Welcome to
Legacy Reclaimed
A tribute to Philadelphia’s historic 7th Ward
Support for 7th Ward Tribute has been provided to the Mayor's Fund for Philadelphia by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
7th Ward Tribute Overview
The Philadelphia City Archives, Little Giant Creative, and Mural Arts Philadelphia have received funding by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to pay homage to the profound Black history of the 7th Ward. Hearkening back to its progressive beginnings, contemporary thinkers and creatives will lead the collective concepting and design of an outdoor, place-based, experiential art installation exhibit. The Tribute will be open to the public, and will be long term or permanent where possible.
A youth curriculum and self-guided walking tour informed by the research of the 7th Ward’s vibrant history will be developed to capture an accurate account of an important chapter in Philadelphia’s Black history.
Curated events hosted for the general public centered around people, places and events that took place in the 7th Ward will help garner interest in the art installations and walking tour.
A map of Philadelphia’s Historic 7th Ward. Photo courtesy of Philadelphia City Archives.
Paintings by students of Olney Charter School for a Mural Arts program designed to teach about the history of Philadelphia's 7th Ward.
South St and 24th St in Philadelphia's 7th Ward. Photo by Mark C. Leeper.
The Installations
The Tribute will contextualize the Ward’s deeply-rooted Black history and profound contributions from communities often marginalized in history, underscoring that an inclusive future is possible only when we tell the full story of our past.
Artists and Historians will create a series of physical creative homages throughout Philadelphia’s historical 7th Ward to tell a place-based story of the neighborhood, communities, and people who created a vital hub of forward thought and vibrant everyday life.
“ Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. ”
— George Santayana
A Past & Future Project
The 7th Ward Tribute seeks to add important nuance to the story of Philadelphia by making this knowledge accessible and easy for teachers to enrich their discussions around race and history.
The 7th Ward Tribute seeks to resurrect history, not just unearth it. Our place-based, art-centered project will commission and prioritize Black artists and historians to create long term (or permanent where possible) public art installations in Philadelphia, indicating the borders of what was once the 7th Ward. These artists and historians will imbue this homage with the same kind of genius that the 7th Ward was known for. The 7th Ward Tribute is not just a history project; it’s a present and future project. George Santayana’s popular aphorism rings true: “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The coordinated disenfranchisement that ended the 7th Ward maps dovetails current conversations about gentrification, discriminatory zoning, and erasure in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities.
To foster lasting equity and anti-racism in cities, we must understand that papered-over histories repeat themselves. Our hope is to coalesce the great work occurring in all cities to reveal its rich, vibrant + unfiltered Black history. The histories of the people who shaped our cities and country that have been systemically white washed. The Tribute posits the imperative of recognizing the national narrative of the Black and Brown experience, contributions and disenfranchisement. This history must be celebrated and permanently replace the existing paradigm of erasure and denial.
