Women, Freedom, and Faith: Legacy’s in Philadelphia During Slavery

Over centuries, women have played a pivotal role throughout the world pertaining to freedom, justice, and even scientific discoveries. The following are just a few examples who made a tremendous mark: Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Lucretia Mott and Rosa Parks.

We recognize women in history and celebrate their legacy.  Women who challenged systems, disrupted injustice, and changed what leadership looks like. Here, we discuss the legacy of women rooted in the city of Philadelphia, a legacy which runs deep, through the lives of Quaker women and enslaved women whose actions shaped the path from enslavement to freedom.

Lucretia Mott, a white female minister, abolitionist, and organizer had influences which stretched way past the walls of any meeting house. Mott, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), believed that all people held an “inner light.”  Her work in abolition and women’s rights allowed for the connectivity between racial movements that many at the time saw as separate.

And while Lucretia Mott represents “organized resistance”, Harriet Tubman represents “courageous action.” Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad work would bring her frequently through the Philadelphia region, For example, utilizing The Belmont Mansion in Fairmount Park—Philly was a critical point for the enslaved searching for freedom. Here, Quakers, many of them women, would provide shelter and protection for those like Harriet. These acts were acts of bravery but most importantly,  they were illegal, dangerous acts against slavery.

The Quaker women challenged their own families’ participation in slavery. Some refused to inherit the enslaved. Some insisted on manumission regardless of economic consequences. Their decisions were not easy, but they reflected a deeper truth: for some Quaker women, faith demanded action, not comfort.

And this is exactly why this story matters today!

Don’t just remember names like Lucretia Mott and Harriet Tubman. Look for those in long standing communities, small town hall records and of course the meeting houses, working in the fields and kitchens. For example, Dinah, an enslaved woman who bravely saved Stenton House from being burned during the Revolutionary War, the home belonged to James Logan, William Penn’s secretary.  The acts of resistance carried out by women whose names may not be widely known like Mott and Tubman—but whose impact is still unfolding.