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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 4 strongest Black History matches.
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NMAAHC

George III sterling silver tea pot

Date
1800
Manufactured by
Daniel Pontifex, English, 1768 - 1826
Caption
This silver teapot represents the deadly plantation economy in the New World that satisfied the international demand for sugar, which became a staple in the English tea industry. It is also indicative of the financial success that sugar brought to prosperous slave owners, financiers, slave traders, sugar merchants, and the lifestyle maintained by sugar consumers in the United States. Sugar, Britain’s largest import, was also the focus of one of the first anti-slavery boycotts after the abolition bill was rejected by British Parliament in 1791. The boycott attempted to put economic pressure on the slave-dependent industry of sugar, hastening the end of the trade.
Description
A George III sterling silver teapot by Daniel Pontifex, London. It has an oval shaped body with a large, curved black wood handle later attached with brass rivet. The hinged lid is domed with raised fluting around the crown of the dome, radiating outwards from the knob on top of the lid. The knob is oval and is made of wood, painted black. There is a small silver finial capping off the knob. The lid is hinged at one end and flips upwards towards the handle. The rim flares outwards slightly and is decorated with a raised repeating striated pattern. The teapot's shoulders flare outwards and form a small flat rim around the circumference. The spout is short and is square in shape. The upper body of the teapot is smooth while the lower half is decorated by fluting in sections. One side of the teapot has an image of a large bird, possibly a pelican, with a fish in its mouth, etched into the upper half. On the opposite side is an image of a lion rampant, with a scroll over its head. In the scroll is text that reads "Forward." The teapot has an oval foot with four points, one at each corner. Each point is formed from a crease in the metal that runs vertically up the body of the body of the teapot. There are several silversmith hallmarks on the base: the maker’s mark "DP", certification of silver quality, city production mark, date letter "E", and duty mark.
Place made
London, England
Topic
African American
British colonialism
Commerce
Cooking and dining
Design
Domestic life
Economics
Slave trade
Slavery
Sugarcane
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
Exhibition
Slavery and Freedom
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053
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
2020.32.5.1
Type
teapots
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
sterling silver with wood and brass
Dimensions
H x W x D: 6 1/2 × 10 3/4 × 5 in. (16.5 × 27.3 × 12.7 cm)
Title
Object Name • George III sterling silver tea pot
Record ID
nmaahc_2020.32.5.1
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
GEORGE III STERLING SILVER TEA POT
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1800s
Name
Pontifex, Daniel
Place
London • England
Topic
Design • Economics • Slavery • Cooking • Domestic life • British colonialism • Dinners and dining • Sugarcane • Business
Culture
African Americans
Exhibition
NMAAHC • Slavery and Freedom
Geo Location
City • London • Country • England
Type
Teapots
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

George III sterling silver tea pot

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Caption

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NMAAHC

Teapot made by Peter Bentzon

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Description

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NMAAHC

George III sterling silver cream jug with interior gold wash

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Caption

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NMAAHC

George III sterling silver sugar bowl with interior gold wash

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

Who was the first African-American woman millionaire in the United States?

Madam C.J. Walker