Richard Allen and Absalom Jones Serve During Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic

During the devastating 1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic that killed thousands, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones organized the city's free Black community to serve as nurses, gravediggers, and caregivers when white Philadelphians fled or refused to help. Their heroic service — later documented in their pamphlet 'A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People' — countered racist claims that Black people were immune to the disease while also defending the Black community against false accusations of theft.