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A 'Viva Kennedy' campaign button
A 'Viva Kennedy' campaign button

A 'Viva Kennedy' campaign button

Object number2012.038.0001
Date1960
ClassificationsArtifacts
ObjectPin
Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection
MediumMetal
DimensionsDiameter: 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm)
Collections
DescriptionA round, pin-back, 1960 Viva Kennedy metal campaign button. Viva Kennedy clubs were organizations of Hispanic voters. The clubs originated in Texas in August 1960 after the Democratic national convention endorsed civil rights and desegregation, as well as support for legislation to protect migrants from discrimination. The front of the button is painted white with a blue sombrero hat silhouetted in the center. The words "Viva Kennedy" overlay the silhouette of the hat.
Curatorial Commentary
Ricardo Medrano, whose family was active with the Dallas chapter of the Viva Kennedy Club during the 1960 presidential election, remembered that voter registration drives were particularly important in the Hispanic community.  "That was part of it," he said in a 2011 oral history interview, "to get out the vote... to register minorities to get out there and vote for Kennedy.  He looked the part, he spoke the part, and he had a message for our community."  - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator