The Stories That Aren’t Told in the City With a Rich Hidden History

This week, Upper School students taking the history elective “Hidden Philadelphia” toured the city with CBS 10 news reporter Nikki DeMentri to learn about the women who make Philadelphia the city of “sisterly love” during Women’s History Month. The “Badass Women’s History Walking Tour” was conducted by tour operator Beyond the Bell and was designed to uncover the incredible female entrepreneurs, doctors, politicians, artists, and activists who have made the city what it is today. 

Tour leader Rebecca Fisher pointed out to the students, “It's not actually possible to talk about Philadelphia without women, without people of color, without queer people, without indigenous people.” She went on to highlight figures such as Ona Judge, an enslaved person who escaped from George Washington, “our forgotten founder” Hannah Callowhill Penn, wife of William Penn, and lesbian activist Barbara Gittings, among others.

This is the second year Dr. Tommy Richards has taken students on the tour for his class that studies the history of the Philadelphia area from the time of the Lenni Lenape to the city’s recent deindustrialization and gentrification. He says, “This city is built from the bottom up by Philadelphia’s women and men who we don't often hear about, but they shape the city just as much as Franklin and Penn.”

Senior Caroline Foley shared her takeaway from the field trip: “I think it's important to remember their stories and remember that history was not just dictated by men.”

Watch the clip from CBS 10 News here.