Black History Month: Octavius Catto - A 19th Century Black Civil Rights Figure

Since 1976, the month of February has been officially signified by Black History Month in the United States. It was not until December 1995, according to the Government of Canada, that its commemoration became recognized in February. It is characterized as a celebration of the accomplishments of Black Americans and Canadians in numerous areas of life, such as business and politics, throughout those countries’ respective histories. In his proclamation on February 1, President Donald Trump noted “the contributions African American have made and continue to make are an integral part of our society, and the history of African Americans exemplifies the resilience and innovative spirit that continue to make our Nation great.” To the north in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated “I urge all Canadians to reflect on the bravery and courage of individuals like Viola Desmond, a prominent Black Canadian businesswoman who changed the course of Canadian history by defiantly refusing to leave a whites-only area of a movie theatre in 1946.” As part of this month, I would like to draw particular attention to someone who, like Ms. Desmond, also changed the course of history, in the United States to be exact, but has had minimal historical recognition. That person is a man named Octavius Catto.

Accordingly, Octavius Catto was born on February 22, 1839 in Charleston, South Carolina. Furthermore, he was a teacher in mathematics and English at the Institute for Coloured Youth, which is contemporarily known as Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, in his adult life. More prominently, however, Catto was a civil rights activist fighting for greater freedoms for Black Americans in politics and sports and other areas during his time. His commitment also culminated in his collaboration with Frederick Douglass, another 19th century civil rights and slavery abolitionist figure. The news organization Timeline considered him the forgotten hero of the mainstream Civil Rights Movement that swept America for much of the 1950s and 60s. This is based on the fact that many of his political actions historically reflected those of civil rights figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

As with Parks and public buses in Alabama, Catto protested racial segregation of streetcars by staging a sit-in. His advocacy for desegregation in public transit systems in Philadelphia eventually gained passage in the Pennsylvania legislature in 1867. Like Dr. King and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Catto was integral in voting rights by advancing Pennsylvania’s adoption of the 15th amendment in the United States Constitution, which granted vote suffrage to Black Americans for the first time in 1870.

Tragically, though, it was because of this and persuading black Philadelphians to vote on Election Day in 1871 that he was killed, or rather martyred, by Frank Kelly, a member of that era’s US Democratic Party intending to suppress the black vote. Octavius Catto’s con

tributions to racial equality and civil rights are indeed significant to not only the struggle that was the 20th century civil rights movement in the United States, but also for the historical nature of Black History Month.