Quote of the day:

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.
—Frederick Douglass

I’ve been documenting the steady progress of the mural that is taking shape in the 900 block of Bainbridge Street, and Debbie has been wondering who is being depicted. Well, I didn’t have the answer but I realized that I could probably go to the source and find out.

So I sent a note to Mural Arts Philadelphia, the organization that is responsible for the thousands of murals that brighten the cityscape, and in practically no time (ok, it was eight minutes) I received a reply from Amy Johnston:

Thanks for reaching out. We appreciate your interest in Mural Arts. The mural you’ve observed honors William Still & Family. More information is available on our website here: https://muralarts.org/artworks/william-still-and-family/

I recognized the name William Still, but other than remembering that he was involved in the Underground Railroad, I couldn’t call up any more information about him from my memory banks. Amy’s link supplied what my brain lacked:

Painted on the historic Philadelphia home of William Still, William Still and Family is a powerful mural by artist Ernel Martínez that honors the enduring legacy of one of the most influential figures of the Underground Railroad. Still, a prominent abolitionist, author, and civil rights activist, used this very home—shared with his wife Letitia and their children from 1850 to 1855—as a way station to help hundreds of enslaved Africans find freedom. Created in close collaboration with Still’s descendants, the mural features both William and his daughter, Dr. Caroline V. Still Anderson—the first African American licensed physician in Philadelphia. Though other family members are not pictured due to the lack of existing images, their contributions remain vital to the narrative. Through vivid storytelling and symbolic imagery, the mural not only commemorates Still’s unwavering commitment to justice and family reunification, as chronicled in his landmark 1872 book The Underground Railroad, but also invites the public to engage with this vital history and carry its lessons of resilience and liberation forward.

There is more, lots more, about the artist, about the history of the Still family, and a rendition of what the finished mural should look like at the link that Amy supplied: https://muralarts.org/artworks/william-still-and-family/

It’s especially fitting that the mural is being painted on the very home where William Still lived with his family on Delhi Street, a small street just off Bainbridge.

There are many things that I like about living in Philadelphia such as its sense of history, its walkability, its access to the arts with the Philadelphia Orchestra being right up there. And certainly high on the list is the city’s commitment to public art.

After you’ve checked out the page on the William Still and Family Mural, take a few minutes to explore the rest of the Mural Arts Philadelphia web site.