Protest art can be found in unexpected places, but it could soon be on license plates with the passage of one California state senator’s bill.
SB 309, a bill authored by state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, would permit the Department of Motor Vehicles to sell a special license plate that showcases pro-choice artwork from a California artist. Proceeds from the plates would fund family planning services through the Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment (FPACT) program.
The special license plate would feature the phrase “California Trusts Women” and artwork from one of three California artists, including Berkeley-based art teacher and illustrator Miriam Klein Stahl, best known for her work in the book series Rad Women.
“The artists all care passionately about this cause and were excited to be part of another groundbreaking, visible part of the resistance,” said Rebecca Griffin, director of NARAL Pro-Choice California. “Of course a lot of people know Miriam Klein Stahl from her great illustrations for the Rad Women books, which encapsulate the leadership, community and solidarity we want to evoke with the license plates.”
Stahl, a longtime teacher at Berkeley High School and co-founder of its Arts & Humanities Academy, was one of the artists recommended to NARAL Pro-Choice California, which is working in coordination with the state to create and distribute these license plates.