Civil Rights Movement in Philadelphia

Civil Rights Movement in Philadelphia encompassed decades of activism to achieve equality for African Americans in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations. While Philadelphia lacked the dramatic confrontations of Southern cities, the struggle for civil rights was real and continuous, building on the legacy of the abolition movement, the Free Black Community, and activists like William Still and Octavius Catto. The 20th-century movement accelerated with the Great Migration to Philadelphia, which created a larger Black community with greater political potential. Philadelphia activists fought housing discrimination, employment exclusion, police brutality, and educational inequality through legal action, protest, and political organizing. Key victories included the defeat of the 1944 transit strike, the integration of Girard College in 1968, and the election of W. Wilson Goode as the city's first Black mayor in 1983. The movement transformed Philadelphia while also revealing the persistence of racial inequality that continues to challenge the city.

Early 20th Century Activism

Philadelphia's civil rights activism in the early 20th century built on organizational foundations established in the 19th century. The Philadelphia Tribune, founded in 1884 and the nation's oldest continuously published Black newspaper, advocated for civil rights and chronicled the community's struggles. The NAACP established a Philadelphia branch in 1913, which became one of the organization's most active chapters, challenging discrimination through legal action and public advocacy. The Urban League, founded locally in 1917, focused on economic opportunity and helped migrants adjust to urban life while pressing employers to hire Black workers. These organizations provided institutional infrastructure for later civil rights efforts.

The Great Migration to Philadelphia dramatically expanded the Black community and increased its political significance. By 1940, African Americans comprised a significant portion of Philadelphia's population and electorate. Black voters initially supported the Republican Party—the party of Lincoln and emancipation—but began shifting to Democrats during the New Deal and especially after the Philadelphia Transit Strike of 1944, when federal intervention under a Democratic administration protected Black workers' rights. The growth of Black political influence created leverage that civil rights organizations used to press for change. Politicians who wanted Black votes had to address Black concerns.

Postwar Challenges

The postwar decades brought both progress and persistent discrimination. The 1951 Reform Movement created a Commission on Human Relations with authority to address discrimination, representing institutional recognition of civil rights concerns. Fair employment laws prohibited discrimination, though enforcement was often weak. Housing remained deeply segregated; restrictive covenants, redlining, and white resistance confined African Americans to particular neighborhoods. When Black families moved into white neighborhoods, they sometimes faced violence—the 1953 attack on the Myers family in Levittown, just outside Philadelphia, drew national attention. Schools were segregated in fact if not in law, as residential segregation produced school populations that reflected neighborhood composition.

Economic discrimination limited opportunity even as formal barriers fell. African Americans were excluded from or underrepresented in many trades and professions. Labor unions that controlled access to skilled construction jobs remained largely white. Black workers were often last hired and first fired. The deindustrialization that began affecting Philadelphia in the postwar era hit Black workers particularly hard, eliminating the industrial jobs that had drawn migrants north. By the 1960s, unemployment in Black neighborhoods far exceeded city averages, and poverty remained concentrated in areas that had been Black since the Great Migration.

The Movement Intensifies

The 1960s brought intensified civil rights activism to Philadelphia. Local activists connected with the national movement while addressing distinctly local issues. The Philadelphia branch of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) conducted protests against employment discrimination, including picketing Broad Street businesses that refused to hire Black workers. In 1963, demonstrations against discrimination in the construction industry—where Black workers were virtually excluded from skilled trades—drew national attention and resulted in promises of change, though implementation proved slow. Cecil B. Moore, the combative president of the Philadelphia NAACP from 1963 to 1967, led aggressive campaigns that polarized opinion but achieved results.

The integration of Girard College became a symbolic battleground. Stephen Girard's will had established the school for "poor, white, male orphans" in 1848, and the school had maintained racial exclusion despite civil rights laws. Beginning in 1965, activists led by Cecil B. Moore picketed Girard College for years, demanding admission of Black students. The picket line became a training ground for Philadelphia activists and a test of the city's commitment to equality. In 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Girard College, though nominally private, was sufficiently connected to government to be bound by civil rights requirements. Black students entered in 1968, ending over a century of exclusion.

Riots and Reaction

The Columbia Avenue riot of 1964 revealed the depth of frustration in Black Philadelphia. On August 28-30, rioting erupted in North Philadelphia following an altercation between police and residents. The riot resulted in two deaths, hundreds of injuries, and extensive property damage along Columbia Avenue, the commercial heart of Black North Philadelphia. The riot expressed accumulated grievances—against police brutality, unemployment, housing discrimination, and the gap between American promises and Black reality. It also produced backlash that would contribute to the rise of Frank Rizzo and a harder line on law enforcement.

The late 1960s and early 1970s brought Black Power ideology to Philadelphia, challenging the integrationist goals and nonviolent methods of earlier activism. Groups influenced by Black nationalism emphasized community control, Black pride, and self-defense. The relationship between activists and police deteriorated further. The MOVE Organization, founded in 1972, represented an extreme expression of alienation from mainstream society. The tensions between Black communities and police, between integrationist and nationalist approaches, and between civil rights progress and persistent inequality would shape Philadelphia's racial politics for decades to come.

Political Power

Civil rights activism eventually translated into political power. African Americans became an increasingly important constituency in Democratic politics, providing votes that helped elect reform mayors and liberal legislators. Black candidates won election to City Council and state legislature. The Philadelphia delegation to Congress included Black representatives. In 1983, W. Wilson Goode won election as Philadelphia's first Black mayor, defeating Frank Rizzo in the Democratic primary and Republican candidates in the general election. Goode's victory represented the culmination of decades of political organizing and demographic change.

Political power did not automatically translate into improved conditions for all Black Philadelphians. Goode's administration faced severe challenges, including the catastrophic MOVE bombing of 1985. Economic inequality persisted despite political progress. Neighborhoods that had been Black since the Great Migration remained poor and underserved. The gap between political representation and material improvement illustrated the limits of what political power alone could achieve. Civil rights had been won, but the struggle for genuine equality continued.

See Also

• Great Migration to Philadelphia
• Philadelphia Transit Strike of 1944
• Octavius Catto
• MOVE Organization
• Frank Rizzo Era