Blue text with 3 images of fleur de lis encircled by small stars on yellow background.

Caroll Witten unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Party nomination for Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky in 1973. A white doctor and President of the Board of Aldermen, he was a proponent of civil rights and very popular among African American voters. He would ultimately lose the nomination to eventual winner Harvey I. Sloane. 

Witten was an Air Force navigator in WWII who was held as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down over Germany. After the war, he completed medical school and practiced as a family physician. He was a staunch supporter of affordable health care and led an experimental program to offer Medicaid to 40,000 Jefferson County citizens. He died in 1993 at age 69.

Photos of Bush and Quayle in blue vignettes in front of photograph of White House. White text on red upper and blue lower background.

The 1988 Presidential election saw former Vice President George Bush and Indiana Senator Dan Quayle defeat Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis. Bush defeated him easily in the electoral college, taking in 426 votes to his opponents 111. Bush benefited tremendously from the popularity of the Reagan administration and this helped him clinch the nomination by association. 

The 1988 election from the Bush campaign is notable for lacking a strong message or vision for what his presidency would look like. Instead, the campaign focused on the weaknesses of Dukakis and portrayed the moderate governor as a radical liberal. The Dukakis campaign was unprepared to deal with this bombardment of attacks and often reacted slowly. Bush would continue this momentum and frequently lead by large margins in polls. This culminated in a massive victory for Bush.

Blue text and red text on white background.

Adlai Stevenson III campaigned to be U.S. Senator for Illinois. Ralph Tyler Smith had been appointed to fill the Senate seat held by Everett Dirksen, who died in office in 1969. Stevenson defeated Smith in a special election in 1970 and was re-elected in 1974. He decided not to run in 1980. Stevenson, a Democrat, had been Illinois Treasurer from 1967-1970. Stevenson is the son of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II, who lost the U.S. Presidential election to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956.

The button is likely from the 1974 election campaign.

Illustration of Michigan and red text on white background

Light purple equals sign on off white background

Purple was one of a trifecta of colors used by the Women’s Suffrage and Political Union in England at the turn of 20th century. The colors were brought to the United States suffrage movement by women who had worked for British suffrage. The three colors—purple, white, and gold—originally symbolized loyalty, purity, and hope, and have remained symbolic to the modern-day feminist movement. The equals sign with regard to feminism is a statement indicating that women should be equal to men.

Since the mid-1990s, the equals sign has become primarily associated with the LGBT rights movement. This is in large part due to the Human Rights Campaign—an LGBT advocacy group—who adopted the symbol as its logo in 1995. Lavender, similar to the color of the equals sign on this button, has also been historically associated with lesbian rights. 

Image of a sunshine and rainbow in center with white cloud at bottom. Black text on white area.

Rainbows are often celebrated LGBTQIA symbols since the 1970s, although origins in mythology date to Hebrew text, The Bible, and Norse texts, regarding the Bifrost. Apple computers also used a rainbow in their logo from 1977-1998. LGBTQ Institutions such as the Mazer Lesbian Archives house this button in their Button Collection under LGBT (miscellaneous). The phrase “reach for a rainbow” echo’s the motivational phrase “reach for the stars” and can be interpreted as a call to embrace queer identities.

Russ Berrie & Company is a novelty gift retailer known for its plush bears and figurines.

Red text on white background.

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Orange text over image of a foil-wrapped chocolate with a blue background.  Period in text is heart shaped.

When Hershey’s Kisses Chocolates were first manufactured in 1907 by the Hershey Chocolate Company in Derry, Pennsylvania, they were wrapped by hand in foil. The confection is still popular in America today and there is a theme park based on the chocolate kiss in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Red text on a yellow background

Paula Czupek was elected as the Bremen High School Board President in 1983 and served for fifteen years before retiring after she moved out of the district area. The Bremen High School Board serves the localities of Posen, Tinley Park, Midlothian, Markham, Country Club Hill, Hazel Crest, and Oak Forest in southern Cook County in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. In 1997, Czupek was honored for distinguished service by the Illinois Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association. Czupek worked hard to open communication and form a more cohesive district mentality between the representatives and interests of the four high schools the board serves. Her move from the district cut short her fourth term as the board president.

Image of red heart in center. Red text on white background.

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