Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.76
Object Name
Poster
Title
Our history did not begin in chains and it will not end in chains
Date
1972-1982
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. This is a green poster with white text and photographic images. White text on the poster reads: "OUR HISTORY DID NOT BEGIN IN CHAINS AND IT WILL NOT END IN CHAINS - Malcolm X" and smaller text at the bottom reads: "The colonialists have a habit of telling us that when they arrived they put us into
history. You are well aware that it's the contrary- when they arrived thy took us out of our own history. Liberation for us is to take back our destiny and out history. - Cabral" Photographs represented on the poster include: African agricultural products and methods of cultivation in 1603, ruins of the African city of Zimbabwe, Bronze panel from Benin, Nigeria, and an Ivory mask representing a king of Benin, with a tiara of small heads depicting the Portugese who first went to Benin around A.D. 1472.
