Cecil B. Moore Freedom Fighters

Artists Felix St. Fort and Gabe Tiberino have joined forces in this mural honoring the Cecil B. Moore Freedom Fighters. Rather than focus solely on their namesake, this mural highlights the unseen women and young people behind this iconic 1960s Philadelphia civil rights group. Under the leadership of the indomitable Cecil B. Moore, teens and young adults successfully desegregated Girard College in 1965 and got into “good trouble,” as civil rights legend John Lewis so famously called it.

This incredibly timely subject connects the youth of today with the civil rights and voter registration work of the young people from over 50 years ago.

St. Fort and Tiberino used a mixture of portraits and graphic elements, such as Adinkra symbols, to create a unique mural. Adinkra symbols represent different concepts or ideas and originate from West Africa, specifically a region that is now-called Ghana. The Freedom Fighters determined 10 Adinkra symbols that reflect the values and lessons of their civil rights work in North Philadelphia: Knowledge, Unity, Perseverance, Power of Love, Fortitude, Service, Democracy, Justice, Excellence, and Encouragement.

To encourage community participation in the age of social distancing, Mural Kits were distributed to local public schools and trusted neighborhood partner sites. Each mural kit included a small, paint-by-numbers Adinkra symbol printed on a parachute cloth material, along with three paintbrushes and three paint colors.