fɪlɐdˈɛlfiə hæd lˈɔŋ hæd ɐ flˈɜːɹɪʃɪŋ fɹˈiː blˈæk kəmjˈuːnᵻɾi, æz pˈiːpəl hæd fˈaʊnd wˈɜːk ðɛɹ ˈiːvən bᵻfˌoːɹ ðə ɹˌɛvəlˈuːʃən ænd slˈeɪvɚɹi wʌz ɐbˈɑːlɪʃt ˈæftɚ ðɪ ɐmˈɛɹɪkən ɹˌɛvəlˈuːʃənˌɛɹi wˈɔːɹ.
Philadelphia had long had a flourishing free black community, as people had found work there even before the revolution and slavery was abolished after the American Revolutionary War.