Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. collection, circa 1992-2026 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. collection, circa 1992-2026

ID: 01/MSS00100

Primary Creator: Kennedy, Amos Paul, Jr.

Extent: 20.0 Cubic Feet

Arrangement:

The Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. collection consists of 15 series arranged by chronologically by year of accession. Series X combines unidentified pre-2011 accessions.

The collection is described at the item level. The contents of each print are transcribed in quotations, following the capitalization and wording of the prints as closely as possible.

Information contained in parentheses within the quotation marks is found at the top or bottom of the print. Often this information refers to the source of the quotation on the print or an organization involved with the event promoted on the print.

Text on the background of the prints is included in brackets within quotations. Any information in brackets outside of the quotations indicates design related characteristics of the given print to distinguish it from other prints with identical text.

Date Acquired: 00/00/1997

Subjects: Artists' Books - United States, Kuba (African people), Smoking -- Folklore, Tales -- Congo (Democratic Republic), Tales -- Nigeria, Yoruba (African people) -- Folklore

Forms of Material: African Americans - Music, American poetry, Christmas music, Miniature Books, Postcards, Proverbs, African, Spirituals (Songs)

Languages: English

This collection consists of letterpress art printed at Kennedy Prints!, Jubilee Press (also Jubalee), or elsewhere by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. (1948-), an American letterpress printer, papermaker, educator, and social activist. Formats include postcards, posters, state road maps, and hand fans. There is also some additional promotional material for events with which Kennedy was involved. Some items for this collection are individually cataloged and searchable in Primo at the link below. Many are also digitized and available to view online as part of our Digital Collections.

See Administrative/Biographical History and Administrative Information for more information.

Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1948. His father, Amos Paul Kennedy Sr., was a professor of agriculture and chemistry who taught at numerous historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) throughout his professional career. In 1972, Kennedy Jr. earned a BA in mathematics at Grambling University, and went on to pursue an MA in education.

Kennedy spent time in the Peace Corps during graduate school, which gave him the opportunity to teach mathematics in Liberia for 18 months. After contracting and recovering from malaria, he returned to the United States and settled in Gaithersburg, Maryland, taking a position with IBM as a systems programmer. He worked there for three years before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked for various computer firms and revived his interest in graduate school—this time for library science.

In 1981, Kennedy moved to Chicago, however, which once again put his formal academic plans on hold. While working for AT&T, he studied calligraphy as a hobby and took letterpress courses at Artist's Book Works, a small non-profit papermaking studio that opened in 1983. His initial interest in the printmaking process was peaked during a trip to Colonial Williamsburg, where he saw the town’s 18th century print shop and book bindery. After six months of coursework, Kennedy came into his own press and, being gifted four cabinets of type by a seasoned printer, quickly transformed his basement into a print shop. This private press was called Idiot Press, its name changing to Kennedy and Sons Fine Printing once he shifted his focus to commercial printing, and later to Jubilee Press (also Jubalee).

In 1995, Kennedy began graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and studied graphic design under Walter Hamady (1940-2019), also taking courses on the history of African art and Vodún. At this time, he moved to Bayside, a suburb of Milwaukee, and worked out of a studio there. He graduated with an MFA in 1997, and in 1998, became the first Black faculty member in the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University.

While living in York, Alabama, in 2002, Kennedy shifted his interest from books to posters and cards. He spent much of the next decade honing his craft in a series of small Alabama towns while traveling to teach, speak, and sell his work. In 2008, he moved to Detroit, Michigan where he established his print shop, Kennedy Prints!.

Using wood type and hand presses, Kennedy produces large editions of wildly colorful, typographically driven posters on inexpensive chipboard stock. His method often involves overprinting multiple layers of text and making constant, subtle alterations to the color of the inks throughout each press run, making each print being subtly unique. He passionately addresses issues of race, freedom, and equality in his work, often incorporating proverbs and tales of the Kuba and Yoruba people of Africa, as well as the work of Black American poets, such as Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Kennedy has printed under a number of press names, including York Show Prints, Kennedy & Sons, Fine Printers, and Kennedy Prints!

As more and more artists seek to steer away from computer-generated art, Kennedy is often credited with the revival of the letterpress in contemporary and folk art.

Artists' Books - United States
Kuba (African people)
Smoking -- Folklore
Tales -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
Tales -- Nigeria
Yoruba (African people) -- Folklore

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Access Restrictions: Open to researchers.

Use Restrictions:

The RBML reproductions policies can be found here:

http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/ReproductionServices.htm

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would damage materials or involve violation of copyright law.

