Enfilade

Karyn Olivier, Dinah Memorial, Stenton, Philadelphia, 2024. Nearly finished in this view, the memorial incorporates two brass plaques (one from 1912 and a new one), a small reflecting pool, and questions for both visitors and Dinah herself.

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I hope that Stenton’s Dinah Memorial Project garners the coverage it deserves in the coming weeks; what a compelling, important story! From the press release. . . –CH

Dinah Memorial Unveiling Celebration
Stenton Museum, Philadelphia, 20 April 2024, 2–4pm

On 20 April 2024, The Dinah Memorial, Philadelphia’s first monument dedicated to a formerly enslaved woman, will be unveiled on the grounds of Stenton, where she labored and was buried. This memorial is the physical culmination of Stenton’s Dinah Memorial Project, funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, a years-long community engagement discussion.

Dinah’s complex life-story has been uncovered in archival sources in the Quaker Collection at Haverford College as well as in the Logan and related family papers collections at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Letters between family members, almanacs, ledgers, legal documents, and an investigation by the Quaker Meeting provided information that allowed Stenton staff to map Dinah’s life from her childhood in the home of Hannah Emlen, who would marry William Logan, to her death and burial in 1805. Though long celebrated for her storied role in saving Stenton from intended burning during the Revolutionary War, Stenton knew that there was more to Dinah than the ‘faithful slave’ narrative for which she was honored on a plaque erected in Stenton Park in 1912. This new memorial, a space in the Stenton landscape designed for questioning and reflection, conceived by acclaimed Philadelphia artist Karyn Olivier, seeks to rebalance Stenton’s historical interpretation, bringing to light the realities of Northern slavery and enslavement by Quakers while highlighting the fullness of Dinah’s humanity.

Executive Director Dennis Pickeral noted that “the Dinah Memorial Project has been transformative for the museum, revealing ignored and untold stories and histories of individuals who were enslaved and labored at Stenton, and for what the project has meant for the museum’s relationship with the surrounding community, who helped create the Dinah memorial and are now partners in charting Stenton’s course for the future.”

The unveiling falls on Stenton’s second annual Dinah Day celebration commemorating her requested release from bondage on 15 April 1776. Visitors can register here to attend the event.

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Built for James Logan, William Penn’s Secretary, between 1723 and 1730, Stenton is located in the historic Logan section of Philadelphia, at 4601 North 18th Street, four blocks east of Wayne Junction. The house is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday, from 1.00 to 4.00pm, April through December, and by appointment throughout the year. Stenton is a member of Historic Germantown, a consortium of nineteen cultural attractions and historic sites located in Northwest Philadelphia.

r e l a t e d  p r o g r a m m i n g ,  r e c e n t  a n d  u p c o m i n g

Conversation with Memorial Artist Karyn Olivier and Remember My Name: Dinah’s Story Film Screening
Stenton, 2 February 2024, 6pm

The evening features Karyn Olivier, the artist who designed the Dinah Memorial, and a screening of Remember My Name: Dinah’s Story, a film written by Robert Branch and performed by Irma Gardner-Hamond and Marissa Kennedy.

Adrienne Whaley | A Glimpse into Dinah’s World: Revolutionary Black Philadelphia
Zoom, 22 February 2024, 6.30pm

Adrienne Whaley, Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Museum of the American Revolution, constructs Philadelphia through the eyes of Dinah. A recording is available here»

Laura Keim | From Archival Discoveries to Monumental Construction
Facebook Live, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1 March 2024, 4pm

Laura Keim has served as the Curator for Stenton since 1999. Images of archival sources for Dinah are available here. A recording of Keim’s presentation from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is available here»

Amy Cohen | Black History in Philadelphia
Stenton, 4 April 2024, 12.30pm

After twenty years teaching social studies, Amy Cohen became Director of Education for History Making Productions and is a contributing writer for Hidden City Philadelphia. She’ll discuss her new book Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape: Deep Roots, Continuing Legacy (Temple University Press, 2024).