Pinback button reading "Students for Mary Ellen": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Pinback button from the Georgetown student referendum on semesterly fee to benefit descendants of the 272 enslaved people sold by Georgetown University in 1838. The button is round with gold letters reading [STUDENTS FOR / MARY ELLEN] and white letters reading [#STUDENTSFORTHE272] against a navy background.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2019
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Mary Ellen Queen
• Worn by: Mélisande Short-Colomb
• Subject of: Georgetown University, founded 1789
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product) with metal and plastic
• Dimensions: Diameter: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Economics
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Slavery
• Topic: U.S. History, 2001-
• Object number: 2021.10.3.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Mélisande Short-Colomb
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.