On Buried Ground

An immersive performance and exhibition reveal the histories of enslaved and freed people of African descent in Philadelphia during the American colonial era. Dance artist Shayla-Vie Jenkins and playwright Angela Bey develop an evening of theatrical storytelling, informed by new scholarship and archival records, including newly digitized records from sixteen early Philadelphia congregations. An exhibition of artifacts that inspired the performance, an interactive story map that visitors can contribute to, and public discussions with historians, artists, and archivists contextualize daily life for Black people in colonial America and foreground their roles in American history.