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The Forten House
A house bought and used by sailmaker and activist James Forten, who employed both white and black workers to work under him. During his years he raised money to help buy slaves their freedom. Forten was also very active when it came to African American rights, as he belonged to one of the earliest groups of abolitionist. -
Free African Society led by Allen and Absalom
Mother Bethel is an outgrowth of the Free African Society established by Allen and Absalom Jones in April, 1787. Soon thereafter, Allen and Jones led a group of worshipers out of St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church to protest it policy of segregation. Two African-American churches developed as a result of this exodus. Absalom Jones founded the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in 1794. -
The Benjamin Banenker Institute
The Banneker Literary Institute, named after black mathematician Benjamin Banneker, was one of several literary and debating societies in nineteenth-century Philadelphia. Organized in 1854 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by a group of prominent men, the Banneker Institute promoted literary and other intellectual endeavors. Members were expected to deliver lectures and participate in debates on a variety of subjects, including politics, literature, philosophy, and astronomy. -
Mother Bethel Church
Mother Bethel is the first African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in America, founded in 1791. Richard Allen (1760-1831), a former slave, was the founder, and later became the first bishop (1816) of the first African-American denomination in the United States. -
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Philadelphia History - 7th Ward
North-South from Spruce to South Street and East-West from Seventh Street to the Schuylkill River -
American Antislavery Society built in Forten House
In 1833, James Forten and together with many other leaders of Afrcian American rights got together in his house to create the first ever American Anti-slavery society. -
Institute for Colored Youth
Begun as a farm school. In 1852, it became one of the first schools to train Blacks for skilled jobs. It gained recognition here under Fanny J. Coppin, principal. 1869-1902. Relocated, it later became Cheyney University. -
Church Of Crucifixion
In 1846, the Church of the Crucifixion was founded in the poorest and most violent section of what was to become South Philadelphia. Among Episcopal churches, Crucifixion is the second-oldest African-American congregation in Pennsylvania, sixth oldest in the country, and first Black parish formally admitted into union with Convention in 1847. -
The William Still House
While living here, he[William Still] was an Underground Railroad agent who helped slaves escape and kept records so relatives could find them later. A wealthy coal merchant, Still also helped found the first Black YMCA. -
Still and Tubman working to free slaves together
He worked with the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery’s Vigilance Committee, he raised funds to assist runaways and arrange their passage to the North. He was instrumental in financing several of Harriet Tubman’s trips to liberate slaves. It is not only important for the meticulous records he kept but also for showing that Blacks had intellectual ability and that they were active participants in their struggles for freedom. -
William Still Underground Railroad Conductor
More than 30,000 people were said to have escaped there via the network during its 20-year peak period, although U.S. Census figures account for only 6,000.Numerous fugitives' stories are documented in the 1872 book The Underground Railroad Records by William Still, an abolitionist who then headed the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee. -
St. Peter Claver Church
St. Peter Claver, dedicated in 1892 in the former Fourth Presbyterian Church on 12th and Lombard Streets, was the first and only Catholic church where Black Catholics could feel comfortable and at home. It had been purchased by members of Old St. Joseph’s, Old St. Mary’s and Holy Trinity churches who formed the St. Peter Claver Union, they were able to purchase the property that first included a school for African Americans. -
Starr Garden
This used to be a placed where Thomas O. Haddock and YMCA leader George H. Stuart resided, now it is a public playground where kids can come to play. -
WEB Dubois House
The house is a college settlement sanction where WEB Dubois lived in during his 2 last years of college. -
Niagra Movement led By Dubois
The Niagara Movement, was a civil rights group of African-American activists who wanted equal rights for blacks. It was led by W. E. B. Du Bois. The movement opposed the Atlanta Compromise by Booker T. Washington.
