Race and tourism in America's first city

In 1988, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau established its Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC) to attract and monitor minority tourism in one of America's most historic cities. Four years later, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce acknowledged MAC's efforts and ranked Philadelphia the nation's top destination for African American tourists. Coinciding with the fulfillment of several key civil rights projects, particularly the election of Philadelphia's first black mayor, African American tourism ties Philadelphia's existing political and economic growth to the city's racial past. Placing changes in city policies and landscape that accompanied the emergence of this industry in context with overall economic, political, and spatial shifts marking Philadelphia's entrance into a service-driven economy, this article explores the possibility that African American tourism in Philadelphia represents a fusion of politics and racial formation within urban development that opens the door to investigating a new plane of urban racial politics.