Description
Germantown is filled with cultural gems which highlight facets of American life, past and present. On this visit, we’ll start with a guided tour at the Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery, which keeps alive the horror of slavery through authentic slavery artifacts, from shackles and branding irons to documents of enslavement and Jim Crow objects. A few blocks away, we’ll tour the historic Mennonite Meetinghouse, whose founders fled Europe seeking religious freedom, but, finding others oppressed here, spoke out against enslavement. The Mennonite congregation in Germantown continues to stand for freedom and tolerance, supporting full inclusion of the LGBTQ community, counter to the denomination’s official stance. In the afternoon we’ll head to Cliveden, the grand Georgian country house built in the 1760s for prominent lawyer Benjamin Chew. After a light lunch in the Carriage House, we’ll have a guided tour of the house, which will illuminate Chew’s role as chief justice of Pennsylvania’s highest court and friend to George Washington, but also as an enslaver. Note: Some locations on this trip are only accessible by a staircase.
Cost includes transportation of school bus, entrance fees, guided tours, lunch and tips.
Bus leaves Cheltenham High School promptly at 9:30 a.m.
