THE INAUGURAL SUBVERSIVE SOJOURN
The Philadelphia Subversive Sojourn
Friday, August 28, 2026
SOLIDARITY & SOVEREIGNTY
For leaders seeking evidence and inspiration that another way is possible.
Join us for a one-of-a-kind experience through one of the most extraordinary and overlooked examples of freedom-building in American history: the free Black community of 1838.
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What clues and blueprints have these ancestors left us to help us build a better future for all? What if we approached history as a living source of innovation and restoration for us today?
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Only 22 spots available
We See You.
The old answers don’t work for the world we’re living in.
Not for the organizations we’re leading, or the communities we’re trying to sustain.
You’ve felt it, haven’t you? The endless cycle of rage and reacting. The pressure to do more with less. The grief of watching hard-won progress dismantled.
And the exhaustion of carrying hope for others when your own reserves are running low.
This Sojourn experience is designed to serve you. We come together to explore possibilities through a different set of questions:
How can we build what’s next when the systems weren’t built for us?
What if our ancestors offered hidden ideas and blueprints for how we can shape a better future?
What opportunities become possible when we approach history as a living archive of innovation, restoration, and collective care?
What if the most radical act you can do as a leader right now is to fill your cup and restore your capacity for imagination again?
WHY PHILADELPHIA
Because the leaders here faced challenges that ring familiar to us today.
Free Black Philadelphians in 1838 built something most of America didn’t imagine possible. A thriving ecosystem designed to receive people coming out of slavery. Housing and property ownership. A banking system. A network of employment, a school, and a safe passage of mutual aid.
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How did they do it? What can leaders today learn from people who did not wait for permission to be free? They built the conditions for freedom themselves.
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As Philadelphia prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America this summer, it sets the physical backdrop for us to engage with the very places where alternative movements of freedom were birthed and nurtured.
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Join us to explore and reimagine history – as a leadership tool for future-making together.
THE SOJOURN EXPERIENCE
Pre-Sojourn Activities
Before we meet in person, we meet online where you'll connect with your fellow Sojourners, begin to dream into the questions the Sojourn will hold.
You’ll arrive in Philadelphia already knowing the names and faces of the people you'll walk with.
A second virtual gathering will deepen the bonds formed in the first, set your personal intentions for the day, and prepare your body and mind for what's coming. By the time you step into our privately reserved home on August 28th, the room will already feel like yours.
THE DAY - Friday, August 28, 2026
9:00 AM
Gather • Light breakfast at our shared house in Old City. Good food, good people, and a luxurious space to remember you’re a human being, not just a leader.
9:45 AM
Group Ride to Tour • A short ride to where the tour begins.
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Private, Guided 1838 Black Metropolis Walking Tour • A two-hour guided tour through the sites of the free Black community and the Underground Railroad. This is the heaviest and most generative material of the day.
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Lunch Break • Independent time to go on a choose-your-own-adventure lunch. Or take quiet time in the house to process or rest.
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
African American Museum in Philadelphia • We’ve reserved a private studio space inside AAMP to make art together. Collage, paint, prompts, and spaciousness to play and ignite our imagination and innovation.
We process what we saw through our hands before we try to find words for it. Then we talk about what came up.
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Dinner at Home Base • Back to our shared house for a cozy, artisanal meal catered by Black-owned Honeysuckle, founded by James Beard Award Semifinalists Chef Omar Tate and Chef Cybille St. Aude-Tate. The real conversation Solidarity and Sovereignty and what alternative timelines we want to create begins here.
8:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Closing Ceremony • We hold sacred space for ourselves as Sojourners express gratitude for one another and make commitments to carry what they've witnessed forward. You leave holding something — said aloud, written, witnessed by the people who walked with you.
After the Sojourn
Post-Sojourn Integration Gathering Virtual · The insights that percolate after an experience like this are often the most important ones. We come back together online to integrate what landed, share what's shifted, and support each other in bringing the Sojourn's lessons into the work waiting at home.
Two Ways to Sojourn
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Local Sojourner
For those who live in or near Philadelphia
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(2) Pre-Sojourn virtual gatherings to build community
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Light breakfast at the Diplomat
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Private group The 1838 Black Philadelphia walking tour
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Private guided creative studio session at the African American Museum with all art supplies
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Private catered dinner at Honeysuckle
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Closing Ceremony
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A welcome tote with a journal, a bottle of water, and a small gift from a local Black-owned business
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(1) Post-Sojourn virtual integration gathering
Traveling Sojourner
For those coming from out of town
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Everything in the Local Sojourner package, plus:
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Luxury accommodations at the Diplomat, a boutique private residence in Old City
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Private bedroom and bathroom
Thursday evening gathering for early arrivals -
Saturday morning breakfast at the house to give you fuel as you depart
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Split your purchase into smaller, manageable payments with Klarna financing.
Financing provided by Klarna. Subject to credit approval. Plans range from 3-24 months with interest rates beginning at 0.00% APR
Want to learn more before you book? Sign up on the interest list, and we'll follow up with you to chat and answer your questions.
