Red text on a white background.  A Polish flag is coming off the "T".

Solidarity (Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity”) began on August 31, 1980 as a Polish trade union federation. The union was created under the leadership of Lech Walęsa in the Gdańsk Shipyard. The Solidarity trade union was significant because it was the first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. The Warsaw Pact was signed in 1955 and basically allowed the Soviet Union to maintain military control over eight communist states in Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania and the Soviet Union). By September 1981 Solidarity’s membership was about one third of the working population in Poland (9.5 million). Not only did Solidarity work for worker’s rights, they were also a group that used civil resistance to invoke social change. The group was initially supported financially by the United States, about 50 million dollars.

In the 1980s the Polish government attempted to destroy the union, but ultimately had to negotiate with them. Solidarity helped to lead the opposition to semi-free elections in 1989 which resulted in the election of Walęsa as the President of Poland in 1990. Solidarity had some connections with the Catholic church, as many members identified as Catholic, and Pope John Paul II publicly supported the group. The Solidarity union’s influence spread beyond Poland throughout the Eastern Bloc creating opposition to the Communist government. In the early 1990s this opposition led to the dismantling of the Eastern Bloc and dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Solidarity movement continues to influence other groups abroad to this day.

White background with red text, and a black illustration of the outline of Batman.

Ron Riley was a radio DJ for WLS Chicago from 1960 to 1971. In the mid-1960s, Riley began commentary on the Batman TV show on his radio program, which was soon expanded to create a Batman Fan Club. This button was included as part of the fan club membership package, along with a certificate signed by Riley and Batman and a sticker. The Batman Club became hugely popular, and even resulted with Riley guest-starring on an episode of the Batman TV show.

Green illustration of coiled snake on a patch of ground with green text on a yellow background.

The phrase “Don’t Tread on Me” with the image of a coiled rattlesnake can be traced back to a flag created by American general and politician Christopher Gadsden (1724-1805). He designed the flag in 1775 during the Revolutionary War. The flag was used by Continental sailors to express pro-revolution sentiments. The P.B.C., or People’s Bicentennial Commission, founded by Jeremy Rifkin, adopted the Gadsden flag in the 1970s. The P.B.C.’s goal was to use the 1976 Bicentennial to encourage an economic revolution. The group organized protests including one against big oil companies where participants threw empty oil barrels into Boston Harbor on the 200th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. The P.B.C. held a rally at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on July 4, 1976, and chanted slogans like “Mobil, Exxon, ITT, Down with corporate tyranny.” After the September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist attack on the United States, the Gadsden flag became a symbol of defiance. The conservative Tea Party within the Republican Party adopted the flag as its symbol in 2009.​

Red white and blue illustration of a campfire with a blue triangle around it with white text on it and red text across the top on a white background

Camp Fire candy sales began in February 1949. The selling of products has long provided youth with the opportunity to learn vital skills such as: presenting, planning, public speaking, math, teamwork, responsibility and goal setting. The Camp Fire Girls organization was founded in 1910 by Dr. Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte Gulick. The Gulicks wanted youth to have experiences that would best influence how they learned to care for themselves, the environment, and other people around them. Camp Fire Girls was meant as a sister organization to the Boy Scouts of America. Membership was expanded to include boys in 1975 and the organization changed its name to Camp Fire Boys and Girls.

Line-drawing Illustration of person with curly hair and neck tie giving the "peace sign".  Blue text on a white background.

There's lots of ways to say "I'm going". Looks like this little dude is about to peace. This variation of the peace sign has been used since at least the Vietnam War era.

Blue text on a white background.

The Chicago Teachers Union is a labor union based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1937, when several smaller teacher's organizations throughout Chicago united following the uncertainty of the Great Depression. Since then, it has fought for better pay, greater benefits, and job security on behalf of teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians within the Chicago public school system. Today they are affiliated with numerous state and national federations and are the third largest teacher local union in the country, with nearly 25,000 members. 

Illustration of baseball and blue text on a white background.

The Windy City Blowout Tournament is an annual regional baseball tournament hosted in Chicago that happens over a few days. Regional teams follow unique naming according to players in their district. Championship awards are posted by divisions beginning with 24+ up to 65.

Illustration of nuclear power plant in white on a blue gradient background.  Red text superimposed over illustration.

The blueprint nuclear power image was taken from the cover of Shut Down: Nuclear Power on Trial: Experts Testify in Federal Court. Published in March of 1979, the book was written by Jeannine Honicker, the plaintiff, in a lawsuit against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Using federal court transcripts, the story chronicles the demand for all 290 licensed nuclear facilities to shut down until federal regulations were revised. At the time, anti-nuclear concerns grew due to radioactive waste disposal, nuclear accidents, and terrorism. On May 7th, 1979, a march against nuclear power was held in Washington D.C., it was estimated over 70,000 attended, including California Governor Jerry Brown.

Illustration of raised fist outlined in black with white text on a red background.

Between 1941 and 1945, roughly six million Jewish individuals were systematically targeted and killed by the German Nazi party. Many were taken to concentration camps where they were forcibly tattooed with identification numbers, such as the one seen depicted here. In 1944, both men and women at the camp Auschwitz were given numbers in an "A" series; unlike the number shown here, this "A" series concluded in the mid 25,000s. Many pieces of holocaust remembrance paraphernalia feature the Hebrew word "Zakar", or "Zachor", which literally translates as "remember." It is featured here using the Hebrew alphabet to ensure the the catastrophic tragedy is never forgotten.