Love Philly? So do we. Let’s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today.
Andre Saunders shares his love for art and creativity in many ways. As a Philly-based poet, author, creative writing teacher and hip hop artist, Saunders already has a long list of things to be proud of (including his work as part of the Healing Verse Germantown public art project).
And he can now add one more accolade to the list – he is the winner of Creative Philadelphia’s contest to add an inspirational quote to the base of a new Harriet Tubman statue.
The contest called for quotes that answered the question: “What does it mean to walk in Harriet Tubman’s footsteps today?”
The winning quote reads: “Carry your light into the dark, for on the other side of fear is freedom.”
“A friend of mine gave me a book the day before [I submitted the quote] to just get me in the right mental space, a quick read,” Saunders said.
“I read that and just settled my thoughts, and I had a list of notes that I had written with just ideas, and then I kind of went and grabbed the pieces that I thought would resonate the most, and then I wrote the quote.”
Saunders explained he was very confident with his submission. He said he is grateful that the community saw his vision with the quote.
“No matter if it’s one person or a million people, I am always grateful for people to support me and recognize my work and my words, and I’m just happy that it means that much to people,” he said. “I’m glad that people thought that it was fitting for the occasion of such a historic statue and something so meaningful.”
Initial controversy
The contest and quote submission process follows years of controversy over the statue. The statue was initially a temporary exhibit sculpted by a white artist Wesley Wofford.
When the city commissioned Wofford to create a permanent statute, some residents expressed concerns that the commission process was not transparent enough and did not include enough voices, particularly for Black artists.
The city responded by issuing an open call for artists, and after several rounds, New York/New Jersey-based artist Alvin Pettit was chosen. The statue’s design attempts to capture Tubman “as a conqueror.”
The final statue, with Petit’s design and Saunders’ quote inscription, is expected to be in front of City Hall later this year.
“I’m just very honored and grateful to be selected for such a big cause of something so historic in the city,” Saunders said.
