Pinback Button, "President Reagan"

Between 1980 and 1984

This pinback button endorsed Ronald Reagan for president, though its owner did not. The red, white, and blue button belonged to political reporter Ethel L. Payne (1911-1991), who collected campaign memorabilia. A Chicago native, Payne moved to the nation’s capital in 1952 to cover national and international news for the preeminent African American newspaper, The Chicago Defender. Over the course of her pioneering career, she met every president, from Eisenhower to Reagan. The lifelong civil rights activist filed stories from thirty countries, becoming known as the First Lady of the Black Press.