Since the spring of 2002, Coard has worked to compel Independence National Historical Park to acknowledge that nine slaves toiled at the site of the President's House, Sixth and Market Streets, where Washington and his successor, the antislavery John Adams, created the American presidency in the 1790s.
At first, park officials had no intention of noting the house, demolished in 1832, beyond, perhaps, a plaque. And there were certainly no plans to highlight anyone who lived there, least of all the slaves.
But Coard, who teaches a criminal-law class and a course in hip-hop culture at Temple University, began a letter-writing campaign and a petition drive demanding, as he likes to put it, "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" from the National Park Service.
The letter campaign evolved into ATAC, which organized an initial demonstration July 3, 2002, at the site. More than 500 people turned out, demanding that the Park Service acknowledge Washington's Philadelphia slaves: Hercules, Oney Judge, Moll, Austin, Richmond, Giles, Paris, Christopher Sheels and Joe.
It was the first of many such demonstrations.
Now Independence Park and the city have come together in support of a memorial to the house and its slaves, and an archaeological excavation at the site has uncovered unexpected remnants of presidential power and chattel slavery, sparking a surge in public interest. (An observation platform is open at the site.)
"Michael is a very centered, strong moral force, and very, very organized," said independent historian Edward Lawler Jr., whose scholarly work first brought attention to the President's House and its occupants.
"He has kept ATAC organized, and their continued pushing on individuals and on political figures and their public demonstrations have kept [the issue] in the public eye."
