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...

Ruler of the Mali Empire in the 14th century

Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.

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

Bill of sale for Flora, a woman enslaved in Connecticut

Date
December 13, 1796
Written by
Margaret DeWitt Dwight, American, 1765 - 1824
Subject of
Flora, ca. 1777 - 1815
Asa Benjamin, American, 1763 - 1833
Signed by
Abraham Van Horn DeWitt, American, 1772 - 1820
Description
A framed bill of sale for Flora, an enslaved woman, dated "this 13th Day of December, 1796." The document is handwritten in brown ink on cream laid paper. The document transfers the ownership of "a certain Negro Wench named Flora" from Margaret Dwight in Milford, Connecticut to Asa Benjamin in Stratford, Connecticut for the amount of twenty five pounds sterling. The document is signed "Margaret Dwight" with her seal at bottom right. It is witnessed at bottom left by Dwight's brother, Abraham Van Horn DeWitt: [Present / Abm. V.H. DeWitt]. Written at the center of the very bottom of the document is [19 years old]. There are two vertical creases and two horizontal creases extending across the page. At bottom right is a spot of extraneous ink and along the left side center text written on the back of the sheet is visible where it has seeped through the paper to the front. The paper has a watermark at lower right, upside down, reading: [BAND 1795].
The full text of the document reads:
[Know All Men by these Present that I Margaret Dwight of Milford in the County of New Haven & State of Connecticut for the Consideration of Twenty Five Pounds L S money Received to my full satisfaction of Asa Benjamin of Stratford in Fairfield County in Sd State have Bargain'd & sold & do by these Present Bargain Sell & Deliver unto this Benjamin a certain Negro Wench named Flora to have and to hold Sd Negro Wench to him the Sd Benjamin his Heirs & Assigns forever & I do by these Present bind myself & my Heirs Executors or Administrators firmly by these present to warrant & defend the Sd Wench from all Claims or demands Whatsoever
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal this 13th Day of December 1796].
Place made
Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
Place used
Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Domestic slave trade
Finance
Slavery
U.S. History, 1783-1815
Women
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Documents and Manuscripts
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and National Portrait Gallery, Museum purchase through the American Women’s History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2021.48.2
Type
bills of sale
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ink on laid paper
Dimensions
H x W (sheet): 14 × 13 in. (35.6 × 33 cm)
H x W x D (frame): 23 3/4 × 31 3/4 × 1 15/16 in. (60.3 × 80.6 × 4.9 cm)
Title
Object Name • Bill of sale for Flora, a woman enslaved in Connecticut
Record ID
nmaahc_2021.48.2
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
BILL OF SALE FOR FLORA, A WOMAN ENSLAVED IN CONNECTICUT
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1790s
Name
Dwight, Margaret DeWitt • Benjamin, Asa • Flora • DeWitt, Abraham Van Horn
Place
New Haven County • Milford • United States • North and Central America • Connecticut • Stratford • Fairfield County
Topic
Slavery • Women • Finance • Domestic slave trade • U.S. History, 1783-1815
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Milford • County • New Haven County • State • Connecticut • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • City • Stratford • County • Fairfield County
Type
Sales records
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions

Media

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

NMAAHC

Hand-cut silhouette of Flora, a woman enslaved in Connecticut

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
NMAAHC

Bahamian bill of sale for enslaved individuals, Trim and Flora

Date: Date

Caption

MORE →
NMAAHC

Bill of sale for Flora, a woman enslaved in Connecticut

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
NMAAHC

Cabinet photograph of black man holding a white baby

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