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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...

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.

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

Electric console steel guitar built by Felton W. Williams, Jr.

Date
ca. 1963
Created by
Felton W. Williams Jr., American, 1934 - 2012
Caption
Felton W. Williams Jr. was born on January 3, 1934, in Tupelo, Mississippi. In 1943 his family moved to Detroit, where they attended the same House of God Church as fellow steel guitar pioneer Maurice “Ted” Beard. Williams began playing lap steel in 1947, and by 1952 had played for many large church assemblies in Detroit, Toledo, Ohio, Kansas City, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee. In 1956 Williams began working as electrician for Ford Motor Company, a job he would have until retirement in 1994. He used his skills as an electrician to build amplifiers and steel guitars. Williams also taught steel guitar to youth from the church, and had a recording studio in his basement, where he recorded many gospel records for local singers. He was respected in the Sacred Steel community as an innovator, recording artist, studio owner, producer, instructor and inventor.
Williams built this steel guitar between 1961 and 1963. It is the first guitar he built, and was his main instrument until he could afford to buy a new guitar in 1970.
Description
A console steel guitar consisting of a wood base with two (2) seven-string assemblies attached, the rear mounted higher than the front. There are four (4) steel tube legs that attach to the bottom of the guitar, forming a console. Between the string assemblies are power and sound controls mounted to aluminum plates. The guitar is packed in a black, vinyl-covered case with steel corners.
Place made
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Gospel (Music)
Instrumentalists (Musicians)
Musicians
Pentecostal
Technology
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Musical Instruments
Exhibition
Musical Crossroads
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 053
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Gift of Felton W. Williams, Jr.
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2011.64.1a-f
Type
steel guitars
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
wood, alloy steel, metal, brass, aluminum alloy, and plastic
Dimensions
L x W (Guitar): 38 1/2 x 11 1/4 x 3 3/8 in. (97.8 x 28.6 x 8.6 cm)
L x W (Case): 42 1/2 x 17 x 4 3/4 in. (108 x 43.2 x 12.1 cm)
L x W (Legs retracted): 25 × 1 5/8 × 1 in. (63.5 × 4.1 × 2.5 cm)
Title
Object Name • Electric console steel guitar built by Felton W. Williams, Jr.
Record ID
nmaahc_2011.64.1a-f
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
ELECTRIC CONSOLE STEEL GUITAR BUILT BY FELTON W. WILLIAMS, JR.
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1950s • 1970s
Name
Williams, Felton W.
Place
Detroit • United States • North and Central America • Wayne County • Michigan
Topic
Technology • Gospel (Music) • Pentecostal • Instrumentalists (Musicians)
Culture
African Americans
Exhibition
NMAAHC • Musical Crossroads
Geo Location
City • Detroit • County • Wayne County • State • Michigan • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Guitars
On Physical Exhibit
Yes
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

Electric console steel guitar built by Felton W. Williams, Jr.

Date: Date

Caption

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NMAAHC

On the Pulse of Morning

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NMAAHC

Photograph of Felton W. Williams Jr. playing an electric console steel guitar

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NMAAHC

Lackawanna Steel Mill

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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.