1. History Lessons Through Political Artwork
My internship at the Center for the Study of Political Graphics has been a wonderful,
diverse learning experience. It has given me insight into the diligent, dedicated work of
archivists, unique history lessons about various movements such as the Anti-Vietnam War
Movement, and fascinating little bits of history that are shockingly neglected.
Through this internship, I got my first glimpse of the work archivists do. They definitely
do very important work that is not given nearly enough credit. After learning to input all the
details about poster after poster as well as providing linked terms to assist researchers in their
work, I have learned that so much of history and powerful works could easily be lost or of no use
to researchers if archivists did not do the meticulous work behind the wonderful archives people
have access to.
I remember at a birthday party we had for one of the women at the office, Carol, she
talked about why she chose to hire Joy as an archivist. She said that when she asked Joy why she
wanted to be an archivist. Joy said that too many of the archives are filled with the stories of rich,
white men, and she wanted to document the stories of other people. I think it is really powerful
that archivists can work to ensure the preservation of the stories of marginalized peoples such as
people of color, women, the LGBTQ community, and the poor. It was a great joy to work with
people who understood the importance of making sure marginalized peoples’ stories were
represented in archives and could be accessed by researchers as well as museums that were
looking for pieces to exhibit. I honestly knew little to nothing about archiving before my
internship, and it has given me greater appreciation for the art databases I had previously just
clicked through for research papers without thought of how they were created.

2. I also worked on some of the digital copies of the images. I cropped the digital versions
of the posters using Photoshop. Digitalizing artwork allows for the globalization of the works.
Once the photos are uploaded onto Internet databases or websites, people who are geographically
removed from the artwork will also be able to see them. Moreover, because not all of the
artworks in archives are chosen for exhibitions, by having digital copies of the works available
online, people can still view the artworks and write about them, thus increasing the circulation of
lesser known artworks.
Also, as part of my archiving training, I learned how to create linked terms for the
political posters we worked with. For an anti-Vietnam War poster, for example, I might use
linked terms such as “Vietnam War,” “peace,” “protests,” “women,” “children,” and “weapons.”
This allows researchers to have an easier time finding pieces that would be helpful to them by
searching the linked terms. Archivists, in a way, complete the first step in the research process by
organizing the information in a way that makes it easily searchable and easy to keep track of.
Each poster at CSPG, for example, has a unique ID number that can help researchers keep track
of pieces they use and refer back to it. The research process would be so much more difficult
without carefully organized archives, which really illustrates how shocking it is that archiving is
something people pay so little attention to and know very little about.
In addition to learning about the work of archiving, I have also gained valuable historical
lessons from the content of the political posters. The political posters I have seen here have
educated me about so many individuals and events that I was not taught in school. This reminded
me of a conversation I had with my dad over the summer. My family background is unique in
that my mom lives with my sister and me in California, and my dad lives in Taiwan, so I divide

3. my time between the United States and Taiwan. I have received all of my education in the United
States but had never really thought about how that shaped my perspectives of the world. Over the
summer, my dad asked me to interrogate how my American identity has affected my view of
historical events and the current decisions of the United States. Also, in another one of my
classes, my professor echoed my dad’s sentiment. My professor taught us about how massacres
and conflicts between countries are taught to students of the respective countries differently. One
country would call a violent event a masscare, and the other country involved in the same
conflict would call it a small altercation or even deny it completely. I find it scary and
enlightening to learn that oftentimes history is not merely a static truth but that the realities we
learn in school are shaped by where we are getting our education.
One of the most shocking things I learned at my internship is when I learned about
Shirley Chisholm. I was cataloguing some campaign posters for her, and I was surprised to learn
that she was the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. I had never even
heard of her name before! What she pursued was groundbreaking for women, and yet she was
not even mentioned in my United States history or government class. I thought of how Hillary
Clinton, on the other hand, received much attention for her pursuit of the Democratic presidential
nomination. I had actually incorrectly thought that Hillary Clinton was the first woman to pursue
the Democratic presidential nomination. There is often an imbalance in the representation of
people of color in textbooks and schools, so I wonder if that has something to do with her erasure
in the history lessons I received in high school. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about
her and the groundbreaking feat she achieved in history that is far too unknown today.

