Two New Center City Murals Honor Community Leaders and Activists in Philly

There’s now an incredible new pair of murals around MSB Plaza in Center City from artist Russell Craig and Mural Arts Philadelphia! Tilted Crown: Freedom and Crown: Medusa, Russell’s murals pay tribute to Black women activists as well as to the collective movement to heal the BIPOC community through yoga and meditation, with a focus on health and well-being. All murals in the series are set against a backdrop of names of Black people killed by police in the United States.

The mural on the west side of the building, Crown: Medusa (pictured first and third), honors SpiritsUp! founder Sudan Green (front, center), as well as (from left to right), Max Ho, Debora Charmelus, Christina Jackson, Aaliyah Michelle, and Gregory Coachman.

And Crown: Freedom (pictured second), the mural on the east side, pays tribute to Black women activists. The individuals featured in this mural (from left to right) are Dr. Ala Stanford, Sajda “Purple” Blackwell, Ajeenah Amir, Krystal Strong, Kezia Ridgeway, YahNé Ndgo, and Pam and Ramona Africa.

These new murals sit where countless protests have taken place over the years. And where a statue to Philadelphia’s former police commissioner and most divisive mayor, racist Frank Rizzo, used to stand before it was taken down soon after the nation’s historic Black Lives Matter marches of 2020. Now in its place rise portraits of contemporary Philadelphians who are working in any number of ways to make our city a better place for its people, along with the names of victims of police violence nationwide. A reflection of our time, and in my opinion a reminder of the work our elected officials must do to demilitarize our police and fund our communities.