Pennsylvania abolition society
By Moatmen Hassan 9C
History
The Pennsylvania Abolition Society was founded in 1775 at the Rising Sun Tavern in Philadelphia, as a Society for the "Relief for Free Negroes unlawfully held in Bondage." Its mission was later expanded in the 1780s to include "improving the Condition of the African Race." For the founders, this primarily meant offering jobs and education to black youth, whether escaped slaves from the South or native Philadelphians.
The Pennsylvania Abolition Society continues its work through grants to organizations and programs that seek to improve conditions of African Americans throughout Pennsylvania, particularly in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Funded activities include projects confronting racism, preserving African American monuments, fighting housing discrimination, promoting multicultural arts, exposing children to multicultural education, and improving the quality of race relations in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society maintains a donor-advised fund at The Philadelphia Foundation Additional grants are made from its own endowment.
Education
- The Society's Shifting Directions: early activities centering around manumission and anti-slavery petitions during the Civil War; later emphasis on education and employment of emancipated blacks; founding of a school for free blacks in Philadelphia; and support to black educational institutions such as Howard University