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Museum of the American Revolution celebrates the radical Forten women who fought for equality

On Friday, the museum will host an event honoring the legacy and activism of the women of the Forten family.

Museum of the American Revolution is celebrating the contribution of the women from founding father James Forten's family,
Museum of the American Revolution is celebrating the contribution of the women from founding father James Forten's family,Read moreMuseum of the American Revolution

With the story of Black Founding Father James Forten on full display at the “Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia exhibition, the Museum of the American Revolution is hosting a one-night event to spotlight the women who carried on the family legacy decades after Forten’s passing.

As a part of a Women’s History Month programming series, the museum is hosting “Black Founders Women’s History Night with Kerri Greenidge on Friday. The discussion will be led by the museum’s director of education and community engagement, Adrienne Whaley and Tufts University assistant professor Dr. Kerri Greenidge, author of The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.

The speakers will focus on the community-building and abolitionist work that was laid out by Charlotte Vandine Forten, James Forten’s wife, who helped start the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 with her daughters Margaretta Forten, a leading educator of Black children, and Sarah Forten, an accomplished poet.

The event will also highlight James and Charlotte Vandine Forten’s grandchildren — like Charlotte Forten Grimke, an educator and activist who helped found the National Association of Colored Women.

“There’s so much we can do to lift these stories up,” Whaley said, “and it’s important for us to take opportunities to do that. Women’s history is American history, and women’s history is African American history. So, we’re just trying to make sure that the real women and the real stories of these important figures are shared with our guests, our visitors, and our learners.”

» READ MORE: Family heirlooms retrace the history of our Black Founding Father James Forten

“Anytime that a museum or historic site seeks to highlight the fact that African American women, in particular, were at the center of these communities and were the ones really sustaining churches, schools and community centers, is a good thing,” Greenidge said. “It often changes the way that the general public looks at the history of a community.”

Whaley said she hopes guests are inspired to look deeper into the stories of the Forten and Grimke families and are driven to find ways they can make similar contributions in the present day.

“I want them to go home and hop on the Internet and research more about the women we’re going to talk about,” she said. “I want them to say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that we had all these stories in our history.’ And I want them to say, ‘Yes, it’s complicated. There were challenges. These relationships weren’t perfect. But if all that existed, how much else is there for us to know? And what might this mean for my own story and legacy?’”


Black Founders Women’s History Night with Kerri Greenidge will take place March 24, 5:15-8 p.m., at the Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S 3rd St., Phila. amrevmuseum.org.

Tickets to this event are pay-as-you-wish and include a hands-on stitching activity inspired by the Anti-Slavery Alphabet. Food and drinks specials and access to the museum’s Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia exhibition will also be available.