Our Philadelphia story: today's active African American literary scene in the City of Brotherly Love has deep roots in a proud legacy

Over the last decade, works by African American writers have been flying out of Philadelphia. The list of names reads like a who's who of novelists, biographers and nonfiction writers covering every discipline and genre. (See "A Sampler of Contemporary Philly Writers," at right.) This outpouring of talent by black writers from Philadelphia is not precedented. The black church, the abolitionist movement, the area's many colleges and universities, the nation's oldest black press and a very literate black population dating from the colonial era have created a three-hundred-year-old tradition of black writing in Philadelphia. Black Philadelphians have always had something to write about, the means to publish it and a willing audience to read it.

Philadelphia is a Quaker town, and the Quakers were among the first group in America to help free enslaved Africans, providing manumission in 1780. As a result, Philadelphia has had a large population of freedmen in the city and the surrounding areas since the 1700s. The first thing the newly freed wanted was to establish themselves financially. Their next goal was to learn to read.

Philadelphia historian Charles Blockson says the first published writing by African Americans was done in Philadelphia. "Richard Allen wrote a defense pamphlet for blacks who had been accused of robbing corpses during Philadelphia's yellow fever epidemic of 1793," states Blockson. "That started a tradition of pamphlet writing, which later expanded into writing full books."

Phillis Wheatley, the great poet and essayist, was first published in Philadelphia. While she was still a slave in Boston, her first poem was published in the Newport Mercury in 1767. Other works were printed in The Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser, a widely-read magazine run by famous writer Thomas Paine. It was the first mainstream publication to give credence to an African American writer. Like Wheatley, many others stepped forward with stories of their days in bondage, including Harriet Jacobs, whose Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (W.W. Norton, reissued January 2000, $5.95, ISBN 0-399-76378) was originally published in 1861, and remains compelling reading even today.

The main source of early writing in Philadelphia came from the Church, particularly from the Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and James Forten were among the Church's principle founders and supporters. Their newspaper, The Christian Recorder, was the official voice of the Church. Not only did the paper print stories on religious themes, but it also published stories about the Underground Railroad and the abolition of slavery. (See "Philadelphia's Black Activist Forefathers," page 16)

At the same time, women writers in Philadelphia's free circles started writing their opinions about the Church and its roles for women. Jarena Lee, Zilphia Elaw and Rebecca Cox Jackson wrote many pieces that challenged the AME's rule against women preachers.

Forten's daughter Charlotte Forten Grimke published A Free Black Girl Before the Civil War (Blue Earth Books, reissued 1999, ISBN 0-736-80345-9), a five-volume diary she had kept for over 35 years (1854 to 1892). Her remarkable stories included her experiences as a nurse to newly freed slaves during and after the Civil War. Robert Purvis, James Forten's son-in-law, worked on the Underground Railroad and continued the family tradition of pamphlet writing. His most famous was Appeal of Forty Thousand Citizens, Threatened with Disfranchisement, to the People of Pennsylvania (1838).

Gertrude Bustill Mossell, the great aunt of Paul Robeson, wrote about political and social issues, especially women's responsibilities. Mossell was one of the most widely-read African American writers in Philadelphia. Her works appeared in many periodicals, including the AME Church Review, The Philadelphia Times, The Philadelphia Echo and The Independent. She expanded her talents beyond Philadelphia, and wrote for The New York Freeman, The New York Age and the Indianapolis World, and then began writing books. The Work of the Afro-American Woman, published in 1894, was a collection of essays and poems extolling the achievements and virtues of black women.

Other African American female writers around that same era were Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Frances (Fanny) Jackson Coppin. Harper's 1892 novel, Iola Leroy, (Beacon Press, reissued 1999, ISBN 0-807-06519-6) is still in circulation today. Her house at Tenth and Bainbridge was an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Coppin is credited as the first college-educated African American woman to write an autobiography, Reminiscences of School Life and Hints on Teaching (ASIN 0-898-15429) published posthumously in 1913.

One of the most important writers to come out of Philadelphia in the late 1800's was William Still. His book The Underground Railroad (1872) was important antislavery literature. It was one of the few postwar accounts of the Freedom Trail written by a black author. Still's book was published in three editions and became the most popular book about the Underground Railroad during that time. He later wrote A Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of the Colored People of Philadelphia in the City Railway Cars (1867), leading a campaign to end discrimination on the city's railroad cars.