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GREENWOOD / BLACK WALL STREET WILMINGTON 1898 LITTLE ROCK NINE TUSKEGEE STUDY ROSEWOOD 1923 THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SENECA VILLAGE BLACK TOWNS GREENWOOD / BLACK WALL STREET WILMINGTON 1898 LITTLE ROCK NINE TUSKEGEE STUDY ROSEWOOD 1923 THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SENECA VILLAGE BLACK TOWNS
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MY'STORY

The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Ruler of the Mali Empire in the 14th century

Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.

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BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
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NMAAHC

Circular No. 8 from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands

Date
July 17, 1866
Written by
Davis Tillson, American, 1830 - 1895
Subject of
United States Army, American, founded 1775
Freedmen's Bureau, American, 1865 - 1872
Oliver Otis Howard, American, 1830 - 1909
Description
A wove paper military order, Circular No.8, from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedman & Abandoned Lands, prohibiting landowners from expelling sharecroppers without payment.
These orders are issued by Battalion Major General Davis Tillson and approved by his commanding officer Oliver Otis Howard, from Augusta, Georgia with the date July 17th 1865. The orders read: [1. Numerous well authenticated reports from officers and / Agents of the Bureau in different parts of the State have been re- / ceived at this office, setting forth that now the crops are nearly / ready to lay by, and the immediate demand for labor has, to some / extent ceased, planters in some instances, are driving off freed- / people employed by them and refusing to pay for their labor. / Sometimes this is done openly, but generally by purposely quarrel- / ing with the freed-people—threatening them with violence if they / remain, and then because of their leaving the plantation, claiming / that they have violated their contracts and forfeited their wages. / If this unjust and dishonest conduct is persisted in, the State will be / filled with unemployed freed-people, without means of subsistence, / who must live by theft or be supported by the Government. / Therefore persons employing freed-people are forbidden to discharge / them without payment, unless they shall first show sufficient cause, / and obtain the consent of an officer or Agent of this Bureau. / 2. Military commanders in this State will assist the officers and / Agents of the Bureau to enforce the provisions of this Circular.]. There are binding holes in the left and bottom margins of the page, and no markings on the reverse.
Transcription Center Status
Transcribed by digital volunteers
Place depicted
Augusta, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Agriculture
Emancipation
Government
Labor
Law
Race relations
Reconstruction, U.S. History, 1865-1877
Rural life
Slavery
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Documents and Manuscripts
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2020.26.38
Type
orders (military records)
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ink on wove paper
Dimensions
H x W: 7 5/8 × 4 7/8 in. (19.4 × 12.4 cm)
Title
Object Name • Circular No. 8 from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands
Record ID
nmaahc_2020.26.38
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
CIRCULAR NO. 8 FROM THE BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN AND ABANDONED LANDS
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1860s
Name
Freedmen's Bureau • Tillson, Davis • United States Army • Howard, Oliver Otis
Place
Augusta • United States • North and Central America • Georgia
Topic
Slavery • Rural life • Law • Government • Labor unions • Agriculture • Reconstruction, U.S. History, 1865-1877 • Emancipation • Race relations
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Augusta • State • Georgia • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Military records
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions

Media

Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Rights and restrictions shown above are supplied by the Smithsonian record.

NMAAHC

Authentic and Impartial Narrative of the Tragical Scene Which Was Witnessed in Southampton County (Virginia) On Monday The 22nd, of August Last

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Flyer Advertising an African Dance and Show

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Blue denim jacket

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Circular No. 8 from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands

Date: Date

Description

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

Greenwood / Black Wall Street

Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

What prosperous Tulsa district became widely known as “Black Wall Street”?

The Greenwood District.