A black and orange poster of a woman in a Burka on the right side of the image and then an orange smoke cloud behind her with a small crowd of people in the distance. There is the title above and a paragraph of text at the bottom that says, “In 1982, five activists from Squamish, Canada dynamited a hydroelectric project as well as a cruise missile factory, among others. They had become frustrated with conventional forms of activism and non-violent protest, so they took to propaganda of the deed, and made a difference with direct action.”

The Celebrate People’s History posters are rooted in the do-it-yourself tradition of mass-produced political propaganda. These posters embody democracy, inclusion, and group participation in the writing and interpretation of the past. Unlike most political posters, the posters part of the Celebrate People’s History series tell the stories of the underdogs, those individuals and groups helping to move forward the collective struggle of humanity to create a more just world. For 20 years, over 130 different posters have been displayed on the streets of over a dozen cities representing over 150 artists and writers. The Celebrate People’s History Poster Series has been organized and curated by Josh MacPhee since 1998.