H74.87.33

Arm band. Description: 1 cotton arm band, silk screened on dyed cloth, May-June 1970, printed by textile students (see 74.87.31); design: clenched fist & peace sign; black on lavender. Never used. History: See 74.87.1 Fist means power to the people. The fist is generally not incorporated to the peace signs. This is a specific design, usually there was a dove or a peace symbols. "Power is grasping peace". (Harold Koda, 12/9/1993) At the University of Massachusetts people were gathering and some professors were lecturing on what was happening with the war, but I don't remember seeing any of these (head-bands) being used. Were people in Berkeley out protesting every week? (Trish Cunningham, 12/9/1993) There were posters with the fist and peace sign, not headbands so much. Yes, there were people protesting every week. They were not associated with the University, they seemed to be younger. The students were into posters, flyers, arm-bands and into reconstituting the University (out of this came Ethnic Studies and other great things). (IBM, 12/9/1993)

Used: unisex | Adult | Peace movement | Anti-war

Picture This Information

This artifact is part of the OMCA's Picture This website. More about the context and history of this artifact is available at Picture This.

About the Picture This web project: California's Perspectives on American History is a resource for teachers and students to learn about the experiences of diverse peoples of California by using primary source images from the Oakland Museum of California's collections. Organized into 11 time periods spanning from pre-1769 to the present, more than 300 photographs, drawings, posters, and prints tell stories from the perspectives of different ethnic groups. Historical contexts are provided to offer a framework of California's role in relation to American history.

The National Archives state that primary sources, "fascinate students because they are real and they are personal: history is humanized through them." Picture This invites students to examine the historical record, encouraging them to connect history with real people and explore how images tell stories and convey historical evidence about the human experience. History becomes more than just a series of facts, dates, and events.      

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