Cherelle Parker shattered the glass ceiling

Cherelle Parker’s historic win in the Democratic primary for mayor of Philadelphia has poised her to become the 100th mayor of our city, and the first Madam Mayor. Her win sends a message that in a nation with too few female chief executives, the voters have shattered this glass ceiling. This victory reminds us that regardless of your background, through grit, hard work, and determination, you can still achieve your goals.

Parker’s win also demonstrates that gun violence is the number one issue plaguing our city. In a crowded field with various qualified candidates, I believe that citizens voted for the person who they believed could not only address the problem of gun violence, but also understands the historic challenges that people of color, and more specifically African Americans, have had with criminal justice in America.

As mayor, I expect Parker to use her experience as majority leader in City Council to bring all public safety partners together to develop a unified strategy to address this crisis. And she’s already started. In March 2022, as Council majority leader, Parker introduced the Neighborhood Safety and Community Policing Plan with the goal of making Philadelphia safer. Her plan includes hiring an additional 300 foot and bike patrol officers, cleaning streets, fixing broken streetlights, repairing and preserving homes, and supporting victim and witness services, among other things.

Further, I believe that Parker will use her background as a state representative to get the Biden and Shapiro administrations to support this strategy and her campaign pledge to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, and greenest city in America. As head of the Philadelphia delegation in Harrisburg, she was able to work across the aisle to bring additional resources back to the city when the School District was in desperate need of funds. I am confident that she will continue to convene people when there is a need, and to solve problems by bringing people together.

As mayor, Parker can’t do this job alone. It is incumbent upon all of us to come together and work hard to address the issues that plague our city, including gun violence, poverty, and education. Gun violence isn’t just a problem for elected officials — it’s a concern for everyone, and that means that we need everyone to step up and get involved in community-centered gun violence prevention measures.

Even if you didn’t vote for Parker in the primary, we still need your support. Throughout the campaign, Philadelphians showed a lot of energy and passion for various candidates who ran to become the city’s 100th mayor. We now need this same love and spirit for Philadelphia to help a Parker administration to address the many issues that impact Philadelphians every day.

I know we can do it. We are America’s birthplace.

Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love, but now and forever we will also be known as the City of Sisterly Effectiveness. To have a woman likely leading the city as mayor from City Hall Room 215 is no small matter. She is the first, but she will not be the last.

For Philadelphians to see a Black woman in the highest position of leadership sets an example for people of all ages, genders, and orientations. Maybe your glass ceiling is different — say becoming president, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. If Parker can work hard to achieve her goals and dreams, so can you.

Despite all of our challenges, I have hope for a brighter future in our city. Let’s work together and support our first Madam Mayor, Cherelle Parker, to lead us forward.

Derek S. Green is a lawyer and former Council member at-large.