‘I’m a space freak’ | Morning Newsletter
And Philly schools respond to backlash.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
It should be another warm day with a high of 84 but be sure to grab an umbrella, just in case. Rain might make an appearance.
The BlackStar film festival returned this week for its 12th year. Black, brown, and Indigenous filmmakers are sharing their art through Sunday across three Center City venues: The Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center, the Lightbox Film Center, and the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. This year, the festival features 90 films, representing 30 countries.
Our lead story follows the subject of one of the films, the iconic poet Nikki Giovanni.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Nikki Giovanni is one of America’s greatest living poets.
It’s no wonder why Brooklyn-based filmmakers Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster wanted to create a close study of Giovanni and her legacy in the dreamy documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. The husband-and-wife duo featured archival footage and trippy shots of the galaxy. Giovanni’s been talking to astronauts about getting artists on rocket ships, hence the title.
In her own words: “If another life-form is coming to Earth, they can drop by my house, and I’ll do what Black women always do, ‘Come on in baby, are you hungry?’ Because that’s what Black women do, no matter what it is. We save life whenever we can, and we feed it, and we welcome that.”
Going to Mars showcases Giovanni’s cosmic ambitions and her vast global impact as her health declines and her memory fades.
Keep reading to learn more about her life, including her time in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia School District will now grant eighth graders at several special-admissions schools, including the top-ranked Julia R. Masterman school, automatic admission to high school as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.
The ability of eighth graders to skip the lottery is one of a number of changes the district announced Thursday to how students will be selected for special-admissions schools, starting in September with applications for the 2024-25 school year.
Necessary context: This comes after the backlash to an overhaul of the special-admissions process in 2021 that was intended to increase equity. To address imbalances, the district implemented a lottery which removed the principals’ ability to shape their student bodies and added preferences at some schools for students from specific zip codes.
Note: These new changes don’t eliminate the lottery, but they do include additional review processes for students with certain disabilities.
Continue reading for a deeper understanding of the changes.
What you should know today
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Philly police have suspended the investigation into the death of Drexel basketball player Terrence Butler as tributes pour in across social media.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a $45.5 billion state budget Thursday into law, ending the monthlong impasse.
Rent increases in the Philadelphia area are cooling off. Average rent rose by less than 2% in the last year.
Philly chef David Ansill and his family have created a GoFundMe campaign to help raise $50,000 for his battle with cancer.
A Philly police commander is facing an internal investigation after an off-duty car stop led to a high-speed crash. Both the driver and the passenger were hospitalized.
A 6-year-old from Montgomery County is in the final round of a national mullet contest.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
An estimated 200,000 ticket-holders attended Taylor Swift’s three sold-out shows in Philly back in May.
Not everyone who showed up had a ticket, and instead opted to just hang out in the parking lot. About how many fans tailgated outside of the Linc over the course of the weekend?
A) 60,000
B) 57,000
C) 55,000
D) 50,000
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
💭 Wondering: What you think about pickleball’s rising popularity. Columnist Jenice Armstrong is not a fan.
🌬️Sharing: How to prep your air-conditioning for the next heat wave.
🍽️ Recapping: Craig LaBan’s Reddit AMA forum discussion about his new Taste Philly newsletter that features exclusive profiles and reviews of Philly’s diverse food scene.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: Electric Factory
UNFLINCH ALARM SILK
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Evan Silverstein, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: Tina Fey.
Photo of the day
Happy Friday. I hope it’s a light day so you can start your weekend early. ☀️