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…
Category: Black history
Earliest black census workers
Posted in Black history, history, and Work
The history of black folks in America can be so elusive. Every now and then, I come across an item at auction that seems to have no connection to black history and with a little…
1960s Christmas card aided black student activists
Posted in African American women, Black history, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
As I flipped through a box of auction items I didn’t remember buying, I came upon a bulging tan envelope with a Christmas wreath at the top and the names of African American organizations under…
Vogue picture records lead to ‘ace jazzman’ Charlie Shavers
Posted in Black history, history, and Music
When I first saw the phonograph records, I was drawn to the illustrations. All were brightly colored and painted into the surface – unlike the black vinyl I was used to seeing with a circular…
1920s photo posters of Armstrong, Smith & other jazz greats
Posted in Black history, Music, and Photos
A black and white photo of a man with his fingers on the keys of a grand piano lay atop a stack on a table filled with papers at the auction house. His skin was…
Freda DeKnight’s Ebony cookbook embraced black chefs, cooks & caterers
Posted in Black history, Books, Cooking, and food
Louis Armstrong loved ham hocks and red beans: “Have you ever tried ham hocks and red beans? Old man, season them well! Add the right spices at the right time, and man, you have a…
1923 ‘Simms’ Blue Book’ of accomplished African Americans
Posted in Black history, Books, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
The book was titled “Simms’ Blue Book,” but its color was a faded blue and its cover was pockmarked with stains. It looked perfect when I saw it on the auction-house website, and just looking…
Storied colonial home bears an African American legacy
Posted in Architecture/Buildings, Black history, and Home
Helene Huffer couldn’t stop tearing up. She was about to leave a home that had taken hold of her the moment she saw it in person. She dabbed repeatedly at her eyes with the paper…
Photos of diner & lesbian wedding tell their own stories
Posted in Black history, history, Photos, and Women
The black and white photos were part of a stack in a low-cut cardboard box in a glass case at the auction house. I pick up early photos like these from time to time, and…
Black footprint in America came way before slavery
Posted in Black history, Books, and history
At auction some years ago, I stumbled across a worn, beaten-down and scruffy book whose title faintly included the word “Negroes.” Opening it, I saw that it was children’s book titled “The First Book of…