Sites of Activity

Boarding house proprietors, bakers, confectioners – these were only a few of the vocations Black Philadelphians established and maintained in the nineteenth century, but these were particularly useful in aiding Black activism and uplift. Often, owners and business people used these spaces to build personal and community capital, sending proceeds to Black infantry, hosting guests of reknown, or making their services affordable to the community through competitive pricing. By and large, to be active in business was also to be active in racial uplift, for, as many of these business people’s lives testify, the personal was ever the political, and business blurred with activism.

Explore parts of Philadelphia where delegates and attendees met, roomed, and congregated.

This map shows the locations of hotels, boarding houses, and bakeries that catered to African Americans visiting Philadelphia. Click on the icons below to learn about each location.