"A Highway Runs Through It..." A Community History of Darby Township_short.mov
Published 2012-02-11
An excerpt from the 81-minute feature documentary. "A Highway Runs Through It..." documents the historic black community of Darby Township, in Delaware County, PA. African Americans have lived in this once rural, suburban area outside of Philadelphia since the late 1700s. Some of the current residents can trace their lineage in the community since well before the Civil War. Their history is one of community building and displacement, of creating cultural traditions and battling to secure property and community landmarks. This film tells the story of the community's early settlement at "Horntown;" post-Civil War prosperity and community growth during the Great Migration of the 1920s.But with public and private land development starting after World War II, the displacement and political marginalization of Darby Township's black community has been consistent, complete with ever deeply entrenched segregation. Re-zoning has turned residential neighborhoods into backyards for industry offering no employment to DT residents. Churches and schools have been dismantled; a school board that educated the black community for decades dissolved; and a historic black burial ground lies under the concrete school yard in the now white neighborhood where the new school was built. Many battles have been fought and many concessions made. Yet, Darby Township still lives. The film uses oral history interviews, historic newspaper research, vintage photographs and a compelling narrative to tell the story of this tiny suburban town with an all black cast. A 120-page "Highway" companion book of vintage black photography from the David King, Jr. collection is also available. Learn more at valerieharrisprojects.com.
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