Search results for: in Philadelphia

A monument commemorating American Labor Movements and key events in the labor history stands at the center of Elmwood Park in Southwest Philadelphia, an area of working-class neighborhoods. The monument was designed by John Kindness and was dedicated in 2010. It features a circle of seven round knee-level bronze tables resembling work bottoms. The artist was inspired by the blue denim clothing the workers used to wear. Near each table, there is a bench, inviting visitors to sit and interact, touch, and learn from reliefs carved on the tables. Each one of the seven tables represents an important person or event in labor history, two are related to women: The table of Karen Silkwood commemorates the labor activist who raised safety problems that happened in the fuel fabrication site she worked in as a chemical technician. Silkwood died in a mysterious car accident on her way to a meeting with a New York Times journalist to share her concerns and findings. The table of Bread & Roses – Labor & the Women’s Rights Movement – commemorates the famous strike that happened in 1912 by thousands of textile mill workers, mostly women in Lawrence, MA, after their salary was cut. Their slogan was, “We want bread and roses, too.” This event enhanced the contributions of women to the labor force. The rest of the tables commemorate: – Eugene V. Debs who organized the American Railway Union (ARU), the first industrial union in the US in 1893. – The United Farm Workers which organized in 1966 to increase the awareness of the poor conditions of the immigrant farmworkers. – Child labor reform. – African-American sanitation workers in Memphis, TN, who demanded equality. – The Industrial Workers of the World is also known as I.W.W. or “The Wobblies,” established in 1905 to represent all working people, using music to spread their agenda. Read more...

A bronze statue of the famous singer Kate Smith used to stand at the entrance of the Xfinity Live venue in Philadelphia. Smith’s rendition of “God Bless America” was played in the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers home games since the 1970s, and in her honor, they erected her statue on October 5th, 1987, a year after her death. Kate Smith (1907–1986) was a renowned singer and a radio and TV star for five decades. Since December 11th, 1969, her rendition of “God Bless America” was played before Philadelphia Flyers home games, and was even performed live several times. The song was announced before the games by the Flyers announcer “Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we ask that you please rise and remove your hats and salute to our flags and welcome the number-one ranked anthemist in the NHL, Lauren Hart, as she sings “God Bless America,” accompanied by the great Kate Smith.” The statue was created by Marc Mellon and originally was placed outside what was back then the Wachovia Spectrum. It was moved outside of “Xfinity Live!” after the arena was demolished in 2011. On April 21st, 2019, NHL announced that they would stop playing the song performed by Smith, and her statue was removed. The reason was because of a racist song she recorded in 1939 – “That’s why darkies were born.” Many criticized this action and wondered how come 30 years after the statue was standing, and even more years of her recording playing, the Philadelphia Flyers suddenly took down the statue. No one knows where it is since then. Read more...

Outside the Friends Center, a Quaker hub in Philadelphia, stands a statue of the Boston martyr Mary Dyer, conveying that this “is a place of both conviction and contemplation.”  Mary Dyer was hanged in Boston in 1660 while fighting for religious freedom. In those days in the Massachusetts Colony, Quakers were considered as heretics. Dyer was banished several times from the colony but decided to stand by her beliefs and came back. On the fourth time, she was sentenced to death. Her death stopped the persecution of Quakers and influenced the legalization of religious freedom. The statue is a replica of the Mary Dyer statue at the entrance of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. It was brought to Philadelphia in 1975 by the Fairmount Park Art Association. Another replica stands at Stout Meetinghouse at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. The statue was created by the Quaker sculptress Sylvia Shaw Judson, who depicted Dyer sitting on a praying bench, her hands in her lap, and she looks down at them. The title on the pedestal reads:  “MARY DYER QUAKER WITNESS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM HANGED ON BOSTON COMMON 1660” Read more...

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.   Read more...

This statue is a gilded bronze sculpture of Joan of Arc – a French heroine who led army forces against the English conquerors during the Hundred Years’ War. The figure of Jeanne d’Arc on her steed in full battle armor, holding her banner and ready to defeat the English enemy. It is a replica of a statue made in France in the 19th century by Emmanuel Fremiet, though sculptured from the same mold as the original statue. It was unveiled in 1890 and relocated to a site near the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1948. Read more...