Voting Rights Poster Featuring Muhammad Ali

1960s

Ali's support of the Civil Rights Movement made him a symbol of resistance.

Between 1962 and 1991, the Atlanta-based Voter Education Project (VEP) registered African Americans to vote. Mostly focusing on southern residents, the VEP registered approximately 680,000 Black voters in its first two years.

In this poster, VEP uses boxer Muhammad Ali’s image to encourage Virginians to vote, even referring to Ali’s famous “I am the greatest” quote. Ali was a monumental figure in the 1960s, not only for his boxing accomplishments but for his racial advocacy.