Berkeley Protest Poster collection, May 1970

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Summary

Title:
Berkeley Protest Poster collection
Dates:
May 1970
Abstract:
This collection consists of 13 protest posters hand-serigraphed on the backs of used white computer print-out stock ranging in size from 11 x 15 inches to 15 x 29 inches. These prints were produced in May 1970 by student activists at the University of California, Berkeley, in response to the April 30, 1970, invasion of Cambodia by United States Armed Forces, and to the killings of college student demonstrators at Kent State University in Ohio and Jackson State University in Mississippi. With the exception of Item #2, Amerika Is Devouring Its Children, designed by Jay Belloli, all of the posters in this collection are by unidentified creators. It is likely a number of different artists are represented in the collection given the variety in style, colors, and imagery which appear across the various posters.
Extent:
13 items Prints ranging from 11 x 15 inches to 15 x 29 inches; majority are 15 x 22 inches.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Berkeley Protest Poster Collection, California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of 13 protest posters hand-serigraphed on the backs of used white computer print-out stock ranging in size from 11 x 15 inches to 15 x 29 inches. Serigraphy (also known as silk screening, screen printing, or serigraph printing) is a stencil-based art process in which the artist hand-pulls paint through a silkscreen onto paper. Each serigraph print is unique and involves the work of both artist and printer, particularly for the materials in this collection, which were made by hand. With the exception of Item #2, Amerika Is Devouring Its Children, designed by Jay Belloli, all of the posters in this collection are by unidentified creators. It is likely that a number of different artists are represented in the collection given the variety in style, colors (either blue, green, red, yellow, or black), and imagery apparent across the various posters. Because the materials used were recycled or found materials, the back sides of some of the posters contain unrelated content such as excerpts of early computer programming.

Themes include references to Black Panther leader Bobby Seale and poet Allen Ginsberg; a reproduction of Francisco Goya's painting, "Saturn Devouring his Son"; language and imagery related to peace (such as a dove); references to the United States' use of napalm in Southeast Asia; calls for a strike; and renderings of unidentified Southeast Asian people.

These prints were produced in May 1970 by student activists at the University of California, Berkeley, in response to the April 30, 1970, invasion of Cambodia by United States Armed Forces, and to the killings of college student demonstrators at Kent State University in Ohio and Jackson State University in Mississippi. Poster titles were derived from text found on each print.

Biographical / historical:

Events in the spring of 1970, including the United States' invasion of Cambodia along with the killings of student activists by the National Guard at Kent State University in Ohio and by police forces at Jackson State University in Mississippi, fueled large-scale protest activity across the United States. Political poster workshops arose as students mobilized and prepared to strike. Since the late 1960s, leadership in the development of autonomous political poster workshops at universities and colleges in the Bay Area came from Malaquías Montoya, a prominent figure in the Chicano Art Movement and co-founder of the Mexican American Liberation Front. Organized by young Chicano artists and staffed by untrained volunteers and students, poster workshops grew up both on and around college campuses.

At the University of California, Berkeley, faculty at the College of Environmental Design offered the use of Wurster Hall for one such screenprint workshop in May 1970. During its brief tenure, the student volunteers who staffed the Berkeley Political Poster Workshop created around 50,000 copies of posters using hundreds of different designs. Posters were created rapidly in a production line, printed on recycled paper and cardboard, and then plastered throughout the campus and surrounding community. UC Berkeley students then initiated a strike, occupied university buildings, and called for reconstructing the university system.

Sources

Janet Turner Print Museum. "Berkeley Political Posters." California State University, Chico. https://www.csuchico.edu/turner/exhibitions/social-commentary/1970-posters.shtml

Cushing, Lincoln. "U.C. Berkeley 1970 workship posters." Docs Populi. https://www.docspopuli.org/articles/Bancroft/1970workshop.html

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Argus Books (city and state unknown), March 1976.
Processing information:

Processed by Marissa Friedman in 2025. Poster titles were derived based on text on each print.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Marissa Friedman
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-08-27 20:49:39 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Unrestricted. Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to California State Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing. Permission for publication is given on behalf of California State Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Berkeley Protest Poster Collection, California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
900 N Street, Room 200, P.O. Box 942837
Sacramento, CA 94237-0001, US
Contact:
(916) 654-0176
cslcal@library.ca.gov
Website