Picket line, 1948, Los Angeles

Photograph of picketers, under the watchful eye of a policeman, marching in downtown Los Angeles in support of the New York 12. The 12 were members of the National Committee of the Communist Party who in 1948 were indicted for conspiring to subvert the government. The indictment listed the acts of subversion as: organizing a political party dedicated to Marxism-Leninism; promoting Marxism-Leninism in publications; and establishing schools to teach the need to overthrow the government by force or violence. Eleven of the 12 were tried in the U.S. District Courthouse in Foley Square, New York City; all were convicted and sentenced to serve prison terms. Defendants appealed their convictions, but the U.S. Supreme Court in 1951 upheld the trial court's decision