The Soldier Slighted
Deidre Sperry and Natalie Davis
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It is 1793, and Reverend Richard Allen lives in Philadelphia after gaining his freedom from slavery. But when a yellow fever epidemic strikes the city and the rich and powerful abandon the poor, he is asked to serve the white community again by organizing a group of black nurses to treat victims of the virus. Today, you will hear the story of how Allen’s compassion and humanity shaped his surprising response to a city’s call for help, which prompted Allen’s emergence as an advocate for racial equality and opportunity within the United States
Further Reading
Espinosa, Mariola. “The Question of Racial Immunity to Yellow Fever in History and Historiography.” Social Science History, vol. 38, no. 3-4, 2014, pp. 437–453.
Hogarth, Rana Asali. 2019. “The Myth of Innate Racial Differences Between White and Black People’s Bodies: Lessons From the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.” American Journal of Public Health 109 (10): 1339–41.
Liebers, David. 2008. “Unassuming Heroism: Richard Allen’s Theology, Writing and Leadership
during Philadelphia’s Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793.” Journal of Undergraduate Research 7, no. 1 (Fall): 12-15.
Miller, Jacquelyn C. “The Wages of Blackness: African American Workers and the Meanings of Race during Philadelphia’s 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 129, no. 2 (2005): 163-94.
Smith, Billy G. “In the ‘Midst of Death’: When African Americans Saved Our Nation’s Capital.” Pennsylvania Legacies, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, pp. 6–11.
Audio
Philadelphia: The Great Experiment. “Fever (1793-1820) – Philadelphia: The Great Experiment,”
Youtube video, 29:05. Apr 6, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7L5olIfYcI&t=516s
The American Storyteller. “The Story of Richard Allen -Founder of the AME Church,” Youtube
video, 18:04. Feb 22, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTko77-vH5g
Khalafnasirs. “I Meet Autumn.” 2019. Ccmixter audio recording.
http://ccmixter.org/people/khalafnasirs?offset=15
Zsignmond, Doxent. “Forgotten Land.” 2014. Ccmixter audio recording.
http://ccmixter.org/files/doxent/45486
De Boer, Martijn. “How Can I Keep From Singing?” 2015. Ccmixter audio recording.
http://ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/49055