Mapping DuBois' "The Philadelphia Negro": A Website

FAIN: EE-50280-06

University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA 19104-6205)
Amy Hillier (Project Director: October 2005 to November 2008)

A two-year project to develop a website that will enable students to examine and synthesize information about the African American experience in the sixty-block area of Philadelphia that was the subject of W.E.B. DuBois's 1899 study, The Philadelphia Negro.

W.E.B. DuBois's The Philadelphia Negro is recognized as a classic work of social science for its methodological innovations and urban history for its invaluable information about African American life at the turn of the 20th century. In touching on race-based housing and economic discrimination, religion, education, and crime, this study offers a tremendous framework for teaching students about many of the critical issues in American history. The proposed collaborative project aimes to recreate DuBois's survey of a 60-block area in downtown Philadelphia using geographic information systems (GIS), archival data, and Internet technology. By integrating DuBois's survey data with information from historical censuses, fire insurance maps, photographs, and newspaper articles, this project will develop a unique, publicly-accessible interactive mapping system for teaching high school and college students.