Frankford Friends Forum photographs

The Frankford Friends Forum was started in 1930 by members of the Frankford Friends Indulged Meeting (Unity and Waln Streets). The Forums were held on Sunday afternoons in the historic Meeting House and were open and free to the public. The forums would often feature a lecture on social issues, economics, peace, justice, and domestic and international politics. In addition, the September forum in presidential and mayoral election years was often a debate between representatives of the various candidates. There were usually six forums a year.

Walter Cook Longstreth (1881-1975) was influential in starting the Forum and was the organizer until 1951 when he handed the responsibilities over to other members of the Meeting. During the first several years of the Forum, it was difficult to attract a large audience since the Frankford Friends Meeting is located in an out of the way part of town. As the Forum became more established, its popularity grew and the average forum drew about 100 attenders. Some of the more famous speakers at the Forum were Henry Cadbury, Bayard Rustin, Douglas Steere, William Wistar Comfort, and Scott Nearing.