Yellow and black background with yellow and black text

One of the many items produced during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, this humorous, pro-sex, anti-government button seemingly pokes fun at the idiom “as American as apple pie”. Follow patriotic ideals, it espouses, and you’ll wind up sterile - both physically and mentally. This button, among other materials such as bumper stickers, banners, and leaflets created by radicals of the era, was of great concern to conservatives, who felt they undermined their own values.

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One of the many items produced during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, this humorous, self-referential button appears to be capitalizing on the “button craze” of the time. Like others of its kind, it was of great concern to conservatives, who felt they undermined their own values.

Orange and purple shapes and lines on a yellow background with purple sans serif text

Released in September of 1979, A Different Kind of Tension was the third studio album from English punk band, Buzzcocks. It received mixed reviews, and the singles released from it were not as successful as some of their previous hits such as Ever Fallen in Love and What Do I Get?. After the release of this album, the original members went on to work on different projects, though iterations of the band formed and reformed continually. Buzzcocks are still performing and are touring as of 2024. Cofounder Pete Shelley had a solo career, while Howard Devoto formed the post-punk band Magazine.

Curious about the band’s name? “Cock” was used to mean young person in 1970s Manchester slang and a television show airing at the time, Rock Follies, used it in some of their catchphrases as in: “That’s the buzz, cocks” and “Give me a buzz, cock!”

Yellow and brown illustration of actress Sarah Bernhardt wearing a crown of lillies, surrounded by filagree and art nouveau-style lettering [reproduction of a poster by artist Alphonse Mucha]

Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was a French actress and artist, working primarily in the late 19th to early 20th century. Bernhardt was an accomplished stage actress with a career spanning over 60 years during which she led an international theater company and starred in both female and male roles. She expanded her career by becoming a well renowned sculpture artist, exhibiting work at the Paris Salon for years. A devoted artist and supporter, she specialized in sculptural works with a focus on marble busts, as well as costume and set design. 

In 1894, Bernhardt hired Alphonse Mucha, a leading figure of the Art Nouveau movement, to design her theater posters. She is often portrayed in Mucha’s work wearing floral headpieces and patterned drapery. Due to their collaboration, she is identified as a key symbolic figure and in the Art Nouveau movement. Towards the end of her career she began starring in silent films, such as La voyante and Adrienne Lecouvreur, becoming a pioneer in early cinematic history.

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Pikes Peak Mountain is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The summit is over 14,000 feet, offering a beloved view for visitors who drive, hike, or take a shuttle to the top. The Pikes Peak Highway is a 19-mile scenic route designed to showcase the view of the mountains and valleys to drivers and shuttle passengers. The hike is a 13.5-mile steep climb with a gain of approximately 7,400 feet in elevation. Barr Trail is the only hiking route that leads to the summit. It features Barr Camp along the way, where hikers can stay overnight and receive meals. Since 2021, the Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center has provided exhibits, a gift shop, and dining areas where customers can purchase a Pikes Peak donut. 

Pikes Peak was named after Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who first attempted to climb the mountain in 1806. In 1820, Dr. Edwin James completed the first recorded summit. The names Pikes Peak and James Peak were both utilized for almost forty years before the current name was solidified in maps during the Gold Rush. For emigrants moving west during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1858-59, the phrase "Pikes Peak or Bust" was used, recognizing the prominence of the mountain in the horizon they were moving towards.

Blue text on a white background with a blue outline around the rim and an illustration of a blue and white bulldog in the center

North Babylon High School is located in North Babylon, New York, less than 50 miles east of New York City. The area is known for containing many large estates owned by wealthy and notable residents. North Babylon's first schoolhouse was a log cabin established in 1810; as of 2024, the school has an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students. As seen on this button, the district's mascot is a bulldog and the colors are blue and white. The school district's mission is to help students "learn while building their character, fostering their creativity and teaching them to be thoughtful and productive citizens of this diverse and democratic nation."

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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.

Brown text on a white background surrounding an illustration of a beaver raising its paw and wearing a captain's hat and a pin-back button on its chest 

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.