06/28/2026
🌧️ Rain Date TODAY 6/28 1:00pm🌧️
Not Forgotten: Celebration of Byberry Township African American Burial Ground
Join us for a historical presentation, performance of antebellum Philadelphia Black music, and a blessing ceremony to celebrate the upcoming restoration of one of the oldest African American burial grounds in Philadelphia.
Byberry Township African American Burial Ground was established by Byberry Friends Meeting in 1780 as a resting place for free Blacks and people of color.
“The Burial Ground became neglected in the late 1800s and eventually the grave markers were lost when it was turned to farmland,” says Jacqueline Wiggins, Secretary & Co-Founder of SPPAAA. Dr. Victoria Best, Acting President of SPPAAA, notes that “without the dedication of community advocates like Deborah Hill Gary, it would have been lost forever.”
The event will recognize the late Deborah Hill Gary, founder of the Society to Preserve Philadelphia African American Assets (SPPAAA), who dedicated her life to ensuring that the stories, places, and contributions of Philadelphia African Americans were protected and celebrated. Through years of research, advocacy, partnership building, and community engagement, Deborah helped lay the foundation for the preservation of Byberry Township African American Burial Ground and for the recognition of those whose lives and histories are connected to it.
The event will feature a unique performance of antebellum Philadelphia Black music. Brent White, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the Jazz Orchestra at Drexel University, will lead an ensemble performing the music of noted early 19th-century Philadelphia Black composer and bandleader Francis Johnson. “Francis Johnson performed for both Black and white audiences in early Philadelphia,” says Jack McCarthy, historian and director of the Poquessing Trail of History project. “Brent White's arrangements bring Johnson’s music alive for contemporary ears.”
