Telling Black Philadelphia’s story | Morning Newsletter
And La Salle’s turnaround plan.
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The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning to another cloudy day, with high temps near 58.
How did a white woman come to write the definitive text on Philadelphia’s Black history? Columnist Elizabeth Wellington talked to the author of a new book that’s being pitched for use in local high schools to find out.
And La Salle University’s enrollment dropped 28% since 2019. Here’s a look at how the school is adjusting its plans.
Of note: President Joe Biden is in town today. Follow our live coverage of the event (and how to avoid the ensuing traffic) at Inquirer.com.
— Julie Zeglen (@juliezeglen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Former Philly educator Amy Jane Cohen has become somewhat of a rising star when it comes to teaching local Black history. Temple University Press released her book, Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape, in February, and hopes to get it into area high schools soon. She’s booked a slew of speaking engagements about it.
She also knows people wonder why a middle-aged white woman is so focused on local Black history in the first place.
Columnist Elizabeth Wellington did wonder: In a city filled with Black scholars, why is this book poised to rise to the top?
📚 “At first, I was worried about even asking the question because I actually liked the book,” Wellington told me. “I learned a few things. Isn’t that the point? But as a Black writer and storyteller, I think it’s important to talk about WHO tells our stories. As a Black American writer, I’ve experienced having story ideas about my community turned down and seen white people write the same stories and receive praise. It’s not that white people shouldn’t tell Black stories, but I do believe that Black people should have the same opportunities to tell stories that are relevant to their lives and communities and get the same audiences.”
📚 Wellington said Cohen is working as an ally and that she is taking her teachings to spaces that might otherwise be closed off. That’s a good thing: “I’m surprised that so many of my invitations [to speak about the book] have come from places with overwhelmingly white audiences,” Cohen says in the article. “But I’m pleased to share this information with people who otherwise may not have gotten it.”
📚 About her own work, Wellington said, “My passion is telling stories about the fabric of Philadelphia and how it touches, impacts, and represents Black Americans. Philadelphia is rich with Black history and contemporary Black stories. I love telling them.”
Like its much larger public peer a few Broad Street Line stops away, La Salle University has seen a dramatic enrollment drop in recent years. The Catholic school’s operating revenue is down, too, while core operating loss is up.
To fix its financial outlook, rightsizing enrollment expectations and revamping academic departments are on the table. Layoffs, which the school enacted in 2020, are not.
“It’s a tough time in higher education right now,” president Daniel J. Allen told The Inquirer’s Susan Snyder. “At the same time, I couldn’t be more confident about this university.”
Read on for La Salle’s full turnaround plan. Plus, dig into its plan to attract more students, which includes reviving baseball, adding several women’s sports, and starting a band.
What you should know today
The Sixers defeated the Miami Heat in Wednesday night’s play-in game to make it to a first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks. (This was especially good news for Bad Bunny fans who would have seen Friday night’s concert in Philadelphia moved to tonight if the Sixers had lost.)
Philly saw another jump in median household income and the lowest unemployment in 30 years, per Pew’s “State of the City” report. But intractable problems persist.
The Philadelphia Board of Ethics amended its campaign finance rules in response to its failed lawsuit against a super PAC that last year backed candidate Jeff Brown’s unsuccessful mayoral run.
A Delco fire company disbanded after members were recorded making racist comments about residents of their community. In response, county officials created a course to better train public safety leaders.
Demolition is beginning at 19th and Sansom Streets to make way for a slender, up-to-54-story residential tower with 215 units a block from Rittenhouse Square.
Stenton, a colonial-era house museum in Logan, will unveil a new memorial to the Black woman known for outwitting the British during the Revolutionary War and saving the mansion from destruction. Her name was Dinah.
Prolific legal thriller novelist John Grisham is digging into 10 egregious wrongful convictions for his second nonfiction book. The Chester Trio story will be one of them.
Ahead of Sapphira Cristál’s appearance on the Friday finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race, meet the team of drag performers behind the Philly queen’s larger-than-life looks.
🧠 Trivia time
This Philadelphia jazz musician’s 1963 album The Sidewinder has been added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for 2024.
A) John Coltrane
B) Trudy Pitts
C) Lee Morgan
D) Philly Joe Jones
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
☀️ Planning: Outings for sunnier days with this spring festival guide.
🌎 Deciding: Which city park to visit on Earth Day next Monday.
🍦 Sending: Our applications to become Pennsylvania’s official ice cream taste tester.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
The “Friends of” group for this well-loved park and creek in Northwest Philadelphia turns 100 this year.
CASINO WHISK
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to John Patrick, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Joel Embiid. The basketball star has been named to Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics — and just got his jersey.
(Bonus: Can you name all the Sixers who have represented Team USA at the Olympics?)
Photo of the day
May your Thursday be a pleasant one. See you tomorrow!
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