John Sinclair Freedom Rally

John Sinclair Jr., imprisoned leader of the Radical White Panthers, is shown in this March 16, 1971 photo before his sentencing in Detroit, Mich. Sinclair was sentenced 9 to 10 years at the Marquette, Mich., state prison for a drug law violation.

John Sinclair, a champion of legal marijuana, counterculture hero and poet, died Tuesday morning, April 2, 2024 of congestive heart failure at Detroit Receiving Hospital at age 82. In this photo he is seen promoting his book, "It's All Good: A John Sinclair Reader," at The Book Beat in Oak Park. in October 2015.

John Sinclair, a poet and marijuana activist pictured in 1968, became the face of the movement to legalize marijuana in Michigan in the 1960s and the 1970s. "When I said marijuana should be legalized (in the mid 1960s), they thought I was just talking jibberish," said Sinclair. "8% supported legalization of marijuana. Now it’s 67.

Sinclair, now 80, at his home in Detroit, Michigan on November 18, 2021. He spent two and a half years in prison on a 10-year felony for giving two joints to an undercover Detroit narcotics officer. The John Sinclair Freedom Rally on Dec. 10, 1971 attracted some of the biggest names in music, including John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger and more.

Sinclair sits with his daughter Sunny before his prison sentence. The founder of the White Panther Party, an anti-racist group, Sinclair was a freqent target of authorities. In July of 1969, a Wayne County jury found him guilty of marijuana possession. Judge Robert Colombo of Detroit's Recorders Court sentenced him to 9 1/2 to 10 years in prison and denied appeal bond.

After a series of concerts and events to raise money for Sinclair's defense, his supporters decided to hold the John Sinclair Freedom Rally at Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena. When former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, agreed to headline, tickets quickly sold out.

Leni Sinclair, wearing a "Free John Now!" shirt with a marijuana plant, fought for years to have her husband, John Sinclair released. Before Lennon and Ono committed to headline the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, ticket sales lagged.

From left to right, Sinclair's wife, Leni Sinclair, daughter Sunny, brother David Sinclair and attorney Hugh "Buck" Davis hold a press conference in this undated photos to raise awareness of Sinclair's cause. Sinclair's followers held a series of events and rallies before the event at Crisler Arena to raise money for his defense.

An original poster from the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, designed by Gary Grinshaw, hangs in Frank and Peggy Bach's living room. The speakers included some of the biggest left-wing activists of the 1960s and 70s: Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and more.

Bob Seger was originally supposed to headline the John Sinclair Freedom Rally in Ann Arbor until John Lennon and Yoko Ono got on board.

Former Yippie leader Jerry Rubin, pictured in 1972, told Lennon and Ono about John Sinclair's plight, inviting them to perform at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally in December of 1971. Sinclair said he and Rubin were friends.

Performing in the early morning hours of Dec. 11, Ono and Lennon performed several songs, including "John Sinclair," the song Lennon wrote for Sinclair. "Apathy isn't it," said Lennon during the rally. Behind them, Jerry Rubin played the bongos.

From left to right, Ono, Lennon, Leni Sinclair and John Sinclair stayed in touch after his release from prison. They're together in 1972 in the Lennons' basement apartment on Banks Street in New York.

Sinclair speaks at Ann Arbor's Hash Bash in 2018. The first one was held in 1972, five months after Sinclair's release from prison and a month after the Michigan Supreme Court deemed the state's marijuana laws as unconstitutional, clearing Sinclair and other felons sentenced.

Once a target of legal authorities, Sinclair received a proclamation from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for his poetry and political activism for his 80th birthday in October.

A Hash Bash frisbee in Sinclair's apartment from 2019.

Celia Sinclair sits with her father, John Sinclair. She was born while Sinclair was in prison.

Sinclair plans to hold a gathering at the Ralston Healing Center on Dec. 10 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rally.