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Black United Front of Cairo Broadsides (Digitized Content)

2 Items Full Collection Description

The digitized content of the Black United Front of Cairo Broadsides (Digitized Content) consists two broadsides advertising events hosted by the Black United Front of Cairo in 1971 and 1972.

The Black United Front in Cairo, Illinois, was a coalition of Black activist organizations founded in 1969 by Reverend Charles Koen (1945-2018). Koen had also founded the Black Liberators in St. Louis, Missouri, the previous year. The Black United Front organized in response to a vigilante group called the “White Hats” or the “Committee of Ten Million”. The White Hats had been deputized by Cairo city officials in 1967 and harassed black neighborhoods and organizations. Although the group was ordered to disband by the State of Illinois in 1969, the harassment continued. The Black United Front organized demonstrations and boycotts of white businesses throughout the 1970s. The violent period of racial unrest in Cairo from 1967-1973 caused many residents to leave Cairo.

The digitized content contains two broadsides, one from 1971 and one from 1972. Printed in black on an 8.5 by 14-inch sheet, the broadside from 1971 advertised the Cairo Solidarity Rally at Church of the Advocate. It includes a list of participants, including the Black United Front’s founder, Charles Koen, as well as Rev. Calvin B. Marshall, Rev. Muhammad Kenyatta, and Rev. Wycliffe Jangdharrie. Printed in black on a 10.25 by 13.5-inch sheet, the 1972 broadside advertised the 3rd Annual Survival and Solidarity Celebration at St. Columba Church. Participants listed include the Black United Front’s founder Charles Koen; Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette, two of three men known as the Soledad Brothers, who were accused of killing a prison guard in California; and Sallye Davis, mother of political activist Angela Davis.

The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Black United Front of Cairo Broadsides, 1971-1972 (MS 1137). The collection was completely digitized in 2026. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.

Cairo Solidarity Rally Poster, 1971 — 1137_0001_01-001