Black Philadelphia has been in this conversation longer and more honestly than any other community in the city. The semiquincentennial is not a celebration that belongs to one version of the American story. It belongs to the full version — and the full version runs through Mother Bethel AME, the President’s House, the Johnson House, the Lest We Forget Museum, and every institution documented in Part One of this guide.
FunTimes Recommends: Begin at the President’s House on the morning of July 4. Read the names inscribed there. Then walk to whatever celebration you choose. The sequence matters.