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...

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.

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

Playbill for A Raisin in the Sun with insert essay ‘Sweet Lorraine'

Date
April 2014
Published by
Playbill, American, founded 1884
Written by
James Baldwin, American, 1924 - 1987
Printed by
Unidentified
Edited by
Blake Ross
Subject of
Lorraine Hansberry, American, 1930 - 1965
Kenny Leon, American, born 1956
Denzel Washington, American, born 1954
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, American, born 1949
Sophie Okonedo, British, born 1968
Ethel Barrymore Theatre, American, founded 1928
Description
Playbill magazine (2015.64.14.1), April 2014, featuring the play, "A Raisin in the Sun" written by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Kenny Leon, starring Denzel Washington, LaTanya Richardson, and Sophie Okonedo, and performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, New York 2014. The top third of the cover is the masthead, a yellow rectangular field with black type with the magazine's title, [PLAYBILL ®] above the text [ETHEL BARRYMORE THEATER]. Below the masthead and outlined with a Kente cloth border, is a black-and-white image tinted blue of a young boy on a street. The boy walks past a row of receding buildings seen in the upper right quadrant to the upper left. The boy is pictured on the right side near the lower corner. He holds something to his mouth in his proper left hand and holds books under his proper right arm. Behind him, centered in the image, is a woman wearing a long coat, carrying an umbrella on her proper left arm. Overlaying the image is a narrow, a Kente cloth outline of a circle. In the lower third of the image, justified on the left side, is orange text with the title of the play, which is also the main coverline, [a RAISIN / in the SUN]. Below the image at the bottom is a small yellow rectangle with a website in black text. The back cover features an ad for Gucci cologne. The magazine has fifty-two (52) pages.
A tri-folded pamphlet of the essay "Sweet Lorraine" (2015.64.14.2) about Lorraine Hansberry, written by James Baldwin. Printed on semi-gloss paper, the pamphlet is navy blue with stylized, Kente cloth borders throughout. On the front in the upper right corner is a circular, black-and-white image of Lorraine Hansberry. Overlapping the image is white block text [SWEET / LORRAINE]. Below the title is the byline in orange text, [BY JAMES BALDWIN] followed by a line of white text that reads [THAT'S THEY WAY I ALWAYS FELT ABOUT YOU, AND SO / I WON'T APOLOGIZE FOR CALLING HER THAT NOW.]. Below the text and byline is the beginning of Baldwin's essay in white text. The inside of the pamphlet the essay continues and features four (4) circular black and white images of cityscapes. In the lower left corner of the back page is an additional black-and-white image of Hansberry. Above and around the image are the final paragraphs of the essay. [ROTATION]
A narrow cell phone reminder flyer (2015.64.14.3) with navy blue background with a narrow, stylized Kente cloth border, printed on glossy paper. Covering the whole of flyer is block text of varying sizes. The text is in orange and white, justified on the right side and reads [DEAR FRIENDS, / PLEASE / PROTECT YOUR / OWN GOOD TIME / AND THAT OF YOUR / NEIGHBOR BY / TURNING / OFF YOUR / CELL/ PHONE / NOW. / THANK YOU.]. The reverse is blank.
Transcription Center Status
Transcribed by digital volunteers
Topic
African American
Actors
Broadway Theatre
Domestic life
Drama (Theatre)
Families
Poverty
Race discrimination
Race relations
Segregation
Theatre companies
Tragedy (Theatre)
Urban life
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Memorabilia and Ephemera - Other
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kathleen M. Kendrick
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2015.64.14.1-.3
Type
theater programs
Restrictions & Rights
Playbill used by permission. All rights reserved, Playbill Inc
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ink on paper with metal
Dimensions
H x W x D (2015.64.14.1 Closed): 8 9/16 × 5 3/8 × 3/16 in. (21.7 × 13.7 × 0.5 cm)
H x W x D (2015.64.14.1 Open): 8 9/16 × 10 3/8 × 7/8 in. (21.7 × 26.3 × 2.2 cm)
H x W x D (2015.64.14.2 Closed): 9 × 4 1/4 (22.8 × 10.8 × 0.1 cm)
H x W x D (2015.64.14.2 Open): 9 × 12 5/8 × 1 in. (22.8 × 32 × 2.5 cm)
L x W (2015.64.14.3): 9 1/16 × 4 1/16 in. (23 × 10.3 cm)
Title
Object Name • Playbill for A Raisin in the Sun with insert essay ‘Sweet Lorraine'
Record ID
nmaahc_2015.64.14.1-.3
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
PLAYBILL FOR A RAISIN IN THE SUN WITH INSERT ESSAY ‘SWEET LORRAINE'
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
2010s
Name
Ross, Blake • Richardson Jackson, LaTanya • Baldwin, James • Ethel Barrymore Theatre • Playbill • Hansberry, Lorraine • Washington, Denzel • Leon, Kenny • Okonedo, Sophie
Topic
Tragedy (Theatre) • Broadway Theatre • Poverty • Segregation • Drama (Theatre) • Discrimination • Theatre companies • Actors and actresses • Domestic life • Race • Family • Urban life • Race relations
Culture
African Americans
Type
Theater programs
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
Limited Use

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

No preview image
NMAAHC

Broadside for a James Brown concert in Cologne at the Blue Moon Jazz Festival

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Perfume bottle with glass lid and metal lid from Mae's Millinery Shop

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Perfume bottle and lid for Fame by Corday from Mae's Millinery Shop

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Playbill for A Raisin in the Sun with insert essay ‘Sweet Lorraine'

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

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

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.