Psychedelic Robert Kennedy Original Campaign Poster, May 1968

This Kennedy campaign poster may not glow under black lights, but the outstanding original piece is completely retro coming straight from the Peace & Love 'Mod' era, and will include an original Kennedy "Peace" campaign pin. The branches of the Peace sign were rendered using Kennedy's initials of "RFK" and  metaphorically appear as the roots of a tree.

Fantastic Original 8.5" x 11" hot orange and green Robert Kennedy campaign poster, in Fine condition. Housed within a black folder which includes a copy of the Robert Kennedy's "People for Kennedy, California '68" campaign, and the Original "RFK" campaign peace pin.  California was the battleground for Kennedy to win the nomination with his campaign pulling out all the punches.

As the February 5th California primary approaches we might learn something from looking at how Senator Robert F. Kennedy won the state in 1968 against both Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy and Vice-President Hubert Humphrey (who was not on the ballot but had a stand-in candidate). The following are excerpts from the California campaign chapter of my book, In His Own Right: The Political Odyssey of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, (Columbia, 2001):

California was the most important testing ground for Kennedy’s ability to win delegates, and hence the nomination; a loss there would stop his campaign in its tracks. If he produced a victory, the one hundred and seventy-four votes of the California delegation in the winner-take-all primary would place him in a far stronger position going into the convention. A win in California was essential if Kennedy were to use his primary victories to impress upon Democratic power brokers that he was the only candidate who could win for the party in November. The only chance Kennedy had for winning the nomination was to keep up the pressure on state delegations to be responsive to grass-roots citizen action.

The state was well known for its schizophrenic politics that seesawed back and forth between conservatives and liberals. Despite Ronald Reagan’s 1966 gubernatorial victory, (and his jockeying for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 in what the press had dubbed a “non-campaign”), registered Democrats in California outnumbered Republicans by over a million. The notion that California represented a “microcosm” of the nation had been repeated in the news media so often it had become cliché. In 1968, California’s more than 10 million inhabitants made it the most populous state in the union. It was also the most ethnically and racially diverse, with large numbers of Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latinos. Californians were employed in all of the significant sectors of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, and high-technology industry. The results of the 1968 California primary were the first ever tallied by computer.

Conceding that McCarthy was stronger among white, middle-class youth, the campaign tapped young people in African-American and Latino communities. “Ghetto youth can be mobilized for voter registration and organization of neighborhood groups,” a planning memo stated, and “provide the Senator with opportunities to talk and meet with kids from the central cities to discuss their problems and hopes.” The campaign sought to harness the energies of young blacks, many of whom at that time drifted away from peaceful protest and participatory democracy toward a politics of separatism and violence.

The Youth and Student Division came under intense pressure to enlarge its base. It even reached out for support in the heart of the counterculture. “Students for Kennedy” organized a free “Rock Rally” in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park billed as “America’s first political happening. Admission is free. No speeches. No apple pie.” The young activists promised appearances by Sonny and Cher, “a bevy of rock groups,” and a number of “surprise guests.” “Free oranges, apples and balloons will be served,” a Youth for Kennedy spokesperson announced. The Kennedy forces made every possible effort to compete with McCarthy among young people with a degree of success.

Kennedy had clearly won the Hollywood celebrity count. Included on the Kennedy committee, among many others, were: Lauren Bacall, Otto Preminger, Mahalia Jackson, Sidney Portier, Janet Leigh, Connie Stevens, Shelley Winters, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak, Trini Lopez, Milton Berle, Henry Mancini, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Marlo Thomas.

Kennedy could count on well-known actors and entertainers who shared his views on the war and on race relations. The campaign organized two “Kennedy for President” galas, one at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on May 24, the other at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium on June 1. These “star-studded,” nationally televised events gave Kennedy added exposure inside the “media state.” A unique tactical alliance developed between California’s exorbitantly wealthy celebrity class, and some of the poorest, most dispossessed people of the state. Kennedy’s enlistment of the Hollywood elite built on his family ties to the entertainment industry dating back to the 1920s, and helped craft the image that he might restore to the White House some of the glamour of Camelot.

Perfect "Mod" memorabilia with a retro throwback to the Peace and Love era with a surreal somber ending, culminating in the assassination of Robert Kennedy only several weeks later.

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