She Tricked A Wealthy White Man – And Hid The Truth For Decades
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2022
⏱️ 4 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"She leaned over the crackling fire and watched each piece of paper from her lifetime of secrets burn slowly. White supremacy had forced her hand – but no one, especially not her boss, could ever find out what she had done."
Today on 2-Minute Black History, we learn the story of Belle de Costa Greene
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey fam, it's Jay from Push Black. |
| 0:04.2 | As you know, we're passionate about building black power. |
| 0:08.3 | And one of the ways we can build power is through massive, unprecedented voter turnout. |
| 0:15.5 | Every person in our community matters. |
| 0:17.9 | That means you, you, matter, and your vote matters. |
| 0:22.5 | So let's make a difference together. |
| 0:25.4 | Registration deadlines are coming quickly, but there is still time. |
| 0:29.3 | Go to pushblackboats.com, the register or the check your registration. |
| 0:33.3 | Peace. |
| 0:36.3 | She leaned over the crackling fire and watched each piece of paper from her lifetime of secrets, |
| 0:51.0 | burned slowly. |
| 0:53.1 | White supremacy had forced her hand, but no one, especially not her boss, could ever |
| 0:59.0 | find out what she had done. |
| 1:04.6 | I'm Sydney from Push Black, and you're tuned in to two-minute black history. |
| 1:09.6 | What you didn't learn in school. |
| 1:16.7 | JP Morgan was a wealthy financier with an impressive personal library full of rare books |
| 1:23.6 | and art. |
| 1:26.0 | Even top museums couldn't compare, but the woman managing the bookshelves hit a secret |
| 1:32.2 | that could never get out. |
| 1:35.8 | Bell DeCosta Green, the face of the library, was a powerful careerist who was well-respected |
| 1:42.4 | and embraced by wealthy whites. |
| 1:45.8 | She curated New York City's famous Morgan library for decades, but nobody knew. |
... |
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