietnam. Watts shared in part,“Many black militants may feel that they must vote for Rev. Martin Luther King because he is the only listed black candidate. As an Afro-American and a socialist, I believe that the time has come for blacks to vote politically and not just for 'black visibility.' . . . On the rebellions which have paralyzed cities for the last few years, Halstead and Boutelle . . . recognize that every single uprising has been triggered by overt acts of police brutality, coupled with price-gouging merchants and landlords, high rates of unemployment, pathetic schools and slum housing . . . King, on the other hand, still maintains his position of non-violence and action through moral redemptive suffering . . . Martin Luther King is a reformist. This means that he believes that the present system can be modified to make life better for Americas 22 million blacks. He does not see the abolishing of the capitalist system as a necessary measure to establish a rational society which has done away with war and racism and unemployment.” Judy Watts also appears as the signatory for a cover letter for yet another differently named group, “afro-americans for halstead and boutelle,” (AAHB). The letter, which is signed in ballpoint, “Judy,” announced the first issue of the Michigan AAHB Newsletter and accompanies a copy of the Michigan-only version of the newsletter. It appears to be the only known copy and was produced on acidic letterhead while mentioning that the national version of the newsletter had been recently mailed. The collection also includes Vol. 1, No. 2 of the national AAHB newsletter. Rounding out the group are a few flyers on “Socialist Workers Campaign Committee” letterhead, which give news updates and include calls to join rallies and a few event flyers including a photographically illustrated flyer for Boutelle's talk at Debs Hall, “Black Nationalism and Socialism.” A rare group of items documenting the Detroit campaign hub for Halstead and Boutelle, with only two of the newsletters located in OCLC. A full inventory with notes on each item is available. Good. Seller ID: 8000 Subject: African Americana, Newsletters, Politics, Socialism This item is offered by Langdon Manor Books, LLC, antiquarian booksellers. Please do not hesitate to contact us for additional information and/or photos and we will respond promptly. We package our items carefully, ship daily, and have a no hassle returns policy--your satisfaction is guaranteed. 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Price: 1250 USD

Location: Houston, Texas

End Time: 2025-01-05T18:52:56.000Z

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