By Solomon Jones | WURD RadioSometimes you meet people who influence you in ways you can’t immediately see.Leroi Simmons did that for me. He called me one Saturday out of the blue while I was outside with my children. At the time I had just debuted a self-published CD called Wisdom, which I’d crafted from radio commentaries I’d done back in 2005.I didn’t know how he got my number, but he said he wanted ten of them, so I drove […]
Solomon Jones | The InquirerI don’t care that Kim Potter, the police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright during a car stop, has resigned. I don’t care that Police Chief Tim Gannon stepped down either. I’m still enraged, because Wright didn't have to die.It happened Sunday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota—a suburb just 10 miles from the Minneapolis courthouse where former officer Derek Chauvin is being tried on murder charges in the death of George Floyd. Wright was pulled over […]
By Ngakiya Camara | WURD RadioDr. Ashish Jha, medical physician and Dean of Brown University, joined Nick Taliaferro on Evening WURDs to discuss the future of this pandemic as well as vaccine rollout initiatives. Analyzing the potential of yet another rise in cases, Dr. Jha stresses that although there will be an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, this surge will be nowhere near as deadly as those we’ve witnessed over the course of the year due to more folks getting vaccinated. […]
By Solomon Jones | Inquirer.comAs the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who is accused of killing George Floyd by mercilessly pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck, begins this week, I am convinced that Black people need healing as much as we need justice.There is a persistent heartache that comes with the knowledge that some of those who are sworn to protect Americans believe that doing so involves killing citizens who look like me. That pain […]
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 in form or appearance.Does the world look and feel like […]
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 Black residents. As of March 13, 21.9 percent of white […]
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 up for a career exploration program which exposed her to […]
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, like all vigils of this sort for the last several […]
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 to where you came from!” the man shouted, his voice […]
