When was the last time you used a cassette player? I felt rusty using this one lol! Can't wait to share what I've been working on soon.
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Save the date! I’m going to share some Black Gems with the Jukebox Project on May 4 at the Foundry in Cambridge. I hope to meet some of you there!
RSVP through this link: www.eventbrite.com/e/jukebox-amplifier-series-jazz…
Learn more about the Jukebox Project here: www.foundryjukebox.org/about
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Yesterday I had an opportunity to chat about Black Gems on @GBHNews with Edgar B. Herwick III. Check out the clip! watch video on watch page
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Happy International Women's Day!
Don’t mind me as I continue to center Blackness today and everyday.
This mural in Worcester by Artist Sydney G. James embodies the spirit of the day for me. Her artwork explores the marginalization of Black women and repositions Black women's visibility.
Seeing a Black woman take up space like this is empowering!
Go see if for yourself– YWCA Worcester- 1 Salem St.
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These are a few highlights on the Cape Verdean connection to the whaling industry from my visit to the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Cape Verdeans joined whaling ship expeditions in the 1800s & 1900s for work opportunities since things were bleak on the islands. They accepted work pulling oars, moving large chunks of blubber on the ships, and other “entry level” tasks. Once they proved themselves, they moved up the ranks on the ships, and many set roots in New Bedford– the whaling capital of the 19th century. The New Bedford Whaling Museum paints a very vivid picture of life in the whaling trade. Photo details in order of appearance:
💎Bark Wanderer’s boat. Boat steerer (Philip Gomes) ready to dart. 1922. 📸 William H. Tripp
💎Bailing the Case, 1904. 📸 Clifford W. Ashley
💎Opening the Case, 1904. 📸 Clifford W. Ashley
💎Joe Ramos, 85 of New Bedford describing joining the bark Wanderer, April 28 1921.
The quote from Joe Ramos had me shook– can you imagine getting on a ship without even knowing what you were getting into?! These Cape Verdeans were a brave bunch.
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These are a few highlights from my visit to the Major Taylor Museum in Worcester 🚴🏾♂️.
💎 Major Taylor won the cycling world championship in 1899 for the one mile sprint, and throughout his career set seven world records🥇. The 1899 win made him the first African American world champion in sports history!
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💎 He first gained national recognition after competing in the six day race in NYC in 1896. This was an endurance race where cyclists tried to bike the most mileage riding with as few stops as possible over six days 🤯🤯. Taylor rode over 1700 miles, coming in 8th place. People learned his name during the “pre-show” to this event when he won the half mile race, beating out the crowd favorite.
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💎 Taylor had to push through many forms of discrimination in order to race– photo three is just a glimpse. He clearly had physical and mental endurance on and off the bike to be a star athlete during this time period.
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Major Taylor lived in Worcester for 35 years, so it's fitting to have this museum in Worcester dedicated to his legacy!
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These are a couple of Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller’s sculptures displayed at the Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University. Which do you like the best?
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Quick story time from my visit to the Boston Museum of African American History! Have you heard of Nancy Gardner Prince–this woman lived an interesting life in the 1800s. One of y’all mentioned her in the comments of my Prince Hall video, so I was excited to see her book in the museum. I went down the internet rabbit hole to share a bit of her story with you:
Nancy was born free in Newburyport 1799, and moved to Boston to find work.
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She married Nero Prince, the Second Grandmaster of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge.
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The two moved to Russia so Nero could work as a servant to the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg– they were treated very well.
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Nancy ran two successful businesses in Russia–selling clothes and managing a boarding house.
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She almost drowned in the St. Petersburg Flood of 1824 😲
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Nancy moved back to Boston where she got involved with the anti-slavery societies— she even chased away a slave catcher on one occasion.
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She traveled to Jamaica to help the newly emancipated society.
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She published this book on her life & travels in 1853 and gave lectures about her experiences too.
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If I peaked your curiosity, I recommend reading her narrative on Project Gutenberg and/or this article by the National Park Service:
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/63579/pg63579-images.…
www.nps.gov/people/nancy-prince.htm
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Wow! It's exciting to see my channel grow to over 4k people this year 🤩. What Black history in Massachusetts would you like me to highlight in 2023? Drop some suggestions in the comments! ⬇️
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I'm curious, do y'all like visiting cemeteries? I love going to cemeteries to see the final resting place of folks who made history.
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Curious about Black history in Massachusetts? You've come to the right place! I'm Jazz, your local hobby historian. I share stories about Black folks and African descended people around the state. Check out the video descriptions for sources behind each story. I leave the comment selection on for each video so folks can crowdsource information and ask questions too.