What’s the next level of community reporting? For many, printed text and visuals make complex issues clear. Others absorb information best with audio and video. And the internet brings news to screens we touch. PlanPhilly decided to bring stories to life by tapping into another sense, taste, as well as memory. We focused on two…
The closest that I ever came to becoming a professional tap dancers was watching television in the late 1990s. On the “The Jamie Foxx Show” or “Saturday Night Live,” I would occasionally catch a dancer performing something fantastic. I was captivated by their fluid movement, as if their art were just second nature to them….
IRIS has come to play a central role in the lives of many immigrants.
Not far from a bustling street and directly across from a heavily populated neighborhood sits a community beautifully decorated with sculptures and murals by The Village of Arts and Humanities. Deep within their North Philadelphia community, students of the Spells Writing Lab prepare for a daily routine of writing, reading, and other engaging activities. “I…
The movement to replace the symbol of colonialism, an era of slavery and other oppression, started within the 28,000-member student body, when a petition to replace the “offensive” symbol drew hundreds of signatures.
Even though it happened just a few months ago, graduation for me was almost a complete blur. I do not remember much of what was said to me on that day except the word “congratulations.” That word was repeated a lot, especially by those who saw me walking to school wearing my cap and…
As I type this I am staring at my newly earned Associate in Arts degree and certificate in creative writing from the Community College of Philadelphia. I am realizing that no matter how tedious, all of the work was worth it. All of the nights staying up to write papers, reading handout after handout, and studying…
Josh Glenn and Aaron Kirkland say drug dealing often felt more promising than school
For young black men in Philadelphia, sometimes just walking down the street is all it takes to earn a two-month stint in jail. On Dec. 8 2010, then-18-year-old Isaiah Smith was just returning from visiting his cousin, when he noticed two police officers who were patrolling the area peering out at him from their squad…
Jamal Nasir was 15 the first time he sold drugs. It was an easy choice for the gullible teenager: As a Baltimore high school student in the late ’80s, he watched many of his peers arrive at school sporting flashy clothes, showcasing new cars and brandishing huge wads of cash. “It was eye-catching,” says Nasir,…