Please Remember The More Than 110,000 People Who Have Died From COVID-19

Art Historical Context

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic's early devastation in 2020, Amos Kennedy created *Please Remember The More Than110,000 People Who Died From COVID-19 a poignant letterpress poster that serves as a stark memorial to the mounting death toll in the United States. Kennedy, a renowned American printer and activist based in Detroit, is celebrated for his bold, charged broadsides that champion social justice, drawing from African American traditions and folk art. This work captures the raw grief and urgency of a global crisis, urging viewers to pause and honor the lives lost amid widespread uncertainty. Printed using the traditional letterpress technique—where inked metal type is pressed into paper for a distinctive embossed texture—Kennedy's poster exemplifies the revival of this labor-intensive method in contemporary activism. The medium's tactile quality amplifies its emotional weight, transforming a simple sheet (20 × 15 in.) into a powerful call to collective memory. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it was generously gifted by Nappy-negroes in art, highlighting community efforts to preserve voices from the era. This poster not only documents a pivotal moment in modern history but also underscores letterpress's enduring role in protest art, blending craftsmanship with conscience to foster empathy and reflection.