Philadelphia Folklore Progect
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Philadelphia, PA 19143

Phone: 215.726.1106
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Folk Arts of Social Change Exhibition

Freedom is my Badge

Bill and Miriam Crawford have been well-known activists in Philadelphia since the late 1940s. Many people first met Bill when they visited his store, the New World Book Fair in West Philadelphia. Open from 1961 to 1974, the store featured Marxist and African American books; it was an invaluable resource and a gathering place for many people and for progressive cases. The Crawfords' home was an equally important setting for formal and informal political work.

The walls of their dining room chronicle four decades of their political life. They record the Crawfords' involvement in the Communist party, the civil rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements, the "Stop Rizzo" campaign, and Bill's own campaign for city controller. Like an elaborate, oversized scrapbook, the walls seamlessly mix political memorabilia with favorite images of African American literary and musical figures, popular culture, cartoons, and photographs of old friends. Each piece has a story.

An artistic creation in its own right, this assemblage evokes the homes and workplaces of many activists. Like other folk arts, these lovingly tended walls of memory and struggle trace community and convey folk history.

 

Button Collections
Various lapel buttons, c. 1930s-1990s

Lapel buttons get the word out, display solidarity, and help people connect on issues they care about. Wearing a button is about making a public declaration of a personal belief. The words on a button can spark conversation and debate, between strangers or friends. They help people of like minds to connect, and they make divisions apparent. A button asks its reader, "Where do you stand?" or "Are you with me or against me?" These small beacons help a community survive when it is underground or virtually invisible in mainstream culture.

Buttons' size and durability make them easy to keep through the years. People who save their buttons are recording their own history of political activity and interests; many collections chart their owner's political growth, along with changes in perspective and in intensity of commitment. Button collections also provide details about political parties and campaigns, networks of organizations, significant events and battles, and the leaders and martyrs of political causes. Like bumper stickers and t-shirts, buttons condense a political position into a few succinct words.

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Last update: February 16, 2006