4. Furthermore, I have learned that art provides a space in which people can learn about
controversial issues. Especially with political posters, issues, people, and topics that are too
controversial to be discussed in classrooms or news sources can be learned about. Through the
political posters about her, I learned about Assata Shakur, an African American activist and a
part of the former Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. She escaped from prison and
was the first woman on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. She is now currently living in Cuba and
unable to return to the United States. I am not surprised that schools do not teach about
controversial people such as Assata Shakur, but it was fascinating to learn about her story. I also
learned about Mumia Abu-Jamal from my internship. Mumia Abu-Jamal is an African American
activist and journalist who became incarcerated for the murder of police officer, Daniel Faulkner.
Many groups and individuals do not believe that Mumia Abu-Jamal received a equitable trial.
The Center for the Study of Political Graphics had a large quantity of posters about Mumia
Abu-Jamal, which really sparked my interest in him. It is amazing that so many groups and
individuals have organized and created posters calling for a retrial for Mumia’s case. Political
posters are a really fascinating art form in that they really overtly combine art with a message.
CSPG takes mainly political posters that have overt political messages, so it was interesting to
see the many voices expressed through the posters as well as all of the posters that sought to
organize people for demonstrations or rallies over certain issues such as anti-war movements.
Moreover, one of the archivists that I work with, Elvia, told me that all of the posters of Mumia
are from earlier times, because although he is still alive and imprisoned, a law passed that
forbade photographs of him from being taken. It made me realize the power of organized efforts.
Mumia garnered a lot of support and outrage over his questionable trial, and efforts to censor

5. pictures of him show the strength of the support he garnered. It also demonstrates the power of
an image. They did not even want a mere photo of him from circulating! It definitely exemplifies
the power an image can have on people.
I have also learned that art connects you to historical moments in exciting and personal
ways. One of the most exciting moments during my time at my internship was when I found a
political poster that had an original Rosa Parks signature on it (Image is attached in the
Appendix). It was so exciting to know that years ago, she, a great African American woman
activist in history, had signed this paper. It was a powerful experience that went beyond when I
first heard Rosa Parks name and learned of what she accomplished in my high school history
class. Similarly, it was so much more powerful to see the images and anti-war sentiments
expressed in the posters in the Vietnam War folders than hearing about it in a class where
oftentimes history seems so far away. When the messages are loud, and you are aware that real
people put these posters together and took a stand; it is impossible to not hear the message and
feel something. The images used were also very moving. Many of the Anti-Vietnam War posters
featured pictures of suffering mothers and children, child soldiers, destruction, and violence. It
illustrated the reality and consequences of war in a detailed and powerful way.
I am so grateful for my experience at the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. I am
happy to have met the archivists I have had the opportunity to learn from as well as befriend.
Learning about the quiet, often unnoticed work that they do has been eye-opening and
educational. I have been able to hear all of the voices of protesters and organizers of various
political movements throughout history such as The LGBTQ rights movement, The
Anti-Vietnam War movement, and The Civil Rights Movement. I have been able to learn about

6. people and events that are excluded from the education system. To me, that has been the greatest
lesson I have learned from my internship. It is so easy to buy into an education that merely
involves taking whatever is taught by an instructor and regurgitating it back. I am now aware that
there have been so many important people and events in history that I do not know about and that
I want to learn those stories. I am grateful for the dynamic, interactive way I got to learn about
historical events, such as when I see poster after poster of a person or historical event I did not
recognize, decide to look it up, and find myself reading page after page of information about the
person or event. The archivists I worked with encouraged my curiosity and said that the research
I did definitely did not constitute not staying on task. It was a wonderful work environment to be
in, and I learned about people I will not soon forget such as Shirley Chisholm and felt the weight
and realness of what people such as Rosa Parks accomplished. I will not soon forget the
excitement I felt as I held the poster with Rosa Parks signature alongside the text that she was
“the spark that started our freedom movement.” It is amazing and impactful to have learned
about important people and events through pieces that they have left behind such as a beautiful
handwritten signature or an angry protest poster.
Appendix