Join us for a community-led procession with artist indira allegra to honor the lives of Ona Judge, the seamstress and bondswoman who styled Martha Washington and escaped to freedom in 1796, and the aspiring fashion designer and trans woman Rem’mie Fells, who was tragically killed in 2020.
This procession follows Judge’s escape to the Delaware River, beginning at the President’s House and concluding at Spruce Street Harbor. There, you’ll encounter the North Wind, a schooner outfitted with sails created in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum using 18th century techniques and fabrics reflecting Fells’s vibrant aesthetic.
In imagining this exchange, allegra said, “Ona offers Rem’mie the form of a sail to carry the story of her radiant spirit beyond the circumstances surrounding her death. Rem’mie in turn offers the practice of sewing for the pleasure of self-expression to Ona, who was once enslaved as a seamstress.”
Like the movement of water, the procession will flow through Old City. Philadelphia poet, Evangeline Getty Brooks will share incantations, poems and prayers weaving together the stories of Judge and Fells, encouraging us to reflect on what Trans and Womanist Divinity can teach the world at large about wayfinding and liberation. At various sites along the route, sacred songs will be performed by choral, string and wind ensembles as arranged by musical director, V. Shayne Frederick.
Organized in conjunction with Sail Through This to That, co-commissioned by ArtPhilly and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation as part of the What Now: 2026 festival. Created in partnership with William Way LGBT Community Center and The Fabric Workshop and Museum.
