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❦ Special projects & exhibits
Projects
WHAT WE ARE BUILDING WITH SCHOOLS, ARCHIVES AND THE COMMUNITY.
The
Underground
Literary Society
Underground
Literary Society
Season one · 2027 · with Harriett’s Bookshop
The Underground Literary Society
A reading community celebrating Black women. Our first salon, an invitation-only evening with Ashton Lattimore, in 19th-century dress.
2025 – 2026 · with the School District of Philadelphia & HSP
The ICY Graduation Project
A community celebration of democracy through the lens of the Institute for Colored Youth — ending in a re-creation of the 1860 graduation.
February – May 2025 · Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Free, As One
Black worldmaking in the Pennsylvania Abolition Society papers — an exhibit of manuscripts that show Black-led abolition.
Book club · Season one · 2027
The Underground Literary Society
A reading community celebrating Black women.
Read the Books, Come into Community and Meet the Author at our Salon.
Season one - All We Were Promised
❦ Notice to the public
Every gathering: 19th-century costume welcomed.
Why this, and why now
Following in the Footsteps of 19th Century Black Women in Philadelphia
In the early and middle 19th century, literary societies like the Gilbert Lyceum and the Banneker Institute provided higher education when universities excluded Black people. At the same time, many Black Philadelphians actively built pathways to emancipation: hosting freedom seekers, raising funds, and establishing churches and schools.
An underground literary society honors that ancestral legacy. It is named in remembrance of the ancestors who risked their lives to learn to read in secret, and it answers a present-day problem: the erasure of Black history from historic accounts and from library shelves, alongside real gaps in adult literacy.
The Underground Literary Society is a community dedicated to preserving African American and African Diaspora culture through reading books, studying history, and engaging in practices that strengthen the community.
How it works
Sign up. Get the book. Come down to The Underground.
- 01
Buy the book through Harriett’s
In the shop at 258 E. Girard Ave, or online through Harriett’s bookshop.org storefront. The link is on each selection below.
- 02
Read it
Take the season. Read as much as you can, and bring your questions.
- 03
Come to a Salon
We gather for community and the conversation.
2027 selection · Philadelphia, 1838
All We Were Promised
by Ashton Lattimore
Philadelphia, 1837. Charlotte has escaped slavery with her father, who now passes as white and keeps her hidden as his housemaid. Nell is the daughter of one of the city’s wealthiest Black families and a rising abolitionist. Evie is an enslaved girl brought north by her mistress, and she does not intend to go back. Their lives cross in a city that calls itself free while mobs gather in the streets, and the story builds to the night in May 1838 when Pennsylvania Hall was burned to the ground.
This is the Black Metropolis of 1838 told as a novel. We open the society here because this is the year on our name.
❦ Previous Projects
Open a project to read the full story, see the team and browse the gallery.
Project · 2025–2026
The ICY Graduation Project
Through the lens of the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY), this project turns history into a hands-on, community-driven critical reflection on democracy. It restores a pivotal chapter in Philadelphia’s past and makes learning engaging for students and families alike.
Culminating in a re-creation of the ICY graduation ceremony of 1860, the project invites the community to engage with democracy and celebrate the antebellum Black community of Philadelphia, who held it dear.
❦ Reenactors bring ICY to life
Spring 2026 · with Cheyney University students and historical reenactors
The plan, step by step
The team
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Funder
This project is made possible through a generous grant from the Philadelphia Funders in support of activities for the celebration of the nation’s 250th.
Partners
We are proud to partner with the School District of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania on this project.
Exhibit · February – May 2025
Free, As One
Black worldmaking in the Pennsylvania Abolition Society papers
Our Free, As One exhibit, on Black worldmaking in the Pennsylvania Abolition Society collection, was held from February to May 2025 in partnership with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. All manuscript images are courtesy of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
About the exhibit
Exhibit guide
Read the printed guide that accompanied the exhibit, case by case.
Open full screen ↗
If the guide does not appear, open it in Google Drive.
Gallery
Photographs from the exhibit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania · manuscripts courtesy PAS Papers, HSP
Cite this page
1838 Black Metropolis, Inc. (2026). Projects. https://www.1838blackmetropolis.com/projects
Last updated October 6, 2026 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0