Let's Talk 💬
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
A few things to know about the day
This Sojourn is intentionally small. We are capping the Sojourn at 22 people. Most spots will go to leaders local to the Philadelphia area. A smaller number are reserved for travelers.
The tour involves walking. Around two hours on your feet, with movement between sites. If accessibility is a concern, please reach out before booking and we can talk through.
The tour material is inspiring AND heavy. We are walking through the history of slavery, escape, and Black community-building under harsh conditions. We have built rest, art-making, and reflection into the day for this reason.
This is a lived learning experience, not a workshop or a training. No slide decks. No takeaways document. No framework lecture. The teachers are the city, the ancestors, and the people at the table.
We are investing in the community we are witnessing. Every venue and vendor we are working with is locally owned.
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Our witnessing is on the land of the Lenape. The land stewarded by the Lenape was stolen by European colonizers, who repeatedly broke treaties and promises to the Lenape. We are donating a portion of our proceeds to the Lenape Tribe to support their ongoing efforts to honor their Lenape ancestors by strengthening their sovereignty, preserving their culture, and promoting the well-being of Lenape citizens
JOIN US AT THE TABLE
This Sojourn is for you if...
You’re carrying a team, organization, community, or movement and quietly wondering who is carrying you.
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You’ve spent years advancing equity, justice, belonging, healing of human-centered leadership and feel grief watching hard-won progress come under attack.
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You’re tired of being told the choices in front of you are the only ones available.
You’re hungry for fresh possibilities and skeptical of performative optimism.
You want to connect meaningfully with people who feel the same weight, and are devoted to building what comes next.
You suspect the next era won’t come from pushing harder but with cycles of rest with purpose.
You’re curious about the 1838 free Black community of Philadelphia, the Maroons, the Beguines, or any of the freedom communities and felt a quiet jolt of recognition.
No expertise required. You need to be willing to walk, to make, to eat, and to talk honestly with the people at the table.
MEET OUR PHILADELPHIA CO-HOST
Meet Stephanie Zhong
Stephanie is a brand alchemist and Human Design leadership coach who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs, coaches and leaders turn their brilliance into a movement-worthy message that grows their visibility and impact.
A NOTE FROM ALLI
This is the first Subversive Sojourn. Philadelphia was the first city I lived in as an adult, and it feels right to begin here, where there is so much of the nation's complex history on display.
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I am building it with my co-host Steph, who lives in Philadelphia and knows this story from the inside.
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I have wanted to make something like this for a long time. An experience for visionaries day that is part walking, part making, part eating, part listening. A day where the ancestors become our teachers, and their experiences are the curriculum. A day that ends with your cup full and knowing uncover something in your body that you did not know in the morning.
If that sounds like something your spirit needs, come explore the ground where people created what seemed impossible – together.
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- Alli
RESERVING YOUR SEAT
Booking Now Open!
22 seats remaining.
A few notes on payment logistics:
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Full payment reserves your seat.
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25% of the payment is nonrefundable. Refunds are available based on the following schedule:
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75% refund is available through June 29, 2026.
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50% refund is available from June 30 to July 29, 2026.
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25% from July 30 to August 14, 2026.
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After August 14, the Sojourn is non-refundable, but your seat is transferable to someone else with notice or to a future Subversive Sojourn.
Split your purchase into smaller, manageable payments with Klarna financing.
Financing provided by Klarna. Subject to credit approval. Plans range from 3-24 months with interest rates beginning at 0.00% APR
BEFORE YOU BOOK
A few things people ask...
Is travel included for non-local guests? No. The non-local price includes one night of shared lodging at the Diplomat in Old City. You are responsible for getting yourself to Philadelphia.
Can I bring a partner or a friend? Each ticket is for one Sojourner. If you would like to come together, please each book your own seat. The day is built around the cohort being together.
What if I want to come early or stay later? We love this. Reach out and we share some ideas to help you make a weekend of it. Philadelphia has more to offer than one day can hold.
What if I have dietary needs? We will ask about dietary needs after booking. Our caterers can accommodate most needs with notice.
What if I need to cancel? A A 75% refund is available through June 29, 2026. 50% refund is available from June 30 to July 29, 2026. 25% from July 30 to August 14, 2026. After August 14, the Sojourn is non-refundable, but your seat is transferable to someone else with notice or to a future Subversive Sojourn.
How are you making the Sojourn trauma-informed? The history we are walking through is heavy. The day is designed with intentional rest, art-making, and community to hold what comes up. We've developed the experience with care, to ensure Sojourners have agency and the information they need to support their selves.
Will there be more Sojourns? Yes. Houston, Oakland, Detroit, and Alabama are in development for 2026 - 2027. Sign up for the email list to hear about them first.
Come Witness with Us.
Friday, August 28. Philadelphia. Solidarity and Sovereignty.
Split your purchase into smaller, manageable payments with Klarna financing.
Financing provided by Klarna. Subject to credit approval. Plans range from 3-24 months with interest rates beginning at 0.00% APR