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The Museum of the American Revolution’s groundbreaking new special exhibition, "Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia," will officially open to the public on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, during Black History Month.

Only two months remain to see the Museum of the American Revolution’s groundbreaking special exhibition Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia, which runs through Nov. 26, 2023, exclusively at the Museum.

With a newly launched virtual tour, people from across the globe can now experience a 360-degree walkthrough of the Museum of the American Revolution’s groundbreaking current special exhibition, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia.

A groundbreaking new special exhibition, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia, will bring together – for the first time in a major museum exhibition – more than 100 historical artifacts to tell the inspiring story of free Black Philadelphian James Forten and his family’s tireless pursuit of liberty and equality from the Revolutionary era through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Award-winning author and historian Dr. Kerri K. Greenidge will join the Museum of the American Revolution for Black Founders Women’s History Night on Friday, March 24, 2023, from 5:15 – 8 p.m. Greenidge will discuss her recent book "The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family"

Join the Museum of the American Revolution for a live musical experience on Friday, May 12, 2023, at 6:30 p.m., presented by The Jeremy Winston Chorale and inspired by the Museum’s special exhibition, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia. Featuring more than 20 Chorale members and led by composer and artistic director Jeremy Winston, the concert will celebrate the life of free Black Philadelphian James Forten and explore Philadelphia’s rich musical history through storytelling and song.

This Thanksgiving Weekend, Friday, Nov. 24 – Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, join us at the Museum of the American Revolution to experience the final days of our groundbreaking special exhibit, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia. Throughout the weekend, enjoy immersive exhibits and activities for the whole family. Plus, share a note of gratitude on our “Wall of Thanks” in the Museum’s rotunda and stop by the Museum Shop to find the perfect holiday gift for everyone on your list.

Celebrate Black History Month and explore the stories of unsung Revolutionaries at the Museum of the American Revolution this February. Through a groundbreaking new special exhibition, an engaging forum on race, powerful theatrical performances, and more, visitors can experience a more inclusive – and thus, more accurate – history of our nation’s founding.

A panel of five Philadelphia-based Black business leaders will join the Museum of the American Revolution on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. for “AmRev Presents: A Black Founders Legacy of Entrepreneurship,” a panel discussion on the history of Black entrepreneurship in Philadelphia. Panelists will explore the experiences of contemporary Black business owners and draw connections to those of James Forten, a successful Black sailmaker and entrepreneur whose life and legacy is chronicled in the Museum’s special exhibit Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia.

An historic Bible, connected to one of the most significant African American families in Philadelphia’s history, has been donated to the Museum of the American Revolution by Atwood “Kip” Forten Jacobs and his daughter Taylor Jacqueline Rodriguez Jacobs, direct descendants of Black Revolutionary War veteran and abolitionist James Forten. The Bible is currently on display – for the first time in public – in the Museum’s special exhibition Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia.