History of African Americans in Philadelphia

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African Americans in Philadelphia

African American Museum in Philadelphia
Total population
1,256,908[1]
Regions with significant populations
North Philadelphia west of Germantown Avenue, Point Breeze in South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia and parts of Southwest Philadelphia[2]
Languages
Philadelphia English, African-American Vernacular English, African languages
Religion
Christianity (Mainly Historically Black Protestant), Islam, Irreligion[3]

The history of African Americans or Black Philadelphians in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been documented in various sources. People of African descent are currently the largest ethnic group in Philadelphia. Estimates in 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau documented the total number of people living in Philadelphia who identified as Black or African American at 644,287, or 42.2% of the city's total population.^[4]

Originally arriving in the 17th century as enslaved Africans, the population of African Americans in Philadelphia grew during the 18th and 19th centuries to include numerous free Black residents who were active in the abolitionist movement and as conductors in the Underground Railroad. During the 20th and 21st centuries, Black Philadelphians actively campaigned against discrimination and continued to contribute to Philadelphia's cultural, economic and political life as workers, activists, artists, musicians, and politicians.

Between the 1920s and 1940s, North, West, and South Philadelphia saw an increase of the Black population when white flight occurred in Philadelphia.^[5] More than 50,000 African immigrants live in the Philadelphia metro area. Most of them are from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia.^[6]