The weekend starts Friday from noon until 3PM with a Jobs & Resources Fair at Finley Rec Center. Then at 5PM join a Teach-In to Teach Truth at the People's Plaza. This Saturday and Sunday you can see a contemporary re-write of Shakespeare's Pericles in Vernon Park. Celebrate a big win for democracy with the recent decision to end prison gerrymandering. Check out our blogger's forum below and be sure to find out what happened this week in history. But, first...
Did You Sign Up Yet for the Visioning Summit?
Saturday, September 18th, 1PM - 4PM, Virtual
The Public Bank Visioning Summit is right around the corner, on September 18th from 1-4PM and the decision-makers are watching what we do in these next few weeks. The Mayor, City Council, the Big Banks. They all want to know if there's any real momentum for a public bank or if the "vested interests" can now safely step in and strangle this brilliant idea in the crib.
That's why we want to make a "big noise" by turning out a large virtual crowd of activists on Saturday, September 18th. And we need you to help us do it, by signing up to attend the Summit.
All the private players know that a Philadelphia Public Bank could be a game-changer for the entire trajectory of our City. They've seen that the Bank of North Dakota has become an engine of economic growth and prosperity for their State, and that it stayed solvent during the whole “Great Recession” crisis that crashed the rest of the economy.
And this scares the hell out of the gray men who keep a tight fist on the City's revenue – imagine the service fees they'll lose if our own money stays in the City! So they're hoping that the rest of us forget about that fact that a public bank could do the same for Philly as it has done for the past 100 years in North Dakota.
At the Visioning Summit activists and experts from around the country will make clear what a public bank can do for our City. Just as importantly, it will give everyone attending a chance to put forward their vision for what they'd like to see a public bank do for Philadelphians. Click on the link below to sign up and see the presenters and speakers for the Summit.
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Join a Teach-In to Teach Truth in Our History
Today – Friday, August 27th, 5th & Market St, 5PM
Join educators, students and parents for the "Educators Pledge to Teach Truth" teach-in at the People's Plaza located at 5th and Market today – Friday, August 27th, starting at 5PM.
This will be a rally against white supremacists who have made the teaching of Critical Race Theory their latest culture war boogeyman, and against right-wing lawmakers across the nation who are attempting to make it illegal for teachers to speak truth in their classrooms about our nation's history, threatening to withhold funding from schools and have teachers fired. Please click here for details; otherwise, sign up using the link below. Or just show up.
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Big Win on Prison Gerrymandering!
Thousands of people incarcerated in state prisons will be counted in their home communities rather than in corrections facilities when Pennsylvania redraws its legislative maps. This is a major win that puts an end to this racist policy.
Thanks and congratulations to everyone who took part in testifying and writing letters and contacting the Commissioners. This is what community organizing looks like!
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 3-2 in favor of a resolution introduced by House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, who said it “makes no sense” to count people in communities where they have no long-term relationships or plans to remain. Commission Chair Mark Nordenberg remarked that the practice means votes in areas with state prisons “carry more weight than the votes cast in districts that do not include such institutions.”
More than 37,000 people are currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania’s state prisons, and people of color are disproportionately impacted, particularly from big cities like Philadelphia. The ruling opens the door for a reapportionment that will give our City another state house legislative district, perhaps two, making our City even more of a leader in electoral politics.
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Germantown Plays Pericles
Sat. & Sun, August 28th & 29th, 5:30-7:30PM, Vernon Park
Join us this weekend at Vernon Park, Germantown and Greene Streets, beginning at 5:30pm each evening with a fair that includes interactive art installations, games, resource tables, a mutual aid station, reunion photo booth, drumming, breakdancing, and more.
Be sure to visit ‘Island of Remembrance’ which offers a message-in-a-bottle interactive art installation for people to grieve, remember, honor, and/or release. The evening culminates with an original 30-minute play at 7pm adapted from Shakespeare’s Pericles through a poetic story which centers Black Germantown and the community’s fight against gentrification.
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Job & Resource Fair
Today – Friday, August 27th, Noon - 3PM, Finley Recreation Center
Looking for a job or need household resources? Then stop by Finley Recreation Center at 7701 Mansfield Ave. You can get your resume polished up by an expert and you can even pick up resources for your family. This event is being sponsored by PA Career Link, ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer.
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Blogger's Forum
Early Thoughts on the Census – Coleman Poses
The big news this week is that the new census figures are now available for the state. The bad news is that we have lost one Congressional seat. The population of Philadelphia and its collar counties, however, has increased by close to 210,000 people over the past decade, enabling one additional state senate seat and up to three additional house seats to gravitate into the Delaware Valley. Read More
Like to Blog? We have an opportunity for you to share your thoughts on a variety of subjects. Contact tim@phillynn.org
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This Week in History
Aug 28, 1955 – Emmitt Till Murdered. 14-year-old Emmitt Till was brutally murdered by racists in Mississippi for flirting with a white woman.
Aug 30, 1967 – Marshall a Supreme. On this day, having argued 32 cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Sep 1, 1998 – Airbags Required. Despite cries of "federal intrusion", the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act went into effect, requiring that air bags be a standard feature on all new cars. The requirement saves an estimated 10,000 live annually.
Sep 2, 1945 – World War II Ends. Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director
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