Civil Rights/Racism/KKK

Glazed plaster bust of a Klansman, with a 1923 copyright on the back. Stands about 8" high and in generally excellent condition with a tiny chip on the Klansman's hand. Learn More

Enamel on brass spinner fob promoting the Ku Klux Klan, 1920's. Spinning the brass disk reveals the letters "KKK". 1" wide, in excellent condition. Learn More

Broadside disparaging newly appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Hugo Black and exposing him as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, 1937. 8 3/4 x 11". Several edge chips. Distributed by INDEPENDENT YOUNG AMERICANS in Chicago, Illinois. Learn More

Poster memorializing Frederick Douglass and Paul Laurence Dunbar (American poet/novelist/playwright). 15 x 20", in excellent condition. Printed by OTTO SCHEIBLE CHICAGO, with a 1910 copyright. Learn More

Poster encouraging the prevention of labor discrimination during World War II, 1942. 28 x 39 1/2". Light soiling and minor stains are confined mostly to the top left area. Machine-folded, as made. Produced by the WAR MANPOWER COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, D.C. Printed by the U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1942. FDR established the War Manpower Commission "to assure the most effective mobilization and maximum utilization of the Nation's manpower in the prosecution of the war". The Commission's director, General Frank McSherry, warned that "...employers can no longer afford to discriminate against Negroes and workers of other minority groups...Aliens, where it is possible under government restrictions,must be considered for war production jobs...We cannot afford to permit any preconceived prejudices or artificial hiring standards to interfere with the production of tanks, planes, and guns. The poster shows 9 men working on a tank and their last names suggest a variety of ethnicities and national origins. A terrific and historical poster. Learn More

Felt banner memorializing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968. 11 3/4 x 15 1/2", in excellent condition. Learn More

Pinback button with symbol of solidarity and support of the Black Pride/Black Power movement, c. 1960's. 1 1/4" cello in excellent condition. Learn More

Pinback button opposing Aryan Nations, a white supremacist religious organization founded in the 1970s. 2 1/4" cello in excellent condition. No maker identified. Learn More

Silk ribbon worn at the burial of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens (Pennsylvania), 1868. 2 3/8 x 6 1/2" and in excellent condition with some hand-written notations. A member of the House of Representatives, Stevens made his mark in U.S. history as a fierce opponent of slavery and discrimination against African-Americans, and continued to fight to secure the rights of Black Americans during Reconstruction, often in opposition to President Andrew Johnson. Stevens was serving in Congress at the time of his death on August 11, 1868. His body was conveyed by white and African-American pallbearers from his house to the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Thousand of mourners of both races filed past his casket as he lay in state. His body was then taken by funeral train to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Distributed by the Union League of Philadelphia and worn by a mourner who witnessed the burial. Learn More

Pinback button memorializing Dr. Martin Luther King, 1968. 1 3/4" cello in excellent condition. Learn More