Related Materials:

Amos Kennedy Digital Collection

Interview with Amos Kennedy (University of Wisconsin, Madison Library)

Amos Kennedy print collection (Library of Congress)

Processing Information: https://wiki.cites.uiuc.edu/wiki/display/librare/Home

Finding Aid Revision History: Revised 03/05/2026.

URL: https://go.library.illinois.edu/AmosPaulKennedyJrCatalog

Box and Folder Listing

Series 6: 2018 Accessions

Sub-series 1: Small prints

Box 5

Folder 17

Item 6: “GUERILLA FOOD: Community, Local food, Water is life, Fresh Food, Farm-to-Table (Guerilla Food),” [blue, green, and yellow], 2016-2017

Folder 18

Item 1: “CLASSIC CREATIONS: a brand that specializes in creating classics (CLASSIC CREATIONS)”,, 2016-2017

Item 2: “SELF-MADE, SELF-PAID (CLASSIC CREATIONS)”,, 2016-2017

Item 3: “Life has no limitations except the ones you create (CLASSIC CREATIONS)”, 2016-2017

Item 4: “FAMILY BUSINESS (CLASSIC CREATIONS)”, 2016-2017

Item 5: “CLASSIC MINDEST (CLASSIC CREATIONS)”, 2016-2017

Folder 19

Item 1: “TAYLORED MINDS (TAYLOR’S BARBERSHOP)”, 2016-2017

Item 2: “You can never cross oceans unless you have courage to lose sight of the shore. (TAYLOR’S BARBERSHOP)”, 2016-2017

Item 3: “THINK different BE DIFFERENT (TAYLOR’S BARBERSHOP)”, 2016-2017

Item 4: “TURN YOUR DREAMS INTO REALITY (TAYLOR’S BARBERSHOP)”, 2016-2017

Item 5: “Sometimes life is about risking everything for a dream no one can see but you. (TAYLOR’S BARBERSHOP)”, 2016-2017

Folder 20

Item 1: “Each one, TEACH ONE! (SILK SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 2: “LOVE IS EARNED, NOT BOUGHT. (SILK SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 3: “SUCCESS COMES FROM PASSION (SILK SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 4: “I brought you into this WORLD and I can take you OUT. (SILK SALON)”, 2016-2017

Folder 21

Item 1: “WE ARE FAMILY! (UNLEASHED: THE SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 2: “CURL IT UP! (UNLEASHED: THE SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 3: “WE LOVE OUR CRAFT. (UNLEASHED: THE SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 4: “THANK YOU (UNLEASHED: THE SALON)”, 2016-2017

Folder 22

Item 1: “Higher the hair, the closer to heaven (PARLOR SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 2: “HAIR LOVE (PARLOR SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 3: “BAD ASS MOTHER CUTTER (PARLOR SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 4: “CONTROLLED chAos (PARLOR SALON)”, 2016-2017

Item 5: “I love your hair, will you marry me? (PARLOR SALON)”, 2016-2017

Folder 23: “HOME SWEET HARLEM (SHRINE, YATENGA, SILVANA)”, 2016-2017

Folder 24: “We were just remarking about the refrangibility of the escape philosophy, which makes it highly ingenious for the progressive anniversary. (Amo)”, 2016-2017

Folder 25: “My Sisters & Me: Women of Color Photographers”, 2016-2017

Folder 26: “Slsla”, 2016-2017

Folder 27: “GET SMARTER EVERY DAY (Smarter Every Day)”, 2016-2017

Folder 28

Item 1: “KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT EQUAL UNDERSTANDING (Smarter Every Day)” [red], 2016-2017

Item 2: “KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT EQUAL UNDERSTANDING (Smarter Every Day)” [orange], 2016-2017

Folder 29

Item 1: “GOGGLE UP! SCIENCE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Smarter Every Day)” [green], 2016-2017

Item 2: “GOGGLE UP! SCIENCE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Smarter Every Day)” [purple], 2016-2017

Item 3: “GOGGLE UP! SCIENCE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Smarter Every Day)” [brown], 2016-2017

Folder 30

Item 1: “In a world of TALKERS be a THINKER and DOER (Smarter Every Day)” [yellow], 2016-2017

Item 2: “In a world of TALKERS be a THINKER and DOER (Smarter Every Day)” [green], 2016-2017

Item 3: “In a world of TALKERS be a THINKER and DOER (Smarter Every Day)” [purple], 2016-2017

