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

Academy Award, Best Sound, Dances with Wolves, presented to Russell Williams, II

Date
1991
Issued by
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American, founded 1927
Received by
Russell Williams II, American, born 1952
Created by
George Stanley, American, 1903 - 1973
Designed by
Cedric Gibbons, Irish, 1893 - 1960
Manufactured by
R.S. Owen & Company, American, founded 1983
Description
2015.29.22.1: Academy Award, Best Sound, Dances with Wolves, 1990 owned and received by Russell Williams, II. The statuette is gold-plated britannium and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword (vertically down from its chest) standing on a flat reel of film with five spokes. The entire statuette is on a circular metal base. Two things are etched into the film reel on the back of the statuette, (top) reads: [(c)/AMPAS/(R)] in one of the spokes, (side of reel) reads: [2542]. A label, etched into a gold-plate, on the front of the base reads: [ACADEMY AWARD / TO / JEFFREY PERKINS, BILL W. BENTON, / GREGORY H. WATKINS AND RUSSELL WILLIAMS II / SOUND / "DANCES WITH WOLVES" / 1990] in various text sizes. Three other labels, etched into a gold-plates, on the back of the base read: (top) [(c) ACADEMY OF / MOTION PICTURE / ARTS & SCIENCES (R)], and the others (left - side of back of base) [THIS STATUETTE MAY NOT BE SOLD, CONVEYED OR OTHERWISE / TRANSFERRED (OTHER THAN PURSUANT TO BEQUESTS) WITHOUT / FIRST BEING OFFERED TO THE ACADEMY], and (right - side of back of base) reads: [MANUFACTURED UNDER WORLD RIGHTS GRANTED BY / ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS & SCIENCES / TO R.S. OWENS CO. INC. CHICAGO, ILL. 60660]. There is black felt adhered to the bottom in the same shape of the base.
2015.29.22.2: Blue velvet bag cover used by Williams to be placed over top the Academy Award/Oscar statuette (2015.29.22.1). The bottom opening has drawstring like style, except the gold-threaded string that is strung through the folded in fabric is tied and does not stretch. The fabric is bunched along the bottom. The gold-threaded string loops twice and is visible through the splits in the fabric on both sides of the sack.
Place made
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Film
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Awards, Medals, and Insignia
Exhibition
Taking the Stage
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 054
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Russell Williams II
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2015.29.22.1-.2
Type
trophies (prizes)
figurines
Restrictions & Rights
© Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
britannia metal with copper , nickel silver and gold , felt (on the bottom of the base), velvet (bag)
Dimensions
H x W x D (2015.29.22a): 31 3/8 × 5 3/16 × 5 1/4 in. (79.7 × 13.2 × 13.3 cm)
H x W x D (2015.29.22b flat): 17 × 9 × 2 1/2 in. (43.2 × 22.9 × 6.4 cm)
H x W x D (2015.29.22b on award): 13 1/2 × 9 × 6 3/4 in. (34.3 × 22.9 × 17.1 cm)
Title
Object Name • Academy Award, Best Sound, Dances with Wolves, presented to Russell Williams, II
Record ID
nmaahc_2015.29.22.1-.2
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
ACADEMY AWARD, BEST SOUND, DANCES WITH WOLVES, PRESENTED TO RUSSELL WILLIAMS, II
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1990s
Name
Gibbons, Cedric • Stanley, George • Williams, Russell • R.S. Owen & Company • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Place
Chicago • United States • Illinois • North and Central America • Cook County
Topic
Motion pictures
Culture
African Americans
Exhibition
NMAAHC • Taking the Stage
Geo Location
City • Chicago • County • Cook County • State • Illinois • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Awards • Trophies (objects) • Figurines
On Physical Exhibit
Yes
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
Use Restricted

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

NMAAHC

The Life of Mahomet

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Academy Award, Best Sound, Glory, presented to Russell Williams, II

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Academy Award, Best Sound, Dances with Wolves, presented to Russell Williams, II

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Untitled

Date: Date

Caption

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.