September 2020

Dear Congressman LaHood:

I am pleased to endorse the legislation you introduced to the U.S. Congress, H.R. 8224, the New Philadelphia, Illinois, Historical Park Act, to establish New Philadelphia as unit of the National Park System. The first town in our nation founded by an African American, New Philadelphia is a place where formerly enslaved and free-born African Americans and European Americans lived together during one of the most racially turbulent eras of our country's history.  

Frank McWorter, the founder of New Philadelphia, was remarkable not only for his vision of establishing a racially diverse community but for purchasing freedom for himself, his wife and at least fourteen additional family members.  Despite Illinois' Black Codes, its proximity to the border of the slave state of Missouri and intense racial discrimination that persisted well after the Civil War, New Philadelphia survived util the beginning of the 20th century.  The enduring memory of New Philadelphia continues today in West-Central Illinois nearly a century after most of its residents moved away.  Today New Philadelphia is an archaeological site.  

Six years of archaeological investigation of the town site have revealed long forgotten building foundations, cellars, cisterns, wells and refuse deposits that survived years of agricultural and other ground modifications.  National Park status will ensure that the unique opportunity to study 19th century race relations within a small racially diverse community setting will be permanently protected by the federal government for the good of the American people.

There is no site comparable to New Philadelphia in the National Park System, where less than 7% of the 419 units are directly associated with African-American history.  As a unit of the National Park Service, New Philadelphia will contribute to a more complete history of our nation.  Federal protection will ensure that archaeological evidence held in the soil of New Philadelphia may significantly contribute to new ideas and theories about how to study race relations over a one-hundred-year period. 

Now is the time to uplift our country's collective spirit, to accentuate our unity and recognize the contributions of African Americans by acknowledging the extraordinary national significance of New Philadelphia, Illinois, by its inclusion as a unit of the National Park System.  

Frank McWorter could echo the words of Langston Hughes who wrote ''I, too, am America.''  That proud and uplifting message spoke of the unrecognized accomplishments and patriotism of African Americans, whose labors helped build the foundation of our nation.  

Therefore, I am pleased to support the New Philadelphia, Illinois, Historical Park Act.

Sincerely,