Sign with "Destroy White Supremacy" used in the Unite the Right counter-protest: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A handmade protest sign by Justin McBrien used during the Charlottesville, Virginia counter-protest to the Unite the Right rally on August 12, 2017. The sign is constructed from purple and blue poster board with the slogans "Destroy White Supremacy" on the front, and "Black Lives Matter" on the back. The front of the sign is blue and features a dark blue and black marker drawing of a Ku Klux Klan mask covered by a no symbol, outlined in black and pink marker. Handwritten text around the top of the circle reads [DESTROY WHITE] and [SUPREMACY] on the bottom. There is a small drawing of a hammer in the left corner. A fragment of a small white adhesive label adheres to the bottom right corner. The back of the sign is dominated by large, stylized text that reads, [BLACK / LiVES / MATTER] outlined in blue and black marker and filled in with yellow marker.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: August 12, 2017
• Created by: Justin McBrien, American
• Type: posters
• Medium: ink on poster board
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 21 15/16 × 27 15/16 × 3/16 in. (55.7 × 71 × 0.4 cm)
• Place used: Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: U.S. History, 2001-
• Topic: White supremacy movements
• Object number: 2018.42.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Justin McBrien
• 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.