Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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THE BHP WIRE —
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
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Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
New Square (Yiddish: שיכון סקווירא, romanized: Shikun Skvira) is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 9,679. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Skverer Hasidic movement who seek to maintain a Hasidic lifestyle disconnected from the secular world. It is the poorest town (measured by median income) in New York, and the eighth poorest in the United States. It also has the highest poverty rate, at 64.4%.
Franklin Square is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 30,903 at the time of the 2020 census. The area was originally known as Trimming Square and then as Washington Square after President George Washington.
Syracuse ( SIRR-ə-kewz, SERR-, -kewss) is a city in New York, United States, and the county seat of Onondaga County. With 148,620 residents, and a metropolitan area of 662,057 people, it is the most populous city in Central New York, as well as the fifth-most populated city and 13th-most populated municipality in New York. Formally established in 1820, Syracuse was named after the classical Greek city of Syracuse (Siracusa in Italian), located on the eastern coast of the Italian island of Sicily, for its similar natural features. Adjacent brine springs made the city a major producer of commercial salt into the late 19th century, earning the nickname "The Salt City"; it subsequently became a major industrial center until the mid-20th century, and has since become a hub for higher education, research, and services. Syracuse has historically functioned as a major crossroads in the state, beginning in the 1820s with the Erie Canal, which runs through Clinton Square, then for the New York Central Railroad network established in the mid 19th century. Today, the city is at the interchange of I-81 and I-90, and its airport is the largest in Central New York, serving over one million inhabitants. Syracuse is the economic and educational center of Central New York. It hosts a number of convention sites, including a large downtown convention complex, and is home to Destiny USA, the largest shopping mall in New York and the 10th largest in the country. Prominent academic and research institutions include Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, SUNY ESF, Le Moyne College and Onondaga Community College.
Pennsylvania Station (also known as New York Penn Station or Penn Station) is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers per weekday as of 2019. The station occupies a complex beneath and bounded by Seventh and Ninth avenues and 31st and 33rd streets, extending under Madison Square Garden and the James A. Farley Building, with additional exits to surrounding streets in Midtown Manhattan. The main concourse is located both beneath Madison Square Garden and within the Farley building, where it is known as Moynihan Train Hall. It is close to several popular locations, including the Empire State Building, Hudson Yards, Koreatown, and Macy's Herald Square. Penn Station has 21 tracks fed by seven single-track tunnels: two North River Tunnels, four East River Tunnels, and the single-track Empire Connection tunnel. It is at the center of the Northeast Corridor, a passenger rail line that connects New York City with Boston to its north and Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., to its south, along with various intermediate stations. Intercity trains are operated by Amtrak, which owns the station, while commuter rail services are operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and NJ Transit (NJT). Connections are available within the complex to the New York City Subway and buses. Penn Station is named for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), its builder and original owner, and shares its name with several stations in other cities. The original Pennsylvania Station was an ornate station building designed by McKim, Mead, and White and considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style. Completed in 1910, it enabled direct rail access to New York City from the south for the first time. Its head house and train shed were torn down in 1963 at a time of low train ridership, with the rail infrastructure reconstituted as the smaller underground station that survives today. The New York Times editorial board described the demolition of the original station as a "monumental act of vandalism", and its destruction galvanized the modern historic preservation movement. As rail travel increased again in the following decades, the underground station began to operate beyond its design capacity. By 2015, the station handled 650,000 travelers daily (more than the region's three major airports combined) and had become loathed for its cramped, claustrophobic conditions. The 2020s saw the opening of Moynihan Train Hall, a head house that expanded Penn Station into the Farley building, as well as expansion of the LIRR concourse and a new direct entrance from 33rd Street. Plans under development call for reconstruction of the core of the station, with competing proposals regarding the station's relationship to Madison Square Garden under consideration. Looking back on the pace of reconstruction since the announcement of Moynihan Hall in 1999, the Times noted in 2025 that "More than 25 years, five presidencies and four governors later, the plan to rebuild Penn Station is nowhere near completion."
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 →The Greenwood District.
