PRINTER'S NO. 2122
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
400
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY RABB, FREEMAN, DONATUCCI, HARRIS, KINSEY,
DiGIROLAMO, KORTZ, YOUNGBLOOD, MURT, SAMUELSON, CEPHAS,
McCLINTON, HILL-EVANS, PASHINSKI, DALEY, MARKOSEK, MULLINS,
NEILSON, CALTAGIRONE, SOLOMON, DAWKINS AND ROZZI,
JUNE 12, 2019
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 12, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and legacy of Octavius Valentine Catto, civil
rights activist, educator, military officer and baseball
player.
WHEREAS, Octavius Valentine Catto was born a free Black man
to the Reverend William T. Catto, a prominent Presbyterian
minister and former slave, and Sara Isabella Cain in Charleston,
South Carolina, on February 22, 1839; and
WHEREAS, At a young age, Mr. Catto's family moved north to
Philadelphia where he was afforded an excellent education,
attending Vaux Primary School and then Lombard Grammar School,
both segregated institutions; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto's family briefly relocated to Allentown,
New Jersey, where he attended the all-white Allentown Academy;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto became a student at the Quaker-sponsored
Institute for Colored Youth, now Cheyney University, when his
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family returned to Philadelphia where he excelled in his studies
and graduated as valedictorian in 1858; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto continued his education with postgraduate
studies in the classical languages in Washington, DC, and upon
his return to Philadelphia, accepted a faculty position at the
Institute for Colored Youth teaching literature, mathematics and
classical languages and serving as an assistant to principal and
prominent educator Ebenezer D. Bassett; and
WHEREAS, In response to the call for emergency troops
following the Confederate Army's invasion of Pennsylvania in
1863, Mr. Catto recruited one of the first volunteer companies,
the 5th Brigade of the Pennsylvania National Guard in which he
served as major and inspector general; and
WHEREAS, After his company was initially turned away, Mr.
Catto joined Frederick Douglass and other prominent Black
leaders in forming a Recruitment Committee and, with the
assistance of the Union League, raised 11 regiments of "Colored
Troops" who were trained at Camp William Penn before being sent
to the war front; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Catto was active in
intellectual and political pursuits and served as a founding
member of the Banneker Literary Institute and the Pennsylvania
State Equal Rights League in October 1864; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto was a member of the Philadelphia Library
Company, the 4th Ward Black Political Club, the Franklin
Institute and other civic, literary, patriotic and political
groups; and
WHEREAS, Following the Civil War, Mr. Catto traveled
throughout the northern states speaking on behalf of the 15th
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and
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encouraging northern politicians to ratify the amendment and
guarantee African Americans the right to vote; and
WHEREAS, In 1866, Mr. Catto began using civil disobedience
and peaceful protesting tactics to bring attention to the
racially segregated public transportation network; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto's efforts led to the eventual integration
of Philadelphia's streetcars and the passage of Pennsylvania's
1867 "Bill of Rights" law that prohibited segregation on transit
systems across this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto believed baseball to be another way in
which African Americans could display independence, skill and
equality; and
WHEREAS, With his childhood friend, Jacob White, Jr., Mr.
Catto formed Philadelphia's second Black baseball team, the
Philadelphia Pythians, of which he was a co-manager and player;
and
WHEREAS, After the ratification of the 15th Amendment in
1870, Mr. Catto educated Black citizens on the voting process
and encouraged them to vote, but many experienced intimidation
and violence leading up to the election as their inclusion
threatened to change the embedded political structure; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Catto was assassinated outside his home by a
political opponent on Election Day, October 10, 1871, alongside
other Blacks as they encouraged African Americans to vote; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia paid homage to Mr. Catto's
extraordinary impact to this Commonwealth, the world and African
Americans by unveiling a 12-foot bronze statue in his likeness
at City Hall called "A Quest for Parity," the city's first
memorial to an African American; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
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and legacy of Octavius Valentine Catto, civil rights activist,
educator, military officer and baseball player; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives remember Octavius
Valentine Catto as part of Black History Month and the American
civil rights story; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representative recognize the
milestones, achievements and legacy of Octavius Valentine
Catto's fight for social justice.
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