Philadelphia makes Bishop Richard Allen Way permanent at Mother Bethel

Philadelphia has made permanent what a faded corner sign only hinted at for decades. On Oct. 7 city and church leaders unveiled Bishop Richard Allen Way at Sixth and Lombard streets beside Mother Bethel AME Church the house of worship Allen founded on land African Americans have owned continuously since the 1790s.

From temporary marker to lasting honor

City Councilmember Mark Squilla said archives showed a 1976 resolution temporarily naming a stretch of Sixth Street for Allen but never a lasting dedication. Rev. Carolyn Clarene Cavaness the 53rd pastor at Mother Bethel brought the gap to the city's attention. On June 11 Council unanimously approved a permanent renaming of the Sixth and Lombard corner.

Allen born into slavery in 1760 bought his freedom at 23 and went on to found the African Methodist Episcopal Church as its first bishop. He and Absalom Jones led the 1787 walkout from St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church that helped spark the Free African Society and later Mother Bethel which opened in 1794.

Faith courage and one Philly

Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green Sr. of the AME First Episcopal District told the crowd that the Bishop Richard Allen Way stands for freedom protest against injustice and love. Standing near a one-way traffic sign he tied the street's name to Philadelphia's mission of brotherly love and sisterly affection.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said representation matters and that Allen's legacy asks leaders to make room for everyone under the city's tent. Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson who attended Mother Bethel camps as a youth said African American history is American history and must be preserved not erased.

Family and future

Allen's descendants including seventh eighth and ninth-generation family members joined the ceremony. Yvonne Studegan a great-great-great-great granddaughter called the renaming a public declaration that Allen's faith courage and contributions still move the city forward.

Cavaness said the moment is about fortifying and protecting history at a time when other monuments are being torn down. The new signs sit on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans in the United States a reminder that Allen's work began on that exact corner.