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Remarkable Images That Bring Lesser-Seen Moments Of American History To Life
Many of us tend to think of history as a collection of dates to memorize in chronological order, written accounts to pore over, and legislation to learn word for word. But the past survives in more than textbooks and official records. It also lives on in photographs, objects, ephemera, and other material traces of the people, places, and moments that can be difficult to picture through words alone.
This list brings together some of those surviving traces. From major events to quieter moments of everyday life, the collection spans the iconic, the unexpected, and even the seemingly ordinary, offering glimpses into American history and life across different times and places. Let us know which ones you found most intriguing.
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#2
A Member Of The Harlem Hellfighters (369th Infantry Regiment) Poses For The Camera While Holding A Puppy He Saved During WWI, 1918
#9
Tulsa Race M******e
In 1921, a white mob destroyed the affluent Greenwood District, using private planes to drop incendiary devices on businesses and homes. And everything was left out of history lessons until fairly recently, for some reason.
#10
Rip To Sonny Rollins, The Last Surviving Musician From Art Kane's Legendary 1958 Photograph "A Great Day In Harlem."
#16
Artist Keith Haring Attending An Act Up Protest At City Hall In March 1989. He Would Die The Following February From Aids-Related Complications
#17
This Is Believed To Be The Oldest Photograph Taken Of NYC. It Was Taken At Broadway Between Franklin And Leonard Streets, May 1850
#18
1969. Mom Contains Her Baby In A Central Park's Trash Bin While She Catches Up On Her Crocheting
#19
Greensboro M******e
In 1979, members of the K*K and the American N*zi Party opened fire on a Communist Workers' Party anti-Klan protest in North Carolina, k**ling five people while local police noticeably delayed their response.
#20
1956. Hell’s Kitchen. A Little NYC Boy Named Willie Makes His Way In The Street
He Visits A Woman In Her Apartment Window And Stops Outside A Butcher Shop Playing/Swinging From Its Awning Bar And Lastly Willie Walking Over 12 Stacked Garbage Cans As His Friend Watches. Ken Heyman, Photog.
#29
Zoot Suit Riots
Servicemen and white civilians rioted in Los Angeles, violently targeting Mexican American youths wearing distinctive zoot suits while local police largely watched or arrested the victims in 1943.
#30
Staten Island Chef Puffs A Cigar While Holding A Beer In March 2003, A Night Before The NYC Smoking Ban Went Into Effect
#33
Twa Terminal At Idlewild Airport Before The Name Was Changed To John F. Kennedy Airport C.1962
#36
Radio Row On The Lower West Side Of Manhattan, As Shot By Berenice Abbott In May Of 1936. This Entire Block Was Later Cleared For The Construction Of The World Trade Center
#45
Men Eating Fresh Clams From A Pushcart Peddler In The Italian Neighborhood Of Mulberry Bend In New York City. C.1900. Loc
#47
A Very Small Gallery Of Shots Taken By Photographer Max T. Vargas In Bolivia And Peru, Taken Early To Mid 1900s
#51
3/6/1970...i Was Home From College, When We Heard A Sonic Boom
An Hour Later, I Went Out For Some Groceries. When I Crossed 11th Street At 5th Ave, I Saw A Huge Crowd Gathered Behind A Barricade. I Asked Some Short Guy What Happened. His Reply "They Blew Up My House!".` It Was Dustin Hoffman
#61
Ursuline Convent Riots
A violent anti-Catholic mob burned down a Catholic convent and school in Charlestown, Massachusetts, driven by conspiracy theories and religious bigotry in 1834.
#68
Operación Espalda Mojada
In 1954, the US government mass-deported over a million people of Mexican descent, sometimes abandoning them in the Mexican desert with no food or water.
#70
Manhattan NYC 1994. Can Anybody Identify The Location?
I Was Going Through Some Old Photos Of My First Trip To New York City And Came Across This One. I Always Loved The Image And Now It Seems Very Of It's Time. I'd Love To Hear If Anyone Recognizes The Place And Can Tell Me The Location. Thanks!
#76
January 8 1996 Great Snowfall Event. NYC Hit With A Blizzard Dumping 30 Inches In Some Areas
#80
NYC Draft Riots
During the Civil War, white mobs burned the Colored Orphan Asylum in Manhattan to the ground while children were still inside.
#86
Passed This Excavation Activity At Wall Street And Water This Afternoon. This Would Have Been Some Of New York's Earliest Landfill. 400 Years Old?
#87
The Pan-American Union Building In Washington D.c. Serves As The Headquarters Of The Organization Of American States
#90
Anti-Drug Abuse Act
In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Ab*se Act, establishing a harsh 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between cr*ck c*caine (predominantly used by Black Americans) and powder c*caine (predominantly used by white Americans), fueling mass incarcerations.
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