Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Philly Unveils Its 1st Statue of an African American, Civil Rights Activist Octavius Catto
Better than a damn racist general...
The monument to the 19th-century activist Octavius Catto honors his legacy in voting, education, and baseball.
Today (September 26) a statue of 19th-century civil rights activist and teacher Octavius V. Catto was unveiled outside of Philadelphia’s City Hall. The 12-foot-tall bronze is at the center of a memorial that honors his extensive contributions, from rallying for the desegregation of street cars, to establishing African American baseball clubs. Emblazoned on granite pillars shaped like upended trolley cars are selections from his words: “There must come a change … which shall force upon this nation … that course which Providence seems wisely to be directing for the mutual benefit of … peoples.”
Catto was killed on October 10, 1871 at the age of 32. It was the eve of the first Election Day in which he would have the right to vote, thanks to the 15th Amendment. An outspoken activist for the ratification in Pennsylvania of the amendment, which gave men the right to vote regardless of race or “previous condition of servitude,” he was shot three times on the street near his home. As the Philadelphia Tribune reported, there are over 1,700 public statues now in the city, but this is the first dedicated to an individual African American figure. It was designed by sculptor Branly Cadet, with support from the city and the Catto Memorial Fund.
Catto was killed on October 10, 1871 at the age of 32. It was the eve of the first Election Day in which he would have the right to vote, thanks to the 15th Amendment. An outspoken activist for the ratification in Pennsylvania of the amendment, which gave men the right to vote regardless of race or “previous condition of servitude,” he was shot three times on the street near his home. As the Philadelphia Tribune reported, there are over 1,700 public statues now in the city, but this is the first dedicated to an individual African American figure. It was designed by sculptor Branly Cadet, with support from the city and the Catto Memorial Fund.
https://hyperallergic.com/402400/octavius-catto-statue-unveiled-philadelphia/