John C. Asbury (1862-1941)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A prominent African American Republican who as legislator sponsored a statewide civil rights bill in 1921 that served as a model for future efforts. He was a philanthropist, a founder of Eden Cemetery and Mercy Hospital, and editor of the Odd Fellows' Journal. Asbury resided here.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
John C. Asbury lived here at a time when few Black Americans held elected office in Pennsylvania. As a Republican state legislator he sponsored a 1921 statewide civil rights bill that became a model for later anti-discrimination efforts. He was also a noted philanthropist and editor who helped found Eden Cemetery and Mercy Hospital, institutions serving Philadelphia's African American community.
Why it matters
Asbury's early civil rights legislation and community institutions mark a crucial link in the long Northern struggle for equal rights decades before the modern movement.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer1.1 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall1.3 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Hill-Physick House1.3 mi away · 321 South 4th Street
- Independence Hall1.3 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philosophical Hall1.3 mi away · PA
- Liberty Bell Center1.3 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
Attractions
- Italian market0.7 mi away · Christian Street
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.8 mi away
- The Universal Sphere1.0 mi away
- Reading Terminal1.1 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate1.2 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- Liberty Bell1.3 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- Talula's Garden1.1 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily1.1 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Fat Salmon1.1 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Maya's Pizza & Grill1.1 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cafe Walnut1.1 mi away · 703 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Munchie’s Cafe1.1 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City0.6 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairfield Inn & Suites0.7 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center City0.7 mi away · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Alexander Inn0.7 mi away · 301 301 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Philadelphia, PA
- Holiday Inn Express0.8 mi away · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Loews Philadelphia Hotel1.0 mi away · 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John C. Asbury
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Christian Street YMCA
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1991
When it opened its doors in 1914, the Christian Street YMCA became the first Black YMCA in the nation to occupy its own building. In an age of rigid segregation, it offered African Americans a rare space of their own for recreation, education, and community organizing. Its rooms hosted meetings, lodging, and the everyday gatherings that knit Philadelphia's Black neighborhoods together.
Jack and Jill of America Foundation
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1993
In 1938, amid the injustices of racial segregation, Marion Turner Stubbs, Lela Jones, and nine other African American mothers gathered in Philadelphia to create opportunities their children were denied elsewhere. The group they founded—Jack and Jill of America—organized cultural, social, and educational activities for Black youth, and the Philadelphia chapter was the very first in the nation. From this local beginning grew an organization that spread across the country.
Marian Anderson
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1993
Marian Anderson's extraordinary contralto carried her from singing as a child in this Philadelphia church to concert halls across Europe and America. When the Daughters of the American Revolution barred her from Constitution Hall, she sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter 1939 before a crowd of 75,000—a moment that became a landmark in the struggle for civil rights. In 1955 she broke the color barrier at the Metropolitan Opera, and in 1958 she served as a delegate to the United Nations.
Union Local 274, American Federation of Musicians
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1993
Chartered in 1935 after African-American musicians were shut out of Philadelphia's white musicians' union, Local 274 became a home and advocate for Black performers. Its rolls included giants of modern jazz such as John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie, whose innovations reshaped American music. When it dissolved in 1971, it was the last predominantly Black local of the American Federation of Musicians in the country.