Walking Tour Padlet by Jacqueline Gonzalez https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb For over more than 250 years Philadelphia has been a vital center of African Americans life, even in spite of harsh racism African Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries were able to build successful business, founded churches, created support networks, established school for children, expressed political ideologies, and have challenged the institution of slavery. Before the finding of Pennsylvania a man named Anthony was the first person to be documented as African slave in the region, arriving in 1639 as a slave to the governor of New Sweden, John Printz. Thousands more followed in the decades to come. Slaves of African descent were forced to perform domestic duties or work alongside a master. By 1783, for a combination of social, economic and legal reasons, about 70 percent of the city’s blacks were free. As the number of free African Americans grew so did the white hostility, many elite and middle-class whites showed through their words and actions that they believed their black neighbors to be inherently inferior.Free African Americans who established independent households gravitated toward the northern and southern edges of this area, where housing was smaller and cheaper. By 1820, 75 percent of African Americans households in Philadelphia lived in the city’s southern neighborhoods. The wealthier African Americans lived in the bigger houses. en-us 2022-02-17 17:17:03 UTC 2025-11-06 11:29:19 UTC hello@padlet.com Harriet Tubman jgonzalez14 https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053692649 A nine-foot statue of Harriet Tubman is seen protecting a worried with her body and one foot on the Pennsylvania border which was made by Wesley Wofford. Which is featured in front of Philadelphia City Hall’s North Apron, It was finalized through the end of March in time to celebrate the abolitionists 200th birthday, as well as Black History and Women’s History Months.  In 1849 Harriet had a strong connection to Philadelphia were she made her way to the city after escaping slavery in Maryland. During that time Tubman would use the Underground Railroad of homes and churches in Philadelphia where she was able to help free about 70 people being held as slaves in Maryland. Wofford made a statement when he revealed the statue,  ̈Philadelphia holds a specific relevance to Harriet’s story as the city she found safe harbor in after her escape from Maryland, as well as staging many of her returning raids to free others from the bondage of slavery¨.]]> 2022-02-17 17:18:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053692649 Johnson House Historic Site jgonzalez14 https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053761011 The Johnson House was built in 1768 was inhabited by the Johnson family until 1908 and was one of the largest homes in Philadelphia, this would be the house freedom fighters Harriet Tubman and William Still would meet in this Quaker home in German-town which was owned by four generations of the abolitionist Johnson Family. The house was described as having rustic hardwood floors, cabinets and the buildings stone and brick exterior and as well a third-floor attic where runaway enslaved Africans were hidden. During the 1800s this home had become vital to the Underground Railroad movement... Where Tubman was sheltered and fed there with the enslaved Africans. The Johnson family wanted to secure safe passage to freedom along the extensive network of clandestine routes and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. The consortium says  
“We, the member sites of the Historic German-town consortium, affirm that Black Lives Matter. We stand in solidarity with Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color communities, and share their grief over lives lost and their goals for social justice. We honor the presence of black and brown residents, activists, and leaders in Northwest Philadelphia. 
The consortium holds itself accountable to a high standard of inclusion and outreach and acknowledges the deep rifts in our neighborhoods caused by racism, violence, disinvestment, and white supremacy. We condemn these behaviors and structures, holding space to claim our role in making positive changes within our institutions and in the wider world.
Historic German-town sites will continue to tell diverse and fascinating stories that highlight pride of place, famous firsts, prominent families and grassroots leaders, and the ongoing struggle for freedom.  In this work, we will foster greater participation, equity and opportunity within our community, striving to make the repairs and share the resources necessary to build goodwill and promote social justice now and into the future.”


]]> 2022-02-17 17:53:26 UTC https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053761011 The Liberty Bell Center jgonzalez14 https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053783731 The Liberty Bell is part of the U.S. National Park Service and Independence National Park, the Liberty Bell is an Iconic symbol to Philadelphia and freedom around the world. Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly Isaac Norris first ordered a bell for the bell tower in 1751 from the White-chapel Foundry in London. That bell had cracked on the first test ring. Local metalworkers John Pass and John Stow melted down that bell and created a new one right in Philadelphia. This is the bell that would be rung to call lawmakers to their meetings and would bring the people from the town together to hear the reading of the news. It's not until the 1830's that the old State House bell would begin to take on significance as a symbol of liberty. No one recorded when or why the Liberty Bell first cracked, but the most likely explanation is that a narrow split developed in the early 1840's after nearly 90 years of hard use. In 1846, when the city decided to repair the bell prior to George Washington's birthday holiday (February 23), metal workers widened the thin crack to prevent its farther spread and restore the tone of the bell using a technique called "stop drilling". The wide "crack" in the Liberty Bell is actually the repair job.The Liberty Bell's inscription is from the Bible (King James version) "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof." This verse refers to the "Jubilee", or the instructions to the Israelite's to return property and free slaves every 50 years.]]> 2022-02-17 18:04:03 UTC https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053783731 Independence Hall jgonzalez14 https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053800743 Construction on the building started in 1732 and was built to be the Pennsylvania State House. The building originally housed all three branches of the Pennsylvania colonial government. The Pennsylvania legislature loaned their Assembly Room out for the meetings of the Second Continental Congress and later, the Constitutional Convention. Here, George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, and Benjamin Franklin gazed upon the "Rising Sun" chair in 1787.During the summer of 1776, 56 delegates were gathered at the Pennsylvania State House and they pledges their¨lives, their fortune and their sacred honor¨ in order to pursuit of independence. Independence Hall is the birthplace of America. The Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were both debated and signed inside this building. The legacy of the nation's founding documents - universal principles of freedom and democracy - has influenced lawmakers around the world and distinguished Independence Hall as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ]]> 2022-02-17 18:13:03 UTC https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053800743 Octavius Valentine Catto Memorial jgonzalez14 https://padlet.com/jgonzalez14/216msfti1rsne9mb/wish/2053817566 Teacher, ball player, civil rights activist, but Catto was assassinated for his efforts in 1871. His statue is the first on Philadelphia public property to recognize a specific African American. He dedicated his life to breaking down barriers of social injustice. One of the most influential African American leaders in Philadelphia during the 19th century, he contributed to forever amending the United States Constitution with his work toward the ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. Re-framing what it meant to be an American, these Amendments have been referred to by historians as America’s “Second Founding.” In a city of more than 1,500 public statues, this monument to a 19th-century civil rights crusader is Center City's first statue of a specific African American. Catto, South Carolinian by birth and Philadelphian by choice, led efforts to desegregate the city’s streetcars, fought for equal voting right. On October 10, 1871, the first election day after the 15th Amendment guaranteed African American men the right to vote in Pennsylvania, he was shot and killed on South Street. Sculptor Branly Cadet created the 12-foot-tall bronze memorial, which features Catto in a powerful stance, walking toward a granite representation of a mid-19th-century ballot box.


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