Diversity Talk: Philadelphia and the Underground Railroad

By •Published On: October 20th, 2020•1 min read•

Talk Description

During the Civil War, Philadelphia was a crucial stop on the Underground Railroad. The city’s tolerant roots go back to the 17th-century Quaker abolitionist movement. While the Historic District was an active port where Africans were bought and sold, often separated from their loved ones, the same area was home to the nation’s largest neighborhood of free African Americans (the Seventh Ward), as well as the first African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mother Bethel).

Thousands of enslaved Africans sought freedom on the Underground Railroad, which consisted of a network of secret safe houses, churches and farms offering safety. Come learn about the fascinating stories hidden just beyond the famous sites of Philadelphia.

Speaker

Jacqueline J. Wiggins served as the Site Administrator of the Johnson House Historic Site, Inc., an Underground Railroad stop in Philadelphia, and as the education coordinator for Cliveden, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Both sites are National Historic Landmarks. Also, she has served as Program Associate for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Heritage Tourism Program; Associate Director of the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum (now called AAMP-African American Museum in Philadelphia). In 2002, Jacqueline created an enrichment program called Underground Railroad Camps for Children, Youth, and Families. The program focuses on the under-told story of the Underground Railroad and the significance of the people, places, and events that helped shape and make real the word freedom in our society. In 2008, her camp became a member of the Network to Freedom Program of the National Park Service.

Jacqueline operates a tourism business called Wiggins Tours N More, LLC, based in Philadelphia, PA.

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