DETAILS: Original pinback button issued by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Circa 1966. These buttons worn by SNCC members and their supporters at sit-ins and demonstrations during the Black Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.
Between 1960 and 1967, SNCC issued three version of their handshake pinback buttons. The first issued in February, 1960 was green in color, had a bi-racial handshake with a world map background. The second issued in the Spring of 1960 was a simple black and white design with human hands. The third, issued in 1967, incorporated a yin yang symbol instead of hands.
Of the three designs, the black and white version was by far the most popular. It became an iconic symbol of the positive message of the Civil Rights Movement. It should be noted however, that between 1960-1967, there were numerous variation of this black and white button design. Each change incorporated subtle alterations to the artwork and design layout.
The pin in this listing is for the original fifth design of the second version. It was issued in 1966 and during the tenure of Stokely Carmichael as the groups leader and issued primarily in Mississippi and Alabama. This fourth design is sometimes referred to by older collectors as the "Short 717" because the white lines on the black hand resemble the number 717 but they do not extend all the way to the white border area. In the earlier issued 1964 "Long 717" design, the numbers resemble 717 but the white lines are longer and extend all the way to the white border area.
Measures approximately 1" inch. Rare.
GUARANTEE: We offer a lifetime guarantee on all of our items to be authentic originals issued by the organization stated. They are not later re-issues or reproductions. We forensically examine all of our items prior to listing to make certain they are authentic.
BIOGRAPHY: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee, the Committee sought to coordinate and assist direct-action challenges to the civic segregation and political exclusion of African Americans.
BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS
Circa 1950-1970