Four weeks ago, a Black man was lynched. In 2020. I remind myself of that fact each day so that I do not forget what we saw, what happened—that we witnessed a man take his last breath. In the days following, we watched...
Dear Freedom School Literacy Team 2020, Across the nation, we started the summer of 2020, lighting up the streets with rage. We rage for George Floyd’s senseless strangulation. We rage for Ahmaud Arbery, who was hunted...
As I look at the world right now, I see a lot of belief statements and acknowledgment of past hurts—a reckoning to finally accept that we have much work to do as a nation where it pertains to racism and social justice. Some of...
My name is Erin Brown and I am the executive director of the Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy (PURA). We are in search of a new, permanent home for the Urban Black Cowboys, their beloved horses and most importantly for the youth...
Good people, it looks like the smoke rising from Minneapolis has inspired so many “allies” to ask: “what can we do to help.” And, as a matter of solidarity, folks have focused intently on defunding or reforming or lightly...
I am finding it difficult to get through most days without crying, without feeling like water is rising above my head, without feeling a great sense of despair. I feel a heaviness in my chest. Watching 400 years of abuse...
Last week, I watched American cities burn: Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia. And while the murder of George Floyd was the catalyst, Amy Cooper played a role. It’s easy to...
Courage, commitment, and foresight are consistently needed when you work in schools, districts, and organizations that claim to be doing the work of anti-racism. There are too many organizations and school/district leaders today...
If there were villains in Philadelphia’s COVID-19 nightmare, Comcast would be right up there with Joel Freedman, owner of the shuttered and unused Hahnemann Hospital. 20,000 Philadelphia students without internet connections...
He has traveled the world advocating for Black people. From the communities inhabited by poor Black people in Durham, North Carolina to the bush of Mozambique, and throughout his beloved city of Milwaukee. His steadfast...
