Explore what freedom means to you this summer with our Black Founders exhibit, walking tours, and so much more. Plan Your Visit

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A historical marker at the location of James Forten and his family's home on Lombard Street between 3rd and 4th Streets.

Join fellow Museum Members on the first Sunday of every month for special Members-only tours of our galleries, special exhibitions, and historic neighborhood.

On Sunday, Sept. 3, at 9:30 a.m., Museum Members are invited to explore Old City Philadelphia’s rich Black history through a 1.5-hour guided walking tour of the neighborhood, including stops at iconic sites like Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the mother church of the nation’s first Black denomination, and Washington Square Park, which served as a burial ground for many free and enslaved people of African descent in the 18th century. The tour also will stop at sites where free Black Philadelphian, philanthropist, and abolitionist James Forten and his family built their legacy as explored in the Museum’s Black Founders special exhibition, including the location of the Forten's family household near Fourth and Lombard St.

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Image 090420 Museum Galleries Photo Credit Jeff Fusco 2
Jeff Fusco 

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A Museum educator, in Revolutionary military costume, shows three adolescents how to use a cannon on the Privateer Ship in the galleries.
 

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A father holds his child as they look at the Forten family tree in the Museum's Black Founders exhibit.
 

Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia

Now Open Daily, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
In our newest special exhibition Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia, explore the story of James Forten and his descendants as they navigated the American Revolution and cross-racial relationships in Philadelphia to later become leaders in the abolition movement in the lead-up to the Civil War.
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