Letters: Philadelphia council member Jannie L. Blackwell says editorial misrepresented her over Mural Arts Program

I was distressed to read my words misrepresented and applied negatively to the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program on the editorial page: "[W]e can't help thinking that the city is, to riff on a phrase from Councilwoman Blackwell, a little 'muraled-out.' "

This is not something I ever said, and I was surprised to read my name in the piece, since I was not contacted to comment and did not speak with the writer.

If we had spoken, I would have been able to tell you that I have known Jane Golden and her work since her days with Anti-Graffiti, work that would ultimately lead to the formation of the Mural Arts Program. I have upheld Mural Arts as a model of how an organization can work in communities where people have fallen through the cracks and provide those individuals with dignity, respect and hope. I have seen my district benefit from the work done by Mural Arts, and they are at the top of my list of organizations working effectively to make Philadelphia a better place for all of its citizens.