Title
Also naming South Street between 8th and 9th Streets as "Octavius Catto Way" to honor the life and legacy of the civil rights warrior.
Body
WHEREAS, Octavius Catto was born Octavius Valentine Catto in Charleston, South Carolina on February 22, 1839. His family moved to Philadelphia when Octavius was still a child. Catto grew up in Philadelphia and attended the Institute for Colored Youth at 715 Lombard street in Philadelphia; The Institute for Colored Youth (now known as Cheyney University) was one of the finest institutions of its kind in existence at the time, providing a college level of education free of charge to African Americans to prepare them as teachers in black schools. Catto graduated from the Institute in 1858 as valedictorian; and
WHEREAS, Catto was a member of civic, literary, patriotic and political groups, including the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Library Company, 4th Ward Black Political Club, and the Union
League Association. Catto was largely responsible for the adoption of the 'Bill of Rights' for equal access to the public transportation in the city as was legislated in the Commonwealth in 1867 at Catto's urging and activism; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Pythians were one of the earliest Black baseball clubs formed in the United States. They were co-founded in 1865 by Catto and childhood friend and civil rights activist Jacob C. White Jr. The Phythians were one of the first and most successful African American baseball teams. Catto used the sport as a tool for activism, seeking to prove Black equality by competing against white teams. Catto was known for challenging segregation in sports after the Civil War. The Pythians were refused membership in the Pennsylvania State Convention of Baseball due to their race and in September 1869, the Pythians played the all-white Philadelphia Olympics, one of the first interracial games. The structural organization of the team deteriorated after Catto's murder in 1871, but the legacy of t...
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