On three consecutive days in September 1980, a wave of panic gripped Buffalo’s Black community as three Black men were fatally shot with a . 22 caliber weapon. The gunman, Joseph Gerard Christopher, would become known as the . 22 Caliber Killer, believed to be responsible for at least 12 murders and numerous injuries across … Read more
The photograph arrived at the Atlanta History Center in September 2019, tucked inside a water-stained cardboard box with dozens of other items from the estate of Dorothy Williams, who had died at 97. The box sat unopened for three weeks until Marcus Thompson, a graduate intern, began cataloging its contents. He pulled out the photograph … Read more
In the 1960s, tensions between New York’s Genovese and Gambino crime families boiled over into insults that hinted at deeply personal practices. Members of the Genovese organization reportedly branded their rivals sexual degenerates, an accusation widely believed to refer to the Gambinos’ habit of marrying their first cousins. . That specific slur has often been … Read more
A photograph arrived at the Chicago History Museum in March 2024 as part of a large donation from the estate of a former journalist who had spent decades collecting images of Black Chicago. Dr. Marcus Thompson, a curator specializing in African-American history and the Great Migration, sorted through hundreds of images: church gatherings, street scenes, … Read more
Andy Griffith built his career on a warm, folksy image that made him one of television’s most trusted stars. As Sheriff Andy Taylor in Mayberry, he represented calm, common sense, and small-town decency. But the life he lived off camera was far more complicated, marked by marital turmoil, anger struggles, an affair with his on-screen … Read more
At first glance, it was a portrait of love. A mother stands on the porch of a simple wooden house, three children gathered around her, her arms wrapped protectively over them. Her face is striking, her black hair pinned back in a 1920s style, her smile so bright it seems to light the whole scene. … Read more
The archive room of the Baltimore Historical Society was unusually quiet on a Tuesday morning in March. Dr. Rebecca Thompson sat at her desk, surrounded by boxes of photographs donated by the estate of a prominent Baltimore family. The Montgomery collection had been in storage for decades, forgotten until the family's last heir passed away … Read more
Decades after Dak Rambo’s death, a friend’s tell-all memoir added one final, shocking chapter to the story of the actor who once seemed to have it all. The claim placed the rugged TV heartthrob in a secret world of hired companions for closeted celebrities, long after the public believed they had learned the full truth … Read more
At the height of his fame, Dr. Mehmet Oz was not merely a television personality; he was a trusted member of millions of American families. Before the political battles, the endless controversies, and the quiet heartbreak of his later years, he was a charismatic cardiothoracic surgeon who turned a recurring spot on Oprah Winfrey’s show … Read more
A photograph arrived at the Chicago History Museum in March 2024 as part of a large donation from the estate of a former journalist who had spent decades collecting images of Black Chicago. Dr. Marcus Thompson, a curator specializing in African-American history and the Great Migration, sorted through hundreds of images: church gatherings, street scenes, … Read more