The document is a public comment letter regarding a $8 million grant request for the restoration of the First Bank of the United States building in Philadelphia. The commenter notes that the building is associated with Stephen Girard, a slaveholder, and argues that any historical account of the building cannot ignore this painful past. The commenter believes taxpayers' money should not be used to whitewash history and that the restoration project has a responsibility to tell an informed and inclusive American story.

1. 6/1/2018 Gmail - Public Comment for 1st Bank of the United States Project
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=7ce59cfffa&jsver=RE-eEaJ01Ig.en.&cbl=gmail_fe_180524.11_p8&view=pt&q=racp&search=query&th=16278495a9a64e6d&
Faye Anderson <andersonatlarge@gmail.com>
Public Comment for 1st Bank of the United States Project
1 message
Faye Anderson <andersonatlarge@gmail.com> Fri, Mar 30, 2018 at 3:01 PM
To: RA-OB-PublicComment@pa.gov
Cc: FMA <andersonatlarge@gmail.com>
Dear RACP Administration:
I am writing to comment on the 1st Bank of the United States Project which is located in
Philadelphia County.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friends of Independence National Historical Park has
launched a $26 million fundraising campaign to restore the First Bank of the United
States, a historic building that is associated with Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of
the Treasury. The $8,000,000 RACP grant request represents nearly 30 percent of the
total budget for the restoration project.
The First Bank of the United States is also associated with Stephen Girard, a banker who
purchased the building in 1811. Girard was a slaveholder who, at the time of his death,
was the wealthiest man in America. Part of his massive fortune was used to establish
Girard College, a boarding school for “poor, male, white orphans.” For 120 years, the
college excluded African Americans. After more than 60 years of litigation and protest
rallies, one of which was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the college was forced to
admit all races.

2. 6/1/2018 Gmail - Public Comment for 1st Bank of the United States Project
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=7ce59cfffa&jsver=RE-eEaJ01Ig.en.&cbl=gmail_fe_180524.11_p8&view=pt&q=racp&search=query&th=16278495a9a64e6d&
An honest account of the First Bank of the United States cannot be told without including
Stephen Girard. Indeed, there is a growing awareness that institutions must acknowledge
their painful past. Given that the bank building was completed in 1797, it is safe to
assume that slaves were involved in its construction and maintenance. As with the
President’s House, which is also located in the Independence National Historical Park,
taxpayers’ money must not be used to whitewash history. Stephanie K. Meeks, president
and chief executive officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, observed:
We have a responsibility to help our country confront the complex and difficult
chapters of our history and to help communities move forward in an informed and
inclusive way.
If the 1st Bank of the United States Project is selected for funding, the Office of the
Budget has a responsibility to ensure the beneficiary of the RACP grant tells an American
story that is informed and inclusive.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Faye M. Anderson
Director

3. 6/1/2018 Gmail - Public Comment for 1st Bank of the United States Project
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=7ce59cfffa&jsver=RE-eEaJ01Ig.en.&cbl=gmail_fe_180524.11_p8&view=pt&q=racp&search=query&th=16278495a9a64e6d&
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