q2K BHP
Black History Portal
THE BHP WIRE —
HIDDEN TRUTHS
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
What's New!
THE JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
BHP HOME BEFORE AMERICA 1800–1936 1937–1957 1958–1980 1981–2000 2001–PRESENT

Explore Black History

Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.

✊🏾

Civil Rights

Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.

⚙️

Black Inventors

Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.

🏆

Sports

Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.

♟️

People

Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.

📍

Places

Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.

📜

Events

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

Enter a person, place, event, or topic.
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.

MORE →
BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

The Violence That Helped Spark the NAACP

In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.

MORE →
BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
← BACK TO RESULTS
NMAAHC

Red, blue, and cream embroidered bedcover

Date
1910-1940
Created by
Unidentified
Description
A red, blue, and cream pieced bedcover with botanic and geometric embroidered designs. The forty-two (42) blocks are sewn together in six (6) columns and seven (7) rows with alternating colors of red, cream, and blue squares made of a rayon and cotton blend cloth. Each block has a design of floral or leafy sprigs, or geometric shapes, embroidered on it in cream, pale gold, and pale pink silk thread. The blocks are hand-pieced together with decorative embroidery stitched over the seams. Some blocks are made from more than one piece of fabric, with decorative stitching over the seams in the blocks as well. Each block is backed with light weight cotton canvas, with the embroidery sewn through the canvas and the facing fabric. There is no batting between the top and the backing fabrics, with the only inner material being the canvas. The back has three different striped fabrics, one is cream, blue, brown, and yellow; the second is cream, pale blue, and brown; the third is blue and cream. The top and back are seamed right sides together, then turned and a line of machine-stitched cream thread is sewn around approximately 1/2 inch in from the edge. A strip of Velcro is sewn across the top of the reverse. An additional small rectangle of Velcro is sewn at the proper left bottom reverse corner.
Topic
African American
Domestic life
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Textiles and Quilts
Furnishings, Housewares, and Décor
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
2013.162.3
Type
bed coverings
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
rayon and cotton blend cloth, rayon cloth, and silk thread
Dimensions
H x W: 72 × 64 1/2 in. (182.9 × 163.8 cm)
Title
Object Name • Red, blue, and cream embroidered bedcover
Record ID
nmaahc_2013.162.3
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
RED, BLUE, AND CREAM EMBROIDERED BEDCOVER
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1910s • 1940s
Topic
Domestic life
Culture
African Americans
Type
Bed coverings
Online Media Type
Images
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.

NMAAHC

Ivory double bed sheet

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Untitled (Family Bed)

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Untitled (Family Bed)

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Red, blue, and cream embroidered bedcover

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
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.

MORE →
TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Who was the first African-American woman millionaire in the United States?

Madam C.J. Walker