In 2020, a coalition of citizens, organizers, legislators, and educators came together to commemorate the passage of the 15th and 19th Amendments by establishing a new monument in Harrisburg, a memorial dedicated to the capital city’s significant African American community and its historic struggle for the vote. This Commonwealth Monument—”A Gathering at the Crossroads“—is located on the Irvis Equality Circle on the South Lawn of Pennsylvania’s State Capitol Grounds. The monument features four life-size bronze orators who surround a pedestal inscribed with one hundred names of change agents who pursued the power of suffrage and citizenship between 1850 and 1920.

These 100 Voices included freedom seekers, abolitionists, activists, suffragists, moralists, policemen, masons, doctors, lawyers, musicians, poets, publishers, teachers, preachers, housekeepers, janitors, and business leaders, among many others. In their committed advocacy for freedom, equality, and justice, these inspiring men and women made unique and lasting contributions to the standing and life of African Americans—and, indeed, the political power of all Americans—within their local communities and across the country.

The project resulted in a book titled One Hundred Voices: Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community, 1850-1920, published in 2020 by The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota. The book includes contributions by descendants of the one hundred voices and thirty Messiah University students and staff. As a companion to the monument, the book gives voice to the lives, stories, and passions of the 100 Voices.

To download a free copy of the book, click on the image above or visit the publisher page at The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota. The book is also available for $10 in physical copy via this Amazon page.

Messiah University students continue to work to develop the digital collections for each of the individuals of the monuments. Currently the complete list is available as a series of webpages at this site. Explore the templates and source material for each person by following these links:

Individual pages include biographical templates plus primary source material such as newspaper articles, letters, and census records. See, for example, Maude Coleman, Ephraim Slaughter, John Q. Adams, Aquilla Amos, Roscoe C. Astwood, William Battis, Frisby Battis, Gwendolyn Bennett, Alexander Dennee Bibb, and Josephine L. Bibb Davidson.

In 2022-2025, students are working to develop a searchable database of primary sources for the people of the monument and their times. This collection will reside in a Zotero Library called the T. Morris Chester Digital Collections.

We also seek to tell deeper stories and legacies of these 100 women and men. Are you a descendant? Do you know any of the 100 Voices? Contact digitalharrisburg@messiah.edu to share your connection, explore a lead, or pass on information.

For further background to the 100 Voices project, read this post.

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Monument Project, also known as the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade 15th Amendment Project, was organized by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism Harrisburg Peace Promenade, and funded through its fiscal sponsor, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities. The Mellon Foundation funded Messiah University’s faculty and students through two grants from the Council of Independent Colleges: a Humanities Research for the Public Good grant and a Humanities Research for the Public Good Sustaining Grant.