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THE JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
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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 2 strongest Black History matches.
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NMAAHC

Photograph of Seba Johnson skiing at 1989 Alpine Skiing World Cup

Date
1989
Photograph by
Margaret Chidlaw
Subject of
Seba Johnson, born 1973
Caption
In 1988, at the age 14, Seba Johnson became the first African American alpine ski racer and the youngest Olympic skier, placing 28th out of 64 in the women’s Olympic Giant Slalom in Calgary, Canada. In 1989 she became the youngest Black skier in the World Cup Women’s downhill racing. Born in Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Johnson skiied for the Virgin Islands national team in both the Olympics and the World Cup. She retired from the sport in 1992.
Description
A color photograph featuring Seba Johnson skiing downhill. She is crouched with ski poles held under her arms, with the ends pointed back and up. She wears a yellow Carrera helmet and a white ski suit that reads VIRGIN ISLANDS along the outer thigh. In the background are a number of blurred trees. The photograph is adhered to a window mat and cardboard backing. The mat has several stickers attached, two above and two below the window. The top reads [Steamboat®] in blue ink on white background with the second, right below, reading [FEBRUARY 1989] in black text on silver background. Beneath the window, the first sticker reads [WOMEN'S DOWNHILL] in black type with white background. A second sticker is adhered to the first and reads [World Cup] in blue type. Text printed directly on the mat, vertically along the entirety of the left side, reads [653 RD2O653 Printed in U.S.A. ©1988 IIC]. Two handwritten notes on the back of the photograph read [SEBA JOHNSON / WORLD CUP DOWNHILL / STEAMBOAT / SPRINGS, CO. / 25 FEB, 1989 / 15 1/2 YRS. / OLD / D.H. = 52 PLACE OUT OF 70 STARTERS / S.G. = 34 PLACE OUT OF 64 STARTERS] in black ink and [©M. Chidlaw / P.O. Box 880664 / Steamboat Plaza Co 80488] in red marker. A repeating watermark on back reads [THIS PAPER / MANUFACTURED / BY KODAK]. There are no marks on the back of the cardboard.
Place depicted
Steamboat Springs, Routt County, Colorado, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Athletes
Olympics
Sports
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Seba Johnson and Suzy Johnson
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2011.163.17.1
Type
chromogenic development prints
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
dye and photographic gelatin on paper (fiber product)
Dimensions
H x W (Image and sheet): 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
H x W (Window mat and cardboard back): 9 15/16 × 13 in. (25.3 × 33 cm)
Title
Object Name • Photograph of Seba Johnson skiing at 1989 Alpine Skiing World Cup
Record ID
nmaahc_2011.163.17.1
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
PHOTOGRAPH OF SEBA JOHNSON SKIING AT 1989 ALPINE SKIING WORLD CUP
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1980s
Name
Johnson, Seba • Chidlaw, Margaret
Place
Steamboat Springs • United States • Colorado • North and Central America • Routt County
Topic
Olympics • Athletes • Sports
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Steamboat Springs • County • Routt County • State • Colorado • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
chromogenic development prints
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible

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

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NMAAHC

Georgetown Starter jacket

Date: Date

Caption

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NMAAHC

Photograph of Seba Johnson skiing at 1989 Alpine Skiing World Cup

Date: Date

Caption

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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 Supreme Court case ruled state-sponsored public-school segregation unconstitutional?

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.