African-Americans as Militiamen During the American War of Independence

On Thursday, February 23, the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center (FWWIC) will present a special Black History Month event with Dr. Robert Selig. Dr. Selig will present the general historical context within which militia service developed and took place in the 13 states during the War of Independence. There will be a particular focus on Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, which did not even have a militia law in 1776. First RI Regiment and Continental Army re-enactors are invited to participate in the program.
Special guest Congressman Chaka Fattah, along with the entire Philadelphia Congressional delegation, co-sponsored the legislation that created the new 700 mile National Historic Trail that goes from Boston, MA to Yorktown, VA. He will be honored for his leadership when Congress and the President created the law in 2009 as part of the Omnibus Public Lands bill. Congressman Fattah is an Honorary Co-Chair of the FWWIC Advisory Council.

National Park Service's Joseph DiBello, Superintendent for the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R) National Historic Trail, will present the new brochures and maps at the FWWIC.

Another special guest is historian Joe Becton. Born in Bryn Mawr, PA, he is a second-generation Philadelphian, a veteran of the United States Marine Corp, and recently retired as Park Ranger from the National Park Service in Philadelphia. He is a proud member of Association for the Study of African American History and Life, and a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He currently portrays both a Continental Soldier and a First Rhode Island Regiment soldier as a re-enactor and first person interpreter of the history of both the American Revolution and the Civil War.

Through his research on the history of the First Rhode Island Regiment, Joe has identified 287 members of that heroic unit of the Continental Army which played a critical role in the decisive Battle of Yorktown. Joe is also a member of the PA Commonwealth Speakers Bureau, co-founder of 3rd Regiment US Colored Troops, and Director of Becton Tours and Historical Services.

This event builds on last year's FWWIC Black History Month program, funded then and now by W3R PA, W3R US, National Park Service and the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center. We also thank our supporter, American Women's Heritage Society.

Please RSVP by February 21. For reservations or more information, please call 215-685-0723.