Christ Church Announces Slavery in Philadelphia
As 2008 Tourism Theme
Christ Church Speaks Out About Untold Colonial Past
With an Interpretive Experience
PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- The Christ Church Preservation Trust will present a unique interpretive drama telling the personal and powerful stories of slaves and slaveholders, and early patriots and citizens associated with Christ Church. The interactive experience debuts May 1 and continues through September 30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays during regular visitors’ hours at the church and burial ground. An expanded presentation will also be enacted for groups at pre-arranged times.
Following a mandate from the 2006 General Convention of the Episcopal Church to give “a full, faithful, and informed” accounting of its history, Christ Church is speaking out about slavery and its unspoken past. The founding fathers who worshipped in Christ Church, were buried in its graveyard, and debated the constitution, owned slaves.
“We commissioned an original 30-minute presentation to tell the authentic stories of Philadelphia’s early history and its silent past,” said Donald U. Smith, executive director of the Christ Church Preservation Trust. “Slavery was a harsh and very real link in America’s colonial history, and it took place here in Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love. In the 1760s, 80 percent of the Africans in Philadelphia were enslaved.
“Our drama sheds light on what it meant to be free or enslaved, black or white in this colonial city. We offer a clear voice to those early enslaved Philadelphians who were invisible.”
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The presentation is an interaction between a costumed interpreter, “Sarah,” who tells of her daily life as a slave, and a guide who adds perspective and historical overview to the experience. The presentation concludes with a Q & A and the audience is encouraged to ask questions about this harsh and contradictory past.
The mini drama tells the real stories of Black Alice, a 116 year-old slave, who collected tolls on the Dunk’s Ferry Road; of the Isabella, the first slave ship to dock in Philadelphia in 1684; the young Yale graduate, William Sturgeon, who accepted the position of “catechist to the Negroes” at Christ Church; founding fathers Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush, who fought to abolish slavery while owning slaves.
“Today it is given that slavery is wrong,” Smith said. “Our drama challenges the audiences to consider what they would have done if they lived 250 years ago. Would you have followed the accepted practice of the day?” he asked. “Would you have been among the few who stood up and spoke against it? Would you have fought for your freedom? Would you have tolerated bondage for the sake of your family and friends?”
More than 250,000 tourists and area residents visit Christ Church and its burial ground each year, making it the eighth most visited site in Philadelphia. In the past, Christ Church has told its history through themes including Revolutionary Women and the Yellow Fever Epidemic. With this year’s theme, Slavery in Philadelphia, the church will add costumed interpreters to tell its story. This year’s experience, according to Smith, “teaches us about the church’s history and encourages meaningful dialog.”
The public can see the presentation on Tuesdays and Thursdays from May 1 through September 30 at 1:30 PM at the burial ground, 5th and Arch Streets or at 2:30 PM in the church at 2nd Street above Market.
The admission fee at the burial ground is $2/Adults and $1/Students. The church presentations are free.
Groups of 10-50 can arrange private, expanded performances in the evening followed by receptions. For reservations and pricing information, contact: Anne McLaughlin, Christ Church Preservation Trust, amclaughlin@christchurchphila.org, or 215-922-1695, x32.
Media Partners: The Philadelphia Tribune and The Philadelphia Daily News.
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Christ Church, at 2nd and Market Streets, was founded in 1695. It was the first parish of the Church of England in Pennsylvania and is also the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church. The current church building was started in 1727 and completed in 1754, and has long been considered one of the finest Georgian structures in America.
Christ Church Burial Ground, at 5th and Arch Streets, is one of the most important colonial and Revolution-era graveyards in America, with 1,400 markers on two acres in the heart of historic Philadelphia. Three blocks from the church, the burial ground is the final resting place of some of our most prominent leaders including Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Christ Church Preservation Trust is a non-religious, non-profit organization established in 1965 to preserve and maintain historic Christ Church, the Church Burial Ground and Neighborhood House.