[Civil Rights]
"Bank of Amerika" – 1970 Poster
Metamorphosis. March 1, 1970. Original 1970 protest poster by Metamorphosis responding to the February 1970 burning of the Isla Vista, CA branch of Bank of America. The poster shows a mock check – "Bank of Amerika / National Trust and Savings Association / Isla Vista Branch" – superimposed with an image of the Isla Vista Bank of America branch up in flames. Mild creases to the corners; in overall fine condition. 34.25 x 22.75 inches (87 x 57.8 cm.).During a February 1970 rally at the University of California in Santa Barbara protesting issues including the firing of several radical faculty, police harassment of black student activists, and the Vietnam War, police attacked students. The local Bank of America branch was burnt down during the ensuing large scale battle for the streets of Isla Vista. The present poster was mass produced, and popular with students across the U.S. The protest was part of a series of such demonstrations throughout the campuses of the University of California responding to the societal angst of the 1950s-1960s. Students drew the ire of Governor Ronald Reagan and the mainly conservative Board of Regents. In turn they cut budgets for higher education and started the present day tuition system. UCSB students responded in 1970 with a series of campus protests that sparked a year of conflict between the students, UC and UCSB administration, and local law enforcement. (19734)
Law, Politics & Social Sciences History & Historiography Poster