Category: ~Of Interest

This menu is from the nightclub that Malcolm X describes affectionately in his autobiography. Malcolm X worked there as a day waiter between 1942 and 1943. At Smalls, Malcolm makes a good impression on the customers and on his employers, and learns various hustling techniques, the etiquette of the Harlem underworld, and the history of the neighborhood. With his tips, Malcolm begins to invest a lot of money in the numbers racket, the popular unofficial lottery in Harlem. Continue reading “SMALLS PARADISE MENU (MALCOLM X)”

This 1949 advertisement for the movie “Lost Boundaries” measures 10″x 6.5″ and appears to be for a theater in Alexandria, Virginia.  It says, “If he revealed his secret it would blast four lives wide open!!  So out-of-the-ordinary, you’ll HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!”

Atlanta banned the film under a statute that allowed its censor to prohibit any film that might “adversely affect the peace, morals, and good order of the city”.  Memphis did so as well, with the head of the Board of Censors saying: “We don’t take that kind of picture here.” Continue reading “1949 “WHITE MAN OR NEGRO?” (Ad for movie “Lost Boundaries”)”

According to an FBI log of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s August 1963 meetings with publisher Al Duckett (as told by Taylor Branch in Parting the Waters), Dr. King “managed to escape almost every day to the nearby Riverdale Motor Inn, where Clarence Jones had ensconced a writer named Al Duckett to help with crash production of the Birmingham book (Why We Can’t Wait).”

The January 18, 1965 edition of the New York Times states “The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was punched and kicked by a white man today while he was registering as the first Negro guest of a hotel built more than a century ago by slave labor.” The hotel the article is referring to was the Hotel Albert in Selma, Alabama. James George Robinson, a white states righter, attacked King for trying to register at the hotel, a formerly whites only business in Selma, Alabama. He punched King several times, and before black onlookers intervened, kicked him in the groin. King refused to press charges stating that he had sympathy for Robinson.  Two months later, Robinson was arrested for beating a SNCC photographer. Continue reading “Matchbook Cover of Hotel Where Martin Luther King Was Beaten by Racist”

These are two signed letters from 1939 regarding a court case involving Oliver V. Hemphill. The first letter is sent to Mr. Clarence M. Head* (who, from the letter is apparently white) from Dennis V. Allen, President of the San Diego Race Relations Society. In the letter, Allen thanks Head for being a character witness for the accused. According to the letter, Hemphill is “charged with an unseemly crime of which grave doubts exist as to his guilt.” Allen describes Hemphill as “a member of the colored race,” and says “I therefore, wish to express to you my very deep appreciation for your bold stand for what you consider Justice, regardless of ones race.”

Conrad Lynn participated in the first Freedom Ride, and was the first to be arrested among the group. Later, Lynn became involved in the highly publicized North Carolina “Kissing Case”, involving a pair of African-American boys, 7 and 9 years old, who were jailed, prosecuted and convicted of rape, and sentenced to reform school until age 21 after they playfully kissed (or were kissed by) a white girl their age as part of a game. Lynn later represented the Harlem Six. This collection includes Conrad Lynn’s funeral program, a framed print (with his face among other historic figures), his “American’s for Change” card, his health insurance card, and a personal letter to him from a friend. Continue reading “Freedom Rider Conrad Lynn Collection”

An undeniable sign of the times, this 1970 board game “Blacks & Whites” says (on the bottom cover) “Experience the ghetto.  Live on welfare.  Try to buy in a white suburb.  Your challenge: To keep the land-hungry majority type from winning the game cheaply and quickly.”  It also says “…if Black players turn the tide against white advantages–a kind of irrepressible excitement takes over the board.”

These two signs advertised “Oneil Resturant” [sic] in Selma, Alabama in the 1990’s.  Oneil Hoggle was one of 4 segregationists shamefully acquitted by an all-white jury of killing Civil Rights supporter Reverend James Reeb.  Oneal Hoggle later opened a used car dealership (still open) and the restaurant; I believe the restaurant no longer exists.  These signs are made of thick, dark green plastic.

