New Harriet Tubman Statue Design Selected for Philadelphia’s City Hall After Controversy

A new design for a Harriet Tubman statue outside of Philadelphia’s city hall has been selected, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. It will be the first portrayal of an historical Black woman in the city’s public art collection. The city previously faced criticism for initially selecting a white male artist.

Jersey City–based sculptor Alvin Pettit beat out four competing semifinalists. His bronze statue, titled A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter, will stand almost 14 feet tall. It will depict Tubman standing on a pile of broken shackles with her hands folded in prayer and a rifle hanging on her shoulder.

“She is shown in majestic prayer. Perhaps she is calling upon her faith or contemplating a battle,” Pettit explained at a news conference on Monday.

“I captured a moment in time that shows her as a conqueror,” he added as he showed off a clay model for the work.

Tubman was a famed abolitionist who escaped slavery in the American South and then helped free other enslaved people of color on the Underground Railroad. She worked as a scout, a spy, and a nurse in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

City officials had offered the commission to North Carolina–based sculptor Wesley Wofford last year after a traveling iteration of his 2017 Tubman statue was on view at city hall. A group of artists and activists protested the choice, saying that a Black artist should have been given the opportunity instead.

Wofford then reneged on the project, and the city’s office of arts, culture, and the creative economy issued an open call in August 2022.

City officials chose the finalists before allowing the public to weigh in. The final selection was ultimately decided among city officials and Philly’s African American statue advisory committee, which includes members of Tubman’s family.

This is not the first time Pettit has made a monumental sculpture of an historic Black figure. His previous work includes sculptures of educator and philanthropist Mary McLeod Bethune and iconic singer Marian Anderson.

The project will cost $500,000, a fee that will come out of the city’s operating budget. It is slated to be completed by 2025.