ABC#059 Three More Black Pioneers

The Black population of Philadelphia dates to Colonial times but expanded tremendously during the so-called Great Migration that started around 1910. 

• Sarah A. Anderson came from an educated family – her father was the first Black dentist in Florida and her husband was a politically active podiatrist.  Sarah served 17 years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and quietly changed life for the better for thousands of Pennsylvanians, Black and white.
• Samuel L. Evans was also from Florida and saw five lynchings before he was 10 years old.  Through machinations that people are still pondering, he managed to make himself the “Godfather of Black Philadelphia” despite never being elected to public office.  His wake was in City Hall.
• Winifred Harris was the woman you wanted as your next-door neighbor.  She rescued abandoned properties in West Philadelphia and converted them into vegetable gardens for the neighborhood, while planting more than 1000 trees for the city.  Her shocking death at the hands of a home intruder was mourned by all who knew her. 

For Black history month, learn about these three lesser-known heroes of Black Philadelphia in the February 2024 episode of “All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories – Three More Black Pioneers”.