He called it a "rape of history." Birmingham News art critic James Nelson made this charge as part of his plea to the citizens of Birmingham to save the historic Fox building. The Fox once housed one of the city’s many theatres; however, that was not the reason Nelson wanted to save it. The building was an architectural marvel and a structure he believed was Birmingham’s equivalent...
A photograph of Lincoln Elemetary and High School, as it still stands in McClennanville, South Carolina, an unoccupied building with boarded windows, is the starting point for this episode in American history. The photograph was taken by Rebekah Dobrasko, in 2008, as part of a master's thesis on equalization schools in South Carolina.
Across the state of South Carolina from 1951-1960, a wave...
Everyday, Charles Thomas Anderson would embark from the Winter Park Post Office. He would head north on New York Avenue from the Winter Park Post Office, turn right onto West Canton Avenue, left onto North Interlachen Avenue, right on North Park Avenue, another right on East Stovin Avenue until he finally took his last right turn onto Palmer Avenue. Once he reached Palmer he would continue his travels...
Winter Park is a suburban city located on the outskirts of Orlando in Orange County, Florida. It has a current population of 27,852 residents and is home to Rollins, College, Full Sail University, and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Its areas range from open parks to residential areas to even street side shopping all along Park Avenue. It is in this eclectic town that just approximately...
The large amount of social change that occurred within the mid-20th century arose from the push toward equality between the groups of people urging the nation for integration. These groups pushed for the basic rights for people of any gender, race, or sexual-orientation. This desire to change the nation led to many government and social acts to protect and provide these oppressed...
In 1955, a publication on the “social rating of community areas in Metropolitan Detroit” was prepared in response to an apparent number of requests for such information from member agencies of the United Community Services. The information was intended to summarize and explain the standing/social position of all communities in Metro Detroit based on their economic relation to each other and...
As president of the United States, John F. Kennedy exuded airs of confidence, courage and strength to the American public. At his inauguration ceremony on a frigid January day, Kennedy appeared resilient as he stood in front of the large crowd without a jacket, hat or gloves. His capability was rarely questioned throughout his years in office, but behind the healthy image he portrayed was a lifelong...
The lyrics “The way I make love to ‘em, they can’t resist. I’m a man, spell M-A-N,”-sung with bravado and sexual intrigue not only broke the monotonous, soothing tones of the likes of Bing Crosby and Jonny Mathis, paving the way for a new exciting sound later dubbed “Rock and Roll,” but also being sung by a black man, became even more potent with respect to black acknowledgement in...
On February 23, 1956, more than two thousand African Americans filled the church from basement to balcony and overflowed into the street for a meeting to urge their followers to boycott the city’s buses. This meeting was the result of resistance efforts that began when Rose Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white man on Thursday, December 1, 1955. Months later...
Businesses line the streets in Black Bottom, a predominately black neighborhood. Hastings Street is alive with the rustle and bustle of suppling many needs for residents—ministry, food produce, restaurants, retail stores, music, and a “Right Hand Cleaners.” Cars galore use this main street in Detroit as a thoroughfare to get through this community to head to Downtown Detroit, but many community...