Nutter said the money would go toward the O.V. Catto Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization, in support of the design and installation of a statue of Catto at the southwest corner of City Hall's Dilworth Plaza. Nutter said the goal was to raise $2 million for the project.
Surrounded by members of O.V. Catto Elks Lodge No. 20, based in North Philadelphia, Nutter described Catto as a "man who deeply believed in the power of education and the empowerment of the African American community."
Catto was a "man who was murdered for his beliefs," Nutter said, "and one of Philadelphia's most active black leaders."
The mayor was joined by City Councilman James F. Kenney, who over the last few years has urged the installation of a statue honoring Catto.
Kenney said the money the city was committing to the project would help generate corporate and foundation contributions to the effort.
"Why is it important to have a statue of O.V. Catto on the apron of City Hall?" Kenney asked. "This is about American history, American history that's been denied, that's been written out of history books, that's been done intentionally."
Kenney said Catto "was the Martin Luther King of his day. He was the Jackie Robinson of his day . . . and he was assassinated on South Street, where we recreate today, because he was bringing people to the polls to vote."
Murray Dubin, who with Inquirer politics editor Daniel R. Biddle wrote the recent book Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America, hailed the effort to build the statue.
"When Dan and I started this project, we both thought there were about a dozen people in the world who heard of Catto," Dubin said.
