"Action = Life" Button, 1989

01

Artifact Overview

These buttons feature a symbol once weaponized against the LGBTQ+ community and later reclaimed. The pink triangle has roots in the Holocaust, when Nazis forced queer people to wear a pink triangle as a form of identification and persecution. By repurposing these symbols, a shared and recognizable language of identity and solidarity is created among LGBTQ+ people and allies.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Button (Information artifact)

Date Made

1989

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2022.58.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Metal
Plastic

Color

Pink (Color)
White (Color)
Black (Color)

Dimensions

Diameter: 1.75 in
Length: 0.25 in

Inscriptions

on front: ACTION=LIFE on bottom edge: (C) 1989 ACT UP/L.A. [B]OX 26601. L.A., CA. / 90026 & DONNELLY/COLT BUTTONS (203)455-9621