Chunky black text above and below an illustration of a black panther on a bright orange background. 

Huey P. Newton (1942-1989) co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense with Bobby Seale in 1966 in Oakland, CA in response to instances of racism and police brutality. Newton co-authored the party’s manifesto, which detailed the demand for land, food, clothing, housing, and justice, and stated that the black panther iconography came from the panther being a “fierce animal” that “will not attack until he is backed into a corner.” 

In 1967, Huey Newton was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter of a police officer. Newton and the party received widespread media attention as “Free Huey” rallies attracted thousands of supporters until his release in 1970 after his conviction was overturned the previous year. The campaign supporting Newton transformed the Black Panther Party and its contributions to civil rights activism. 

Black text on a white background with an illustration of Mickey Mouse in the center.

Before the Mickey Mouse Club television, show was an actual Mickey Mouse Club—a club for young fans of all things Disney. The club held its inaugural meeting in the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, Oregon on December 21, 1929, and attracted over 1000 young people. By the 1930s, the club had over 1 million members. 

The Mickey Mouse Club show debuted on ABC in 1955 and featured a regular cast of teenagers who performed skits and musical numbers. These performers were known as Mouseketeers, and they became instant celebrities, as would their successors in the numerous revivals of the show. Mickey Mouse Club had several iterations, relaunching in 1977, 1989, and 1994, with the most recent revival kick-starting the careers of global superstars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling. 

While the first run of the Mickey Mouse Club ended in 1959, the original logo for the show is still in wide use, appearing regularly in Disney-branded products. 

Click here, here, and here to see other Mikey Mouse Club buttons.

Black text on an off-white background with an image of Mickey Mouse in the center. 

Before the Mickey Mouse Club television show, there was an actual Mickey Mouse Club—a club for young fans of all things Disney. The club held its inaugural meeting in the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, Oregon on December 21, 1929, and attracted over 1000 young people. By the 1930s, the club had over 1 million members. The Warner’s Egyptian theater opened on May 6th, 1925. It showed films and acts of vaudeville on stage. Founded and operated by Henry Warner in Pasadena, CA, it had no relation to the Warner Brothers. It was renamed Uptown Theater in 1936 and was closed in the early 1980s. 

The Mickey Mouse Club show debuted on ABC in 1955 and featured a regular cast of teenagers who performed skits and musical numbers. These performers were known as Mouseketeers, and they became instant celebrities, as would their successors in the numerous revivals of the show. Mickey Mouse Club had several iterations, relaunching in 1977, 1989, and 1994, with the most recent revival kick-starting the careers of global superstars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling. 

While the first run of the Mickey Mouse Club ended in 1959, the original logo for the show is still in wide use, appearing regularly in Disney-branded products. 

Click here, here, and here to see other Mikey Mouse Club buttons held by the Button Museum.

Black text on yellow background with an image of the "crescent scraper" behind the text. 

From 1910s to 1990 Sauerman Bros. Inc. was a construction equipment manufacturer based in the Chicago area. They specialized in excavators, wire ropes, cableways, and aerial tramways. Sauerman Bros. Inc. appeared in numerous engineering and machinery catalogs during the early to mid-20th century promoting their scrapers and other construction equipment. By 1990, Sauerman Bros. Inc. was acquired by AmClyde Engineered Products Inc. Sauerman Bros. Co. produced promotional items for their popular lightweight model crescent scraper bucket, as seen here. The crescent scraper bucket, developed in the 1950s, was considered innovative for its use in various excavation projects.

White background with green and black text, and a large green, white, and black 3 dimensional "U" with green designs around the "U".

In 2004, MTV launched a collegiate version of the popular music channel and called it mtvU. The music and programming catered to the tastes of the college-aged demographic and was distributed through Viacom to 750 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. While it continued to show music videos, the channel also provided programming related to college life, and even had its own award ceremony, the mtvU Woodie Awards. Enjoy an aughts musical flashback with this clip of the 2008 Woodie Award ceremony. https://youtu.be/me86AH3YTiI?si=vVoej-tkDlOlbcvS

White background with pink and black text, and a large pink, white, and black 3 dimensional "U" with pink designs around the "U".

In 2004, MTV launched a collegiate version of the popular music channel and called it mtvU. The music and programming catered to the tastes of the college-aged demographic and was distributed through Viacom to 750 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. While it continued to show music videos, the channel also provided programming related to college life, and even had its own award ceremony, the mtvU Woodie Awards. Enjoy an aughts musical flashback with this clip of the 2008 Woodie Award ceremony. https://youtu.be/me86AH3YTiI?si=vVoej-tkDlOlbcvS

White background with blue and black text, and a large blue, white, and black 3 dimensional "U" with blue designs around the "U".

In 2004, MTV launched a collegiate version of the popular music channel and called it mtvU. The music and programming catered to the tastes of the college-aged demographic and was distributed through Viacom to 750 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. While it continued to show music videos, the channel also provided programming related to college life, and even had its own award ceremony, the mtvU Woodie Awards. Enjoy an aughts musical flashback with this clip of the 2008 Woodie Award ceremony. https://youtu.be/me86AH3YTiI?si=vVoej-tkDlOlbcvS

White background with red and black text and a large red, white, and black 3 dimensional "U"

In 2004, MTV launched a collegiate version of the popular music channel and called it mtvU. The music and programming catered to the tastes of the college-aged demographic and was distributed through Viacom to 750 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. While it continued to show music videos, the channel also provided programming related to college life, and even had its own award ceremony, the mtvU Woodie Awards. Enjoy an aughts musical flashback with this clip of the 2008 Woodie Award ceremony. https://youtu.be/me86AH3YTiI?si=vVoej-tkDlOlbcvS

Blue background on the top half that fades into a white background with a red splash on the bottom half; yellow block lettering on top and black stylized letters on the bottom; ten black stars appear on the background throughout the button

In what has to be one of the most iconic television intros of all time, Rod Serling prepares the viewer for the twisted reality they are about to experience in The Twilight Zone. While the intro changed slightly throughout the seasons, the line “Next stop, the Twilight Zone!” remained fairly constant. The show used an anthology format and focused on people dealing with the uncanny, often shading into social commentary. It had a strong cohort of popular writers and sometimes used adaptations of classic short stories, bringing beloved weird tales to life.

The Twilight Zone originally ran from 1959-1964, and there have been a few reboots of it since, with the most recent airing in 2019. In 1983, it was adapted into a feature length film.

Image of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe in gold and black 

Shortly after her death in 1962, Andy Warhol used a photo from the 1953 film “Niagara”, featuring Marilyn Monroe, to mass produce silk screen prints of the actress. The artist was impacted by the passing of Marilyn Monroe and this project was a tribute to the actress and the woman, but also was the result of his fascination with fame, celebrity culture, and mass media. Monroe was the symbol of Hollywood, likened to glamour and tragedy, she embodied the themes that Warhol had explored during his career. She was a cultural icon whose identity was shaped as much by media representations as it was by her actual life.

Warhol's use of silk screen printing allowed him to produce multiple versions of Monroe's image, preserving her legacy while also commenting on the superficiality of fame. The stark contrasts and bright colors in these portraits highlight the colorful public persona that millions knew her for, contrasting her somewhat dark private life. Warhol not only paid homage to one of the most famous actresses of his time, and ours, but also critiqued our culture of worshiping celebrities and the media's role in creating these larger-than-life figures.