Did you know that Philadelphia annually holds Black History Month mural tours that display historical Black figures?
February is well-known across the nation and the world as being Black History Month. This month is observed by countries such as the United States, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Carter G. Woodson, a Black historian, originally declared the second week of February to be “Negro History Week” in 1926, yet over the years it grew into an entire month of honoring the accomplishments of Black people.
On the tour, attendees are taken on a tour trolley, and for two hours, they are given a lesson on the stories of those who paved the way for Black people to be as successful as they are today. Attendees can expect historical figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his wife Coretta Scott King, W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X and many more.
Attendees will also get to learn about the various artists who painted these murals and their reasoning for doing so. The murals are all over different parts of Philadelphia neighborhoods such as South Street and Broad Street. They will also get the chance to see murals such as, “A Celebration of Poetry” which depicts the journey of an African-American poet. The mural is of two women and one of them is pouring water into the ground while the other plays an instrument. This is meant to symbolize how rich Black poetry is because of where it was birthed out of as well as the many things that rose from it, such as jazz music and the blues.
It costs between $28-$32 to attend the tour. However, if interested, people can simply look up the locations of where certain murals are, gather up a group of friends and go on a journey for themselves to learn about Black history through an artistic lens. For more information, visit muralarts.org.
Katherine Thomas 
Will Cunningham 
Lenora Kirkland