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…
Category: Photos
A bow and ‘tip of the cap’ to Negro Leagues baseball
Posted in African American women, Photos, Plays, and Sports
I’ve long been a fan of the Negro Leagues. Whenever I’d come across a T-shirt or cap or any other paraphernalia (most of them never at auction), I’d snap it up. I’m not much of…
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…
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…
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…
Playbill for Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s 1939 ‘Hot Mikado’ show
Posted in Broadway plays, Performers, Photos, and theater
The cover of the theater program was a little off-putting, but the photo tucked inside was adorable. The cover showed a caricature of a male dancer with red lips and black face mimicking the look…
I was flipping through a stack of photos at auction recently and found two that caused me to pause. Both were black and whites of two separate groups of black men who were Masons. They…
First, I saw a black and white photograph of people on the streets looking upward, their faces giving no hint of what they were seeing. The photo beneath it showed a minister in collar presumably…
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…
19th-century portrait of African American woman
Posted in Black history, and Photos
I started to call you, the female auction-house staffer told me as I stood there waiting for a bidder’s number. She had seen an African American-related item for sale that day and immediately thought of…