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This article was curated by Caitlyn Arnwine (formerly Caitlyn Cobb) in 2024. There is a complete source list at the bottom of this article. All sources are also linked throughout the article in green. For more on the #VRABlackHistory Series, see underneath the sources list.
Today, February 10th, 2025, we honor Octavius V. Catto. “Octavius Valentine Catto (1839 – 1871) was one of the most influential African American leaders in Philadelphia during the 19th century. Inspired by the Civil War, Catto became an adamant activist for the abolition of slavery and establishment of equal rights for all men, regardless of race. He successfully fought for the desegregation of Philadelphia’s public trolleys [he organized this with Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass, and in addition to having people hold meetings and write letters, it is believed Catto organized pregnant women and college students to simply go on the street cars en masse!] and ratification of the 15th amendment to the Constitution, which bars voting discrimination on the basis of race [which allowed African American men to vote, but not African American women]. In addition to his work as a Civil Rights activist, he was also an educator [“Catto himself had become the highest paid teacher in Philadelphia” by 1870!], scholar, writer, and accomplished baseball player – helping to recognize Philadelphia as a Negro baseball league focal point…Catto was only thirty-two when he was shot and killed outside of his home on Philadelphia’s South Street on October 10, 1871, the first election day that African Americans were allowed to vote. His activism and efforts to get African Americans to the polls led to his murder – a violent action that was seen as a result of widespread intimidation by whites to deter the black vote.”
A Black History Hero No Longer Forgotten
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