Folder 31: “ABOLISH SLAVERY in theseunitedstatesofamerica”, 2016-2017

Folder 32: “Art is an elastic sort of Love. (Josephine Baker)”, 2016-2017

Folder 33: “Give LIGHT and people will find the WAY. (Ella Baker)”, 2016-2017

Folder 34: “I sell the Shadow to Support the Substance. (Sojourner Truth)”, 2016-2017

Folder 35: “If the white man gives you anything—just remember when he gets ready he will take it right back. We have to take for ourselves. (Fannie Lou Hamer)”, 2016-2017

Folder 36: “NOBODY’S FREE UNTIL EVERYBODY’S FREE. (Fannie Lou Hamer)”, 2016-2017

Folder 37: “PROTECT THE COMMONS!”, 2016-2017

Folder 38

Item 1: “SLAVE NATION” [black], 2016-2017

Item 2: “SLAVE NATION” [red], 2016-2017

Folder 39: “STRONG PEOPLE don’t need strong leaders. (Ella Baker)”, 2016-2017

Folder 40: “A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life. (HENRY WARD BECHER)”, 2016-2017

Folder 41: “ABRE LIBROS ABRE FRONtEraS”, 2016-2017

Folder 42: “Be a REBEL, READ a BOOK!”, 2016-2017

Folder 43: “BOOK LOVERS NEVER GO TO BED ALONE”, 2016-2017

Folder 44: “BOOKS may well be the only true MAGIC. (Alice Hoffman)”, 2016-2017

Folder 45: “LIBRARIES are not made; they grow. (AUGUSTINE BIRREL)”, 2016-2017

Folder 46: “Los LIBROS son mi MUNDO”, 2016-2017

Folder 47: “My alma mater was books, a GOOD LIBRARY. (Malcolm X)”, 2016-2017

Folder 48: “Once you learn to READ, you will be forever FREE. (FREDERICK DOUGLASS)”, 2016-2017

Folder 49: “ONE of the most subversive institutions in the United States is the public library. (bell hooks, ROCK My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem)”, 2016-2017

Folder 50: “PUBLIC LIBRARIES BUILD COMMUNITY”, 2016-2017

Folder 51: “READ in order to LIVE. (Gustave Flaubert)”, 2016-2017

Folder 52: “The love of libraries, like all loves, must be learned. (Alberto Manguel)”, 2016-2017

Folder 53: “THE WORLD WAS HERS FOR THE READING (Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)”, 2016-2017

Folder 54: “When in doubt, GO TO THE LIBRARY. (J.K. Rowling)”, 2016-2017

Folder 55: “Your LIBRARY IS YOUR PARADISE. (Desiderius Erasmus)”, 2016-2017

Folder 56

Item 1: “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of FREEDOM. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 2: “If you LOVE it enough, anything will talk with you. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 3: “IT IS SIMPLY SERVICE that measures SUCCESS. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 4: “LeaRN to do common things uncommonly well. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 5: “LIVE AT HOME. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 6: “Take your share of the WORLD and let other people take theirs. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 7: “WHEN you can do the common things of LIFE in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Item 8: “WHERE there is no vision, there is no HOPE. (George Washington Carver)”, 2016-2017

Folder 57: “HEY! We gonna VOTE you outta office”, 2016-2017

Folder 58: “OWN THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION”, 2016-2017

Folder 59: “Transgender is an adjective not a noun”, 2016-2017

Sub-series 2: State road maps

Box 6

Folder 1: “DOT FOX (LOUISVILLE)” Kentucky Official Highway Map, 2016-2017

Folder 2: “WELCOME HOME (NASHVILLE)” Tennessee Official Transportation Map, 2016-2017

Folder 3: “ANTHOLOGY (MADISON)” Wisconsin Official State Highway Map, 2017

Sub-series 3: Publications and promotional materials

Box 6

Folder 4: “PRINT IS DEAD!” mailer for “SLINGING INK: Letterpress Exhibition”, 2016

Folder 5

Item 1: “NOBODY’S FREE UNTIL EVERYBODY’S FREE (Fannie Lou Hamer)” mailer for Amos Kennedy exhibitions at Brooklyn Public Library”, 2017

Item 2: “NOBODY’S FREE UNTIL EVERYBODY’S FREE (Fannie Lou Hamer)” mailer for Amos Kennedy exhibitions at Brooklyn Public Library”, 2017

Folder 6: Lawrence Arts Center magazine, 2017

Includes art by Amos Kennedy on the front and back covers, and course details for “Letterpress Workshop with Amos.”

