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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...

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.

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

Jeannine Smith Clark Oral History Interview

Date
2018
Created by
National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
Interview of
Jeannine Smith Clark, American, 1928 - 2018
Interviewed by
Kelly Elaine Navies, American
Recorded by
Kim Moir, American
Subject of
Smithsonian Institution, American, founded 1846
Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
Dunbar High School, American, founded 1870
Howard University, American, founded 1867
Anacostia Community Museum, American, founded 1967
National Museum of Natural History, American, founded 1910
John Kinard, American, 1936 - 1989
Claudine K. Brown, American, 1949 - 2016
Asbury United Methodist Church, American, founded 1836
Description
An oral history interview of Smithsonian volunteer and Regent Jeannine Smith Clark, conducted on August 7, 2018 by Kelly Elaine Navies. The interview consists of a single digital MOV video file.
In this interview, Ms. Clark discusses her life and work in Washington, DC, as well as her storied family history. The first part of the interview covers her early family life and education in Washington, DC. Her family has been in Washington, DC at least since the early 19th century. Her parents were the activist and business couple John Archibald and Lorena Jackson Smith. Clark attended DC’s historically prestigious Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, and later Howard University, where she met her husband, Charles Howell Clark, MD. She describes their meeting in this interview.
The second half of the of the interview covers her various roles at the Smithsonian from being one of the very first African American docents when she started in 1968 in the midst of the Poor People’s Campaign, to being the first African American woman appointed to the Board of Regents. She also discusses being the Chair of the Women’s Committee and a founding member of the Cultural Education Committee. Towards the end of the interview, Ms. Clark reflects on the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Finally, Ms. Clark was in failing health during the interview and knew that she would be leaving this life soon. She passed away one day before her 90 birthday on October 4, 2018.
Place depicted
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Germany, Europe
Topic
African American
Activism
Africa
Education
Families
HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
Local and regional
Museums
Women
World War II
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Movement
African American - Latinx Solidarity
Poor People's Campaign
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
2018.109
Type
oral histories
digital media - born digital
Restrictions & Rights
© Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
digital
Dimensions
Duration: 85 min. (5100 sec.)
Total: 7400 MB
Title
Title • Jeannine Smith Clark Oral History Interview
Record ID
nmaahc_2018.109
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
JEANNINE SMITH CLARK ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1920s • 2010s • 1939-1945
Name
Poor People's Campaign • Kinard, John • Asbury United Methodist Church • National Museum of Natural History • Brown, Claudine K. • Clark, Jeannine Smith • Dunbar High School • Anacostia Community Museum • Navies, Kelly Elaine • Smithsonian Institution • Howard University • National Museum of African American History and Culture • Moir, Kim
Place
District of Columbia • United States • North and Central America • Europe • Washington • Germany
Topic
Women • African American - Latinx Solidarity • Activism • WW II • Poor People's Campaign • Education • HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) • Family • Museums • World War, 1939-1945
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Washington • State • District of Columbia • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • Country • Germany • Continent • Europe
Type
digital media - born digital • Oral histories (document genres) • Interviews
Online Media Type
Video recordings
Online Media Rights
Copyright Owned

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

Jeannine Smith Clark Oral History Interview

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Pennant for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

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Description

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NMAAHC

Poster advertising a James Brown concert at Florida A&M University

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Description

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NMAAHC

Students from Clark College gathered around Dr. King's tomb at Southview Cemetery

Date: Date

Caption

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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

Who became the first Black woman to travel into space?

Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.