Spring Garden: Mayor’s Office Of Black Male Engagement Hosts Community Conversation
On Thursday, Nov. 29, the Mayor’s Office of Black Male Engagement (OBME) hosted its My Brother’s Keeper event which featured a conversation on Economic, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship. The event was a part of the City’s Community Conversations Initiative, in partnership with Community College of Philadelphia’s Center for Male Engagement, as a platform designed to engage residents […]
Germantown: One Refugee Family’s Experience Avoiding Deportation
This past August, Oneita and Clive Thompson (pictured above) received a phone call telling them something they never could have imagined: they were being deported. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer left Clive Thompson a voicemail instructing him to call back as soon as possible. “They called us on the 24th and said we […]
Chinatown: Navigating Change, Growth And Development
Crafted by artists from Tianjin, China and coated with tiles manufactured in Philadelphia, the Friendship Gate on 10th and Arch streets symbolizes a kinship between two cities that are nearly 7,000 miles apart. In 1984, the 40-foot arch was erected at the border of Chinatown. Since then, massive development projects — like the Vine Street […]
Immigration: With Limited Options For Employment, Many Immigrants Become Entrepreneurs
Teresa Herrera’s dream began with a shopping cart, which she pushed around North Philadelphia and sold her homemade recipes out of. Hector Hernandez’s began in the driver seat of a limousine. Xu Lin’s was an abandoned shoe store. Despite their varied experiences and industries, Herrera, Hernandez and Lin have all supported their families and themselves […]
Overbrook Farms: Community Members Memorialize, Demonstrate At New Wilson Goode Sign
On the 2400 block of North 59th Street, just below the newly named W. Wilson Goode Sr. Way, stands a four-foot-tall shrine that reads, “To honor former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. with a street, is to dishonor the 11 MOVE ancestors and the Osage Avenue/Pine Street neighbors.” The shrine was created by Philadelphia activist […]
Fairmount: Bicycle Shop Identifies With Its Riders On The Road
When the rest of the city is asleep on Saturday mornings, the Fairmount-based WTF road riders are already biking through the city. WTF isn’t just a trendy acronym; it’s a 20-30 mile road bike ride catering exclusively for folks who identify as women (W), transgender (T), femme (F) or non-binary. Fairmount Bicycles, which focuses on […]
Immigration: For Those Who Move To Philadelphia, The Mental Health Journey Is Often Far From Over
UPROOTING Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Carolina Coronado never thought she’d leave her native country. But one day in the mid-2000s she received a phone call from a Colombian guerrilla group — part of a rebellious anti-government movement — threatening her family. “We moved immediately from Barranquilla,” Coronado said. “I left everything behind. Dog, […]
Hunting Park: First Haunted Hayride Brings Together Community And Police
The 25th Philadelphia Police District and Hunting Park United (HPU) partnered to host the first Haunted Hayride event on Oct. 30 in Hunting Park. The Halloween event, created by Ryan Barksdale and Albert Cruz, the 25th District community relations officers, Captain Javier Rodriguez and HPU President Leroy Fisher, featured an inflatable corn maze, trailer hayrides, […]
Kensington: Esperanza To Spend $14.5M To Transform Vacant Building Into Health Center
The new Esperanza Health Center in Kensington is expected to benefit the entire neighborhood by expanding access to much needed medical services in a state-of-the-art facility, said Juan Perez, operations director at Esperanza Health Center. “We may have been one of three in the city that received this grant from the state,” said Perez (pictured […]
Center City: Four Groups Organize LOVE Park Rally Against Transgender Discrimination
Chants of, “Stand up! Fight back!” echoed throughout LOVE Park on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Hundreds gathered to vocalize their concerns about recent threats to transgender civil rights and to show support for the transgender community. The Rally for Trans Existence and Resistance, hosted by the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, Trans Equity Project, ACLU PA […]