Sep 28, 2017

Thursday

An Overdue Welcome

Philadelphia unveiled a new monument at City Hall Tuesday dedicated to largely unsung civil rights martyr Octavius V. Catto. He essentially attempted the same actions that both Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks did, only 80-90 years earlier, in addition to his military activities during the Civil War and voter registration work.

The monument is well-deserved and I give the the city credit for putting it up, but given Philadelphia's demographics, it is disappointing that he is the only black person honored with a public monument in the city. 

Class 8.2 gave a presentation about Catto to the middle school during assembly on September 18.

Philly presents long overdue honor to 'true American hero' Octavius Catto