By Jason Villemez
PHILADELPHIA The mural on 204 S. 12th Street honoring the legacy of LGBTQ pioneer Gloria Casarez was painted over on Dec. 23. The building and the surrounding complex, which includes the former 12th Street Gym as well as the Henry Minton House (a former home to Black abolitionists) is being demolished to make way for a 31-story residential building.
A coalition of activists from the LGBTQ community, African-American community, and allies and neighbors had been petitioning the developer, Midwood Investment & Development, to save or preserve the mural, but the efforts were unsuccessful. The mural was created in 2015 by artist Michelle Angelina Ortiz and Briana Dawkins of Mural Arts. According to several community sources, no advance notice was given regarding the erasure.