This 1.25” is from the same series as our previous item #340. As with all in the series, bottom rim text reads “March On May Day.” On this button, top rim reads “Defend Civil Rights” while center reads “Save The Trenton ‘6’.” The slogan refers to a 1948 case when six African-American defendants were convicted by an all-white jury of the murder of an elderly white shopkeeper. After the conviction of the men, who had alibis and repudiated their forced false confessions, an appeal was filed and a stay of execution granted. In the appeal process, the Communist Party USA took on the legal defense of half of the defendants while the NAACP defended the other half. International attention on the case came from many notables from W.E.B. Du Bois to Pete Seeger and even Albert Einstein who lived nearby in Princeton. Ultimately, all 6 were declared not guilty. Cello has tiny bit of surface wear in reflected light but displays clean and glossy and essentially Mint. Reverse of the button does have the slightest bit of slight darkening to the celluloid by the collet but none of this extends in any significant way to the front of the button. Of the several buttons we’ve seen in this series, this is the first example we’ve seen of this particular one. A rare civil rights button.