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Billionaires for Bush Records

Call Number

TAM.725

Date

2000-2013, inclusive

Creator

Billionaires (Organization)

Extent

10 Linear Feet
in 4 record cartons, 1 half manuscript box, 2 oversize boxes, 1 oversized rolled storage, and 1 flat-file folder

Extent

8.12 Gigabytes

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Billionaires for Bush was a grassroots media campaign that used culture jamming and street theater to satirize politicians supporting corporate interests and the upper class. Activists wore costumes to parody the wealthy and jokingly supported political campaigns, with the greatest amount of activity during the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections. Since 2005, the group continues to advocate on a number of economic issues, including income inequality, gentrification, taxation policies, and Social Security privatization. The Billionaires for Bush Records document the organization's activism, with majority of the materials in this collection document the group's street theater and other actions during the 2000 and 2004 United States presidential elections. Materials in this collection include photographs, correspondence between organizers, printed suggestions for participating, flyers for distribution at actions, drafts of public statements, promotional ephemera like brochures, notes from planning meetings, newspaper clippings, and costumes used in actions. In addition to documenting specific activism during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the collection reveals a larger context of activism against economic inequality, as well as the tactics used by the organization, such as culture jamming and street theater.

Historical Note

Billionaires for Bush was a grassroots media campaign that used culture jamming and street theater to satirize politicians supporting corporate interests and the upper class. The organization was first founded by Andrew Boyd as "Billionaires for Forbes" during the Republican Party nomination process of the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Activists wore costumes to parody the wealthy and jokingly supported conservative political campaigns benefiting corporate interests, with the greatest amount of activity during the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections. Since 2005, the group continues to advocate on a number of economic issues, including income inequality, gentrification, taxation policies, and Social Security privatization.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the order in which it were received from the donor. These materials have been grouped into five series by subject and format as follows:
I. Billionaires for Bush (or Gore)
II. Billionaires for Bush
III. Actions
IV. Performance-Related Materials
V. Audiovisual Materials

Scope and Contents

The Billionaires for Bush Records document the organization's activism during the early 2000s critiquing politicians supporting policies that disproportionately benefitted corporations and the upper-class. The majority of the materials in this collection document the group's street theater and other actions during the 2000 and 2004 United States presidential elections. Materials in this collection include photographs (both print and digital), correspondence between organizers, printed suggestions for participating, flyers for distribution at actions, drafts of public statements, promotional ephemera like brochures or stickers, notes from planning meetings, and newspaper clippings. These materials document many of the group's targeted actions, such as "Block the Vote" that satirized voter suppression tactics, the "Get on the Limo" campaign tour, and "Cheney is Innocent." The collection also includes costumes and accessories worn or used by activists during actions, including banners, tuxedos, buttons, a fur stole, a top hat, plastic cigars, and cufflinks. In addition to documenting specific activism during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the collection reveals a larger context of activism against economic inequality, as well as the tactics used by the organization, such as culture jamming and street theater.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions with the exception of box 3. Access to box 3 is restricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Andrew Boyd, the creator of this collection, were relinquished and transferred to the public domain in 2017 by the donor. These materials are governed by a Creative Commons CC0 license, which permits publication and reproduction of materials accompanied by full attribution. See, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Billionaires for Bush Records; TAM 725; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Some materials in this collection are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Andrew Boyd in 2017. The accession number assocaited with this gift is 2017.044.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. Born-digital materials have not been transferred and may not be available to researchers. Researchers may request access copies. To request that material be transferred, or if you are unsure if material has been transferred, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Appraisal

Audiovisual items from this collection were deaccessioned and transferred to New York University's Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics in November 2017.

In August 2022, the Curator of Tamiment-Wagner Collections deaccessioned vinyl banners from the collection, as the plastics composing the banner had begun to degrade.

Collection processed by

Rachel Searcy

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:08:13 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Immediately after acquisition, the collection was bagged and frozen for two weeks in a freezer without cycle to eliminate any insect activity. Textiles were vacuumed, measured, and rehoused in storage appropriate to their size, material, and condition. Smaller items, such as bowties, cufflinks, and plastic cigars were wrapped in buffered tissue paper and folded inside a smaller Paige box. Foam core posters were tested for cleaning with water. As per curator's direction, duplicate vinyl banners, paper and foam core posters were removed and discarded.

Following cleaning and rehousing, materials were described on the collection-level with a box- and folder-level container list, re-using partial inventories created by Preservation staff.

Born-digital files on optical discks were identified, inventoried, and described but have not yet been forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. These items have been physically removed from their original boxes and replaced with a separation sheet. New York University Libraries follows professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.

Audiovisual items from this collection (previously represented in this record as Series V. Audiovisual Materials, Boxes 9-10) were deaccessioned and transferred to New York University's Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics in November 2017.

Revisions to this Guide

November 2017: Record updated by Rachel Searcy to reflect deaccessioning action
August 2022: Updated by Weatherly Stephan to reflect deaccessioning of vinyl banners

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012