Greater Philadelphia Roundtable:  How have African American lawyers transformed Philadelphia, inside and outside the courtroom?  How has their work contributed to local, national, and international movements for empowerment and civil rights?  This program takes its title from civil rights attorney Charles Hamilton Houston’s statement that ”A lawyer is either a social engineer or a parasite on society.”  A capacity audience at the African American Museum in Philadelphia joined in a discussion of these and other issues with David A. Canton, author of the new biography Raymond Pace Alexander: A New Negro Lawyer Fights for Civil Rights in Philadelphia, and defense attorney Michael Coard, a founding member of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC). The speakers and discussion will help to shape the future content of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Facilitator: Alexis Moore, Associate Director of External Affairs and Media Relations for the American Friends Service Committee and daughter of the late Cecil B. Moore, defense attorney and NAACP head during the 1960s.  This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American History. Cosponsored by Avenging The Ancestors Coalition.

To add your thoughts, follow the link to “Panel and Audience Discussion.”

Location: African American Museum of Philadelphia, 701 Arch St., Philadelphia

The City of Brotherly Love

William Penn envisioned Philadelphia as a “City of Brotherly Love.” How have such ideals of tolerance, together with intolerance, shaped the city and region?  How do we build and sustain community?  This panel discussion was moderated by Jean Soderlund of Lehigh University with panelists including Chris Satullo of WHYY; Stephen Glassman of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; and Kali Gross of Drexel University.   Chris Satullo’s essay on the City of Brotherly Love appeared in the Currents section of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, March 20, and on Newsworks.org.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners.  This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia, the Friends of Independence, WHYY, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Program co-sponsors: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, WHYY, and Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University.

Location: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia

The Holy Experiment

A Quaker, William Penn intended Pennsylvania as a “Holy Experiment” dedicated to tolerance for all religious practices.  In this discussion, we focus on religion and faith communities, from the colonial era to the present.  The panel was moderated by Randall Miller of St. Joseph’s University with panelists including Emma Lapsansky-Werner of Haverford College; Maris Gillette of Haverford College (and the Muslim Voices project); Rabbi George Stern of the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement; and Tuomi Forrest of Partners for Sacred Places.   Emma Lapsansky Werner’s essay on The Holy Experiment was published in the Currents section of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, April 10, followed also by posting on this Web site and on Newsworks.org .

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners.  This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors:  Young Involved Philadelphia, the Friends of Independence, WHYY, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Program co-sponsors: American Friends Service Committee, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Partners for Sacred Places.

Location: Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia

The Green Country Town

William Penn envisioned Philadelphia as a “green country town” with large, spacious lots stretching from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill. From this foundation, how did the city evolve and how have public spaces shaped our history? This panel was moderated by Drew Becher of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society with panelists including Inga Saffron of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Eugenie Birch of the University of Pennsylvania, and Pete Hoskins of Laurel Hill Cemetery.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners.  This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors:  Young Involved Philadelphia, WHYY, the Friends of Independence, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Program co-sponsors: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, and the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Location: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia

Cradle of Liberty

Philadelphia gained fame for its role in the American Revolution. How have Philadelphians continued to pursue freedom and social justice, and what legacy does this create for the future?  This panel was moderated by Richard Beeman of the University of Pennsylvania with panelists including Gary Nash of UCLA; Michael Coard of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition; and Richard Newman of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, with the cooperation of many civic partners.  This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia, WHYY, the Friends of Independence, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Program co-sponsors: the National Constitution Center, the Friends of Independence, and Avenging the Ancestors Coalition.

Location: National Constitution Center

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable: “Athens of America” and “Athens of the Western World” emerged in the early 1800s as references to Philadelphia’s dominance in arts and culture. This discussion focused on Philadelphia as a cultural center, especially in the visual arts. This panel was moderated by Kim Sajet of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania with panelists Alexandra Kirtley of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Carmen Febo San Miguel of Taller Puertorriqueno, and David Brownlee of the University of Pennsylvania. Program co-sponsors included the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Taller Puertorriqueno.

Read the summary of this discussion.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners. This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia, the Friends of Independence, WHYY, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable: Industry helped Philadelphia to gain a national and international reputation. What were the lasting consequences of the rise and later decline of industry for workers, communities, and the local economy? Where is Philadelphia’s economic strength today? This panel was moderated by Philip Scranton of Rutgers-Camden with panelists alter Licht of the University of Pennsylvania, author and historian Daniel Sidorick, and Carla Bednar of the Fabric of Philadelphia Initiative. Program co-sponsors included the Historical Society of Tacony, the Tacony Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Fabric of Philadelphia Initiative.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners. This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia, the Friends of Independence, WHYY, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Location: Tacony Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia, 6742 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable: In The Shame of the Cities (1904), journalist Lincoln Steffens famously dubbed Philadelphia “corrupt and contented.” How and why did Philadelphia gain this reputation, and how have scandals come to light? This program featured a discussion among panelists oward Gillette of Rutgers-Camden, David Thornburgh of the Fels Institute of Government, and Monica Yant Kinney of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Network hosted the program at its headquarters at 400 N. Broad Street with co-sponsors including the Fels Institute of Government.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners. This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia, the Friends of Independence, WHYY, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Location: Philadelphia Media Network Headquarters, Community Room, 400 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia