Found in Philadelphia

Latest Episodes:

Episode No. 12 – Philly Streets in the Early Republic Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

Life overflowed onto the streets of Philadelphia in the Early Republic. The streets were intensely social spaces, but could also be extremely dangerous. As the city grew, it began to take an interest in its past. Street life ebbed and flowed around a boozy calendar of events, where the powerful displayed the proper order of things, and the working class turned that proper order on its head.

Find out more and see a full bibliography in the companion blog for this episode at FoundinPhiladelphia.com.

Join the podcast and Beyond the Bell Tours for our joint “Badass Women’s History Tour” on July 21, 2022, at 6:30pm. Book you tickets here, or find the tour at BeyondtheBellTours.com.

You can page through the 1810 Cries of Philadelphia children’s book here; and learn about the history of pepper pot stew in Philly from food historian Tonya Hopkins here.

The post Episode No. 12 – Philly Streets in the Early Republic first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 11 – The American Revolution on Philly’s Streets Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

The United States of America was street tested in Philly. From the chaos of the American Revolution, to its role as the national capital of the early Republic, Philadelphia was a messy, testing ground for seeing how the ideas of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were lived by people on the street.

The city was a place of divided loyalties and social divisions that played out in public. Streets were the stage for political theater, where mainstream and dissenting voices vied for control during war and its aftermath. And all of this turmoil took place against a backdrop of recurring public health crises.

Check out the companion block to find out more, get a full bibliography, and see some period images FoundinPhiladelphia.com.

Shop the Found in Philly Bookshop at Bookshop.org/shop/foundinphilly.

Get out and see some Philly history for yourself with Beyond the Bell Tours.

The post Episode No. 11 – The American Revolution on Philly’s Streets first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 10 – Philly Streets in the 1700s May 23, 2022

Show notes

Philadelphia in the 1700s is a tale of two cities. The city is innovative and forward thinking about improving public spaces. But the city is also a place of deeply entrenched inequality. And you can see it in the streets.

From small colonial town, to the largest city in British North America, Philadelphia’s wealth and prosperity is built with the bound labor of enslaved Africans and desperately poor, white indentured servants. The city grows by criss-crossing Penn’s large city blocks with alleyways and courts, where smaller and smaller houses shelter the working class, while the wealthy live in bigger houses on the main streets.

For everyone, the streets are dirty, dark, and dangerous. And the city has few resources to make things better.

But something’s got to change, and some things do.

Find out more at FoundinPhiladelphia.com.

Check out the podcast bookstore at Bookshop.org/shop/foundinphilly. You can support both the podcast and your favorite local bookstore while shopping for books.

You can also get outside, with real people, who are interested in the history of Philadelphia at Beyond the Bell Tours.

The post Episode No. 10 – Philly Streets in the 1700s first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 9 – A Guide to Why Streets Matter, plus Philly’s Early Streets May 09, 2022

Show notes

Streets are our most basic, and fundamental, public spaces. Cities can’t work without them. But we tend to take them for granted. The everyday-ness of the street gives us a false sense that the streets were always there, pretty much doing the same thing. But our streets have a history too.

In this episode, we’ll get in to why streets, and their history, matter. And then we’ll discuss some of the early history revealed by Philly’s streets.

Find out more at the companion blog for this episode at FoundinPhiladelphia.com.

You can also get outside, with real people, who are interested in the history of Philadelphia at Beyond the Bell Tours.

If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to rate the podcast and leave a review. Thank you!

The post Episode No. 9 – A Guide to Why Streets Matter, plus Philly’s Early Streets first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 8 – History of the Street… Coming soon! May 02, 2022

Show notes

At long last… the Found in Philadelphia podcast is back with a new series about the history of Philly’s streets. It’s been… a pandemic. But it feels good to be back.

While you’re waiting, check out some Philly history in the news:

The amazing Sha’von Smith and the Grounded Theatre Company continue to produce original works that are inspired by history. See what they’re up to next at www.groundedtheatrecompany.org, and bring the theatre production to your school courtesy of the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion.

Residents choose to rename their street after Caroline Le Count! Read all about it at www.renametaney.com.

Archeological excavations continue at the James West shipyard site along Columbus Boulevard, revealing insights into Philadelphia’s early trading history.

Philly’s 7th Ward Tribute project is working with artists on a place-based experience to be installed later this year. Stay tuned at www.7thwardtribute.com

Beyond the Bell Tours is back in person, offering inclusive history tours for visitors and locals alike at www.beyondthebelltours.com.

Get in touch on your Instagram or at the Found in Philadelphia podcast website.

The post Episode No. 8 – History of the Street… Coming soon! first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 7 – Women and the Centennial Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Women are organizing to fund raise for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, a moment when our city and our nation will be at the center of an international stage. The United States will be celebrating 100 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The country has just survived a bloody Civil War and is in the middle of Reconstruction. But questions remain about whose country this is anyway, who has the right to lead, and whose role it is to serve. Black American women in Philadelphia have some very clear ideas about that, but they don’t always agree on how best to achieve their goals within the narrow options that are available.

This story is about Philadelphia in the 1870s, but it remains relevant today. It’s about inclusion, what it means to be an American citizen, and whose histories matter. For those in positions of power, for those talking about being “inclusive,” this story has some powerful lessons for us today.

Links:

Find out more and see a full bibliography and additional images in the companion blog for this episode at https://foundinphiladelphia.com/.

You can attend actor Shav’on Smith’s “Tea with Frederick Douglass” event at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion at https://ebenezermaxwellmansion.org/tea-with-frederick-douglass/

Please participate in the Found in Philadelphia podcast survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y23Q8S5

And for some additional visuals for this episode, you can check out the podcast on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/found.in.philadelphia/

The post Episode No. 7 – Women and the Centennial first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 6 – Philadelphia Public Schools and Caroline Le Count: Part 2 Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

Philadelphia, 1867. A 21-year-old Black woman was recently appointed principal of a new public school on a small alley in the Seventh Ward. This woman is Caroline Le Count, and she will go on to build the largest Philadelphia public school with an all Black student body, and an all Black teaching staff. But Le Count’s successful experiment will be short lived, and we are still living with the consequences of that fallout today.

In the years following the Civil War, Philadelphia invested in its public school system and developed new types of schools. We might recognize some of these today. They included “normal” schools for training teachers, industrial schools for the skilled trades, select magnet high schools, and night schools for adults.

Pioneering African-American educators saw an opportunity to create good public schools for the Black community as well. They knew that all Black schools were needed in order to create jobs for Black teachers, who could not teach at all white, or mixed schools. The educator activist, Caroline Le Count, dedicated her career to establishing one of these all Black schools, and to fiercely defending and advocating for her fellow Black, public school teachers. This is the second of two episodes that looks at Le Count’s legacy in public education and what we can learn from it.

Links:
Please participate in the Found in Philadelphia podcast survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y23Q8S5

You can attend Shav’on Smith’s “Tea with Frederick Douglass” event at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion at https://ebenezermaxwellmansion.org/tea-with-frederick-douglass/

Find out more and see a full bibliography and additional images in the companion blog for this episode at https://foundinphiladelphia.com/.

And for some additional visuals for this episode, you can check out the podcast on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/found.in.philadelphia/

The post Episode No. 6 – Philadelphia Public Schools and Caroline Le Count: Part 2 first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 5 – Philadelphia Public Schools and Caroline R. Le Count: Part 1 Oct 27, 2020

Show notes

In this city, there are very different educational opportunities for the wealthy and the poor. But reformers and activists are trying to find ways to provide an education for all children. It is the beginning of a colossal and imperfect experiment in publicly-funded schools in nineteenth-century Philadelphia.

One group in particular, Black Philadelphians, was determined not to be left out of this educational experiment. They undertook studies to understand in detail the state of education in their community. And they invested in training a new generation of teachers, who were ready to take charge in the years following the Civil War. Some of the best and brightest worked to create quality schools for Black children within this emerging public school system. One of these educators and activists was the formidable Caroline Le Count. This episode is part of a series on Le Count, this late-nineteenth century educator and activist. It is the first of two episodes that will look at Le Count’s legacy in public education.

Find out more and see a full bibliography in the companion blog for this episode at https://foundinphiladelphia.com/. And for some additional visuals for this episode, you can check out the podcast on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/found.in.philadelphia/

The post Episode No. 5 – Philadelphia Public Schools and Caroline R. Le Count: Part 1 first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 4 – The Life and Times of Caroline R. Le Count: Part 2 May 19, 2020

Show notes

A city at war with a not-so-distant enemy, hospitals overwhelmed and spilling over into temporary tents, nurses asking citizens to donate critical supplies, it’s Philadelphia in 1863.

Philadelphia was central to the Union war machine during the Civil War, but that doesn’t mean it was a bastion of abolitionist sentiment. As the war exposes deep inequality in the city, some citizens see an opportunity to push for change on the streets of Philadelphia. So, even as the city is organizing and mobilizing for the war effort to the south, the city’s own streetcars are becoming the frontlines of a battle for civil rights. Philadelphia’s Black women are putting their bodies on the line in this fight. And like any battle, there is violence, murder, and those left to carry on.

This episode is the second in a three-part series on the life of one of these women, Caroline Le Count. Find out more in the companion blog post to this episode at https://foundinphiladelphia.com/. And if you enjoyed the episode, I’d love it if you left a review in your podcast app.

The post Episode No. 4 – The Life and Times of Caroline R. Le Count: Part 2 first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

Episode No. 3 – The Life and Times of Caroline R. Le Count: Part 1 May 05, 2020

Show notes

An important moment of the Civil Rights movement happened right here in Philadelphia, and it took place nearly 100 years earlier than the well-known demonstrations of the twentieth century.

Philadelphia in the 1860s was a city on the move. The city was growing fast and developing new city-wide services, but progress wasn’t being felt equally by all of its residents. Philadelphia’s free Black population was discriminated against and was excluded from the city’s progress. In response, Black residents of the Seventh Ward established their own system of schools, banks, libraries, and healthcare. However, during the turmoil of the Civil War, Black residents seized the moment to upend the status quo in Philadelphia. The battlefront was on the streets of Philly, and those in the front lines were Black women, ready for the fight.

This episode is the first in a three-part series on the life of one of those women, Caroline Le Count. Find out more in the companion blog post to this episode at https://foundinphiladelphia.com/

The post Episode No. 3 – The Life and Times of Caroline R. Le Count: Part 1 first appeared on Found in Philadelphia.

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