"Tasting Freedom:Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America"

Presented by Daniel Biddle and Murray Dubin

In their jointly authored book, Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America, Biddle and Dubin recreate the life of the largely unknown Ocatvius Catto, a free black man in nineteenth century Philadelphia. In doing so, they elucidate the forgotten but very important and courageous efforts by blacks in the North to obtain civil rights before, during and after the Civil War. Catto, "free" largely in name only, was a powerful orator who shared stage with Frederick Douglas, was second baseman on the best black baseball team in Philadelphia and a teacher at the city's finest black school. In partnership with an amazing cast of men and women who called themselves a band of brothers, Catto challenged injustices and strived to change America well before the civil rights movement of the sixties. The authors of this rich biography, which was seven years in it's creation, will tell the story of this man and help us to more deeply understand this period of American history, the history of Philadelphia and of what life was like for blacks after the Civil War.

Murray Dubin, auhor of South Philadelphia: Mummers, Memories and the Melrose Diner, was a reporter and editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer for 34 years before leaving the newspaper in 2005. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Libby Rosof.

Daniel R. Biddle, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Pennsylvania editor, has worked in nearly every phase of newspaper reporting and editing. His investigative stories on the courts won a Pulitzer Prize and other national awards. He and his wife, Cynthia Roberts, live in Philadelphia.