William S. Powell Jr. must have been mighty proud to be a Tuskegee Airman. He kept his brown leather flight jacket with the 99th Pursuit Squadron patch, his helmet, his graduation diploma, flight wings, training…
Category: Black history
How us auction enthusiasts miss ‘being’ there
Posted in Auction, Black history, Books, collectibles, and Decorating
Previewing the online auction, I only saw a few books that looked promising. Two lots of about three books each already had bids on them at prices way beyond what I was willing to pay.…
Like the movement, John Lewis was beaten, bloodied but unbowed
Posted in Black history, civil rights movement, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and history
You cannot understand the greatness of John Lewis unless you know the struggles that he and other civil rights activists endured during the 1960s. He was in his 20s when he bravely marched and protested…
What artifacts will tell the story of 2020 protests?
Posted in Black history, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Photos
In March 1968, striking black sanitation workers marched along the streets of Memphis demanding higher wages and better working conditions. They carried signs emblazoned with “I AM A MAN” to express their anger at not…
Revisiting Ebony’s 1965 “White Problem in America” issue
Posted in Black history, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and history
Several years ago, I was lucky to find an issue of Ebony magazine from 1965 that was devoted solely to race in America. This was the middle of the civil rights movement, and John…
African American ceramics artists lost in history
Posted in Art, Black history, and pottery
A young Isaac Scott Hathaway had slipped away from his father and sisters at the Cleveland museum. He went looking for a specific sculpture that he was certain would be there. Finally, the Rev. R.E.…
George Floyd’s death links to a murderous past of lynchings
Posted in Black history, Death, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and history
I bought the newspaper at auction two years ago, but I just couldn’t bring myself to write about its contents. The stories on the front page were too horrific, too graphic, too painful. Every headline…
Early black designers fashioned their own space
Posted in Black history, Clothing, and Style
Fashion shows have always been a mainstay in the African American community. Even now, they are still being held as fundraisers for sororities, clubs, churches and other organizations. At auction a few years ago, I…
Robert Purvis, a black abolitionist you may have never heard of
Posted in Black history, Books, history, and slavery
I could tell that the book had some years on it because the pages had lost their white edges and the cover was frail. The discolored cover bore no title, just a fancy design in…
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…