Photograph of a theater marquee promoting Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A color photograph captured by Melvin Van Peebles of a movie theater marquee promoting its showing of Van Peebles' film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. The image depicts the front of the State Theater in Long Beach, California. The theater marquee appears above the ground floor entrance of a multi-story building with a white facade. A circle drive leads up to the entrance, with multiple cars parked along the side. Two individuals can be seen walking towards the ticket booth at the center of entrance. Above is a three-sided marquee with [STATE] at the top. The text on the center panel reads [SWEET SWEETBACK] in large black letters with [WAKE UP AND DIE] in smaller red letters below. On the verso is a handwritten inscription in black ink reading [Long Beach].

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