The first statue among the 1500 statues in Philadelphia that represents an African-American girl, dubbed ‘MVP’. The bronze statue of a young teenage girl holding a basketball was inspired by the legendary athlete, Ora Washington.
Washington lived in Philadelphia and played basketball for Germantown Hornets (1930-1931), and later for the Philadelphia Tribune Girls (1932–1942). She led both teams to several wins. Her second superpower was in the tennis filed. She won the American Tennis Association’s national singles title 8 times and won 12 straight double championships (1929–1937). These achievements brought her the title “Queen of Tennis.”
The statue was created by the artist Brian McCutcheon and dedicated on July 31st, 2019. Upon its dedication, it drew a lot of attention since it was the first statue to represent an African-American woman in Philadelphia.
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