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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

Josh White Model Guitar and case owned by Josh White

Date
ca. 1966
Manufactured by
Ovation Guitar Company, American, founded 1965
Owned by
Josh White, American, 1914 - 1969
Subject of
James H. Rickard, American, died 1996
Description
2021.107ab: A Josh White Model Guitar (a) custom made by Ovation Instruments with an accompanying case (b) for Josh White.
2021.107a: Josh White Model Guitar custom made by Ovation Instruments for Josh White. The acoustic guitar has light colored, spruce, top wood and a black, semi-parabolic body. Around the edges of the sound hole is a rosette: a black circular band inlaid with a tn, mother of pearl, foliate pattern. The front of the neck is dark wood with inlaid mother of pearl fret markers shaped like notched diamonds and dots. A handwritten signature in gold ink, [Josh White], is written across the center of the headstock. At the top of the headstock is a gold printed logo for Ovation Instruments: the text [Ovation] with the first letter [O] printed in relief inside a stylized graphic of a guitar. The sides of the headstock are engraved with an ornate spiral pattern. Attached to the nuts are six, carved, white tuning pegs. The back of the neck is medium toned wood with two, thin bands of light tone wood running vertically down the center. The guitar has six steel guitar strings. There are three vertical cracks extending from the base of the bridge to the bottom edge of the guitar and three brown striated marks to the left of the rosette, near the waist. The interior of the body is black. Inside the sound hole is a white paper adhesive manufacturer’s label form. At the top of the label is the logo for Ovation: [Ovation Instruments / BLOOMFIELD, CONN.] with the first letter [O] in Ovation printed in relief inside a stylized graphic of a guitar printed in black and red text. Below is a short form with three lines that reads [Model ____________ / Serial ____________ / Approval ____________]. Printed black script text next to [Model] reads [Josh White]. Printed red and black text next to [Serial] reads [291 custom for Josh]. Printed black script text next to [Model] reads [J.H. Rickard]. Printed black text at the bottom left corner of the label reads [PAT. APPLIED FOR]. At the bottom of the body is a strap button.
2021.107b: An accompanying hard case for the Josh White Model Guitar made by Ovation Instruments for Josh White. The hard case is acoustic guitar shaped with a black exterior and soft-textured, yellow, wooly interior. The case has four brass latches and a black, leather texture carrying handle on one side. On the other side are three brass hinges. The far left and right sides also have round head tacks at the top and bottom to support the case when placed on the ground. The case has an interior support for the neck. Above the support is a storage compartment with a flap. Adhered to the inside of the flap are two white adhesive labels with black text that reads [OVATION #291 JOSH WHITE CUSTOM] and [OVATION 291].
Place made
Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Blues (Music)
Instrumentalists (Musicians)
Singers (Musicians)
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Musical Instruments
Exhibition
Musical Crossroads
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 053
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gene C. Feldman
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2021.107ab
Type
cases (containers)
guitars
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
2021.107a: spruce with mahogany, rosewood, maple, German silver, bone, steel, silicone and fiberglass
2021.107b: imitation leather on plywood with textile materials, brass (alloy) and metal
Dimensions
H x W x D (Guitar): 39 1/2 × 15 9/16 × 5 7/8 in. (100.4 × 39.5 × 15 cm)
H x W x D (Case): 43 1/8 × 17 1/2 × 7 5/16 in. (109.5 × 44.5 × 18.5 cm)
Title
Object Name • Josh White Model Guitar and case owned by Josh White
Record ID
nmaahc_2021.107ab
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
JOSH WHITE MODEL GUITAR AND CASE OWNED BY JOSH WHITE
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1960s
Name
Ovation Guitar Company • Rickard, James H. • White, Joshua Daniel "Josh"
Place
United States • North and Central America • Connecticut • Hartford County • Hartford
Topic
Music • Instrumentalists (Musicians) • Singers (Musicians)
Culture
African Americans
Exhibition
NMAAHC • Musical Crossroads
Geo Location
City • Hartford • County • Hartford County • State • Connecticut • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Guitars • Cases (containers)
On Physical Exhibit
Yes
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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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

Who became the first Black woman to travel into space?

Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.