Pinback button for the Poor People's Campaign: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A round pinback button featuring a black and white portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the center. Printed above and around in white text on blue background is [POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN], directly below in blue text on white background is [FOR POOR POWER]. In the center, divided by the portrait are the words ["I have a dream..."] in blue text. Below the portrait, in white text on blue background is [Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.], followed by a union printer's symbol.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1968
• Manufactured by: N.G. Slater Corporation, American, founded 1936
• Printed by: AFL-CIO Local 64 Union
• Subject of: Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
• Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: ink on paper on metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 × 1/4 in. (8.9 × 8.9 × 0.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: U.S. History, 1961-1969
• Object number: 2011.30.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Linda and Artis Cason
• 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.