Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Summer Sojourner 2008 - Index

tours by appointment.
Established by the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan
in 1968, Progress Plaza is the first
African-American owned and operated,
inner-city shopping center in America.
REV. JEHU JONES
HISTORICAL MARKER
310 S. Quince St.
Hours: Daily until sunset.
Admission: Free.
The Rev. Jehu Jones was the first
African-American Lutheran pastor in the
United States. With the help of his congregation,
he founded the nation’s first
African American Lutheran church, St.
Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, in
1834. The congregation worshipped at
this site with Jones until 1839.
ST. PETER CLAVER’S
ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH
502 S. 12th St.
(215) 735-0799
Hours: Call about tours.
Considered the Mother Church for
African Americans in Philadelphia, it was
established in 1889 and formally dedicated
in 1892. The major goal was to create
a religious institution and school for “colored
Catholics.”
ST. THOMAS
AFRICAN EPISCOPAL
CHURCH
Lancaster and
Overbrook
avenues
(215) 473-3065
Founded in
1792 by former
slave Absalom
Jones, this
sanctuary
became the
nation’s first
Black Episcopal
Church. A historical
marker
stands at the
original site of
Making Our Mark — Listings
St. Thomas African
Episcopal Church
the church, 5th Street, south of James
Place.
TINDLEY TEMPLE UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH
762 S. Broad St.
(215) 735-0442
Founded in 1837 as the Bainbridge
Street Church, it was later renamed
in honor of its pastor, the Rev.
Charles Albert Tindley. Born a slave,
Tindley came to Philadelphia in
1870. He studied for the ministry and
helped migrants from the South.
Today, the temple continues its
humanitarian efforts by providing
free meals and clothing to the needy.
TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Washington Square, 6th to 7th on Walnut
Street
Between 2,500 and 4,000 Revolutionary
War soldiers were buried at
Washington Square, one of Philadelphia’s
original five squares. This tomb
is the only one of its kind in the United
States erected to honor unknown soldiers
- many who are believed to have
been Black since three percent of the
soldiers who fought on the Patriots’
side were of African descent. Its Eternal
Flame was installed in 1976.
TREE OF CONCERN
Lansdowne Ave. in Fairmount Park West
A real living “Tree of Concern”
grows in Fairmount Park West, along
with a marker/monument which was
erected in 1976 in honor of Margie
Brown-Boynes for her work with troubled
youths.
UNITED BANK OF PHILADELPHIA
300 N. 3rd St.
Established in 1992 by an African-
American woman, Dr. Emma C. Chappell,
United Bank is the city’s only fullservice
African-American-owned bank.
VALLEY FORGE NATIONAL
HISTORICAL PARK
Route 23 at North Gulph Road
Norristown, Pa.
(610) 783-1077
Hours: Daily, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission: Grounds, free; $1 to enter
historic building.
SOJOURNER SPRING 2008
12
As many as 800 to 1,000 African-
American troops and 1,500 women of
color participated with the 10,000 white
troops who endured the battles fought
here.
Through the efforts of the African-
American sorority Delta Sigma Theta, the
park houses a monument paying tribute
to African-American participation in the
American Revolution.
WALK OF FAME FOR
AFRICAN AMERICANS
52nd & Locust streets (outside Bushfire
Theater)
(215) 747-9230
Hours: Daily, until sunset.
Admission: Free.
A tribute to African-American actors of
stage, screen and television, the names
of such notable greats as John Amos,
Lloyd Richards, Paul Robeson and
Dorothy Dandridge grace the walk of
this community theater founded in 1976.
WASHINGTON SQUARE
6th & 7th streets and Walnut & Locust
streets
Today, jewelry stores, clothing outlets
and drug stores line the streets. But during
America’s colonial days, this area, known
then as “Congo Square,” served as an
auction block where slaves were sold and
transported. It later became a meeting
place for free Blacks.
ZOAR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
1204 Melon St.
(215) 769-3899
Founded in 1794, this church is one of
the oldest American United Methodist
congregations in the nation and the oldest
established church among the Black
methodists in the Philadelphia area. It
served as the site of the first Convention
of Colored Local Preachers and Laymen
in 1852 and as a stop on the Underground
Railroad.
Information provided by:
“Philadelphia’s Guide:
African-American State
Historical Markers”
Charles L. Blockson,
Temple University