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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
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THE JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
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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

Handmade wood and metal washboard

Date
19th century
Created by
Unidentified
Description
Handmade wooden washboard with metal scrubbing panel. The washboard is constructed with a main rectangular panel of carved wood with two turned legs on the bottom edge. The top section of this main panel is thinner than the middle section and the legs. The middle section of the main panel has nineteen (19) rows of metal bands pounded into it, though the bands do not puncture the back of the board. The bands are alternately spaced so that the center portion of each band is by the empty section between the bands of the rows above and below. The main panel has two thin side frames of wood nailed to it and a wider piece of wood nailed to the top side that serves as a handle.
Place collected
Smoaks, Colleton County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
American South
Domestic life
Labor
Slavery
Women
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Tools and Equipment
Exhibition
Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2008.10.11
Type
maintenance and cleaning equipment
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
wood and metal
Dimensions
H x W x D: 22 1/2 × 12 1/4 × 2 1/4 in. (57.2 × 31.1 × 5.7 cm)
Title
Object Name • Handmade wood and metal washboard
Record ID
nmaahc_2008.10.11
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
HANDMADE WOOD AND METAL WASHBOARD
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Place
Smoaks • United States • North and Central America • Colleton County • South Carolina
Topic
Slavery • Women • American South • Domestic life • Labor unions
Culture
African Americans
Exhibition
NMAAHC • Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
Geo Location
City • Smoaks • County • Colleton County • State • South Carolina • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
maintenance and cleaning equipment
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.

NMAAHC

Washboard

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Handmade wood and metal washboard

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Poster for the Negro Ensemble Company at the Aldwych Theatre

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Towel used by the Pullman Company

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

Who became the first Black woman to travel into space?

Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.