FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE
Education is key, crowd at Community Fest for Black Lives Matter is told:
MEDIA » Black speakers underscored the necessity for continuing education and Black-owned businesses showcased their products and services at the Community Fest for Black Lives Matter in front of the Delaware County Courthouse Saturday.
Borough resident and Drexel University student Senta Johnson organized the three-hour event with Unifying Group of Media while planning a Black Lives Matter march and learning that people wanted other ways to get involved. She has since been asked to replicate the event in Merchantville, N.J.
Speakers included actor Nichalas Parker, artist Shalom Mukamuri, Cappie winner Xander Dake, vocalist Joshua Peacock, re-entry specialist and county Jail Oversight Board member Jonathan King, state Rep. Leanne Krueger, D-161 of Nether Providence, and U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore. Vendors included Paparazzi Jewelry, Leo’s Scents, Harriet’s Bookshop, Kiss My Beard Self Care and Skillz Unlimited T-shirts.
“It’s a great turnout,” Johnson said. “I’m loving the energy. People are really here willing to educate themselves and willing to collaborate.”
Scanlon applauded Johnson for her work in bringing the day to fruition.
“You guys are the ones who are going to carry it through,” the congresswoman said. “We clearly have not gotten the job done but you taking this to the next level, giving us opportunities to support you, giving us opportunities to support Black-owned businesses throughout this region, giving us the opportunity to do the hard work that has to be done to allow we the people to make this a more perfect union.”
Dr. Marinda Kathryn Harrell-Levy is associate professor of human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University Brandywine, youth council advisor for the Media NAACP branch and director of the anti-racism group “Scream Like Someone’s Listening. But Saturday, she said she was speaking as a citizen deeply impacted, personally concerned and wanting to do something for her community that makes a meaningful difference.
“I think it is absolutely our moral and civic responsibility to build social justice programs in every school in this country, starting from elementary school on the way up,” she said. “In addition to these conversations, we need to talk about racial trauma. I think we need to acknowledge that the youth are hurting and they need more support than just us standing here giving speeches. They need us to be on the ground teaching them how to survive in predominantly white environments that are unfortunately all to often hostile, insensitive, culturally dangerous and racist.”
She said she personally knew of women of color who were pushed out of their places of employment after being brought in as tokens. She said she knows of many who look like her who have to go to therapy to survive their jobs and their lives.
“That is unacceptable,” Harrell-Levy said.
“I’m here not only fighting for my future, I’m fighting for my daughter’s,” she added. “I’m not just fighting for my daughter’s, I’m fighting for your daughters, I’m fighting for our sons. I’m fighting for everybody in this world who wants something better than what we’ve been given.”
She said people are tired of conversations. “I have friends who can’t run in their community without worrying that dogs won’t be sicced on them,” she said. “That’s a problem and we need to do something about it now.”
Harrell-Levy told the audience to continue the work. “Don’t just show up today is what I’m saying,” she said. “Educate yourselves, liberate yourselves ... There’s work to be done.
There is work to be done.”
Standing before the crowds, King took a piece of white paper and crumpled it up.
“This is what we feel like,” he said. “When you go to court, you know you have to prove your innocence and sometimes, Black folks feel like we have to do that every day and it’s unfortunate.”
“Partnerships, collaborations and solutions, those three words ... that is the only way we’re going to be able to move forward with anything that we do in this humanity relationship that we have with each other. Because, guess what? We’re all human. All of us.”
With that, he said there is an opportunity for everyone. “All we want and all I want and all I want for my children is for it to be a fair opportunity so we all can be successful whatever success looks like to you ... Your success and my success may be different. I just want to wake up every day and not be pulled over and not be called illicit names, not be judged because of the color of my skin. Because at the end of the day, if you cut me and I cut you, that blood is red. It is not a different color.”
Roslyn Purnell of Aston was one of the vendors with her business, Paparazzi Jewelry. As customers visited her tent and perused her wares, Purnell said, “I love putting smiles on faces.”