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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

Grand piano owned and used by Thelonious Monk

Date
1962
Manufactured by
Baldwin Piano Company, American, founded 1862
Used by
Thelonious Monk, American, 1917 - 1982
Caption
Although he had long had the admiration of his fellow musicians and dedicated fans, Thelonious Monk’s move to Columbia Records in 1962 signaled his acceptance by mainstream jazz audiences. This piano figured in many of Monk’s successes during the middle and late phases of his career. In late 1962, he purchased the instrument from Baldwin’s New York showroom using the money from his first Columbia advance payment. Monk’s Baldwin was the first and only piano he ever owned, after spending his earlier career practicing and composing on rented instruments or house pianos in nightclubs. Monk likely used this instrument to compose many of his later compositions, including well-known pieces like "Green Chimneys," "Stuffy Turkey," and "Ugly Beauty."
Description
A Baldwin grand piano owned and used by Thelonious Monk. The piano is dark brown with a hinged lid. Gold pigment at the center of the fall board at the front of the piano reads “Baldwin.” The fall board can be closed to hide the keyboard. When the lid of the piano body is open the cast iron frame, pins, dampers, hammers and strings are visible. The frame has raised embossed lettering at several locations. This lettering reads “BALDWIN TRADE MARK” and “BALDWIN” at the top of the frame. At the center of the frame the lettering reads “GRAND PRIX PARIS 1900 GRAND PRIZE ST. LOUIS 1904 THE BALDWIN PIANO COMPANY CINCINNATI 9. U.S.A.” At the bottom of the frame next to the keys the lettering reads “L / 156171” and “ACOUSTIC / PATENTED / CONSTRUCTION.” Printed in black lettering at the top of soundboard, beneath the iron frame is “THELONIOUS MONK / 843 WEST 63RD STREET / NEW YORK 23. N. Y.” This text is visible through the left circular cut out of the iron frame. The piano has four legs with metal caster wheels. The piano has two lyre posts and a pedal rod attached to three pedals at the front, beneath the keyboard.
Place made
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Composers (Musicians)
Instrumentalists (Musicians)
Jazz (Music)
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Musical Instruments
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of T.S. and Gale Monk in memory of Thelonious Monk
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2018.89.1
Type
grand pianos
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
wood, iron, metal, ivory, ebony
Dimensions
H x W x D: 38 5/8 × 58 1/2 × 70 in. (98.1 × 148.6 × 177.8 cm)
Title
Object Name • Grand piano owned and used by Thelonious Monk
Record ID
nmaahc_2018.89.1
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
GRAND PIANO OWNED AND USED BY THELONIOUS MONK
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1960s
Name
Monk, Thelonious • Baldwin Piano Company
Place
United States • North and Central America • Cincinnati • Ohio • Hamilton County
Topic
Composers (Musicians) • Instrumentalists (Musicians) • Jazz (Music)
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Cincinnati • County • Hamilton County • State • Ohio • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
grand pianos
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.

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Black purse with sequins and gold frame

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Framed photograph of unidentified WWI soldier

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NMAAHC

Grand piano owned and used by Thelonious Monk

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Caption

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NMAAHC

Seed cleaning screen

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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

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

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.