Political Posters

The “All Of Us Or None” (AOUON) archive project was started by Free Speech Movement activist Michael Rossman in 1977 to gather and document posters of modern progressive movements in the United States. Though some early works are included, its focus is on the domestic political poster renaissance that began in 1965 and continues to this day. When Rossman died May 12, 2008 his family donated the collection to the Oakland Museum of California. More …

The Archive gathered posters from all streams of progressive activity — from movements of protest, liberation, and affirmative action, trade union and community struggles, to electoral and environmental organizing, community services, and visionary manifestos. It is strongest in work from the San Francisco Bay Area, but its scope is national: approximately one-quarter of its holdings come from out of state, primarily New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. These are complemented by a representation of international work. The collection consists of approximately 24,500 distinct titles.

The collection includes examples from well-known graphic artists including Malaquías Montoya, Emory Douglas, Rachael Romero, Rupert Garcia, Yolanda Lopez, Favianna Rodriguez, Carlos Cortez, Nancy Hom, Juan Fuentes, and Jos Sances, as well as material from seminal collective workshops such as La Raza Silkscreen, the Royal Chicano Air Force, Japantown Art and Media, Kearny Street Workshop, and Inkworks Press. Perhaps more important, the depth and breadth of the collection reveals the contribution of numerous lesser known or even anonymous artists whose cumulative impact on this democratic public art form has yet to be properly understood.

The cataloging of the AOUON Archive was made possible by a generous grant from the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation.

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Our Students Deserve Well-Paid Educators Late 20th Early 21st Century This is a white sign with blue text reading "Our Students / Deserve / Well-paid / Educators / If not now, when?" "California Federation / of Teachers / AFT, AFL-CIO" is at the bottom of the page...	Lip Service Doesn't Pay The Bills Inkworks Press, printer Late 20th Early 21st Century This is a white sign with blue text reading "Lip Service / Doesn''t / Pay The Bills / If not now, when?" "California Federation / of Teachers / AFT, AFL-CIO" is at the bottom of the page.
Keep Bessie In Harlan Late 20th Early 21st Century This poster is made up of light green, white, and gray illustrations of a group of coal miners in a wooded, mining setting. They are holding protest signs, tools, and a newspaper. The bottom third...	Bread And Roses Paul Davis, artist 1978 This poster has a light yellow margins and an orange background in the center. It features an illustration of a woman with an afro hair style and pink roses curled around her neck and head. Blue...
The Ninth Annual Stanford Health Policy Forum 1995 This poster advertises "The Ninth Annual Stanford Health Policy Forum". There is an image of a man''s face surrounded by hands holding alternative and conventional medical instruments. Text under...	The Politics Of Food And Hunger 1985-1986 This poster has a yellow margin around a dark brown, green, red, and white illustration of a farmworker picking crops in a field. Green and white text at the top of the page lists the date as well...
An Active Resistance Demands an Active Solidarity Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has brown unprinted edges enclosing an orangish-brown background with a stylized color image of four figures standing together, one holding a shovel, in front of a Chilean flag. At the top...	Student Hunger Strike to Free the Haitians Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a black background. At the top is "student hunger strike / to free the Haitians / April 14-21" followed bu a paragraph of text about the struggle of HIV...
Music of Struggle 1975 Poster has white unprinted edges and a blue wavy border enclosing a pink background. At the top is a stylized image of a Chilean flag with the faces of three figures over it in blue. In the white...	Azul Elizabeth Murray, artist Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a stylized background illustration showing a black volcano erupting red steam into the blue sky. Over the steam at the top of the poster is "Azul" in light blue followed by "in...
Holly Near and Inti-Illimani Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a red printed background with black text and a central stylized illustration showing colorful birds flying through the sky over green mountains. At the top and bottom is "holly near And...	untitled (Che Guevara pop art) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has nine frames (three wide and three tall) of colored images of Che Guevara, in a pop art style.
untitled (brick wall) Rodrigo Betancur 1987 Poster has a central stylized brick wall background surrounded by a red, blue and white border. At the top left is a rectangle with cut edges like a postage stamp. The rectangle is white with a...	Armero Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on white paper showing a stylized background of vertical lines and circular scribbles. Off center, near the right is vertical strip of white, with a short white mass...
Breaking the Silence Mission Grafica, designer, printer 1983 Across the bottom of the poster is "to mark 10 years of dictatorship 10 years of resistance 10 years of solidarity" with the Spanish translation across the top, all in brown. At the top left...	Quilapayun Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a black background. At the top is "Music of Struggle" in red and "Quilapayun" in white. At the center is a stylized image of six human faces at the right...
untitled (skull and barbed wire) 1987 Poster has a stylized image of a white skull sitting on the ground in front of a barbed wire fence. Below and to the left of the skull is a red peace symbol.	untitled (tractor) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a stylized image showing a figure driving a tractor into a red sun on the horizon over rows of farmland as birds fly about, in shades of green.
Si Nicaragua Vencio El Salvador Vencera Fireworks Graphics Collective 1984 Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a black spotted background. At the top is "!Si Nicaragua Vencio / El Salvador Vencera!" in purple followed by a white box with three rows/four columns of...	untitled (birds) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a purple background at the bottom that fades to gray and then black at the top, with pink splatters. At the top left are two gray boxes, one with a pink...
untitled (Che Guevara) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a central black and red image, printed on a red printed background, of Che Guevara in his signature red star beret.	untitled (Che Guevara) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a central black and white image of Che Guevara''s face, with his signature star beret on his head.
Patria Libre O Morir circa 1981 Poster has a red printed background with a brown printed strip at the bottom edge. At the top is a black and white image of a man in a cowboy hat, bordered in black. At the bottom right of the...	Imagenes del Pueblo 1988 Poster has a black printed background. At the top is a stylized image of people gathered in front of a church watching a procession. At the bottom of the poster is "Imagenes de Pueblo /...