When I first saw the books and their titles in the glass case at the auction house, my first thought was of cameras. The images on the covers, though, were of strange little characters with…
Category: Black history
‘Birth of a Nation’ souvenir book
Posted in Black history, Civil War, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Movies
I had missed the book lying quietly and innocently there on a shelf in a glass case at the auction house. It was overshadowed by two noisy shelves above it with Shirley Temple photos, Shirley…
Book with photos of Booker T. Washington’s legacy
Posted in Black history, and Books
The book was half-buried under others in a box at the auction house. I had almost missed it, with its black and faded gold lettering against a very dark background – a senseless combination it…
Golfing, divots and a game of pure fun
Posted in Black history, collectibles, and Sports
In my head, I can still see my golf buddy Gerald bent over a divot in the green grass, a small two-fanged tool in his hand, carefully repairing the groove he’d just made with his…
The inscription on the paper in the photo was pretty clear. The question, though, was whether it was historically correct: “Badge worn by Sahra Douglas, Born Sept. 19 – 1817 A Slave Dyed May 12…
Stumbling upon the Cotton Club
Posted in Black history, Culture, dance, and Performers
“My uncle used to come up here and party,” the man said to me as we headed to the Cotton Club in New York. He and I were among a group of people who had…
King conquers fear and death in “Mountaintop”
Posted in Black history, civil rights movement, and Performers
The hotel room was vintage 1960s with its black rotary phone, flat hard bed and dime-store pictures on the wall. It was the setting for a Broadway play about the last night in the life…
Traveling by Trailways & Greyhound
Posted in Black history, civil rights movement, travel, and Vehicles
My childhood friend Beatrice and I stood by the side of the road, looking, searching for that familiar red-and-cream-colored Trailways bus. We were teens then, headed to the big town of Macon, GA, to see…
Extolling the work of early black craftspeople
Posted in Black history, Books, Civil War, and Crafts
The thin booklet was laying on the auction table haphazardly, as if someone had absentmindedly tossed it there. Because it was so small and flat, I’m sure it was considered to be of little worth. That’s…