Ben Fletcher Mural Campaign

The Racial Justice Committee of Philly DSA is hosting bi-monthly meetings related to ongoing coordination of a mural making campaign seeking to uplift the legacy of Ben Fletcher to commemorate the history of interracial labor organizing in the city of Philadelphia.

Ben Fletcher was an African-American leader of Local 8, part of the Marine Transport Worker Industrial Union, the most powerful interracial and multiethnic union of the World War I era that organized relentlessly against racism, exclusion, and xenophobia. He was a crucial part of Philadelphia history, yet he remains relatively unknown.

This campaign is building upon the shared knowledge, contributions, and endorsements of:

-Living heirs of Ben Fletcher
-Philly DSA Steering Committee, Racial Justice Committee, and Labor Branch
-Mural Arts Philadelphia
-Philly IWW
-Philly Socialists
-Workers World Party - Philadelphia Chapter
-Dr. Peter Cole, Professor of History at Western Illinois University
-Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations at the University of Pennsylvania
-Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University
-Dr. Jasmine Noelle Yarish - Professor of Political Science at the University of District of Columbia
-Councilmember Mark Squilla
-Councilmember-At-Large Helen Gym
-Members of the International Longshoreman’s Association Local 1291
-Independence Seaport Museum