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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

Bench with seat cushion from the Rock Rest Tourist Home

Date
mid 20th century
Manufactured by
Unidentified
Owned by
Clayton Sinclair, American
Hazel Sinclair, American
Subject of
Margeson Brothers Furniture Store, American
Rock Rest Tourist Home, American, 1948 - 1976
Description
A wooden bench with seat cushion from the Rock Rest Tourist Home. The mahogany, rectangular, wooden bench, features a rectangular padded cushion. The bench has brown cane webbing over the seat, four carved legs, and an I-shaped support bar attached to the legs. The legs are squared at the top and taper inwards towards the bottom. There are carved square shapes at the top of each leg, just below the skirt. The bench has a small skirt that attaches to all four chair legs. Underneath the seat are three supporting metal bands: two that extend diagonally from corner to corner, and one that extends from front to back. The corners of the bench are held together underneath with triangular wedges that have been screwed to the body of the chair. The text [M066] has been stamped along one edge of the bench. Adhered to another part of the bench underside is a partially torn, blue and white label adhered to the bottom of the bench has white printed text that reads [[MARGESON BROS.?] [SPECIALISTS IN?] / HOME[?] FURNISHINGS / PORTSMOUTH N.H] in the blue section at the top and blank fillable lines for [No.], [Finish], [Lot], and [Style] in the white section below and filled in with black handwritten text that reads [1990], [Wal & [---?]], [47991], and [B[---?]] respectively. The rectangular cushion sits flush to the surface of the bench and is secured with fabric loops around the legs at three of the four corners. The cushion fabric is a repeating red and cream checkerboard pattern. Inside each red and white square is a repeating, woven, concentric diamonds pattern with red dots at each corner of the squares.
Place collected
Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
Place purchased
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Black Enterprise
Black interiors
Business
Recreation
Segregation
Travel
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
The Rock Rest Tourist Home Collection
Classification
Furnishings, Housewares, and Décor
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc.
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2011.12.22
Type
benches
cushions
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright RestrictionsNo Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
stain on wood with foam , wicker , steel , paint and paper (fiber product)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 18 1/4 × 30 3/4 × 15 5/8 in. (46.4 × 78.1 × 39.7 cm)
Title
Object Name • Bench with seat cushion from the Rock Rest Tourist Home
Record ID
nmaahc_2011.12.22
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
BENCH WITH SEAT CUSHION FROM THE ROCK REST TOURIST HOME
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1930s • 1970s
Name
Margeson Brothers Furniture Store • Sinclair, Clayton • Sinclair, Hazel • Rock Rest Tourist Home
Place
United States • Maine • North and Central America • Kittery • New Hampshire • York County • Portsmouth • Rockingham County
Topic
Description and travel • Black Enterprise • Black interiors • Recreation • Segregation • Business
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Kittery • County • York County • State • Maine • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • City • Portsmouth • County • Rockingham County • State • New Hampshire
Type
cushions • Benches
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.

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Cabinet card of four unidentified men posing with bottles of beer by Ball & Sons

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Company C 367th Infantry "Just back from France"

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NMAAHC

Bench with seat cushion from the Rock Rest Tourist Home

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Description

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No preview image
NMAAHC

Photograph of four Tuskegee Airmen writing letters home

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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