Folder 7: “IT IS SIMPLY SERVICE that measures SUCCESS. (George Washington Carver)” mailer for Amos Kennedy exhibition “George Washington Carver Didn’t Invent Peanut Butter”, 2017

Box 17

Folder 8: Pasatiempo magazine, 2017

Includes “Freedom and the Press: Printer Amos Paul Kennedy Jr.” by Paul Weideman.

Folder 9: Design Week Portland guide, 2017

Includes Amos Kennedy as a presenter.

Sub-series 4

Box 26

Folder 1: “20x200", 2016-2017

Folder 2: “Alpine Savage I Do Love", 2016-2017

Folder 3: “Always BE KINDER THAN NECESSARY", 2016-2017

Folder 4: “AMERiCA, I SING YOU BACK (Allison Adelle Hedge Coke)", 2016-2017

Folder 5: “ART URGES VOYAGES (Gwendolyn BrOOks)", 2016-2017

Folder 6: “BE !EXCELLENT! TO EACH OTHER", 2016-2017

Folder 7: “BE A VoiCE NOT An Echo", 2016-2017

Folder 8: “be Kind AnyWAY", 2016-2017

Folder 9: “Be siLLY. BE HoNeST. Be KIND. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)", 2016-2017

Folder 10: “BE. HERe. NOw", 2016-2017

Folder 11: “BIKE TO LIVE", 2016-2017

Folder 12: “BLACK AND BROWN LIVES MATTER", 2016-2017

Folder 13: “Do Not mEss WITH A PITBULL", 2016-2017

Folder 14: “EQuiTY/EQUALity", 2016-2017

Folder 15: “FEAR kills the MIND", 2016-2017

Folder 16: “FIGHT THE PATRIARCHY", 2016-2017

Folder 17: “FLASHBULB MEMORY, FIRING SYNAPSYS", 2016-2017

Folder 18: “FRESH FOOD FOR THE PEOPLE", 2016-2017

Folder 19: “GET SMARTER EVERY DAY (Smarter Every Day)", 2016-2017

Folder 20: “GOGGLE UP! SCIENCE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN (Smarter Every Day)", 2016-2017

Folder 21: “HEAL CRE8 LOVE", 2016-2017

Folder 22: “HERe & QUEER!!!!!!”, 2016-2017

Folder 23: “HOW BEAUTIFUL COULD A BEING BE", 2016-2017

Folder 24: “I PROMISE I’LL NOT Be AS WHITE AS I’m ABLE", 2016-2017

Folder 25: “I SWEAR TO TELL THE (FAKE) TRUTH SO HELP ME GOD", 2016-2017

Folder 26: “TRUTH", 2016-2017

Folder 27: “IF THERE IS NO STRuGGLE THERE IS no PROGRESS (Frederick Douglass)", 2016-2017

Folder 28: “IN A WORLD OF TALKERS BE A THINKER AND DOER (Smarter Every Day)", 2016-2017

Folder 29: “IT IS IN THE SHELTER OF EACH OTHER THAT PEOPLE LIVE. (Irish Proverb)", 2016-2017

Folder 30: “JAZZ IS A Black American art form… (Seattle JazzED)", 2016-2017

Folder 31: “JESTEM SUPeR JEDI KOTEKIN ESTReLLaN", 2016-2017

Folder 32: “JoY, ENTHUsIASM, FUN, FELLOWSHIP", 2016-2017

Folder 33: “Just as Americans know little about who is executed and why… (THURGOOD MARSHALL, WITNESS TO INNOCENCE)", 2016-2017

Folder 34: “JUSTICE 4 Undocumented Trans Folks! (transassistance.org)", 2016-2017

Folder 35

Item 1: “RISE UP WITH TAP (transassistance.org)", 2016-2017

Item 2: “RiSE Up WITh TAP! (transassistance.org)", 2016-2017

Folder 36: “KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT EQUAL UNDERSTANDING (Smarter Every Day)", 2016-2017

