Why Colored People in Philadelphia Are Excluded from the Street Cars

A mid‑nineteenth‑century petition lays out the painful reality of racial segregation on Philadelphia’s streetcars, describing how a civic committee of roughly thirty men tried, with limited success, to persuade railway owners to drop the rule that barred Black riders. Their polite appeals met with evasive votes of passengers, police enforcement, and a mayor who openly refused to intervene, prompting the group to turn to the state legislature and the courts for relief.

The pamphlet chronicles a series of failed legislative efforts, a bill that vanished from committee files, and a string of legal actions—including assault suits and appeals that have yet to reach the state’s highest court. It also paints a picture of everyday resistance, as Black residents quietly endure exclusion while some white allies are themselves thrown from cars for speaking up. The narrative sets the stage for a broader look at public opinion and the larger struggle for equal treatment under the law.