When I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture a few years ago, I saw on a wall a short list of black photographers from years past. These were not the names…
Month: April 2020
There was nothing extraordinary about the black and white photos on the auction table. They were snapshots of a circus before the arrival of crowds ready for an afternoon of entertainment. They were most effective…
The sweet little doll had been mine for a long time. I remember the first time I saw her in a glass display case at the auction house. She was a mere babe, not because…
Richmond’s black patients had a friend in Maggie L. Walker in 1918 pandemic
Posted in African American women, Black history, Businesses, and Health & Medicine
As the flu pandemic raged, a desperate call went out in Richmond, VA, in the fall of 1918. White doctors needed volunteers, particularly nurses, to help care for the endless flow of sick patients at…
Hair-care labels by African American designer Charles Dawson
Posted in Art, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Uncategorized
It took a minute for the revelation to sink in. There in front of me were images of some of the hair-care product labels I had picked up years ago at a collectibles’ show. They…
Jazz in the name of artist Verna Hart
Posted in Art
My friend Al couldn’t believe it. And neither could I. I had bumped into him at an art show and sale at a gallery in Wilmington, DE, some years ago when a jazz painting by…