Your zipcode literally defines how you order a cheesesteak!

From Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (the 1990s original and the 2019 reboot), to Abbott Elementary (2021), audiences have seen the historical and contemporary examples of Black Philadelphia (referred to as Black Philly) in media. While Philadelphia is not new to contemporary media, Black Philly is not as widely represented.

It can be seen in dramatic shows like Cold Case (2003 -2010) and even infamously in ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder (2014 - 2020); family shows like Boy Meet World (1993 - 2000) and The Goldbergs (2013 - 2023); and in live-action sitcoms like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005- 2019). When not on regular primetime shows, it can be seen in media like the six Rocky films, dating back to 1976, and even as recently as the three Creed films, its spinoff, in 2015. Others may remember films like Invincible (2006), The Sixth Sense (1999), Law Abiding Citizen (2009), and Shazam! (2019). Philadelphia has had its share of media time and multiple genres at play. However, even with so many varying examples of media texts centering a Philly experience, a Black American experience has not always been seen or studied. Even Scholars like W.E.B. Dubois notes this in his text, The Philadelphia Negro, the first sociological case study published in 1899 about Black communities in the 7th ward. In one particular example, Brotherly Love (2015) represents a young love story that takes place in what is known as “the bottom”. While Black representations of any neighborhood or community are not monolithic, it is a story and perspective that doesn’t always get shared. Similarly, in the Black women’s biopic entitled, Harriet (2019) based on the real-life story of Harriet Tubman, audiences are privy to the placemaking that Black people created in search of freedom. In the film, Harriet is seen redefining herself, renaming herself, and giving meaning to the freedom that she fought for in Philadelphia.

In this short essay, we define Black Philly, describe its components and its heart, while also positing the needful exploration of Black placemaking practices. The meaning-making and sense-making found in the neighborhoods, at the intersections, within historical makers, and the monuments built by its Black residents are not just tourist sites. At times, these are sites of resistance, reclamation, and re -identification, even a re-storying of a narrative about a people and their place in the world.

Black Philly is a dynamic cultural geography that is defined by zip codes, not limited by them, but also produced through the intersection of history, practices, and everyday lived experiences. Black Philly materialized at the recognition of migration, racialized urban planning, and expressive traditions—linguistics, foodways, music, dance, and politics—where identity and belonging are deeply rooted yet constantly evolving. Defining and understanding what Black Philly is allows for a lens to analyze not just how Black Philly is represented, but also enables an analysis that centers Black agency, neighborhood identity, and the material and symbolic remaking of the city.

To understand the heart and components of Black Philly, one must look at how it is created in the terrain, focusing on how Black communities produce, contest, and transform urban space. We contend that the components of Black Philly lie in the neighborhoods, the row homes, the small streets, and the communal institutions that exist within Philadelphia. Philadelphia is composed of approximately 1.58 million people, making it the 6th largest city in the United States, and its size is about 135-142 square miles. The racial trends and makeup have continuously changed over the centuries, and Black people currently make up ~40% of Philadelphia's population. These dynamics of the city show that it holds an overlapping Black geographies, and those geographies are interwoven through shared cultural practices, mobility patterns, and neighborhood histories.The vastness of Philadelphia's size also points to the unequal distribution of space, place, and resources. Black Philly is not a singular place, but an accumulation of zip codes that speak volumes about who they are and the systemic injustice that came with their neighborhood.

The heart of Black Philly is in the culture each person carries. Black Philly stretches from the riverfront to West and to North Philly, curated by the neighborhood's people carry with them. Movements, practices of care and resistance, and the acts of placemaking show up in the heartbeat of Black Philly. Black placemaking acts show up in the traditions of porch culture, water ice & a soft pretzel, and the art that adds life to the buildings. Even the debate on what belongs on a Cheesesteak is deeper than food, but it represents the heart; it creates belonging. Saying “Cheez Whiz” or “Cooper Sharp” offers one kind of signal, but saying saltpepperketchupmayonnaisefriedonions now that’s Black Philly. That's the heart.

The components of Black Philly and its heartbeat show up in the way Black Placemaking presents itself in the terrain. Black Placemaking shows up in the lingo, the art, and the mobility patterns. For example, the Gathers Recreation Center at 25th & Diamond is a prime example of Black Placemaking. Serving the hub of the Strawberry Mansion community, it functions as a gathering site for youth programs, summer activities, competitive basketball, and more. What we see happening here is a space that not only functions as community life but also as preservation of Black Philly. Hank Gathers was a Black Philly basketball player and one of the most celebrated players in college basketball history. His legacy remains deeply tied to Philadelphia’s cultural and athletic landscape. This place is a living monument to Black Philly’s endurance, creativity, and collective memory. The space holds the weight of Gathers’ legacy and the everyday practices of the people who use it, making it both a functional hub and a cultural keeper of place.

Your zipcode defines more than the cheesesteak that you order, but it defines the resources provided, the spaces one keeps, and the opportunities given. Placemaking practices, particularly in urban communities, show up as alternative geographies moving from a monolithic representation of Black urban cities to a deeply complicated map. Understanding the complexities of Black Philly shows that there is not one singular definition of Black Philly.Yet when it is spoken, there is an understanding of what this place means and specifically what it means to the people there. At times, it has been captured on media with popular television shows, series, and films, but the heart of its reality resides in the people who call it home. What does this mean for other scholars sitting in their neighborhoods and wondering about their own placemaking experiences, and the ways in which culture, identity, history, and memory intersect to create place? It means that place shows up in the small details of our everyday lives. It shows up in the stories we share, the recipes we pass down, and the styles we wear. People and their lived experiences shape the deep, layered, and complex placemaking practices in Black Philly.