PRINTED FOR THE PAST.
PRESERVED FOR OUR FUTURE.
For most of the 20th century, if you wanted to know who was playing Friday night, you looked at a telephone pole. Day-Glo backgrounds, bold wood type, a name you could read from across the street. Billie Holiday. Sam Cooke. Aretha Franklin. James Brown. A rally for Dr. King.
Those posters lasted a week, maybe two. Then they were stapled over to make room for the next show.
The ones that survived record where Black America gathered, whom it celebrated, and what it fought for. Segregated venues and the Chitlin' Circuit. Negro League baseball and Joe Louis. HBCU homecomings. Protest days and civil rights rallies. Carr's and Sparrow's Beach, a Green Book stop where James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Little Richard played when other beaches turned Black families away.
People Get Ready puts that record in one place, in print, preserved for generations.
SEVEN BROTHERS. SEVEN CITIES. ONE YOUNG MAN FROM MOREHOUSE
In 1914, fifteen-year-old Norman Shapiro set up a used miniature letterpress in the basement of his family's Philadelphia row house printing calling cards. His six brothers, sons of Jewish immigrants, none of whom went past sixth grade, soon joined him. By the early 1930s, the Shapiro brothers ran poster companies in seven cities:
Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
For a century, Black promoters, entertainers, and organizers called these shops first.
One of those shops, Southern Poster in Atlanta, employed a Morehouse College student named Martin Luther King Jr. for two years. His father, "Daddy King," drove him to and from the plant. The relationship lasted long after. The family later helped Dr. King raise funds and printed many of his civil rights posters, including the iconic "I AM A MAN" poster.
Lori Gale and her father, Duke Zimmerman, are the third and fourth generations of printers in that family. They spent years tracking down surviving posters, researching who printed them and why, and gathering the voices of the people who lived this history.
“We want people to appreciate that there is an important story about civil rights and the Black American experience in these posters.” — Lori Gale and Duke Zimmerman
PRIDE. PREJUDICE. PROTEST. PROMISE.
Throughout People Get Ready, the posters sit beside the stories they belong to: newspaper headlines of the era, profiles of the artists and athletes they promoted, and the movement happening around them.
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THE MUSIC. Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, B.B. King, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, Prince, Chuck Brown, Public Enemy. Gospel, R&B, Motown, Go-Go, and hip-hop.
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THE MOVEMENT. Posters for Dr. King, "Stop Work Day," and the protests that changed the country, alongside excerpts from the era's anthems.
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THE ARENAS. Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, 1938. Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Monarchs, 1942. The Harlem Globetrotters in the early 1950s. Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1987. Larry Holmes vs. Mike Tyson.
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THE CRAFT. The carved wood blocks used to print the posters, shown beside the finished work, so you can see how it was made.
With perspectives from civil rights scholars, music and entertainment historians, poster collectors, and graphic design educators. Music sections are edited by Damon Williams, Executive Director of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and nephew of R&B legend Ruth Brown. The chapter on the Black press is written by Dr. Frances "Toni" Draper, publisher and CEO of AFRO News, and the gospel chapter by gospel choir conductor Dr. Marco K. Merrick
TWO WAYS TO BRING IT HOME
Classic Edition
An exploration of iconic posters chronicling a century of African American struggle and triumph in the fight for civil rights. Beginning with Jim Crow, these posters form a time capsule of the athletes, comedians, musicians, protesters, and civil rights leaders who pushed forward, spoke out, broke barriers, and demanded change against the odds. Their bravery and resistance carved a path for all who followed.
$149
plus applicable taxes and shipping
Shipping anticipated in early November.
Earliest orders ship first.
RESERVE MY COPY!
Collector's
Limited Edition
Edition limited to 250 books!
Hand-signed and numbered with a custom dedication upon request. Premium print treatment and features, packaged in a
gift-worthy clamshell presentation box. Books are hand-numbered (1/250 to 250/250) in the order they are reserved.
$325
plus applicable taxes and shipping
Shipping anticipated in early November.
Earliest orders ship first.
RESERVE MY COPY!
THE BOOK FAMILIES ARE BUYING FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR GRANDCHILDREN
HEAR FROM THOSE WHO KNOW AND LIVED THESE STORIES
"This vibrant tour is a joy. People Get Ready shows art and black music crossing barriers to spread freedom."
— Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–63
"People Get Ready is a tour de force showcasing Globe Poster's archive, works that the collecting community widely regards as the finest boxing-style concert posters ever made."
— Pete Howard, Director of Concert Posters, Heritage Auctions
"Through these bold posters, People Get Ready captures how activism and music have long gone hand in hand, using art to inspire change during the civil rights era, unite communities, and amplify powerful voices."
— Ronald "Moe" Moten, Founder and CEO of the Go-Go Museum in Washington, D.C.
"People Get Ready is a captivating visual journey through the bold type and vibrant neon color of Globe Poster. A treat for any history and music lover."
— Dyana Williams, co-founder of Black Music Month and CEO of Influence Entertainment
"Richly illustrated and deeply researched, People Get Ready is a rare combination of visual history and historical discovery. These striking posters offer a fresh perspective on the civil rights movement, illuminating long-hidden connections and revealing how the same Baltimore that gave the nation Thurgood Marshall also produced a visual and musical culture that helped drive national change."
— Larry S. Gibson, civil rights historian, law professor, and author of Young Thurgood: The Making of a Supreme Court Justice
