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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

Kanga with portrait of Barack Obama and African continent

Date
2008
Manufactured by
Unidentified
Subject of
President Barack Obama, American, born 1961
Description
Kanga with portrait of Barack Obama and the African continent made in Tanzania. The cloth is a pale purplish-grayu with a wide border in tones of medium and midnight blue. The background of the border is a small scale grid design. A row of stylized flowers made from four (4) heart-shaped petals and a circular center are printed in the middle around the border. A thin border featuring a row of dark blue dots surround the inner and outer sides of the main border section. At the center of the interior section is a large oval photographic portrait of Barack Obama printed in black. He is wearing a suit and tie and is pictured from the chest up and smiling while looking directly at the viewer. Text above him just inside the oval border reads "HONGERA [Congratulations] BARACK OBAMA". Black text printed inside a rectangle outlined in black at the center bottom interior reads in Swahili "UPENDO NA AMANI AMETUJALIA MUNGU" [God Has Blessed Us with Peace and Love]. Printed on either side of Obama is a black outline of the African continent with the island Madagascar, including interior country borders outlined in black with some filled in with red or green. Large black letters reading "AFRICA" are printed along the widest upper part of the continent, with the names of individual countries printed in smaller black text next to or inside their respective borders. The two Africa prints are identical, including the colors of the countries filled in. Manufacturer's information is printed in the lower bottom left corner that reads "NIDA NZITO KHANGA PAMBA YA TANZANIA GIGA:7274".
Place made
Tanzania, Africa
Topic
African American
Africa
African diaspora
Design
Identity
Politics
Textile design
U.S. History, 2001-
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Textiles and Quilts
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Catherine E. McKinley
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.16.16
Type
textiles
portraits
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
cotton
Dimensions
H x W: 41 3/4 × 59 1/4 in. (106 × 150.5 cm)
Title
Object Name • Kanga with portrait of Barack Obama and African continent
Record ID
nmaahc_2017.16.16
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
KANGA WITH PORTRAIT OF BARACK OBAMA AND AFRICAN CONTINENT
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
2000s
Name
Obama, Barack
Place
Tanzania • Africa
Topic
African diaspora • Design • Politics • U.S. History, 2001- • Group identity • Textiles
Culture
African Americans • Africans
Geo Location
Country • Tanzania • Continent • Africa
Type
Portraits • Textiles
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

Flyer advertising The East Coast Regional Conference of CAR

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

United States Department of State Distinguished Honor Award

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Kanga with portrait of Barack Obama and African continent

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Pinback button promoting the Sixth Pan African Congress

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 heavyweight champion was known as the “Brown Bomber”?

Joe Louis.