Pinback button for Kwanzaa: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pinback button for Kwanzaa. The button has a white background and a drawing in red, yellow, green, and black ink. At the center of the drawing is a circle filled with the depiction of two people looking at one another. Below them are a depiction of apples and bananas. Two infants are visible amongst the fruit. At the top of the center circle, there is a drawing of the Mishumaa Saba (seven candles). Within each candles white text reads [Kujichagulia / Ujima / Ujamaa / Umoja / Nia / Kuumba / Imani]. Additional symbols of Kwanzaa including the mazao (crops), Mahindi (corn), the Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup), and the Kwanzaa dates [Dec. 26 /Jan. 1], are depicted on the sides of the center circle. At the bottom large green lettering reads [Kwanzaa]. The back of the button has a metal pin with a clasp.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: after 1966
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: ink on paper with metal and plastic
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 2 9/16 × 2 9/16 × 1/4 in. (6.5 × 6.5 × 0.6 cm)
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Holidays and festivals
• Topic: Identity
• Object number: 2013.68.42
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of T. Rasul Murray
• 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.