Pinback button featuring "Angela is Free": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An orange button with a black and white image of Angela Davis. She is seen from the neck up and is looking directly at the camera. Around the image of Davis, Black text around the image reads “ANGELA IS FREE / FREE / ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS / T.U.A.D.” On the bottom outside edge is the manufacturer information in black text. “N.G. SLATER CORP, N.Y.C. 11.” There are two stickers on the back of the button. One is round with the number “1063.” The other sticker is rectangular with written text “Trade Union / for Action / & Democracy.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1970
• Manufactured by: N.G. Slater Corporation, American, founded 1936
• Subject of: Angela Y. Davis, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Trade Union for Action and Democracy, American
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: metal, ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 x 1/4 in. (4.4 x 4.4 x 0.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Prisons
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Object number: 2012.159.12
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.