white and yellow text on a black rectangle with an illustration of a yellow bird with white on eitehr side and black text between yellow lines

The “Clean-up, Paint-up, Plant-up, Light-up” campaign was a week-long city-wide community improvement drive in Chicago that took place during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Community efforts focused on painting buildings, cleaning up vacant lots and allies, and educating citizens on ways to improve the appearance of their property. Many of Chicago’s schools encouraged students to participate in the “Clean-up, Paint-up, Plant-up, Light-up” campaign throughout the school year to keep their schools clean.

White text on a green background

The Equal Rights Amendment, or ERA, was proposed in 1923 as the “Lucretia Mott Amendment” and its purpose was to make sex equality a Constitutional right. It would ensure equality for women in a number of areas, including job opportunities, health care, and education.

During the frequent protests that surrounded this movement, the individuals who were in favor of the amendment often wore green and white to show support. Those who opposed it typically wore red and carried red octagonal signs that represented their desire to “stop” the amendment’s forward progression through Congress.

Despite being passed by Congress in 1972, the majority of states failed to ratify it before the seven year deadline. It was reintroduced in 1982 and has been put before Congress in every session since. On May 30, 2018, Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the ERA, which means only one more state is required in order to meet the Constitutional requirements for ratification.  

Illustration of white shirts on a blue clothesline with white and blue text on a purple background

The Clothesline Project was started in 1990 in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Its purpose was to educate students, communities, and the public at large about domestic violence against women. The project began when members of Cape Cod’s Women’s Defense Agenda learned that during the same time 58,000 soldiers were killed in the Vietnam War, 51,000 U.S. women were killed as a result of domestic violence. The clothesline in the title of the project refers to a clothesline made up of 31 T-Shirts created by survivors of violence or created by others in their honor. The project is meant to represent a visual evidence that domestic and sexual violence exists in communities everywhere and seeks to provide a venue for survivors to use their voice and bring awareness to the problem.

Red text and a red flower shape on a black background

KVCU AM 1190, more commonly known as Radio 1190, is an independent, non-profit college radio station based in Boulder, Colorado. Rock music dominated college radio airwaves in 1998 when Radio 1190 first began broadcasting from the basement of the University of Colorado Boulder’s student center. Many college radio stations in the 1990s were influenced by the anti-corporate ethos championed by independent rock record labels at the time. Slogans like “Destroy Corporate Rock”, which was likely created by American independent record label SST sometime in the later-half of the 1990s, were adopted by college rock radio stations to help establish their commitment to providing listeners with an alternative to the corporate rock music offered by commercial radio.

White text and an illustration of a hand with a thumb pointing up

"Can do" is a shortened term for "I can do this" or refers to a "can-do" attitude which is someone who is confident and willing to complete difficult tasks without complaining or giving up.

Jean-Léon Gérôme’s 1872 painting ‘Pollice Verso’ is thought to have introduced the concept of the thumbs-up gesture as a sign of approval and the thumbs-down gesture as a sign of disapproval.

In ancient Rome, when Gladiators competed with each other in combat for entertainment, the crowd often decided if the Gladiator was to live to fight another day by giving a thumbs-down which meant swords down. If the crowd gave a thumbs-up, swords up, then it was a fight to the finish with one Gladiator dead and the winner alive.

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White background with an image of a bird, horse, bear, and cat in a forest setting surrounded by red text.

The American Humane Education Society, now American Humane, began commemorating “Be Kind to Animals Week” in the Spring of 1915. It has become the United States’ longest running humane education campaign. It is part of their animal rescue initiative and encourages donations and adoption.

On the back of the button is a pledge that was required of all members of The Bands of Mercy. This organization was part of the American Humane Education Society that focused on educating youth on the importance of being kind to animals. The Bands of Mercy was founded in Europe in 1875, and in 1882, a North American chapter was founded by George T. Angell and Rev. Thomas Timmins.

Be Kind: A Visual History of Humane Education, 1880-1945. (n.d.) “Bands of Mercy.” Be Kind Exhibit. Retrieved from  https://bekindexhibit.org/exhibition/bands-of-mercy/

Rescue Initiative. (n.d.) “Be Kind to Animals Week.” American Humane. Retrieved from https://www.americanhumane.org/initiative/be-kind-to-animals-week/

Black text on a yellow stripe across a black background

"Banana Power" was a slogan adopted by American counterculture during "the Great Banana Hoax of 1967." During the Spring and Summer of that year, counterculture newspapers ran advertisements touting the benefits smoking of banana peels. When properly cooked, dried, and rolled, the resulting powder—called Mellow Yellow—was alleged to produce hallucinogenic effects similar to that of psychedelic drugs. When the FDA attempted to test this allegation, they couldn't find any evidence that the banana peels had any hallucinogenic properties.

The rumor likely started as a subtle but joking protest against the government regulation of psychedelic substances. Thanks to a newly-formed network of underground news papers, the joke made it to the mainstream news and was reported on in magazines such as Time and Newsweek. In April 1967, thousands smoked "Mellow Yellow" together at the Human Be-In in New York City. The fad for smoking banana peels lasted only a few months, but was used in future campaigns advocating for the legalization of drugs like marijuana.

White circles and a cross shape on a green background

Fangamer is an independent merchandise company founded in 2008 specializing in products that feature video games and entertainment. In the early 2010s, every order from the company would include different series of pin buttons or stickers, sometimes featuring the logo of the company. In late 2009, Fangamer sponsored a contest called the Artist Pin Series and went on to produce at least 14 winning designs through the Busy Beaver Button Company. These buttons were offered to the public through the Fangamer online store in early-mid 2010.

Green and blue triangles on a yellow background

The Idaho State University's Eco-Alliance Committee sold these buttons to support the first "Environmental Teach-In" on April 22, 1970, now known as Earth Day. Yellow is for sunshine. Green is for plants, grass and trees. Blue is for clear skies and water. This teach-in was a major moment in changing American's consciousness of ecology and the deterioration of the environment.

red and blue star shape on a white background

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