Tour: Black Family Lives in Children's Books

Explore sites that inspired Marguerite de Angeli’s ground-breaking children’s book Bright April and trace progress from white authors portraying African American families to the day when Black writers won the opportunity.

Tour Presented by: Barbara McDowell Dowdall, Inspiring Bright April Curator & Susan Bockius, Germantown Crier contributor (Marguerite de Angeli)

Cost/Registration: FREE, Registration Required

Walking Conditions: Flat terrain along Germantown Avenue and Rittenhouse Street

Refreshments: Light refreshments provided

Restrooms: Restrooms available at the beginning and end of the tour

Tour Start: Meet at the entrance to Historic Germantown on Market Square

Tour End: Tour will end at the Black Writers Museum in Vernon Park approximately 3 blocks up Germantown Avenue from 5501

Following the story of the 1946 children’s book Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli, we can trace progress from white authors portraying African American families to the day when Black writers won the opportunity. De Angeli took care to blend library research with attention to the lives and stories of African American community members like educators Arthur Huff Fauset, Joseph E. Hill School Principal Nellie Rathbone Bright and Girl Scout Troop 338 Leader Jessica Cole. Title character April Bright, a nine-year-old Brownie Scout cannot escape racism, whether on the TROLLEY CAR as the story begins, nor from a scout troop peer, nor even on a special occasion she earned through study of birds and trees. With a supportive best friend Sophie, devoted scout leader and teacher, and a strong family, April prevails as both achiever and friend. As our nation’s 250th anniversary unrolls, Historic Germantown and the book that inspired a unique exhibit reveal the real sites where fictional characters help bring them to life.