Tanya Ballard Brown

Game On! Rare 1865 Baseball Card Tossed On The Auction Block

Credit Library of Congress

The Library of Congress' version of the rare Brooklyn Atlantics baseball card.

Originally published on Mon February 11, 2013 10:46 am

Update at 8:06 p.m. ET. Card Sells For $80,000

The nearly 150-year-old Brooklyn Atlantics baseball card that was was discovered late last year in a photo album bought at a yard sale has sold for $80,000 — $92,000 if you count the auction house's buyer's premium.

11:07 am

Thu January 31, 2013

Dear Lawyers: Order In The &*%# Court!

Credit iStockphoto.com

By Tanya Ballard Brown

Originally published on Thu January 31, 2013 7:39 pm

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5:23 pm

Tue December 18, 2012

Our Pancakes Are Saved! Charges Filed In Canadian Maple Syrup Heist

Credit iStockphoto.com

Fresh maple syrup in two maple leaf-shaped bottles, with other bottles behind. Police officials have arrested three men who allegedly siphoned the sweet treat from 16,000 storage barrels stored in a Quebec warehouse.

By Tanya Ballard Brown

Originally published on Wed December 19, 2012 5:51 am

After months on their sticky trail, Canadian police have finally fingered the people allegedly involved in the great Canadian maple syrup caper Bill Chappell told us about in August.

12:35 pm

Mon December 10, 2012

A Black And White 1860s Fundraiser

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Credit Charles Paxson / Library of Congress

Rosa, Charley and Rebecca are three of eight freed slaves who sat for portraits in 1863-1864 that were sold to raise money to fund schools for emancipated slaves in Louisiana. The three were chosen because it was believed their near-white complexions would draw more sympathy â and support â from a country torn apart by slavery and civil war.

Credit Charles Paxson / Library of Congress

Credit Library of Congress

Fannie Virginia Casseopia Lawrence, a freed slave, was adopted by Catherine S. Lawrence. Abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher presented Fannie to his congregation at Plymouth Congregational Church in Brooklyn, N.Y.

By Tanya Ballard Brown

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 4:05 pm

They look like any other 19th century vignettes and portraits of children kneeling in prayer or cloaked in the U.S. flag.

But these cartes de visite (a calling card with a portrait mounted on it that was all the rage during the 1860s) featured Charles, Rebecca and Rosa — former slave children who looked white.

1:10 pm

Wed November 21, 2012

How Did Thanksgiving End Up On Thursday?

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Credit National Archives

Snippet of a letter F.B. Haviland sent to President Hoover in 1929 asking him to move Thanksgiving to Friday.

Credit Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum

A snippet of a 1933 letter from the Downtown Association of Los Angeles asking President Roosevelt to push back Thanksgiving by a week.

By Tanya Ballard Brown

Originally published on Wed November 21, 2012 4:30 pm

Move Thanksgiving to Friday? That's what F.B. Haviland asked President Hoover in 1929.

Didn't happen. But while we're on the subject, ever wonder why we carve our gobblers on the fourth Thursday of November? Hint: It's not because Thanksgiving Thursday is more alliterative than Thanksgiving Friday.

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Credit Kainaz Amaria / NPR

Tanya Ballard Brown is a Southern girl, an editor for NPR.org and a wild dreamer who laughs loudly and often.

As an editor for NPR.org, Tanya collaborates with editors and reporters from the national desk to create compelling Web content that complements radio reports; brainstorms and develops Web-only features; manages online producers, Kroc Fellows and interns; and, line edits stories appearing on the website. Projects she has worked on include the "Dirty Money" series, winner of a Sigma Delta Chi Award for Investigative Reporting, a Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and an Edward R. Murrow award; the "Friday Night Lives" series, winner of an Edward R. Murrow Award; and, "WASP: Women With Wings In WWII," winner of a GRACIE Award.

Tanya is former editor for investigative and long-term projects at washingtonpost.com and during her tenure there coordinated with the print and online newsrooms to develop multimedia content for investigative reports.

She also led production of the 2006 "Being a Black Man" series, which won numerous awards including the Peabody, Scripps Howard National Journalism award, Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism and a regional Emmy award. Other Web projects included "Silent Injustice" and "Walter Reed and Beyond."

A native of Charlotte, N.C., and an alumna of N.C. A&T State University, Tanya is a former congressional fellow with the American Political Science Association. She has been a reporter or editor at GovExec.com/Government Executive magazine, The Tennessean in Nashville and the (Greensboro) News & Record.

In her free time, Tanya spoils her dog Alex, sings show tunes and dreams of being a bass player. Or Sarah Vaughan. Whichever comes first. She lives in Washington, D.C.

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Tanya Ballard Brown

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3:13 pm

Wed February 6, 2013