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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...

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

Purple and metallic gold evening coat by Nina Ricci

Date
1990-1991
Created by
Nina Ricci, French, founded 1932
Used by
Ebony Fashion Fair, American, 1958 - 2009
Subject of
Johnson Publishing Company, American, 1942 - 2019
Description
Evening coat in purple, blue, black, and gold fabric by Nina Ricci. The coat is floor-length with full-length billowing dropped sleeves. It is collarless with the fabric gathered and pleated below the front and back yoke to create a slightly flared silhouette as it extends to the floor. It closes at the center front with five (5) metal snaps on the interior, with decorative buttons made from blue rhinestones set in gold-toned metal sewn on the proper right side to correspond with the snaps. The slit cuffs are tacked shut and have a large decorative button made from blue rhinestones set into gold-toned metal in a triangular shape. The coat is made from fabric printed with a mottled purple and blue ground with black splotches, and gold metallic threads woven throughout. Supplementary threads create a woven design with the print of small repeating geometric shapes in satin weave that catch the light and highlight the metallic threads. There is a deep inset pocket at each front side waist.
The coat is fully lined in blue faille, except the sleeve cuffs which are self-lined. Buckram is sewn between the facing and lining of the cuffs and the bottom hem of the coat. Shoulder pads are sewn between the facing and lining. A label was previously attached to the coat and found in the proper left pocket. It is a white fabric label with a logo in white embroidery of two people dressing a third person above yellow text reading "NINA RICCI / PARIS".
Topic
African American
Clothing and dress
Design
Fashion
Fashion design
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
Ebony Fashion Fair Collection
Classification
Clothing - Fashion and Historical
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
2015.141.31
Type
evening coats
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
synthetic fiber, faille, rhinestone and metal buttons, and metal snaps
Dimensions
H x W (flat): 60 3/4 × 37 1/2 in. (154.3 × 95.3 cm)
Title
Object Name • Purple and metallic gold evening coat by Nina Ricci
Record ID
nmaahc_2015.141.31
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
PURPLE AND METALLIC GOLD EVENING COAT BY NINA RICCI
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1990s
Name
Johnson Publishing Company • Ebony Fashion Fair • Nina Ricci
Topic
Design • Clothing and dress • Fashion
Culture
African Americans
Type
evening coats
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.

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NMAAHC

Purple and metallic gold evening coat by Nina Ricci

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Dress shirt worn by Reverend Ike

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Tuxedo trousers worn by Reverend Ike

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Necktie worn by Reverend Ike

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.