Pinback buttons for the San Quentin Six: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Two yellow buttons (2013.68.5.1-.2) with black lettering. On each button, the letters are centered in the top perimeter of the button. The black text reads [San Quentin Six]. Below the text is an image of six clenched fists chained together by handcuffs. The backs of the buttons have pins without clasps.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1971
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: San Quentin State Prison, founded 1852
• Subject of: George Jackson, American, 1941 - 1971
• Type: buttons (information artifacts)
• Medium: paper on metal with plastic
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2013.68.5.1): 1 1/2 × 1 1/2 × 1/4 in. (3.8 × 3.8 × 0.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2013.68.5.2): 1 1/2 × 1 1/2 × 3/16 in. (3.8 × 3.8 × 0.5 cm)
• Place depicted: California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Law
• Topic: Prisons
• Object number: 2013.68.5.1-.2
• 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.