This is really good. I don't think I could justify Philly on Tier 1
nyc - cultural capital of black america
dc - political capital of black america
philly - institutional capital of black america
philly laid the foundation for all of the major institutions in black america.
- the center of national abolition, the pre-cursor to civil rights
- institutionalized the black church - the historic cornerstone of the black community
- institutionalized national black leadership providing the framework around black uplift
- centralized black intellectual thought, which gave rise to ideas that were foundational to pan-africanism, black liberation, etc...
- centralized black academic and professional talent providing the framework for black higher education and professional training
- had the largest and most prosperous free black community in north america
philly is one of the most important cities in black american history. it laid the structure and foundation for every institution in the black community.
birthed:
sigma pi phi fraternity
the links, inc.
jack and jill of america
mother bethel ame church
st. thomas african episcopal church
the free african society
daughters of africa society
american moral reform society
philadelphia library company of colored persons
mercy-douglas hospital
influenced cheney and lincoln (pa)
before dc, philly was. happy black history month!
and I think the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (Norfolk/Virginia Beach) has to be at least where Charleston is;
you need to enlighten me on this. from my vantage point, there is nothing significant from a national black standpoint - politically, artistically, economically, institutionally, etc.. that came out of this area beside hampton university and the arrival of the first africans and most all the rest afterward were taken to jamestown.
and i'm pretty sure this area doesn't register in the minds of majority of the black community nationwide. charleston, on the other hand, was the philly equivalent of the south. the MOST prominent black families (free and freed) in ALL of the south, came out of charleston. charleston was PRESTIGE while norfolk/va beach would've been looked at as backwater, especially in comparison to the historic black community that came out of richmond, which would've been perceived as a peer of charleston. the only reason charleston isn't ranked higher is because it has little to no current significance besides maybe being a central node for black southern cousine.
i know, from your post history, you are a fan of this area, but it really has no resonance with black people outside of virginia/the local mid-atlantic region - again with exception to hampton and the significance of port comfort.
however, if i'm missing information, please expound.
