Pinback Button, ""Straight Up!"

1991

The Anacostia Museum created this pinback button for program participants to wear. The rectangular button displays the logo for a museum program on teenagers and AIDS. The program’s title declares its intent to dispel ignorance about AIDS, a disease first identified in 1981. The button’s bold design follows suit. “Straight Up!” appears in purple, slanted script accented by orange dots spattered diagonally across the button. On its top edge are the name of the museum and the year. In 1991, stigma surrounded people with AIDS and their caregivers. However, in the same year, the Red Ribbon Project launched the now-iconic symbol of AIDS awareness to encourage empathy and advocate for medical research.