Black Power / Burn Baby Burn. Watts, Harlem, Chicago, Cleveland, Newark, Detroit. Where Next?
by [Wooden nickel]
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Wooden token printed in red ink on one side ("Burn Baby Burn") and black on the other ("Black Power.") Approx. 1.5 in. diameter, and 0.125 in. thick (38 mm diameter ; 3.2 mm thickness.) Very good. Loose as issued. [1413]
A remarkable novelty item presenting the image of a black hand crushing a frail-looking Uncle Sam figure on one side, with an image of a burning urban skyline on the other. First popularized in the 1930s, "wooden nickels" were often used by local banks or merchants in connection with a promotion for products or services. In this case, the item serves as a form of currency designed to transmit a potent but compact expression of Black anger. While undated, this wooden nickel was likely produced during the late 1960s, when the cities named on the coin's face experienced uprisings that threatened the white establishment with retribution for racist harrassment of Black citizens. The work also resonnates with the popular folk adage cautioning people against accepting false promises, i.e. "taking wooden nickels." We cannont find the item in institutional holdings online.
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Details
- Seller
- Arthur Fournier Fine & Rare (US)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 1413
- Title
- Black Power / Burn Baby Burn. Watts, Harlem, Chicago, Cleveland, Newark, Detroit. Where Next?
- Author
- [Wooden nickel]
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Place of Publication
- N.p.
- Date Published
- : N.d. [196?]
- Size
- 1.5 in. diameter
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs