Historical Marker Ceremony Saturday, August 19 to Honor First Black Family in Borough

Folcroft Borough will honor the Baker family - the first Black family in Folcroft, whose arrival prompted a tragic series of events - on Saturday, August 19 at 1:00 pm on the 2000 block of Heather Road.

All are welcome to attend this ceremony, marking 60 years since the events of August 1963.

As reported in the Delaware County Daily Times:

On Thursday, Aug. 29, 1963, the Bakers were scheduled to move in to the Delmar Village development in Folcroft.

Horace and Sarah Baker weren’t looking to make a political statement when they decided to move from the city to the borough.

They just wanted a safe and comfortable neighborhood to raise a family, including their 2-yearold daughter, Terri Lynn.

They were both 26 years old, with good jobs. Horace was a laboratory technician and Sarah was a nurse at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Sadly, when the Bakers arrived at their home, it had already been painted with a racial slur, and a crowd of locals filled the street. The crowd eventually swelled to about 1,500, and rioters shattered all the windows, bashed in doors, and even ripped out electrical and plumbing fixtures. Early the next day, someone hurled a Molotov cocktail into the home’s second floor, starting a small fire.

At 4 p.m. Friday, the Bakers had finally moved in, even as hundreds hurled tomatoes, rocks and sticks at the house.

By nightfall, the mob was pushed back by riot cops, who swung nightsticks and had called in mounted police. Horace and Sarah Baker, who had left their daughter at a relative’s house, spent their first night in Folcroft huddled in the cellar.

The riot was put down, but the harassment never stopped. That harassment led the Bakers to leave Folcroft in 1966.

With the placement of this marker, the courage that the Baker family displayed during those terrible days will be honored and remembered.

“Today, Folcroft looks to change this narrative,” stated Folcroft council member Tawana Grayson.

“We are a diverse community and, while we will never be able to change the past, we can say we are sorry that this happened.” The event was provided with financial support from the Delaware County District Attorney’s office.

The ceremony takes place on the 2000 block of Heather Road - near Taylor Drive - in Delmar Village.

For more details please call 610-522-1305.