SEPTA installs historical displays to honor Cecil B. Moore

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- He was a prominent Philadelphia defense attorney and a civil rights leader. Cecil B. Moore would have turned 104 years old Tuesday.

To celebrate, historical displays that SEPTA installed were unveiled at North Philadelphia's Cecil B. Moore Station.

A digital board flashes biographical information on the southbound side. There are plaques across the street on the northbound side of the station.

The Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters have worked on this project for years. President Karen Asper Jordan explained, "Cecil B. Moore changed the face of Philadelphia."

Some of the Philadelphia Freedom fighters met Moore when they were teenagers, perhaps most famously protesting with him in the fight to desegregate Girard College.

Jordan said, "The case was won in court, but he had us out there on the picket lines. We demonstrated for 7 months and seventeen days to keep the eyes of the world on the hypocrisy."

Richard J. Watson has also worked to keep Moore's legacy alive, telling Action News, "Cecil B. Moore was a man of honor, and he did so much for this city that's unheralded."

Moore studied law at Temple University. A Montford Point Marine, he served in World War II. His military experience would go on to influence his approach to civil rights.

His daughter Cecily Moore Banks explained the importance of these displays elaborating, "It ensures history lives on, as opposed to people walking by and saying that's a name on a street sign. It gives meaning to it. It gives substance."

North Philadelphia's Cecil B. Moore Avenue was renamed in his honor in 1987 and this Broad Street Line Station in 1995.

SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey Knueppel added, "It gives the station historical context, you know, why is it named Cecil B. Moore Station, I think it's great for that."