America250PA accepted design submissions from Pennsylvania artists for the Bells Across PA art series to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the United States in 2026.
My bell, Freedom Rising, unveiled on December 7, 2025.
Freedom Rising, presented in Philadelphia County.
This reproduction of the Liberty Bell stands as a profound emblem of remembrance and hope. It does more than echo history: it breathes life into the memory of the Middle Passage and honors the countless souls the clung to the ideals of liberty, justice, and freedom even in the darkest of times. Like a story quilt, it weaves together a narrative of Black Excellence – rooted in Resilience, Adaptation, and Reformation.
It is not enough to let our freedom stories fade into silence. To tell them is to reclaim our power, our dignity, and our truth. To control the narrative is to claim agency over our history. These stories live within us; they are waiting to be sought, spoken, and shared.
As the visionary Anna Julia Cooper reminds us:
“The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.”
Side A: Trans-Atlantic Ship rising out of the water
Side B: Mother Bethel AME Church
Side C: Our leaders of Liberation
Side D: Quote from Bishop Richard Allen
Top: Commemoration and honor to the ancestors (Sankofa symbol)
This bell is indoors and only available for viewing during operating hours at Mother Bethel AME Church, 419 S. 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147.
