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

The object in the museum catalogue

A white button with a black and white image of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the center. King is seen from the shoulders up and looks over his proper left shoulder into the distance. Surrounding the image, along the top and bottom is black, curved text that reads: [I'M FOR / KING'S WAY]. On reverse is a small, white, round sticker with the number [3385]. Attached to the sticker and tucked into the inside back is a scrap of white paper with writing: [A116 / $266 / AA-5]. The reverse also has a pin without a fastener.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1965
• Created by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: metal, ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 5/8 x 1 1/2 x 3/16 in. (4.1 x 3.8 x 0.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: U.S. History, 1961-1969
• Object number: 2012.159.7
• 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.