In the 1970s, the destruction of the Black Bottom neighborhood in West Philadelphia gave way to the nation’s first and largest urban research park by displacing its largely Black residents. In 2021, the proposed loss of the low-income housing at 3900 Market Street to make way for new development is the latest example of displacement of long-term residents in our neighborhood. What can we learn from the experiences of the past to prevent displacement yet support development in the future?
The University City Historical Society is hosting a panel discussion about Black Bottom, now the site of the uCity Square. Entitled "Black Bottom: The Wheel is Come Full Circle," this virtual event will include former residents and those who have been actively involved in and/or have closely studied this transition over the past half century. The panel discussion will be free to the public and take place Thursday, November 18, from 7 to 8:30 pm.
The panelists are as follows:
Dr. John Puckett, Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, will be the moderator of the panel. The title of the panel discussion is taken from his recently published five articles, “Once the Black Bottom: The Wheel is Come Full Circle,” available for reading at https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/discover/stories.
Dr. Walter Palmer, founder and director of The Palmer Foundation and a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Social Policy and Practice, is a community activist with expertise in community and economic development and civil rights. A former resident of Black Bottom, he is featured in the WHYY presentation “Remembering Philly’s Black Bottom with Dr. Walter Palmer,” available on YouTube.
Gerald “Sid” Bolling, former resident of Black Bottom, represents the organization Black Bottom Tribe in negotiations with University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. With others, he is working to create a cultural center for the former neighborhood, and to establish historical markers for key places that made up the Black Bottom.
Dr. Edward Epstein, Director of the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia, is the author of “Race, Real Estate and Education: The University of Pennsylvania’s Interventions in West Philadelphia, 1960–1980" (2020).
Registration is limited. Please reserve your spot at https://uchs.wildapricot.org/event-4551998 . All Philadelphians are urged to attend as these well-informed people share their thoughts about the history of displacement in University City and what we can learn from this today.
The event will have a Q&A component. It will be recorded and shared via the UCHS website.