Seventh Ward Walking Tour

***The tour is open to Penn students, faculty, and staff first only*** 

Remaining tickets will be opened up to the general public. 

In 1899 W.E.B. Du Bois’s published The Philadelphia Negro, a seminal book that synthesized his research of the challenges faced by Black residents living in Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward. This walking tour will take you past a number of the places Du Bois wrote about, such as the important Black institutions Mother Bethel AME Church and the Institute for Colored Youth. It will also include discussion of the significant changes -- and gentrification -- of this part of Philadelphia. The tour consists of 1.5 miles of walking. Please wear comfortable shoes and bring water.

In preparation, we encourage participants to please watch the 19-minute documentary, "Legacy of Courage: WEB Du Bois and Philadelphia's Seventh Ward" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQX_0uyDgGw).

The tour will be led by Amy Hillier and will start and end outside Mother Bethel AME Church (419 S 6th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147). 

This tour is co-organized by:

Justice x Belonging - https://www.design.upenn.edu/jxb/about

Center for Preservation of Civil Rights Sites - https://cpcrs.upenn.edu

The Ward: Race and Class in Du Bois’ Seventh Ward - http://www.dubois-theward.org

Image Credit: 

Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt). The Philadelphia Negro. Philadelphia: Published for the University. Repository Collection Development Department. Widener Library. HCL. https://nrs.lib.harvard.edu/urn-3:fhcl:409529. Accessed 03 October 2022.