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Also naming the 3600 block of Market Street as "Walt Palmer-Black Bottom Way" to honor Dr. Walter Palmer and his services and contributions to the Black Bottom and the City of Philadelphia.
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WHEREAS, Walter Palmer is a civil rights activist, a West Philadelphia historian, and an award-winning professor with degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Cheyney University with his Juris Doctorate from Howard University; and
WHEREAS, At age 21, Palmer founded the W.D. Palmer Foundation which has supported many projects fighting against racial segregation in education, business, politics, and healthcare; and
WHEREAS, In 1957, Palmer was named director of Cardiopulmonary Care at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, becoming one of the first Black and youngest directors in the nation and helping to desegregate two major Philadelphia hospitals, and
WHEREAS, Throughout the 1960s, Palmer founded and organized many grassroots movements such as the Black People's Unity Movement and the International Anti-War Peace Movement Conference. Palmer created and co-founded numerous spaces for Black Americans to come together, educate, and bring awareness to discrimination that they face in historically white spaces, such as the Black Student Union and Black Student League of Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia City-wide Black Ministries Organization; and
WHEREAS, In 1976, Palmer created the Black Bottom Community Association to preserve the history of displaced populations and educate the public about the resistance of Black Bottom community members who fought against physical and culture erasure at the hands of the West Philadelphia Corporation, University of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority; and
WHEREAS, Despite this thriving black community being displaced in the name of "Urban Renewal," Palmer has worked tirelessly to ensure that its history remains protected and its spirit stands tall....
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