Pinback button featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Round pin-back button featuring a black and white image of Martin Luther King Jr.'s face. Black type appears on button and reads, [WE MOURN OUR LOSS/1929/1968/REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.] Hanging from the bottom of the button is a purple ribbon with gold type that reads, [I/HAVE/A/DREAM].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca.1968
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Owned by: Jan Bailey, American, 1942 - 2010
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: metal, ribbon
• Dimensions: Diameter (Button): 1 11/16 × 3/8 in. (4.3 × 1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Ribbon): 4 13/16 × 1 9/16 in. (12.2 × 4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: U.S. History, 1961-1969
• Object number: 2013.201.1.20
• 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.