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...

Katherine Johnson — Mathematics to the Moon

Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.

MORE →
BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 2 strongest Black History matches.
← BACK TO RESULTS
NMAAHC

Ivory powder horn with carved decoration

Date
18th century; engraved after 1861
Created by
Unidentified
Description
A powder horn with scrimshaw decorations. The powder horn shaft is made from cow horn. On one side of the horn's base, there is an engraved illustration of a seated African American officer smoking a cigar inside a tent, guarded by a white soldier in a tattered uniform. The text underneath the image reads: [Negro officer / & / White Soldier]. On the reverse side of the powder horn is an engraving of an African American man dancing with a white woman. The African American man is wearing trousers but no shirt, and the woman is wearing a long-sleeved dress with her long hair pulled back into a bun. The text above the image reads: [New England Ladies / teaching Negroes]. These images are surrounded by decorative, architectural borders. Most engraved areas appear to have been colored with an iron-based substance, possibly iron gall ink, and the surface of the horn appears yellow, whether by age or artificial coloration. The circumference of the base has jagged edges, with some remaining peg holes through which pegs or nails would have been placed to secure the base, although none remain. A replacement circular wooden butt plug is glued into the base. The narrow end of the powder horn is carved, turned, and colored dark brown. Originally it would have been closed with a peg or stopper, now missing.
Topic
African American
American South
Education
Emancipation
Folklife
Military
Ornamentation
Race relations
U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Weapons and Ammunition
Exhibition
Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 053
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Marion T. Lane, Ed.D.
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2015.247.3
Type
powder horns
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
horn and wood
Dimensions
L x diameter x weight: 10 1/2 × 3 1/16 in., 152Grams (26.7 cm, 0.2 kg)
Title
Object Name • Ivory powder horn with carved decoration
Record ID
nmaahc_2015.247.3
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
IVORY POWDER HORN WITH CARVED DECORATION
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1700s • 1870s
Topic
American South • Folklife • Education • U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865 • Emancipation • Ornamentation • Race relations • Military
Culture
African Americans
Exhibition
NMAAHC • Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
Type
Powder horns
On Physical Exhibit
Yes
Online Media Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions

Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Rights and restrictions shown above are supplied by the Smithsonian record.

NMAAHC

Scrimshaw etched with patriotic theme owned by John Wesley Cromwell

Date: Date

Description

MORE →
No preview image
NMAAHC

Ivory powder horn with carved decoration

Date: Date

Description

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

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

Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.