A man stands amid demonstrators holding an improvised sales or distribution box labeled “meat trays” and the number 612; his shirt front is densely covered with campaign buttons. He extends a button toward a person on the left side of the image. Such buttons bearing symbols and slogans of the civil rights movement were widely distributed and worn on August 28, 1963 on the National Mall as signs of solidarity. The scene illustrates the organizational everyday level of the march: alongside official speakers and banners, informal activities such as the distribution of badges also characterized the appearance of the rally. The use of an ordinary food packaging as a carrier for the buttons underscores the improvised, grassroots character of the mass gathering.