Pins of the Civil Rights Movement

Easily-made, low-cost pins were the badges and insignia of the Southern Freedom Movement.

Though they were cheap to make, the price of wearing one could be high. In many places throughout the South, wearing a Movement pin in public irrevocably marked you for good or ill. For local Blacks, wearing a Movement pin in public was an act of defiance, courage, and committment that put you at risk of ostracism, economic retaliation, and violence.

This pin was widely worn by members of all the Freedom Movement organizations for many years. Pin wore by the CORE Freedom Riders in 1961. Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC), 1965 —  Pin of the Birmingham Movement (Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights), 1963. March on Washington pin, 1963. SNCC Voting Rights pin, 1963 — 1965. Southern Christian Leadership Conference pin, from 1963 or 1964. Southern Christian Leadership Conference pin, 1965 and later. Get Rid of Wallace (GROW) pin wore during Selma Movement, 1965. Southern Community Organizing & Political Education (SCOPE) pin from SCLC's summer project of 1965. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) pin from some time between 1964 and 1968.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) pin, 1962 — 1965 Meredith March Against Fear pin, Mississippi 1966. [Unknown] Anyone know where/when this pin is from? A CORE pin from the early '60s. Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC) pin from later '60s In the early '60s a prominent segregationist (Wallace?) stated that the local "nigras" were just being stirred up from their normal happy and contented state by "white agitators." CORE responded with this satirical pin. (When asked, wearers replied that "CWA" stood for "Congress of White Agitators.") From the drawing by SNCC volunteer Frank Cieciorka. This fist symbol was widely used in the mid and late 1960s on pins, flyers, posters, pamphlets, flags, etc. [Unknown] Anyone know where/when this pin is from? SCLC pin from Chicago project, 1966 Segregationists in Alabama and elsewhere wore "Never" pins declaring their opposition to integration and voting rights for Blacks. In response, Movement supporters made up these "Forever" pins. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People membership pin

If you would like to add a pin to this list, email a digital image of the pin (.JPG or .GIF format) to webmaster@crmvet.org.

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