Quinta Brunson Receives Key to the City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker honored actress and producer Quinta Brunson by presenting her a key to the city on Wednesday, May 28. Brunson attended a mural unveiling at her alma mater, Andrew Hamilton School, which inspired Brunson's show "Abbott Elementary." 

During the ceremony, Brunson highlighted the significance of public education, public school teachers, and arts and music education. Her parents and siblings attended the mural unveiling, along with Joyce Abbott, the teacher for whom the show is named, the "real-life Gregory," and other classmates and teachers from the school.

The mural, entitled "Blooming Features," bears illustrations of people from the school. It was designed by artist Athena Scott with creative feedback from Brunson and students and staff at Hamilton.

In her comments shared by CBS News Philadelphia, Brunson explained that she would regularly see murals painted on the subway route she took as a child, especially when she saw one of her teachers featured in the mural. She hopes that the new mural at Hamilton will uplift young people like her.

"You don't need to see famous people on the wall. You need to see you on the wall," she said. "Painted, beautiful. We are beautiful. It makes a difference. It made a difference for me, so I know even if it makes a difference for just one child, that one child matters."

"When people visit Philadelphia, they are struck by the works of art that grace the sides of buildings in every single neighborhood of the city," said Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia. "For us, this is a matter of equity. It's great to have world-class galleries and museums — that's wonderful — but the fact that everyone everywhere can walk out the door and see large-scale works of public art that represent them, like the school here, that is awesome."