People's Flag Show

A statement by Jon Hendricks about the People's Flag Show during hearings on statutory and constitutional responses to the Supreme Court decision in Texas V. Johnson before the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, 1989

The People's Flag Show was a November 1970 exhibition at Judson Memorial Church in New York City by Faith Ringgold, Jean Toche and Jon Hendricks, known as the Judson Three. The exhibition was raided by the police and the artists arrested on a charge of flag desecration. They were convicted and fined $100 each, but this was later overturned with support from the New York Civil Liberties Union.[1][2]

The organizers of the exhibition wanted to test the boundaries of “repressive laws governing so-called flag desecration.”[3] This intent was posted on a flyer calling for artist participation for the week-long event. While the exhibition was not explicitly an antiwar event, it grew out of the antiwar movement, with many of the works included in the exhibition referencing and in some cases expressing disapproval of the Vietnam War.

  1. ^ "Flag Show Artists Fined $100 Apiece". The New York Times. 1971-05-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  2. ^ "Recent Acquisitions: Faith Ringgold, People's Flag Show, 1970, and United States of Attica, 1971–72 | Hood Museum". hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu. January 2013. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  3. ^ "The Opening of the People's Flag Show (9 November 1970) | 1968 @ 50". aap68.yale.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-20.