Buttons - African American

On Sunday afternoon October 3, 2020 the Allegany County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Branch #7007 sponsored a march and rally in Cumberland, Maryland. The theme was “She Matters” and the focus was upon the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as other women who died of violence. The march, in which several hundred people participated, began at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Washington Street and concluded at the Cumberland City Hall where several speeches and songs were presented.

“Black Girls Vote” is a non-profit non-partisan organization that was founded in 2015 by Nykidra Robinson, a first generation college graduate who earned her degree in business marketing from Frostburg State University. The impetus for founding the organization came after the shooting death of a man not far from her Northwest Baltimore home.

Maryland History Day, a year-long educational program sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council, is a state-wide history-based learning experience that encourages students in grades 6 through 12 to explore local, state, national, and world history. In 2015, the theme was “Leadership and Legacy in History” and included student projects from the public school systems of all three western Maryland counties (Allegany, Garrett and Washington).

Boyd K. Rutherford is the third African-American in a row to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (see Michael Steele and Anthony Brown). Sworn into office on January 21, 2015 along with Governor Larry Hogan, Rutherford is also only the ninth person to hold the office of Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. A Republican he had previously served in the administration of President George W. Bush as an Associate Administrator in the U.S. General Services Administration from 2001-2003.

These are a series of buttons that have been issued or pertain specifically to recent events involving African-Americans that have garnered national interest. The “Freddie Gray” incident occurred in Baltimore, Maryland. It should be noted that these are only very brief descriptions of legally complicated, controversial and ongoing situations:

There were several major events held in Washington D.C. to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic August 28, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The first of these was held on August 24, 2013 and organized by "Realize the Dream", headed by Martin Luther King, III and the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization founded in 1991 by the Reverend Al Sharpton. This event was highlighted by a rally held at the Lincoln Memorial with numerous notable speakers, and attended by tens of thousands of people.

The "Dedicate The Dream" button relates to the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial which was held on October 16, 2011 in Washington. The dedication was originally planned for August 28, 2011 as indicated on this button. The August dedication was cancelled due to weather concerns stemming from Hurricane Irene. Two other dedication related buttons and additional background appear elsewhere on this site.

"Baltimore Says Make The Dream A Reality - Jobs, Peace, Freedom." On August 27, 1983, 250,000 people attended the 20th anniversary march commemorating the August 28, 1963 March on Washington. The button shown here was made available to Baltimore, Maryland travelers to this event.

"Build The Dream" is the theme of the effort currently underway toward the construction of a Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington D.C. The memorial seeks to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).

Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was born in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1930 he was denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School because he was black. He then sought admission to, was accepted at, and graduated from the Howard University Law School. Marshall became Chief Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1940, and as such successfully argued several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court including the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case.