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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 3 strongest Black History matches.
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NMAAHC

Gotham needle packet from the Rock Rest Tourist Home

Date
1946-1952
Manufactured by
Gotham
Distributed by
Knickerbocker Rug Cleaners, American, founded 1892
Owned by
Clayton Sinclair, American
Hazel Sinclair, American
Subject of
Rock Rest Tourist Home, American, 1948 - 1976
Description
A packet of ten Gotham needles found in drawer C of the Singer cabinet table from the Rock Rest Tourist Home. The packet is primarily constructed from black folded paper with labels adhered to the front and back of the folded packet. The label on the front has a white background. At the center is a black-and-white illustration of a woman wearing a crown with an attached veil inside a hatched, oval shaped frame. Surrounding the illustrated portrait is a larger, red frame with light blue fill and accented with illustrations of red, six petal flowers and leaves. A white banner above the portrait has centered black text that reads [GOTHAM]. A red banner that overlays the bottom of the portrait has black outlined white text that reads [SILVEREY’D]. Printed in white, inside a black oval frame near the bottom is the needle gauge, [3/9]. Black text printed above and below the gauge reads [SHARPS] and [MADE IN / OCCUPIED JAPAN]. The off-white label adhered to the back of the packet features red printed text that reads [KNICKERBOCKER / RUG CLEANERS / 2110 MARYLAND AVE. / BELMONT 3300]. The label is faded and browned. The front of the packet lifts to uncover an interior paper pocket with ten silver tone sewing needles of various sizes inserted into the paper holder inside the pocket. The interior pocket has top and bottom flaps for easy removal of the needles.
Place collected
Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
Place made
Japan, Asia
Place purchased
Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Black Enterprise
Business
Recreation
Segregation
Travel
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
The Rock Rest Tourist Home Collection
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc.
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2011.12.18.2.5.2
Type
needles
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown – Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ink on paper (fiber product) and metal
Dimensions
H x W x D: 2 1/16 × 1 5/16 × 5/16 in. (5.2 × 3.3 × 0.8 cm)
Title
Object Name • Gotham needle packet from the Rock Rest Tourist Home
Record ID
nmaahc_2011.12.18.2.5.2
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
GOTHAM NEEDLE PACKET FROM THE ROCK REST TOURIST HOME
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1940s • 1950s
Name
Gotham • Sinclair, Clayton • Sinclair, Hazel • Rock Rest Tourist Home • Knickerbocker Rug Cleaners
Place
Baltimore • United States • Asia • Maine • North and Central America • Japan • Kittery • York County • Maryland
Topic
Description and travel • Black Enterprise • Recreation • Segregation • Business
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Kittery • County • York County • State • Maine • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • Country • Japan • Continent • Asia • City • Baltimore • State • Maryland
Type
Needles (piercing tools)
Online Media Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible

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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NMAAHC

Gotham needle packet from the Rock Rest Tourist Home

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Gotham needle packet from the Rock Rest Tourist Home

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NMAAHC

BLK Vol. 2 No. 8

Date: Date

Description

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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.