The stories that go unheard the longest often resonate the loudest when they are finally heard. This sentiment is the core driver of Independence Seaport Museum’s (ISM) new oral history project, Breaking Uncommon Ground on the Delaware River. The initiative is an extension of the museum’s ongoing exhibition, Tides of Freedom: The African Presence on the Delaware River. The neew oral history project will focus exclusively on three distinct groups of people: Black people who worked in labor unions along the Delaware River, Black women who did work connected to the Delaware River, and anyone who lost their home or business to demolition when I-95 was built along the waterfront. The organizers of the new project are hoping that people on both sides of the Delaware River will contribute their personal stories from now until May 2026 for a prospective launch in the fall of 2026.

Unlike Tides of Freedom, which has a broader scale and focuses on Philadelphia’s role in the slave trade, Revolutionary War era, Civil Rights movement, and the turn of the 20th century, Breaking Common Ground zeroes in on events that transpired from the 1950s to 2015 with local, generational stories centered on the Delaware River.

According to Peter Selbert, ISM’s president and CEO, the new project is “not only central to the Seaport Museum’s core purpose, but personally important to me and the staff.” These stories are part of a bigger effort to tie into the people and events that have shaped the waterfront and will create not only personal connections, but a time capsule that future Philadelphians can draw upon, learn about, and hopefully add onto at a later date. This is exemplified by the staff of Paul Best, the project’s director, which includes three local high school students and two students from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania who have assisted with the data collection and canvassing for the project.

Project director Paul Best and the Breaking Uncommon Ground Ambassadors on the banks of the Delaware River conducting research on Alice of Dunk’s Ferry. | Photo: Independence Seaport Museum

Best, a transplant from Gary, Indiana, who also serves as a museum educator at the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and is the founder of the storytelling troupe Black Boys Makin’ Noise, explained that his grandfather was the first certified Black electrician in Philadelphia. This is what prompted his interest in the new project. By offering an opportunity for “learning the everyday Black history that we kind of overlook whether it is not being shared or covered,” Best hopes to get people interested in not only sharing their own stories, but engaging with the physical exhibit or through the audio/visual part of the project that will be made available on ISM’s YouTube channel and at the J. Welles Henderson Research Center.

Thus far, the most difficult part of the project has been finding stories related to the construction of I-95, which took place between 1959 and 1985. Best revealed that this difficulty is due to people who were personally affected either passing away or not wanting to dredge up memories they would rather forget. Nevertheless, the fallout from I-95 is a part of local history, especially in terms of urban renewal and the people who were displaced. Their voices and stories are an essential part to telling the entire story.

The collected oral histories so far are about 14 Black women who worked as the merchants and artists to build the communities along the riverfront. One of these stories is about the world-renowned bassist Lady Fingers, whose real name is A. Marcy Francis. She has performed along the waterfront with an all-Black female percussionist group, Women’s Shekere Ensemble. Another story is about Denise Valentine with the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, whose annual event recreates the arrival of enslaved Africans to Philadelphia. The event is commemorated by the Pennsylvania slave trade marker outside ISM.

The contributions of four Black labor union members who’s work was connected to the river have already yielded the story of Janet Elam. She has the distinction of being the first female member of the International Longshoreman’s Association Local 1291, a title she earned in the 1990s despite facing adversity due to her gender. Another story is about Marcus Cooper who waited for four months outside the Longshoreman’s hiring center hoping for employment until he was vouched for by a veteran member who also sponsored him. This was a hiring procedure that was unknown to Cooper at that time.

Eddie Sherman, an employee of F.A. Urie Produce Company on Dock Street, holds a box on his shoulder while smoking a cigarette in 1959. | Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries

While being appreciative of the stories already gathered, Best said that “We need to realize that the real history of any people lies in their stories and how they get by.” This includes the stories of friendships, the day-to-day work, and the dock workers, plumbers, welders, and other groups who were categorized as “essential workers” throughout the pandemic and either have worked or continue to work along the Delaware River.

“I believe that the only limit to our success with this project is time,” said Selbert. “With every obituary that appears in the newspaper, the stories of the African American community in the last quarter of the 20th century are lost forever.” This sentiment is shared by Best who added, “History sits in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and within our communities.” He noted how people often think that history is only made by the people who are highlighted and that there are so many people who are or were longshoremen that have either purchased or fought for their homes, paid for their children’s schooling, made long-lasting friendships, or brought some entertainment or levity to the lives of others. All of these stories intersect at the Delaware River and deserve to be heard and recorded.

If you or someone you know fits into any of these groups–African Americans who worked in labor unions along the Delaware River, Black women who did work connected to the Delaware River, and anyone who lost their home or business when the I-95 highway was built in Philadelphia—feel free to contact Paul Best, director of Breaking Uncommon Grount, at (215) 315-3242 or pbest@phillyseaport.org and share your stories. More information on the oral history project can be found here: https://www.phillyseaport.org/breaking-uncommon-ground/