Buttons of the Left

The pinback button–humble as it is ubiquitous–has played a role throughout all movements for social justice, peace, and equality over the past century. Buttons of the Left uplifts the contributions of everyday people to history, using buttons and other personal wearable ephemera to connect audiences to the past. Every button tells a story, and we are here to share them.

Buttons of the Left is an archive and educational project focused on the ephemeral materials used to educate, agitate and organize for progressive change. We collect and preserve buttons as important artifacts of working class history, share the context and meaning behind each item, and curate topical exhibits and presentations to connect with students, workers, and the public.

“I Like My Coffee Union Strong,” “Starbucks Workers United,” “Starbucks Workers United —Chicago,” Workers United/ Starbucks Workers United, 2020s. “Union Now / Starbucks Workers Union / IU 660,” I
This week I’m at the @uaw.union’s Member Mobilization Institute in Black Lake, Michigan, presenting alongside UAW social media wiz, Tamar, about messaging and communication tools for union members to build working class power! I’ve
It's going to be a busy button fall! 🍂🍁 Over the next couple of months, I'm excited to be doing presentations and exhibits on the ways buttons have been used to organize for progressive change in THREE states ... to union members, high school stud
"Free Assata / break de chains," Assata Shakur Defense Committee, 1970s. Black revolutionary Assata Shakur died today of old age, having spent the last 41 years as a political exile in Cuba. Assata became involved with the civil rights, an
"Tengo Puerto Rico en mi Corazon / YLO," Young Lords Organization, Chicago IL 1968. On September 23, 1968--the anniversary of the Lares Rebellion--the Young Lords street gang in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood refounded itself as a rad
"Free Troy Davis!" button, Campaign to End the Death Penalty Atlanta chapter, 2008 "I Am Troy Davis" t-shirt, Amnesty International, 2007. Troy Davis was executed by the state of Georgia on September 21, 2011 after three previous

Upcoming and Past Events

  • Button Making Workshop: The Anti-Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament Movement

    October 23, 2025
    Perlman Museum at Carleton College - Northfield, MN

  • Creative Expressions of Resistance

    October 8, 2025
    Depaul University Class Visit
    Chicago, IL

  • Union Messaging through the Ages

    September 29-October 1
    UAW Member Mobilization Conference
    Black Lake, MI

  • Emblems of Solidarity: Union Buttons and Labor History

    (PAST EVENT)
    Socialism 2025 Conference
    July 3-6, 2025
    Hyatt Regency McCormick
    2233 S Martin Luther King Dr
    Chicago, IL 60616

  • Labor and Working Class History Association National Conference

    (PAST EVENT)
    June 12-14, 2025
    University of Chicago
    Chicago, IL 60637

  • "Midst the Wonders We Have Made"

    (PAST EVENT)
    Saturday | May 24, 2025
    May Day Art Show
    2928 N Milwaukee Ave
    Chicago, IL 60618

  • "Teaching Labor History with Union Buttons"

    (PAST EVENT)
    Thursday | May 22, 2025
    UAW Education Committees Conference
    Black Lake, MI

  • Educate, Agitate, Organize! Buttons as a Tool for Change

    (PAST EVENT)
    Creating Justice Conference
    Oakton College Skokie Campus
    April 11, 2026

Ongoing Exhibitions

  • "Always Carry a Book, Always Wear a Button"

    Pilsen Community Books
    1102 W 18th St
    Chicago, IL 60608

  • "El Pueblo Vencerá: Buttons of the Central America Solidarity Movement"

    Anticonquista Café
    952 W 18th St
    Chicago, IL 60608

  • "All Power to the People! Buttons of the Socialist Movement in the US"

    Art In These Times Gallery
    2040 N Milwaukee Ave
    Chicago, IL 60647