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THE JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

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Events

Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.

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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...

Katherine Johnson — Mathematics to the Moon

Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.

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

Dress designed by Ann Lowe

Date
1966-1967; altered 1973
Description
White dress with handmade flower embellishments designed by Ann Lowe. The dress is sleeveless with a scoop neck and an asymmetric waistline that is cut as an empire waist at the front and then plunges downward at the side to the natural waist at the center back. The bodice is made from layers of white chiffon with the neck and arm openings trimmed in short pleated ruffles made from the chiffon. The front of the full-length skirt is made from ivory silk satin with a brocaded monotone medium-scale design of scattered chrysanthemums with leaves and stems. The back skirt is made from ivory silk satin with the brocaded flower elements present on the front of the skirt cut out from that fabric and then sewn onto the plain satin in a scattered manner similar to the look of the front fabric. The back of the skirt is pleated at the back waist for fullness. The bottom of the skirt is embellished with handmade flowers in white satin and chiffon. The flowers include roses in various blooming stages, chrysanthemums, and other unidentified species. There are handmade white satin leaves with machine embroidered veins and interspersed within the flowers, which surround a meandering satin tube representing the stem of a vine. Some of the leaves are sewn in pairs around the waist seam. The dress closes at the center back with a zipper and one (1) metal hook-and-eye.
The interior of the bodice is lined in light weight white rayon. The skirt is lined in heavier weight white synthetic fabric. There are no labels.
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
Black Fashion Museum Collection
Classification
Clothing - Fashion and Historical
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2007.3.24
Type
dresses
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
silk satin, chiffon, synthetic fiber, and metal fasteners
Dimensions
H x W (flat): 55 × 30 in. (139.7 × 76.2 cm)
Title
Object Name • Dress designed by Ann Lowe
Record ID
nmaahc_2007.3.24
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
DRESS DESIGNED BY ANN LOWE
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1960s
Geo Location
City • New York City • State • New York • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Online Media Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions

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

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NMAAHC

Furious Flower: A Revolution in African American Poetry

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Dress designed by Ann Lowe

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Slip designed by Ann Lowe and worn by Florance Trevor

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Wedding dress designed by Ann Lowe and worn by Florance Trevor

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

Which Supreme Court case ruled state-sponsored public-school segregation unconstitutional?

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.