Public Exhibit: SEPT 15 – NOV 22
9 AM to 8 PM Mon–Thu; 9 AM to 5 PM Friday and Saturday; closed Sundays and the following holidays:
Closing Celebration: NOV 12, 5:30 PM
Parkway Central Library, West Gallery One
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
The Center is proud to be sponsoring and helping coordinate two related, extraordinary public exhibits this fall covering the history of Black educators and the education of Black students in Philadelphia.
Drawing on the “Dreamkeepers” framework developed by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, the project honors generations of Black Philly educators who have sustained Black pedagogical traditions grounded in cultural pride, collective uplift and radical care.
From Fanny Jackson Coppin and Octavius Catto to the founders of independent Black schools such as Ivy Leaf and Nidhamu Sasa, generations of Black educators in Philadelphia have been passing on their wisdom about how to ensure the academic potential and success of Black students through a liberatory education.
Yet many of their contributions remain undocumented, unrecognized, and untold, and their stories and surviving records of their work and impact are scattered across numerous personal and institutional archives.
This collective effort is designed to change this.
Public Exhibit: NOV 1 – JAN 15
MON–FRI, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Community Exhibit Symposium: NOV 5, 6 PM
First 50 to register receive a gift bag. Walk-ins are also welcome.
The Philadelphia Dreamkeepers Archival Project is a collaborative initiative among the Center and The Philadelphia Department of Records. Don’t miss the companion symposium and exhibit at the Department of Records.
Come hear educators and activists talk about the history of Black educators and the education of Black Philadelphians from before the Civil War through desegregation.
Teaching Freedom is presented in partnership with: Dr. Camika Royal, celebrated author and associate professor of Urban Education Leadership in Morgan State University’s School of Education and Urban Studies; Linn Posey-Maddox, author and Professor of Urban Education in Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development; writer and education journalist Benjamin Herold; and Mighty Engine.
With your support, we can build a permanent public exhibit dedicated to sharing the story of Black educators.
Download Sponsorship Kit