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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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Wikipedia

Putney Library

Putney Library entrance with 1997 extension

Putney Library is a Grade II listed public library in the London Borough of Wandsworth.[1]

Location

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The library is at numbers 5 to 7 on the north side of Disraeli road, just off Putney High street.[2]

Founding

[edit]
Old Putney Library entrance with 'Newnes' name

The original building design was inspired by Norman Shaw[3] and designed by Francis J Smith.[4] It was paid for by George Newnes, who established 'Tit-Bits' magazine,[5] and was built by H. Roffey of Putney.[6] The library was opened in 1899[7] by Lord Russell of Killowen.[6]

Original reading room with vaulted roof

The building has three storeys and the original reading room has a vaulted roof.[8] During World War Two the basement of the building was used as an Air Raid Patrol centre.[9]

Wandsworth Museum opened in the library building in 1986, but later moved to the Old County Court House in Garratt Lane in 1996, and subsequently merged with Battersea Arts Centre.[8]

Later development

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In 1977, a single storey extension was built to the left of the main building to house a children's library and a music library.[8] At this time, the entrance was still through the original building.[7]

In 1997, the 70's extension was demolished and a glass one added with a new entrance designed by Trevor Williams of Wandsworth Borough Council design service.[10] The extension cost £2,800,000; the floorspace was expanded to 2300 square metres[11] and the original building's stone face was cleaned and restored.[12] The 90's extension won the Mayor's Award for accessibility for wheelchair users and those with hearing disability aids, and it was also the winner of the Public Library Building Award 1999 in the large refurbished library category.[13]

In 2021, Wandsworth Borough Council proposed that the library become a community hub, including shared workspaces and a new community cafe.[14]

Collection and resources

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There are over 20,000 books in the library's collection.[15] As a public library all books are free to borrow, though only a limited amount at any one time, and with charges for borrowing CDs and DVDs.[2]

In 2020, the library had a book that was returned after 56 years, due back in 1964; it was sent from Athens, Greece.[16]

The library also has a digital collection with online reference material that can be accessed on the library website or the Libby app. In the building, there are also computer terminals with free internet access, study rooms for both adults and children, regular reading groups, and other meetings.[2] MPs and local town Councillors also hold their surgeries in rooms in the building.[17]

The Friends of Putney Library organise events and exhibitions in the library.[18]

Access

[edit]

As of spring 2022, the library is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, from 09:00 to 20:00, on Fridays and Saturdays from 09:00 to 17:00, Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00, and it is closed on Tuesdays. [19] There is ramp access from the Disraeli road pavement into the building, and a lift.[2]

Transport

[edit]

The library is served by Transport for London buses 14, 39. 85, 93, 424, and 430 which stop at Putney Station on Putney High Street. East Putney tube station (District line) is an 7-minute walk and Putney railway station (Southwestern Railway) is an 1-minute walk round the corner.[20]

The Santander Cycles Putney rail station docking station is a 2-minute walk,[21] there is also public cycle parking on Disraeli road.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Historic England. "Newnes Public Library (1331702)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d "Putney Library". www.better.org.uk. Better. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Newnes Public Library, Wandsworth". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  4. ^ "1898 – Design for Public Library, Putney, London". Archiseek - Irish Architecture. archiseek. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Putney Library - Disraeli Road, Putney". www.waymarking.com. Way Marking. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Putney New Library". www.victorianlondon.org. Dictionary of Victorian London. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Explore the hidden history Of Putney Library". www.tiredoflondontiredoflife.com. Tired of London, Tired of Life. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Oxford Road Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy" (PDF). www.wandsworth.gov.uk. Wandsworth Borough Council. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Putney Library - Disraeli Road, Putney". www.waymarking.com. Way Marking. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  10. ^ Fisher, Biddy (18 June 2013). Libraries and Learning Resource Centres. Routledge. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-136-38771-5.
  11. ^ "Designing Libraries - Putney Library". www.designinglibraries.org.uk. Designing Libraries. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Putney Library, London SW15" (PDF). www.albionstone.com. Albion Stone. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Modern Architecture in Putney and Roehampton" (PDF). putneysociety.org.uk. Putney Society. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  14. ^ Bayley, Sian (10 February 2021). "The big changes you could soon see in Putney and Wandsworth Town Centre". MyLondon. My London. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Putney Library". www.putneysocial.co.uk. Putney Social. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  16. ^ Porter, Toby (23 November 2020). "Wandsworth library book returned after 56 years – from a church in Greece". South London News. London News Online. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Putney Library". positivelyputney.co.uk. Positively Putney. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Friends of Putney Library". co-operate.coop.co.uk. Co-operate. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Putney Library | Wandsworth | Better libraries". www.better.org.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  20. ^ "How to get to Putney Library in Putney by Train, Bus or Tube | Moovit". moovitapp.com. moovit. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Find a docking station". tfl.gov.uk. Transport for London. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
[edit]

51°27′42″N 0°12′57″W / 51.461707°N 0.215955°W / 51.461707; -0.215955

Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.

Wikipedia

Putney Library

Putney Library is a Grade II listed public library in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

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Wikipedia

Putney Swope

Putney Swope is a 1969 American independent satirical comedy film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr., and starring Arnold Johnson as the title character, a black advertising executive. The film satirizes the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films and the nature of corporate corruption. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

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Wikipedia

Martha Settle Putney

Martha Settle Putney (November 9, 1916 – December 11, 2008) was an American educator and historian who chronicled the roles of African Americans in the armed forces. After serving as one of the first black members of the Women's Army Corps during World War II, she devoted her life to researching and documenting the military service and achievements of black Americans. Following a period of employment with the War Manpower Commission after her discharge from the army, she entered the academic world, earning a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and pursuing a distinguished teaching career at Bowie State College (now Bowie State University) in Maryland, where she chaired the history and geography department, and later at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington, D.C. Upon retiring from the faculty at Howard, she embarked on a writing career that included three books and over 20 journal articles. At the time of her death at age 92 she was working on a fourth book portraying the contributions of blacks in combat dating back to the American Revolutionary War.

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Wikipedia

Putney

Putney () is a district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, five miles (eight kilometres) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.

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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

What prosperous Tulsa district became widely known as “Black Wall Street”?

The Greenwood District.