Philadelphia honored civil rights activist and educator Octavius V. Catto with a new monument outside City Hall. It is the city’s first public monument to a specific African-American. Catto fought to expand the civil rights of African Americans in the era of the Civil War. He was the headmaster of the Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheney University) of which he also was an alumnus and belonged to numerous civic groups including the Union League of Philadelphia. As a major and inspector of the National Guard, Catto aided in the formation and training of the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. Catto was very active in the struggle to desegregate Philadelphia’s public transportation center and in March 1867, he successfully petitioned Harrisburg to open Pennsylvania’s streetcars to all. An avid athlete, Catto founded the Philadelphia Pythians Baseball Club, one of the earliest African-American baseball teams in the United States.
Catto was assassinated while encouraging African Americans to participate in the 1871 election, the first that was open to them under the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution. Aware of the dangers of his advocacy, Catto was returning to his home to retrieve ammunition for a newly-purchased revolver when he was gunned down by white protestors. He died on October 10, 1871 a short distance from his home.
The monument was unveiled on Tuesday, September 26 in front of a large crowd of spectators. It features a large statue of Catto as well as representations of a voting booth and a streetcar. Also present at the unveiling were representatives from Cheyney University, reenactors of the 3rd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, which Catto helped to organize, and members of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, which Catto attended. The keynote speech was delivered by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who initiated the development of the monument as a member of the city council.