Conversation and Community at Cliveden

ABSTRACT Cliveden, a site located in the Germantown neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia, serves as a catalyst to explore the history of enslavement in the mid-Atlantic region and how community members can be involved in unearthing that history. Since the site opened as a museum in 1973, interpretation has shifted from featuring architecture, fine and decorative arts, military history, and the lifestyles of the elite Chew family to include stories of a diverse range of people connected to the site, including enslaved laborers and servants and expanded the narratives to include properties outside of Cliveden including plantations in Maryland and Delaware. Exhibits, tours, and public programs developed with community input illustrate the complexities of this work and lessons learned from the vantage point of America’s semiquincentennial.