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...

Shirley Chisholm — Unbought and Unbossed

In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.

MORE →
BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
← BACK TO RESULTS
NMAAHC

Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax

Date
1943-1953
Manufactured by
Waterbury Button Company, American, founded 1812
Distributed by
United States Army, American, founded 1775
Owned by
Louise Virginia Lomax, American, 1920 - 2011
Caption
Louise Lomax joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) as a 2nd Lieutenant in March 1943 with the help of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and trained as a psychiatric nurse at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. By September 1943 she was stationed at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, home of the Tuskegee Airmen. Lomax remained at Tuskegee during the war, where she was eventually promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
After the war, Lt. Lomax went on to serve at Lockbourne Army Air Base in Ohio; Provident Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland; at VA hospitals in Downey, Illinois; and Perry Point, Maryland; and finally at the Army’s Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. Lt. Lomax retired from active duty in March 1949 and transferred to the Reserve Corps, where she served for four years. She was honorably discharged from the ANC in April 1953.
Description
Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax. The button is gold colored with the United States Army emblem at center. The emblem depicts an eagle with outstretched wings behind a shield. Embossed on the back of the button is [WATERBURY SCOVILL MFG. CO.].
Place used
Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Clothing and dress
Medicine
Military
Nursing
Segregation
U.S. History, 1945-1953
Women
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Clothing - Military Uniforms
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2022.42.4.2
Type
buttons (fasteners)
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
metal
Dimensions
H x W x D: 13/16 × 13/16 × 3/8 in. (2.1 × 2.1 × 1 cm)
Title
Object Name • Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax
Record ID
nmaahc_2022.42.4.2
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
BUTTON FROM ARMY NURSE CORPS UNIFORM WORN BY LT. LOUISE LOMAX
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1940s • 1950s
Name
Lomax, Louise Virginia • United States Army • Waterbury Button Company
Place
Macon County • United States • North and Central America • Tuskegee • Alabama
Topic
Medicine • Women • Nursing • Segregation • Clothing and dress • U.S. History, 1945-1953 • Military
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Tuskegee • County • Macon County • State • Alabama • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Buttons (fasteners) • Buttons
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

Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax

Date: Date

Caption

MORE →
NMAAHC

Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax

Date: Date

Caption

MORE →
NMAAHC

Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax

Date: Date

Caption

MORE →
NMAAHC

Button from Army Nurse Corps uniform worn by Lt. Louise Lomax

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

Who was the first African-American woman millionaire in the United States?

Madam C.J. Walker