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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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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...

Ruler of the Mali Empire in the 14th century

Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.

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BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
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NMAAHC

Letter to Charles Humbert Marie Vincent signed by Toussaint Louverture

Date
October 21, 1797
Written by
Unidentified
Signed by
Toussaint Louverture, Haitian, 1743 - 1803
Received by
Charles Humbert Marie Vincent, French, 1753 - 1831
Caption
Toussaint Louverture campaigned tirelessly on behalf of slaves during the Haitian Revolution, and his actions helped push France to abolish slavery in all its colonies in 1794. He wrote this letter in response to a speech in French parliament calling for slavery's restoration on Saint-Domingue. He warned the French that he would fight for Haitian independence if France ever revoked abolition.
Description
A letter signed by Toussaint Louverture to Charles Humbert Marie Vincent from Cap-Français (now Cap-Haïtien), Haiti, on October 21, 1797. The text itself was recorded by a scribe as Louverture's written French was limited, though the content comprises his own thoughts. At the top of the first page is pre-printed letterhead for Toussaint Louverture, Chief General of the Army of Saint-Domingue. The letter is handwritten in black ink on the front and back sides of two (2) sheets of paper. The contents of the letter are in regards to ongoing conflicts in the French colony of Saint Domingue, later the free nation of Haiti, and military leader Louverture's dissatisfaction with a speech given in the French parliament earlier in 1797 in which Viénot de Vaublanc spoke against abolition and people of African descent as uncivilized.
Transcription Center Status
Transcribed by digital volunteers
Place made
Cap-Haïtien, Nord, Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
Place used
France, Europe
Topic
African American
Antislavery
Colonialism
Correspondence
Decolonization
Freedom
French colonialism
Government
Justice
Military
Resistance
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Documents and Manuscripts
Movement
Anti-slavery movements
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
2009.26.2ab
Type
letters (correspondence)
Restrictions & Rights
public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ink on paper
Dimensions
H x W (a): 12 1/16 × 7 13/16 in. (30.6 × 19.8 cm)
H x W (b): 12 1/8 × 7 13/16 in. (30.8 × 19.8 cm)
Title
Object Name • Letter to Charles Humbert Marie Vincent signed by Toussaint Louverture
Record ID
nmaahc_2009.26.2ab
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
LETTER TO CHARLES HUMBERT MARIE VINCENT SIGNED BY TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1790s
Name
Louverture, Toussaint • Vincent, Charles Humbert Marie
Place
Cap-Haïtien • Nord • North and Central America • Europe • Caribbean • France • Latin America
Topic
Justice • Resistance • Colonies • Government • Anti-slavery movements • French colonialism • Correspondence • Decolonization • Freedom • Antislavery • Military
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
County • Cap-Haïtien • State • Nord • Country • Haiti • Subregion • Caribbean • Region • Latin America • Continent • North and Central America • Country • France • Continent • Europe
Type
Correspondence
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

Letter to Charles Humbert Marie Vincent signed by Toussaint Louverture

Date: Date

Caption

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NMAAHC

Photographic print of Vincent and Patricia Chin at Studio 17

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Photograph of Dr. Ubert Vincent and Bobby Rylandat the Cosmopolitan Tenn

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Photographic print of Millie Small, Vincent Chin, and an unidentified woman

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 Black woman became the first elected to the United States Congress?

Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.