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Register of the Frontline Photograph Collection, 1979-1990
PH 002  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Scope and Content

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Frontline Photograph Collection,
    Date (inclusive): 1979-1990
    Collection number: PH 002
    Creator: Frontline
    Extent: 3 document cases

    1 cubic feet
    Repository: Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research.
    Los Angeles, California
    Language: English.

    Administrative Information

    Access

    The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles.  The Library is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research query prior to making a visit.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Frontline Photograph Collection, Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, Los Angeles.

    Scope and Content

    Frontline, a bi-monthly newspaper, began in April 1983. Its mission was to represent the interests and causes of the working class under its masthead slogan On the Frontline in the Struggle Against War and Racism. The political perspective underlying Frontline was developed in the theoretical journal Line of March, and it was through the editorial board of the journal that the resources to launch Frontline were concentrated. Published in Oakland, California, Frontline was financed through subscription and donation, refusing to run commercial advertising of any kind. In an attempt to create a more united left, in early 1990 the staffs of Frontline and the leftist magazine North Star Review joined together with other progressive minded individuals to start Crossroads. A monthly magazine, Crossroads ran from June 1990 until its demise in August 1996. A few of the photographs in the collection were used in Crossroads, but the vast majority are from Frontline.
    Approximately 95 percent of the photograph collection covers the period from 1980-1990 and is divided into three categories:
    1. subjects; documentary photographs of places, events, groups, and activities used to illustrate the issues and concerns of the editorial staff.
    2. individuals; arranged alphabetically by last name.
    3. oversize prints; consisting of six 11 × 14 photos
    While the individuals category includes many political leaders and activists of the 1980s, the subjects category features an assortment of fascinating and compelling images from that decade including the Contra war, nuclear disarmament and gay rights marches, Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns, and revolutionary events around the world. There are also many photos illustrating the history of the labor movement in the 1980s, and a unique collection of activist singers and musical groups.