Was this Keith Haring-designed campaign button created for David Dinkins’ 1989 mayoral run—or his second bid in 1993?
I’d guess 1989.
For one thing, Haring—whose graffiti-inspired images and designs are icons of the 1980s downtown art world—had already died of AIDS-related complications by 1993.
But also, Dinkins’ first term as mayor didn’t exactly reflect the racial healing he campaigned on in 1989, largely thanks to the Crown Heights riots of 1991.
It seems unlikely he would have campaigned on that same theme again two years later, when his opponent was once again former prosecutor Rudy Guiliani.
Tags: 1980s New York City art scene, Crown Heights Riots, David Dinkins mayoral run 1989, Keith Haring, NYC vintage campaign buttons, Rudy Guiliani mayoral run 1989
Ephemeral New York 
August 30, 2010 at 5:31 pm |
[…] button from David Dinkins’ 1989 mayoral campaign, designed by Keith Haring [Ephemeral […]
September 1, 2010 at 2:43 pm |
My friend, who was once David Dinkins Press Secretary, thinks it’s from the 1989 campaign. He only had one term as mayor. He was elected boro president in 1985, mayor in 1989.
May 5, 2019 at 12:09 am |
Hi! I was the one that got Keith to do that design for the ’89 campaign. I knew him from the Paradise Garage and proposed the idea. Nice to see it’s being appreciated as the campaign leadership did not understand nor appreciate what was being done at the time. These buttons )and t-shirts that were also made) are surely collectors items. Thanks for sharing!