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ONE YEAR OF COVID: TRANSFORMATION (RE)DEFINED

By Syreeta Martin | The Philadelphia CitizenA WURD radio host and entrepreneur reflects on the four “Fs” that have come to the forefront this year: family, finances, fitness and faithThe past year was a transformative force. Anytime transformation occurs there is disruption in its onset, disorientation in its presence and, oftentimes, destruction, in its wake.An immediate Google search of the word “transformation” delivers this top definition: a thorough or dramatic change […]

March 31, 2021

2

Coronavirus

“PUTTING RACE AT THE FOREFRONT”

By Katherine Rapin | The Philadelphia CitizenAt Penn Medicine, white workers were three times more likely to sign up for a vaccine than Black workers. Dr. Florencia Greer Polite and fellow Black physicians set out to change that with a program getting noticed across the countryAccording to a new vaccination data tool put together by the Philadelphia Department of Health, white Philadelphians are getting vaccinated at twice the rate of […]

March 25, 2021 2

Blogs

Heard On WURD: BWLC Interviews Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw

By Ngakiya Camara | WURD RadioWURD was joined by Philadelphia’s Commissioner Danielle Outlaw for a conversation regarding her rise in ranks as well as her intention to reform Philadelphia’s Police Department. Outlaw emphasizes that, in not coming from a family legacy of policing, she held many of the same stigmas regarding police as most Black communities do. As a sophomore in High School, however, her friend would ‘dare,” her to sign […]

March 25, 2021

Commentary

17+ WAYS TO SUPPORT ASIAN AMERICANS IN PHILLY

By Roxanne Patel Shepelavy | The Philadelphia CitizenWednesday’s mass shooting in Georgia put Asian Americans on even higher alert after a year of increased racial incidents. Here’s how you can helpOn Wednesday evening, the day after a mass shooting in Georgia that killed eight people, including six Asian Americans, around 100 people gathered in Philadelphia’s Chinatown for a vigil to honor and support our neighbors of Asian descent. It was, […]

March 18, 2021

News

Philly Asian Americans have experienced a year of hateful acts, and fear it’s going to get even worse

By Erin McCarthy | Inquirer.comThe rise in reported acts of hate has left people in the Asian community shaken and traumatized, constantly on edge, and worried they or a loved one could be the next person assaulted or killed.Stephen Kulp was walking on a Center City street this summer, adjusting his face mask to ensure it covered his nose and mouth, when he was attacked for existing.“Chinese virus, go back […]

March 18, 2021

News

WE NEED A GUN VIOLENCE “MARSHALL PLAN”

By Curtis Jones | thephiladelphiacitizen.orgI couldn’t sleep last night trying to dissect all of the causes for the pandemic-level rise in gun violence in Philadelphia. It is a multi-pronged problem that will require an all-hands-on-deck solution. This national problem shocked Overbrook Park, an otherwise peaceful neighborhood in my district, with a shootout that resulted in two deaths, including that of a 16-year-old boy who had his whole life ahead of […]

March 16, 2021

Coronavirus

Pa. easing restrictions on restaurants, Gov. Wolf says

By Erin McCarthy and Michael Klein | Inquirer.com The idea of drinks at a bar on Easter Sunday is a real possibility throughout much of Pennsylvania, as Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday announced an easing of restrictions at restaurants outside of Philadelphia.Effective April 4, Wolf said, restaurants will be allowed to seat up to 75% of their capacity indoors, serve alcohol without food, resume bar service (with barriers to create social […]

March 16, 2021

Education

A flood of money is coming to local schools: How should they spend it?

By Avi Wolfman-Arent | WHYY.orgFor Pennsylvania schools, the flood is coming.In this case, it’s the good kind of flood — a flood of money.“Everybody overuses the word ‘unprecedented,’ but it really is an unprecedented amount of federal funding coming to schools in a really short amount of time,” said Hannah Barrick, assistant executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO).Barrick’s referring to the new federal stimulus bill, […]

March 12, 2021

Commentary

Philadelphia district will get more than $1 billion from rescue plan

WURD Radio is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on economic mobility. Read more at brokeinphilly.org or follow at @brokeinphilly.By Dale Mezzacappa | ChalkbeatThe Philadelphia school district stands to receive almost $1.3 billion from the American Rescue Act that passed Congress Wednesday and is expected to be signed by President Biden on Friday.That is nearly a quarter of the $5.1 billion […]

March 10, 2021

News

SOUTHERN POLITICS | Jackson’s water crisis: How you can help

This story was originally published by Scalawag, a journalism and storytelling organization that illuminates dissent, unsettles dominant narratives, pursues justice and liberation, and stands in solidarity with marginalized people and communities in the South. Scalawag and WURD are part of the URL Media Network.By Tim Majors and Scalawag EditorsPhotos Credit: Tim MajorsThe water in Jackson, Mississippi, is still not safe to drink. The same winter storm that rocked Texas and much of the […]

March 10, 2021