Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985

A cork hat is a type of headgear with corks strung from the brim, to ward off insects.[1]
Pieces of cork, typically bottle corks, are hung on strings from the brim of the hat. The low density of cork means a number of pieces may hang from a hat without significantly increasing its weight. Movement of the head causes the corks to swing, discouraging insects, particularly bush flies, from swarming around the wearer's head, or entering the nose or mouth. The shape and material of cork hats varies but, typically, they are similar to a slouch hat.
Believed by some to have been worn by jackaroos and swagmen in the bush-fly-infested Australian outback,[2] the cork hat has become part of the stereotypical, almost mythical, representation of the Australian ocker, particularly in the United Kingdom. Cork hats are a common purchase as a souvenir for tourists in Australia.
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A cork hat is a type of headgear with corks strung from the brim, to ward off insects. Pieces of cork, typically bottle corks, are hung on strings from the brim of the hat. The low density of cork means a number of pieces may hang from a hat without significantly increasing its weight. Movement of the head causes the corks to swing, discouraging insects, particularly bush flies, from swarming around the wearer's head, or entering the nose or mouth. The shape and material of cork hats varies but, typically, they are similar to a slouch hat. Believed by some to have been worn by jackaroos and swagmen in the bush-fly-infested Australian outback, the cork hat has become part of the stereotypical, almost mythical, representation of the Australian ocker, particularly in the United Kingdom. Cork hats are a common purchase as a souvenir for tourists in Australia.
The Last Continent is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-second book in his Discworld series. First published in 1998, it mocks the aspects of time travel such as the grandfather paradox and the Ray Bradbury short story "A Sound of Thunder". It also parodies Australian people and aspects of Australian culture, such as Crocodile Dundee, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Mad Max films, the Australian beer XXXX, Vegemite, thongs, cork hats, the Peach Melba, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, the bushranger Ned Kelly, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, and the Australian songs "Waltzing Matilda", "Down Under", and "The Man From Snowy River".
A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or sometimes grey, the top hat emerged in Western fashion by the end of the 18th century. Although such a hat fell out of fashion through the 20th century, being almost entirely phased out by the time of the counterculture of the 1960s, it remains a formal fashion accessory. A collapsible variant of a top hat, developed in the 19th century, is known as an opera hat. Perhaps inspired by the early modern era capotain, higher-crowned dark felt hats with wide brims emerged as a country leisurewear fashion along with the Age of Revolution around the 1770s. Around the 1780s, the justaucorps was replaced by the previously casual frock and dress coat. With the introduction of the top hat in the early 1790s, the tricorne and bicorne hats began falling out of fashion. By the start of the 19th century, the directoire style dress coat with top hat was widely introduced as city wear for the upper and middle classes in all urban areas of the Western world. The justaucorps was replaced in all but the most formal court affairs. Around the turn of the 19th century, although for a few decades beaver hats were popular, black silk became the standard, sometimes varied by grey ones. While the dress coat was replaced by the frock coat from the 1840s as conventional formal daywear, top hats continued to be worn with frock coats as well as with what became known as formal evening wear white tie. Towards the end of the 19th century, whereas the white tie with black dress coat remained fixed, frock coats were gradually replaced by morning dress, along with top hats. After World War I, the 1920s saw widespread introduction of semi-formal black tie and informal wear suits that were worn with less formal hats such as bowler hats, homburgs, boaters, and fedoras respectively, in established society. After World War II, white tie, morning dress, and frock coats, along with their counterpart, the top hat, started to become confined to high society, politics and international diplomacy. Following the counterculture of the 1960s, its use declined further along with the use also of daily informal hats by men. Yet, along with traditional formal wear, the top hat continues to be applicable for the most formal occasions, including weddings and funerals, in addition to certain audiences, balls, and horse racing events, such as the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot and the Queen's Stand of Epsom Derby. It also remains part of the formal dress of those occupying prominent positions in certain traditional British institutions, such as officers at the Bank of England, certain City stock exchange officials, occasionally members of Lincoln's Inn and those working at the Law Courts, judges of the Chancery Division and King's Counsel, boy-choristers of King's College Choir, dressage horseback riders, and servants or doormen attired in livery. As part of traditional formal wear, in popular culture the top hat has sometimes been associated with the upper class and used by satirists and social critics as a symbol of capitalism or the world of business, as with the Monopoly Man or Scrooge McDuck. The top hat also forms part of the traditional dress of Uncle Sam, a symbol of the United States, generally striped in red, white, and blue. Furthermore, ever since the famous "Pulling a Rabbit out of a Hat" stunt of Louis Comte in 1814, the top hat remains associated with hat tricks and stage magic costumes.
Cork is an impermeable buoyant material. It is the phellem layer of bark tissue which is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber (the cork oak), which is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. Cork is composed of suberin, a hydrophobic substance. Because of its impermeable, buoyant, elastic, and fire retardant properties, it is used in a variety of products, the most common of which is wine stoppers. The montado landscape of Portugal produces approximately half of the cork harvested annually worldwide, with Corticeira Amorim being the leading company in the industry. Cork was examined microscopically by Robert Hooke, which led to his discovery and naming of the cell. Cork composition varies depending on geographic origin, climate and soil conditions, genetic origin, tree dimensions, age (virgin or reproduction), and growth conditions. However, in general, cork is made up of suberin (average of about 40%), lignin (22%), polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) (18%), extractables (15%) and others.
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 →Joe Louis.