Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
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Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Black Inventors
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
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Sports
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
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People
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
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Places
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
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Events
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
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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.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
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.
BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources.
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In 1988, Webber joined the British visual effects company Framestore, based near Oxford Street in London. He led the company's push into Digital Film and Television, developing Framestore's virtual camera and motion rig systems. He has been the visual effects supervisor in some of the most technically and artistically challenging projects, including, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008), James Cameron's Avatar (2009), and Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans (2010). He was Warner Brothers’ VFX supervisor on Alfonso Cuarón's space epic, Gravity (2013), with the techniques involved in the film realized by Webber and the Framestore team, taking three years to complete.[2]David Heyman, co-producer of Gravity, hired Webber to oversee the film's visual effects work.[3]
In 2014, Webber was awarded the Royal Photographic Society Progress medal and Honorary Fellowship, which is awarded in recognition of any invention, research, publication or other contribution which has resulted in an important advance in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in the widest sense.
In 2023, Webber released his directorial and writing debut, in the form of sci-fi short film FLITE.[4] Starring Alba Baptista, FLITE is set in a semi-submerged London of 2053 and brought some of the techniques first explored on the film Gravity into the present day. Using state of the art virtual production techniques, FLITE also tested FUSE - Framestore Unreal Shot Engine - which puts Epic GamesUnreal Engine,[5] and all the benefits of real-time, at the heart of a VFX pipeline.[6][7]FLITE has won several awards including Best Genre at HollyShorts Film Festival 2023, Best Animation at The Soho London Independent Film Festival 2024 and Best Post Production and Best Score at Ignite Film Festival 2023. FLITE is available to watch on YouTube.
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.
Which Black woman became the first elected to the United States Congress?
Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
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What Came Between Slavery and Civil Rights?
The story did not jump directly from emancipation to the Civil Rights Movement. Reconstruction brought Black citizenship, voting, elected officials and institution-building, followed by violent backlash, disenfranchisement and Jim Crow. Black communities continued organizing, educating, building and resisting throughout those decades.
