Kent State Protest Pinback Button
Circa 1970.
Diameter: 2 1/4 inches
 
A striking Kent State protest pinback button featuring a stark, high-contrast photographic image associated with the May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State University. The image captures the atmosphere of confrontation and tragedy surrounding the student protests, when Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on demonstrators, killing four students and wounding nine others. The stark graphic treatment gives the button an especially immediate and confrontational quality.
 
Produced in the aftermath of the shootings, buttons such as this became an important form of political expression during the nationwide protests that followed. Its large format and stark imagery reflect the powerful visual language of the period and the enduring place of Kent State in the history of American protest.
 
Condition: Very Fine.