Folder 37: “Learn more at TYPE CAMP"+G1504, 2016-2017

Folder 38: “LIVE WITH ART, IT’S GOOD FOR YOU (20x200)", 2016-2017

Folder 39: “LOVE IS the ONLY TH!NG THAT EVER REALLY WON", 2016-2017

Folder 40: “MAY We LiVE Not BY FeaR BUT BY HOPE", 2016-2017

Folder 41: “MigRAR NO ES UN DELITO", 2016-2017

Folder 42: “NEVER STIFLE YOUR WH!MSY", 2016-2017

Folder 43: “NEVER WOUND A SNAKE KILL IT. (Harriet Tubman)", 2016-2017

Folder 44: “NO DUMB QUESTIONS", 2016-2017

Folder 45: “NO WATeR, NO LIFE, NO BLUE, NO GREEN (SYLVIA EARLE)", 2016-2017

Folder 46: “O” [black smear], 2016-2017

Folder 47: “PATRIOTISM O V E R party", 2016-2017

Folder 48: “PeT CATs, Eat SUSHi, STAR TREK?”, 2016-2017

Folder 49: “POWER To THE PEOPLe”, 2016-2017

Folder 50: “Powered BY PrinT!”, 2016-2017

Box 27

Folder 1: “QUESTiON AUTHORITY", 2016-2017

Folder 2: “RESPECT FLEXIBILITY LOVE & TRUST", 2016-2017

Folder 3: “REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATION AND LEARNING MOVEMENT, JOIN US", 2016-2017

Folder 4: “SAY iT WITH A SMILE!”, 2016-2017

Folder 5: “SEE Something, Say Something. Good Luck!”, 2016-2017

Folder 6: “SIMPSON HOUSING", 2016-2017

Folder 7: “STOP LINE 3, NIBI GANAWENDANG (Indigenous Roots)", 2016-2017

Folder 8: “STOP LINE 3, WE ARE FORCES OF NATURE DEFENDING ITSELF (InDIGENOus ROOTS) HONOR THE EARTH PADDLE TO PROTECT", 2016-2017

Folder 9: “T!ME iS NOT EVEN, SPAcE iS NEVER EMPTY", 2016-2017

Folder 10: “TEACH US TO CARE AND NOT TO CARE (TS Eliot)", 2016-2017

Folder 11: “THE FUTURe IS BLACK & QUEER & FEMALE & FREE", 2016-2017

Folder 12: “THEY GO LOW, WE GO HIGH", 2016-2017

Folder 13: “This ain’t no time Where THE USUAL is SUITABLE", 2016-2017

Folder 14: “THIS Too sHaLL PASS", 2016-2017

Folder 15: “WE ALL DO BETTER WHEN WE ALL DO BETTER", 2016-2017

Folder 16: “WE live with ILLUSIONS ALL the TIME!”, 2016-2017

Folder 17: “WE WAnT WHAT OThER PEOPLE WANT", 2016-2017

Folder 18: “WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIeNDS!”, 2016-2017

Folder 19: “WITH A GoLDEN HEART COMES A REBEL FISt", 2016-2017

Folder 20: “YOU DESERVE DONUTS & A RAISE", 2016-2017

Folder 21: “‘YOU HAVe to be QUIET TO HEAR.’ –RWK”, 2016-2017

Folder 22: “YRUOK?”, 2016-2017

Folder 23

Item 1: “SoLsTIcE PaRTY (Makers Market), 2016

Item 2: “SoLSTiCE pARTY (Makers Market), 2017

Folder 24: “8th ANNUAL LETTERPRESS PRINTERS FAIR", 2017

Folder 25: “EVERYTHING WILL Be OK!”, 2017

Folder 26: “EYE CONTACT & EMPATHY IS ACtiON!”, 2017

Folder 27: “LOVE POWER 2017", 2017

Folder 28: “OPEN BOOK TAKEAWAY (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)", 2017

Folder 29

Item 1: “OPEN BOOK TAKEOVER (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)” [black and silver], 2017

Item 2: “OPEN BOOK TAKEOVER (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)” [black and purple], 2017

Folder 30

Item 1: “OPEN BOOK TAKEOVER (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)” [black and blue], 2017

“WHEn IN DOUBT GO TO THE LIBRARY (Indigenous Roots)”

Item 2: “OPEN BOOK TAKEOVER (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)” [black, pink, and silver], 2017

Folder 31

Item 1: “OPEN BOOK TAKEOVER (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)” [orange], 2017

Item 2: “OPEN BOOK TAKEOVER (Minnesota Center for Book Arts)”, 2017

Folder 32: “PAUSE rethink REIMAGINE", 2017

Folder 33: “SMILE", 2017

Folder 34: “STOP BREEDING XENOPhOBES", 2017

Folder 35: “WHEn IN DOUBT GO TO THE LIBRARY", 2017

Folder 36

Item 1: “WILLOW Domestic Violence Center” [green], 2017

Item 2: “WILLOW Domestic Violence Center” [red], 2017

Folder 37: “YoUR Vo!Ce MATTERS, SHARe YouR STORy (Shout Out Book Art Biennial)", 2017