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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Return of the [U.S.S.] Missouri : The mobile Chernobyl c. 1985 Poster has a drawing of a large ship with USS Missouri on the bow. On the ship are bombs and nuclear barrels. In the background is the city skyline of San Francisco and the Oakland Bay Bridge....	Go With Goldwater c. 1964 Poster has a black drawing of a large mushroom cloud in the center. In the middle of the cloud is "...Go With Goldwater" printed in red. The poster is a Barry Goldwater campaign slogan.
I Thirst c.1969 Top of poster has black background with the white text: "I thirst". Below is a photograph of the face of a young male who has been blindfolded and gagged, he has sand or dirt in his hair and on...	Into Your Hands c.1969 The top of the poster has a black background with the white text: "into your hands". Below is a photograph of a group of women and children seated and huddled near a decrepit cinderblock wall. One...
My God, My God c.1969 Poster has a photograph of bombing aircraft in the sky dropping bombs, overall. The top of the photograph shows a number of bombers in flight. Below is the text: "My God, my god". The bottom of...	Blockade Livermore : Stop the weapons lab : No nuclear war c. 1982 Poster has a black circle with a white nuclear bomb in the center and white line crossing it out. Around the circle is "Stop the weapons lab No nuclear war" printed in black. The top has "Blockade...
It is Finished c. 1969 The poster has a photograph of the back of a large armored vehicle with two soldiers seated atop it. The vehicle has a large white star and the text: "US APMX / 12 BX 84" on it. The vehicle is...	You Will Be With Me c. 1969 Poster has a photograph of an elderly bearded man in black who has been gagged and blindfolded. The man appears to be seated on the ground with his knees in front of him and his back leaning...
Father, Forgive c. 1969 Top of poster has a white background with the black text: "Father, forgive". Below the poster has a photograph of a large group of soldiers in helmets and packs. Poster is part of a series of...	(broken gun) 1964 Poster has a stylized drawing of two hands breaking a rifle in half, with the barrel of the gun at left and the butt at right. The upper left corner of the poster has small piece of paper adhered...
Woman: Your Son : Son: Your Mother c. 1969 Left side of poster has black background with white text: "Woman: your son / Son: your mother". The right side of the poster has a photograph of a male soldier holding a gun pointed at a civilian...	Miss Amerika Classic Plastic Saichi Kawahara ~ artist 1970 Poster has a blue background with a drawing of a woman's face in white in the center. The woman has large red lips and big white teeth. She is smiling with a crown on her head. Under the...
(Lyndon B. Johnson quote) Pandora Productions 1968 Poster has a background image in greenand white of police beating a crowd of protestors. The bottom right corner has "Our foreign policy must always be an extension of this nations's...	Bring the War Home 1970 Poster has a black and white drawing of Richard Nixon along the right. He is holding a double gun barrel with "Student Dead Panther Dead" printed in red on the barrels. The upper left of the...
Stop policing the world c. 1970 Poster is printed on tractor feed printer paper with red image and text. The center of the poster has two red pig figures in helmets. The bottom left corner has USA. The right of the poster reads...	End all war now 1970 Poster is printed on brown paper with black text and image. In the center is a drawing of man who on the right is in a soldier uniform and on the left is in a police uniform. The poster reads, "...
No Christmas-as-usual c. 1971 Top of poster has a red rectangle with the white text: "No Christmas-as-usual". Below the poster has a photograph of a large cemetery with numerous identical tombstones. One of these...	The People United Will Never Be Defeated c. 1974 The poster has a drawing of six human figures. From left to right: an older man with one hand on his hip, a young woman pointing at something to her right, a middle aged man also pointing off to...
All Those in Favor of the Death Penalty, Raise Your Hand n.d. Poster has six black and white photographs of world leaders with their right hands raised in the air,presented in two rows of three. The top row has photos of Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, and Saddam...	Frank Zappa 1969 Poster has a black and white photograph of Frank Zappa sitting naked on a toilet. He has on boots. Around him is a swirl patterned border. The bottom center has "Frank Zappa" printed...
Black Sheep Press: Allen Schaaf c. 1972 Poster is in black and white with a dotted background at the top. The top has "Black Sheep Press/ The wildest & wooliest in the west." Below is a drawing of a pig and a black wooly sheep....	Ski Stoned 1970 Poster has a black and white photograph of two men in ski gear on a chair lift. They are passing a joint between the two of them. On the right is a pole with blackletter text. It reads, "Ski...
Sgt. [Sergeant] Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967 In the bottom left corner of the poster are images of the Beatles in their Sgt. Pepper uniforms. The figures are faceless and are smoking a hookah. The smoke from the hookah rises into dream like...	Tomorrow's President 1968 Poster has a bright blue background with an image in the center of a man holding a guitar. The man is wearing bell-bottom pants, a striped shirt, and a bright orange bandanna over his long hair....