Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Summer Sojourner 2008 - Index

lege in the nation. It began as the Institute
for Colored Youth training African-
American teachers. In 1842, what is
now Cheyney University, received its
charter, but it wasn’t until 1920 that the
university entered the Pennsylvania
State System of Higher Education
based on an agreement that its graduates
would be allowed to teach at white
institutions.
CHRISTIAN STREET YMCA
1724 Christian St.
(215) 735-5800
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 7:15 a.m. to 8 p.m.;
Sat., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission: Memberships available. Call
for fee schedule.
It is noted as the first African-American
YMCA in the nation to be housed in a
building of its very own. Constructed in
1914, it continues to stand as an integral
part of African-American life in Philadelphia
providing recreational and educational
activities.
CHURCH OF THE ADVOCATE
18th & Diamond streets
(215) 236-0568
Hours: Group tours by appointment.
Admission: Free; donations appreciated.
Known as the Freedom Church, it was
the site of several important civil and
human rights meetings during the 1960s
including the Second Black Power Convention
and the final Black Panther Party
Congress. The first Black female bishop
was ordained here.
ENGINE 11 ORIGINAL FIREHOUSE
AND MEMORIAL PLAQUE
1016 South St
From 1919 to the early 1950s, Engine
11 served as the only African-American
manned firehouse in Philadelphia. It
was desegregrated in 1952.
FATHER DIVINE SHRINE
Woodmont Estate
1622 Spring Mill Road
Gladwyne, Pa.
(610) 525-5598
Hours: Sun., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tours,
April-October.
Admission: Free.
Making Our Mark — Listings
This monument is dedicated to Father
Divine, an organizer and founder of the
Peace Mission Movement, one of the
largest religious organizations. Father
Divine, who preached love and hope, had
a unique and culturally diverse following.
His life is said to have begun after Reconstruction
and ended the year the Voting
Rights Act was implemented.
FIRST AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH
16th & Christian streets
(215) 735-1050
One of the nation’s oldest African-
American Baptist churches. The church
was originally located at 10th and Vine
streets, then 10th & Cherry streets, until
its cornerstone was laid in 1906. Members
organized the Mutual Aid Insurance
Society, the first insurance company to
serve Black Philadelphians.
FIRST AFRICAN
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
4159 W. Girard Avenue
(215) 477-3100
Hours: Tours by appointment every
Thursday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
First African Presbytarian Church was
founded in 1807 by the Rev. John Gloucester,
a former slave, who was instrumental in
establishing Prebyterianism among
African-Americans in this nation. The first
edifice was dedicated in 1811 at 7th and
Bainbridge streets. The church has been at
its present location since 1957.
FREEDOM THEATRE
1346 N. Broad St.
(215) 765-2793
Hours for marker: Daily until sunset.
Admission for marker: Free.
Founded in 1966, the theatre is distinguished
as the oldest Black theatrical
institution in Pennsylvania. Thousands of
aspiring actors have been trained here,
and the theatre has presented over 275
plays including the African-American
classic “A Raisin in the Sun.” This historically
certified building was once located
in Heritage House, founded in 1949 by
Dr. Eugene Waymon Jones.
GETTYSBURG NATIONAL
SOJOURNER SUMMER 2008
9
MILITARY PARK
P.O. Box 1080
Gettysburg, Pa.
(717) 334-1124
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: Self-guided tours are free.
There is a nominal fee for all others. Call
for prices.
The Battle of Gettysburg has no military
distinction for African Americans,
for there was no recruitment of Black
soldiers before July 1863. However,
African Americans are linked to the
bloody battle in one particular way. General
Pickett’s charge, which sent 12,000
Confederate troops across open terrain,
was fought in part on land owned by
Abraham Brien, a free Black farmer.
Today, Brien’s restored farmhouse
serves as a tourist attraction for history
buffs.
GIRARD COLLEGE
Corinthian & Girard avenues
(215) 787-2602
Scene of one of the longest legal
cases in Philadelphia’s history, a lawsuit
to have the will of founder Stephen
Girard overturned
was originally
filed in the 1930s.
Girard’s will stipulated
that the
institution be for
“poor white
boys.” Citing
racial discrimination,
attorney
Raymond Pace
Alexander argued Girard College
the case. It was
finally won in the 1960s after civil rights
activist and attorney Cecil B. Moore
took the case to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
HEAD HOUSE SQUARE
2nd & Lombard streets
Now a bustling section of the city that
features galleries, shops, and restaurants,
it once stood as an 18th century
marketplace for African-American merchants
and craftsmen.