1971 Black Task Force “Bring the Brothers Home Now!” Vietnam War Protest Button

1971 Black Task Force “Bring the Brothers Home Now!” Anti-Vietnam War Protest Button. Striking red, black and green pinback issued by the Black Task Force in connection with the November 6, 1971 antiwar demonstrations. Boldly reads “NOV. 6 / Bring the Brothers HOME NOW! / Black Task Force to End the War.”

The slogan reflected an important aspect of the antiwar movement—the growing opposition to the Vietnam War within the Black community and particular concern over the disproportionate burden the war and military draft placed upon Black Americans.

Contemporary documentation confirms the attribution particularly well. An October 15, 1971 issue of The Militant, published just weeks before the demonstration, reported that the NPAC Black Task Force had available a red, black and green button reading “Bring the Brothers Home Now!” and directed interested supporters to the Black Task Force at 150 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

The November 6, 1971 demonstration in New York included a large antiwar march and rally culminating in Central Park. Contemporary photographs of the November 6 protest are preserved in the New York Public Library's Diana Davies collection.

Manufacturer's identification on the curl reads “N.G. Slater, New York,” a well-known producer of political and protest pinback buttons.

An especially appealing Vietnam-era protest button combining antiwar, African American and social movement history in one piece. Original.