Inside the Kenyatta Johnson jury room | Morning Newsletter
And the DEI initiative lost at this Bucks school
The Morning Newsletter
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Showers are in the forecast, with temperatures expected to reach the upper 60s.
Today, a juror from the bribery trial of Kenyatta Johnson explains how, after four days of deliberation, there were no unanimous decisions, which resulted in the judge declaring a mistrial.
And, we explore why the Pennridge School District in Bucks County dropped initiatives centered on diversity and inclusion.
Also, I’m excited to tell you about our Must-Read alerts, which highlight some of our most dynamic journalism, directly in your inbox. These are the stories you might have missed, those longer reads, the deeper dives, or our interactive storytelling – all work we’re proud to tell about our communities – curated and delivered. I encourage you to sign up.
Now, let’s get into Tuesday. 👇🏾
— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Quick recap: Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, were accused of accepting nearly $67,000 in bribes — disguised through a consulting contract from two nonprofit executives who sought Johnson’s help with the group’s real estate holdings in his district.
The result: From the moment 12 jurors in the federal bribery trial entered the deliberation room last week, the group was split. After scouring mountains of emails, invoices, and trial exhibits, the jury panel remained at an impasse, leading to a judge declaring a mistrial.
What happened in the room? A juror, who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity about the panel’s closed-door discussions, offered the first inside glimpse but would not disclose the vote, saying he did not want to influence any potential retrial.
He said it: “We took several votes during our deliberations and the numbers did change, but very slightly, [but] at no point did we ever come to a unanimous decision on any charge for any defendant … We truly gave it our all. Our final outcome of being a hung jury isn’t the sexy headline everybody was hoping for, but … I’m proud of us because nobody sold out their honest verdict on any of the charges just for the sake of reaching a verdict.
Our reporters Oona Goodin-Smith and Jeremy Roebuck go into even more detail through the eyes of a juror. And here’s a look at what happens now.
What you should know today
Four things to consider coming off of Monday night’s Democratic Senate debate.
In 2013, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman pulled a shotgun on an unarmed Black man because he wrongFly believed the man was involved in a shooting. Now, in a race for Senate, it’s again a hot topic.
The Sixers head back to Toronto for Game 6 following a 103-88 rout by the Raptors. Our Keith Pompey examines how Game 5 went so wrong.
Ben Simmons announced he wouldn’t suit up for the Brooklyn Nets ahead of their Game 4 series against Boston as anticipated. Hilarity ensued.
Longtime educator F. Christopher Goins is the new president of Girard College starting July 1.
Meet the 85-year-old La Salle professor gearing up to run at the Penn Relays.
How the pandemic forced Philadanco to ring in its 50th anniversary two years late.
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
Pennridge has abruptly scrapped its DEI program after suspending the initiative last summer amid community backlash over whether it was needed — and complaints that the effort was painting the entire district as racist.
Essentially, the school board announced recently that a committee formed to reevaluate the program would no longer meet. The NAACP of Bucks County condemned the board’s vote, saying: “It is clear that right now, only white children are welcome in Pennridge.”
Just the latest occurrence in the school district to rub some residents the wrong way.
At a school board meeting in June, one woman, complaining that the district had described social justice “as a core value” in an April 2020 initiative, said: “So, we’re teaching rioting?”
Another said parents were “blindsided” that 50 teachers had participated in a book club reading of White Fragility as a professional development activity, with one parent suggesting that this kind of work raises the notion that “teachers [are] looking at our students — ‘Oh, you’re white, you must be racist’?”
The former vice president of the school board attended the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and shared a tweet that asserted that systemic racism doesn’t exist.
Our reporter Maddie Hanna has more on why Pennridge dropped this latest initiative and how Black families in the district feel about it.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
University of the Sciences plans to merge later this year with Saint Joseph’s University. Today’s question: In doing so, it will combine its 200 years of institutional knowledge of being the first in the nation in what particular field? Take a guess and find the answer here.
a. Chemistry
b. Pharmacy
c. Nursing
d. Physics
What we’re…
⚾ Wondering: Has Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber come back down from that wildly intense outburst in Sunday’s game? Because that was … wow.
🍬 Explaining: Why, despite New Jersey’s legalization of recreational marijuana, you won’t find edibles just yet.
🗣️ Reading: All about when doxxing became an emotion.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Loved poetry … and sunbathing in the nude. 🍑
TANMITH LAWW
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Jennifer Tilley of Philadelphia who correctly guessed WILL SMITH as Monday’s answer.
Photo of the day
That’s Tuesday. Catch you tomorrow. ✌️
