Racial Equality and Black Power

This exhibit explores the relation of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Philosophy, the continuing movement for racial euality, and the culture of Black Power.  The Modern Civil Rights Movement is usally dated from the Supreme Court's decision on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 to the signing of the Voting Rights Act by President Johnson in 1965.  The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, however, was not formed until 1966.  Through the articles, interviews, cartoons, advertisements, and Bunnies published in Playboy between 1965-1975, it can be seen how Hefner connects his Philosophy to the struggle for not just legislative equality, but true social equality for the races in the United States.

Credits

Samantha Machalik