Los Angeles-based artist Ramsess is working on a stained-glass window for the front door of the Robeson House & Museum at 4951 Walnut Street in West Philadelphia. The artist is a longtime admirer of Robeson, having produced other stained glass images as well as quilts.
“I had been out of high school for two years, and I didn’t know anything about Black history, and Robeson opened the door to all that,” Ramses told us during a stop at the house in December.
He created his first drawing of Robeson – as Emperor Jones – in 1976 when the great man died. He got into quilt-making in 2006 and has donated a quilt to the Robeson House.
The stained-glass window will be unveiled on Friday, April 14, 2023, along with a street-renaming ceremony and block party. The 4900 block of Walnut Street has been renamed Paul L. Robeson Way by Philadelphia City Council. Our friends, supporters and neighbors are invited to this community event, which begins at 9 am.
As part of our prelude to Robeson’s 125th birthday celebration, we are presenting photos of Ramsess in the process of making the stained-glass window for the front door.
The birthday celebration from April 8-15 also includes a performance by “Sweet Honey in the Rock,” social-justice speakers, two Welsh choirs with ties to Robeson and bus trips to historical sites linked to him. Check them all out at paulrobesonhouse.org.t 9
