Mission
Ensure this history is never forgotten again.
There was a great Black city within a city in Philadelphia well before the Civil War. But that history has gotten diffused in various books and journal articles, its artifacts distributed across the country in various archives, its histories subsumed by luminaries and events from a later time.
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Our mission is to ensure that this history is never forgotten again. We accomplish this through three main objectives:
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Restore this history into the collective awareness
We do this through building curriculum, teacher support, artistic activations, digital spaces, exhibits and mapping and social media.
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Rewrite this history from a Black transnational center
We do this through research and writing, public talks, and partnering with academics and museums.
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Reclaim our connection to spaces built by the Black citizens of Philadelphia
We do this through public education via walking tours, partnerships with community groups, installation of visible signs and way makers, and working towards public historic recognition for historic sites.
About Us
Responding to the Voices of our Ancestors
The African American Museum in Philadelphia is where it all began. Morgan is a programming coordinator and Michiko is a docent. During her research, Michiko stumbled into the 1838 PAS census and fell in love with the Black Metropolis. Morgan, as a true daughter of Philadelphia, with deep Indigenous and African roots here, also felt a deep calling to this work. Somala brings in a wealth of planning and organizational magic, and helps keep us on mission.
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We Would Not Be Here Without...
Ivan Henderson encouraged us to start presenting and helped us do that at Carpenter's Hall. Justina Barrett at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania gave us a podium and joyously amplified our first walking tour. The Black Docent's Collective provided backing and helped us magnify our voice. And Dr. Ashley Jordan has given us wings. We honor, love, appreciate, repeat and launch from the work of Henry Minton, Leon Gardiner, W.E.B Du Bois, Charles L. Blockson, Gary Nash, Julie Winch and Emma Lapansky-Werner.
The Team
Meet Our Co-Founders
