PBA Galleries

Single sheet, printed in green on one side. 35.5x21.5 cm (14x8½").

OCLC/WorldCat lists only two copies at Yale and the New York Public Library, and describes the piece at length: Broadside printed on one side in green, with picture of marijuana plant in double-lined circle.  Declaration includes the following: "We hold these experiences to be self-evident, that all is equal, that the creation endows us with certain inalienable rights, that among these are: the freedom of body, the pursuit of joy, and the expansion of consciousness." Announces the "Love-Pageant Rally" in Golden Gate Park on October 6, 1966, to mark the day that LSD becomes illegal in California, "to affirm our identity, community, and innocence from influence of the fear addiction of the general public as symbolized in this law."/ "Bring The Color Gold ... Bring Photos Of Personal Saints And Gurus And Heroes Of The Underground ... Bring Children ... Flowers ... Flutes ... Drums ... Feathers ... Bands ... Beads [etc.]." The event was envisioned by San Francisco Oracle editors Allen Cohen and Michael Bowen as an alternative to protest and as a celebration of the psychedelic life. The bands Grateful Dead (performing their new song "Alice D. Millionaire"), Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Wildflower played for approximately 800 people, and the event's success helped prepare the way for the Human Be-In on January 14, 1967. Provenance: The Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street. With a sheet of letterhead from the shop signed by proprietor Jay Thelin. The shop closed in October, 1967, and the broadside has been in Mr. Thelin's possession since that time.