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On January 15, 1982, 50,000 people marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol in freezing temperatures to honor the birth and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. This particular march took place before the government recognized King's birthday as a federal holiday. Meanwhile, civil rights activists were continuing their fight to get the day memorialized by the federal government. 

After King's assassination on April 4, 1968, his birthday was honored with civil rights marches, parades, and speeches. Several states and cities started to mark King's birthday as a holiday and gave employees the day off to remember the civil rights leader. Republican opposition blocked the creation of a federal holiday in honor of King for fifteen years. They claimed private citizens were ineligible to receive a federal memorial holiday, and accused King of having ties with the Communist party. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill, declaring the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

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Barney Beaver was a children’s safety mascot for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC); Barney made his debut in 1968. The mascot was covered in dark brown fur with large teeth and, when captured on film, his image only appeared as a shadowy silhouette with bright eyes and teeth visible. He was distinguished as Barney Beaver by his only article of clothing, a TTC driver’s hat. 

The character came with a song, “I’m For Safety,”  and toured the city year-round, visiting local schools in a city bus that was also a mobile classroom. Kids watched the character and TTC staff showcasing how to act—and not act—on public transit, demonstrating bad behavior by swinging from the bars and falling on the floor. Barney fell out of use slowly, seeming to have entered retirement by approximately 2011. In 2006, he made his last public appearance in Toronto's Santa Claus parade. 

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The  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is a historic civil rights organization that was founded in 1909. Its founders, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, Ida B. Wells, Henry Moskowitz, and William English Walling, were a group of civil rights activists fighting to eliminate race-based discrimination. The mission of the NAACP was, and continues to be, to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all US citizens. Throughout its history, the NAACP has been a significant player in civil rights victories, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

On June 29, 1947, President Harry Truman became the first U.S. president to address the NAACP directly in a speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In this speech, Truman acknowledged the country’s need to live up to its founding principles of equality and justice and recognised the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom abroad while denying certain civil rights at home. Truman emphasized the importance of economic and social equality, and explicitly condemned lynching and racial violence. He called for the protection and enforcement of current civil rights, and to combat racial discrimination with new legislation to guarantee equal rights for all Americans. This speech marked a significant moment in civil rights history, leading to the establishment of the President’s Committee on Civil Right. Later that same year, the committee produced a report titled "To Secure These Rights". This report highlights findings of pervasive discrimination in the U.S. and recommended federal legislation to combat racial discrimination and promote equality.

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The  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is a historic civil rights organization that was founded in 1909. Its founders, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, Ida B. Wells, Henry Moskowitz, and William English Walling, were a group of civil rights activists fighting to eliminate race-based discrimination. The mission of the NAACP was, and continues to be, to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all US citizens. Throughout its history, the NAACP has been a significant player in civil rights victories, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, declaring that there shall be equal treatment and opportunities for anyone in the armed services, regardless of race, religion, or national origin. With this order the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services was established to oversee its implementation across all military branches. The NAACP played a crucial role in advocating for this policy through direct lobbying, public campaigns, and partnerships with other civil rights organizations like the National Urban League and CORE. The NAACP emphasized the contributions of African American soldiers during World War II to highlight the injustice of segregation. The organization published supportive stories and editorials, while organizing rallies and speeches to gather public support. By the start of the Korean War, only 2 years later, the U.S. military had made significant efforts towards desegregation, and integrated units were more common.

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Carol Bouman was an illustrator popular during the 1970s and 1980s. Her work is best described as having "figurative collage elements" and "whimsical art deco influences." She illustrated several children’s books in the 1980s, including Pick of the Litter by Teddy Slater, The Fisher-Price picture dictionary by Dina Anastasio, RV and the Haunted Garage by Mel Gilden, and Where is Baby Twinkle? by Michael Teitelbaum. Bouman also collaborated with renowned musicians, including Jerry Lee Lewis, on album cover art. Her work has even reached the big screen! She was the artist for The Inheritance (1976) movie poster. While little known about her personal life, she has made a significant impact in various forms of commercial art.

See another Carol Bouman button in the museum's collection

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HSSMC (High School Student Mobilization Committee) was part of a nationwide activist organization, the Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, otherwise known as Student Mobe or SMC. Students organized Vietnam Week, Confront the Warmakers in Washington, Stop the Draft Week, and other events to raise anti-war efforts. They facilitated marches, nonviolent protests, conference attendance, and education spanning many schools and colleges throughout the country. Vietnam Week was one of the earliest demonstrations, and it had over 500,000 protesters in total. 

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Prior to the advent of railways in America, canals were used to transport goods and passengers. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, chartered by president James Monroe in 1825, spanned from Georgetown, Washington D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland. Teams of mules worked the towpath along the banks of the river, pulling boats behind them. The canal ceased operations in 1924 and has since been turned into a recreational walking path.

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The Goodwill Steam and Chemical Fire Company No. 5 went through several name changes since its founding in 1839. First founded in Freystown, Pennsylvania, the company was named the Springgarden Active Fire Company. At this time, firefighters used a hand-operated fire engine, which had to be manually supplied with buckets of water. In 1852, the company changed its name to the Good Will Fire Company No. 1 of Freystown. The fire company received its first steam fire engine from the Silsby Manufacturing Company in March of 1888. After Freystown was annexed into the city of York, the fire company changed its name for the final time in 1901 to the Goodwill Steam and Chemical Fire Company No. 5. The company moved into the "motorized era" in 1915 with its addition of a motorized fire engine with a "combination chemical and hose apparatus." The demolition of the company’s second house in Freystown started in October 1902; however, as of 2024, the bigger firehouse built on the same lot in 1903 is still occupied and used by the company.

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Dating back as far as 1940, the satirical Vote for Nobody campaign was popularized in the 1960s by humor columnist Arthur Hoppe. The campaign really hit its stride in 1976 thanks to political activists Wavy Gravy and Curtis Spangler, who declared that "Nobody" belonged to the Birthday Party and that it had a dinner roll as a running mate—gaining the attention of the masses. With Spangler as its campaign manager, Nobody hit the road for a cross-country tour, appearing in a motorcade as an empty chair in an empty car or as a pair of wind-up teeth that would chatter when questioned.

The Vote for Nobody campaign still continues today, and helps to advocate for a “None of the Above” option to be included on ballots.