1838 Black Metropolis tour explores Philadelphia's fascinating colonial past

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- When we think of Black history in Philadelphia, you might think of the 7th Ward in Society Hill in the early 1900s or Graduate Hospital, packed with people coming north in the 30s and 40s in the Great Migration.

But a new tour goes further back to the colonial times of the early 1800s, when the largely free Black society, one of the earliest, most vibrant communities of almost 20,000 people, sprang up along the cobblestones and brick homes in the city's Northern Liberties neighborhood.

Two friends who share a love of history, Morgan Lloyd and Michiko Quinones created the 1838 Black Metropolis, named for their discoveries about Black life in the Philadelphia 1838 census.

"We came to the conclusion this shouldn't just sit in an archive. This shouldn't just sit in academia. We should make it as accessible as possible," says Lloyd.

A worn step here and old bricks there tell the hidden story of a predominantly Black and free "city within a city" of what they call "extraordinary ordinary" people - dignified folks who fought for equal rights while raising businesses, churches and schools.

It was also full of Underground Railroad stops, like the undertaker who hid the enslaved in her coffins. Among those inspired: a teenage, newly escaped Harriet Tubman.

The tour focuses on the families, businesses, churches and civic organizations that took hold and the way these citizens fought for their rights and aided others in need and in search of freedom.

The roots put down in the early 1800s continued to flower in so many significant ways, including the creation and first teachers in HBCUs and the Harlem Renaissance.

The 1838 Black Metropolis walking tour "Extraordinary Ordinary: Black People in Northern Liberties before 1860" is taking place Sunday, July 27 at 4 p.m. in Northern Liberties.

For more information on the tour, CLICK HERE.