This is a collection of 12 items relating to the Million Man March on October 16, 1995.  This collection includes the following:

–The original poster advertising the event
–An “I Was There” pennant
–2 pins from the event.
–3 “Final Call” newspapers advertising the MMM, 1 “Final Call” chronicling the event after it concluded, and 3 newspapers reporting the MMM the next day (New York Times, Rocky Mtn News, and USA Today).
–The official book that was released (see the table of contents which shows sections including “Spiritual and Historical Significance”, “Home Training Units”, and “interviews and Comments”).

Continue reading “1995 “MILLION MAN MARCH” COLLECTION”

A 70’s gem, Black Is Beautiful was published in 1972.  Using simile to compare beautiful black objects (natural and otherwise) to black skin, this small book does a fantastic job of countering the devaluation of non-white skin.

Continue reading “1972 “BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL””

Bull Connor was an international symbol of institutional racism. Bull Connor directed the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists; child protestors were also subject to these attacks. Continue reading “1962 Birmingham City Jail (dedication program) with Bull Connor”

It was after Martin Luther King’s mother was murdered (while playing the organ at her church) that this print titled “Together Again” was presumably created featuring both Martin Luther King, Jr. and his mother. Alberta King was shot and killed on June 30, 1974, at age 69, by Marcus Wayne Chenault, a 23-year-old black man from Ohio who had adopted an extremist version of the theology of the Black Hebrew Israelites. Chenault’s mentor, Rev. Hananiah E. Israel of Cincinnati, castigated black civil rights activists and black church leaders as being evil and deceptive, but claimed in interviews not to have advocated violence. Chenault did not draw any such distinction, and actually first decided to assassinate Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, but canceled the plan at the last minute. Two weeks later he set out for Atlanta, where he shot Alberta King with two handguns as she sat at the organ of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Continue reading “1974 “Together Again” Art Print of MLK and Mother After Her Murder”

This California high school history book is entitled “Negro American Heritage” and HAS ONLY 8 PARAGRAPHS REFERRING TO SLAVERY!  It seems to be well-written, but might be missing a rather important part of relevant history.

Copyright 1967, edited by Arna Bontemps.

This book by Earl Edward Muntz is a 1927 scientific explanation about what happened to primitive and aboriginal races when caucasians conquered/displaced them.  From the preface it says “The rapid dispersal of the Caucasian peoples throughout the inhabitable portions of the world during the past four or five centuries has been fraught with unfortunate consequences for the backward races of mankind.” Continue reading “1927 RACE CONTACT”

The Negro: An American Asset by Rev. S.J. Fisher, DD.  Published by Board of Missions for Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church in the USA.  Surprising verbiage from the Presbyterian Church: “We can neither understand the Negro, nor realize how great is his progress if we do not look back to the pit from which he was digged.  We cannot sympathize or feel a loving consideration for this people unless we see him emerge from savagery.” Continue reading “1920 THE NEGRO: AN AMERICAN ASSET”

This is a pamphlet dated Feb 1969 that was produced for the school system.  It is titled The Rightness of Whiteness, The World of the White Child in a Segregated Society. Really unusual, written by the Michigan-Ohio Regional Educational Laboratory as part of a program to combat the causes and effects of racism.

This hardbound book is like a reference manual.  The subtitle is “STATE BY STATE PROBLEMS AND PROGRESS IN: EATINGPLACES/ VOTING/ HOUSING/ EDUCATION/ EMPLOYMENT/ TRAVELS/ HOTEL“.  Written by Richard Barnett and Joseph Garai, it answers many practical questions such as “Where can a Negro get a haircut in Iowa?” or “Is intermarriage legal in Missouri?” or “What is the housing situation in Alaska?” or “Are public schools desegregated in Nevada?….in New York?”  Book gives a state by state account of all 50 states.

Continue reading “1962 “WHERE THE STATES STAND ON CIVIL RIGHTS””

These pinback were issued to promote January 15 as the national holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Though President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000…. Continue reading “1980 Pinbacks Promoting Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday”

Former Klansman turned Louisiana politician, this is from David Duke’s run for the Presidency in 1988, This 1.75″ diameter button is in excellent condition.  It has dark wording that reads “The New Minority WASP’S FOR DAVID DUKE FOR PRESIDENT”

David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American White nationalist, writer, right-wing politician, and a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was a candidate in the Democratic presidential primaries in 1988 and the Republican presidential primaries in 1992. Duke has unsuccessfully run for the Louisiana State Senate, United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, and Governor of Louisiana.

This is the 1957 edition of J.A. Rogers famous book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro–With Complete Proof.  This had to be a very controversial book in its day.

Continue reading “1957 “100 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE NEGRO””

This book This Is What We Found by Ralph and Carl Creger, is an insider-look at race relations from a student who attended Little Rock High School.  “…A Little Rock father and son dispassionately explore the background of the issue that tore Little Rock asunder. The authors shun the traditional arguments of segregationists and integrationists….They discover that segregation is an innovation rather than a Southern tradition and that it has its unique counterparts in all sections of America….[This book] began as a history assignment for Carl Creger, a seventeen-year-old white student of Little Rock’s Central High School. Ralph Creger is his father, chief train dispatcher in Little Rock for the Rock Island Railroad. Both father and son became so interested in the topic that they collaborated to expand it to its present length. It wound up as both a study of the history of the American Negro and the reasons why a white father and son in Little Rock came to champion equal rights and opportunities for Negroes….” Continue reading “1960 “THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND””

In 1965, in remembrance of the 4 girls that were killed in the KKK bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the people of Wales funded a beautiful hand-crafted window that was installed in that same bombed church.  This is the original 1965 program from the Wales Window Unveiling Ceremony. Continue reading “1965 “WALES WINDOW” 16th St Baptist Church Bombing (Birmingham, AL)”

This is a unique book from 1970 that shows (for the author at least) an emerging white consciousness about race.  The back cover says “For Whites Only endeavors to provide a road map to guide whites on the arduous trek from old white privilege to new white possiblility.” Continue reading “1970 “FOR WHITES ONLY””

A vivid reminder of the police brutality perpetrated against innocent men, women, and children in Kelly Ingram Park in 1963.

The park, just outside the doors of the 16th Street Baptist Church, served as a central staging ground for large-scale demonstrations during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Continue reading “K9 Birmingham Police Patch”

This is the Sept 12, 1964 edition of The Saturday Evening Post.  The cover story is titled “I’m Talking To You, White Man” and is written by Malcolm X.  This article was published five months before his death and 8 months before his autobiography was published.

This note from Leflore County in Greenwood, Mississippi is dated Sept. 4, 1905 and certifies that road taxes paid by five African-Americans was paid in error. It also includes 5 receipts for the five men mentioned. The note reads “To Ed Jones, To Road tax erroneously paid for the following negroes, to wit: Columbus Jiles, Jaxon Underwood, Ben House, Young House and Dick Lawrence, as per attached receipts. $15.00 I hereby certify that three of the above negroes are over the age of 50 years and the other two are ruptured according to the statement of Dr. W.D. Wilson.” It is signed by (what appears to be) Eali Ethridge. Continue reading “1905 Taxes Erroneously Paid for Negroes”

This is a Birmingham, Alabama brochure about the New City Hall that was “Built without borrowing.”  It has two interior pages.  The cornerstone was laid in 1950.  W. Cooper Green, President and Mayor James W. Morgan and Eugene “Bull” Connor were Commissioners when it was a Commission form of government.  This brochure was printed just a couple of years before the South exploded and the name “Bull” Connor became synonymous with police brutality against black men, women, and children peacefully protesting against segregation in Kelly Ingram Park.

It has lots of detail about the building, who contributed labor, material, and effort in building it.

This very sad 11×14 litho print of Jefferson Thomas being harassed by the white community of Little Rock is a compliment to the “Little Rock Nine Collection” of the larger collection (the Little Rock 9 autographs on the cover of Life Magazine, the Orval Faubus signed letter, the Orval Faubus metal sign, the Hazel Bryan Massery autograph, and the Daisy Bates autograph). Continue reading “1957 11×14 PHOTO JEFFERSON THOMAS (LITTLE ROCK 9)”

These two classroom aides were used to teach students about African-American history.  The first says “Plate 17–Immigrants’ Contribution–Cotton Farming” and the second says “Plate 10–Forced Immigration–The Negro Has Enriched American Life“.  These aides are undated.