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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

Carte-de-visite portrait of Miss Julia J. Thomas

Date
ca. 1875
Photograph by
Jefferson Beardsley, American, 1833 - 1895
Subject of
Julia Josephine Irvine, American, 1848 - 1930
Owned by
Emily Howland, American, 1827 - 1929
Description
Carte-de-visite of Miss Julia J. Thomas shown in quarter portrait. Thomas is facing the camera, but her head is turned one quarter to her right and she looks off camera. Her naturally curly hair is loosely gathered behind her back. She wears a heavily embellished dark colored bodice with a white ruffled standing collar and a dark lace bow tied at the front of her neck. The bottom portion of the image is purposefully faded in the popular style of the time. There is a border printed in gold ink surrounding the outside edges of the card mount.
Handwritten in ink on the back of the photograph is the text, "Julia J. Thomas / First Scholar in Greek / at Cornell. / Graduate June 1875." Below the handwritten text is Beardsley's mark.
The photograph is housed in the album 2017.30. The album page has a triple-lined, gold border framing the print. Handwritten in graphite inside the bottom border of the printed frame of the album page is the text "Miss Julia J. Thomas". Handwritten in graphite at the lower left corner of the album page is the text "1st GREEK SCHOLAR IN GREEK / at CORNELL Grad. June 1875".
Place depicted
Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Antislavery
Education
Photography
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
Emily Howland Photograph Album
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Photographs and Still Images
Credit Line
Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture shared with the Library of Congress
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.30.12
Type
cartes-de-visite
albumen prints
portraits
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
albumen and silver on photographic paper on card mount
Dimensions
H x W (Image): 3 13/16 × 2 3/8 in. (9.7 × 6 cm)
H x W (Image and Mount): 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 in. (10.6 × 6.3 cm)
Title
Object Name • Carte-de-visite portrait of Miss Julia J. Thomas
Record ID
nmaahc_2017.30.12
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
CARTE-DE-VISITE PORTRAIT OF MISS JULIA J. THOMAS
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1880s • 1870s
Name
Howland, Emily • Beardsley, Jefferson • Irvine, Julia Josephine
Place
New York • United States • Tompkins County • North and Central America • Ithaca
Topic
Photography • Education • Antislavery
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Ithaca • County • Tompkins County • State • New York • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Portraits • Photographs • Visiting cards
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

Letter from Thomas Womack to Julia Womack with envelope

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Carte-de-visite portrait of Miss Julia J. Thomas

Date: Date

Description

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No preview image
NMAAHC

Studio Portrait of a Woman Sitting, Eddie Mae Thomas

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Studio Portrait of a Woman Sitting, Eddie Mae Thomas

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

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

Madam C.J. Walker