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Events

Walk the streets Ona Judge knew, and join the Coalition for programs that bring her story — and Philadelphia’s complex history of liberty and slavery — to life.

Current Events

A Community Conversation

Ona Judge’s Story: Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar in Conversation with Dr. Ashley Jordan

Join us for a powerful evening of history, remembrance, and community as we gather to honor the woman who risked it all to claim her own freedom in the heart of Philadelphia.

When: Thursday, October 22, 2026
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Parkway Central Library
1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Admission: Free · RSVP required
Moderator: Tamala Edwards, 6abc

Presented by the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation and The Ona Judge Coalition in partnership with The African American Museum in Philadelphia and The School District of Philadelphia.

This program is part of Community Impact Week — The Literacies That Define Modern Life, October 18–24, 2026.

RSVP on the Free Library site

Program

Philadelphia School District and Free Library Partnership

Through grant funding, TOJC is distributing several thousand copies of Never Caught to students across Philadelphia’s public, private, and parochial schools, as well as Girard College. The Never Caught Residency - Featuring Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, the preeminent scholar on Ona Judge and author of Never Caught The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge includes lectures and book signings hosted at the African American Museum in Philadelphia and The Free Library of Philadelphia. Following the distribution of The Young Readers Edition of Never Caught, students can participate in workshops and engage directly with the author. TOJC and the School District of Philadelphia are planning a public dialogue featuring Dr. Dunbar and the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Anthony B. Watlington, Sr.

Coming in 2027

2027

Ona Judge Mural

TOJC will invite community members and supporters to participate in the Ona Judge Mural project at AAMP, helping to commemorate her story and inspire future generations.

2027

The Mapping of Ona Judge Concert

Internationally recognized composer and musician Ruth Naomi Floyd will create a commissioned suite of original songs inspired by Ona Judge’s journey. The performance will integrate historical storytelling, period instrumentation, and readings drawn from Ona’s first-person accounts, creating a powerful interpretive experience through narrative and music

Past Events

Visitors at the Who Is Ona Judge? exhibition at the African American Museum in Philadelphia on Juneteenth.

June 19 – September 7, 2026

Who Is Ona Judge? Immersive Video Exhibition

Founders Gallery · African American Museum in Philadelphia

TOJC curated the exhibition Who Is Ona Judge? on display in Founders Gallery through Labor Day, 2026. The exhibition was installed in partnership with the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP).

August 12, 2026

Everybody Has a Story: A Conversation with Erica Armstrong Dunbar

PA Humanities & America250PA · Mother Bethel AME Church

Presented by PA Humanities and America250PA at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 419 S. 6th Street, with additional marketing support from the Ona Judge Coalition. A keynote, conversation and Q&A with the author of Never Caught, moderated by Jeannine A. Cook of Harriett’s Bookshop, followed by a book signing. The evening kicked off Voices of History Philadelphia, a statewide storytelling initiative, as part of the America250PA Lecture250 Series.

Participants gathered on the Journey to Freedom walking tour through historic Philadelphia.

July 5 – September 5, 2026

Ona Judge's Philadelphia: A Journey to Freedom

Walking Tour · 8 historic sites

A guided walk tracing Ona Judge’s escape from bondage in the President’s House to her self-emancipation, set against Philadelphia’s complex history as both birthplace of liberty and site of slavery — weaving together the stories of enslaved and free Black Philadelphians, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, the Underground Railroad, and the city’s emergence as home to the largest free Black population in the early U.S. The season opened with a free inaugural walk on July 5 and ran weekly through September 5.

July 2, 2026

Red, White, & Blue To-Do

Found Poetry Workshop & Drumline · at AAMP

In partnership with the African American Museum in Philadelphia, TOJC hosted a drop-in Found Poetry workshop and open mic inspired by the “Who Is Ona Judge?” exhibit, plus a drumline performance by Mad Beatz Philly on the museum plaza.