[Editor’s Note: This month’s Philadelphia Magazine story, “Being White in Philly,” has been widely criticized in the city. West Philadelphia native Jocelyn Degroot-Lutzner, 22, grew up on 49th Street. She has her own thoughts about growing up in a multiracial community. This was originally posted on her company’s website IdiomsFashion.com. She gave us permission to re-post it here.]

As a 09’ graduate of Central High School, “Temple’s biggest district feeder,” I can only hope that my shock towards Robert Huber’s recent article for Philadelphia Magazine reciprocated similar feelings from my fellow Central grads (most of whom are probably neighbors of his son). As I sat reading the article on my lunch break at my New York City internship for an online magazine, I couldn’t help but lose my appetite as I felt my face grow red. His sweeping generalizations, seemingly one-sided research and the description of the “dance” he does at Wawa made me clench my fists in pain.

I am a 22-year-old, white, female, Jewish, middle class, West Philadelphia native. I grew up in an area once referred to as West Philadelphia, but may only be known to you now as its re-branded name of Cedar Park or University City. My mother has occupied the same house in West Philly for over 30 years. Both of my parents work from home in their third floor offices.

During an interview I once had with the president of Starr Restaurants for a job as a hostess, I remember telling him that I grew up in West Philadelphia. He questioned whether my parents were hippies, I responded “no.” I never questioned as to why my parents choose to raise my younger brother and I in our neighborhood. Why would I question something that was normal to me?

I attended a few different public schools as well as one private school: Wilson School for Montessori and kindergarten; Powel Elementary School for 1^st-4^th grade; Girard Academic Music Program for 5^th grade; Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School for 6^th-8^th grade; Friends Select School for 9^th; and Central High School for 10^th-graduation.

I grew up with block parties, attended the University City Swim Club in the summer and worked at various jobs in my neighborhood. I taught swimming at the West Philly YMCA, sold movie tickets at the movie theater formerly known as The Bridge, sold overpriced fashions to Penn students at the West Philadelphia Urban Outfitters, and then sold those same Penn students drinks and Ethiopian food at Gojjo’s Ethiopian Restaurant back on Baltimore Ave.

Has race been a part of my life? Yes, without a doubt! Walking around West Philly I’ve been called every moniker for “white girl” that you could (or couldn’t) think of: Snow Bunny, White Chocolate and Britney Spears to name a few. I have also ventured downtown and been inappropriately hit on by white men older than my father. What did I learn from those experiences? Definitely not that one man is more respectful to young women than any other.

I remember leaving my first day of work at Urban Outfitters, we stood at the front door and emptied our pockets and personal bags as the managers checked us for any missing Urban Outfitters merchandise. While checking we were told whom we should be keeping an eye on for stealing. Race was never stated outright, was it inferred? Definitely. What was stated outright was that we should not forget to keep an eye on the well-to-do looking Penn students; they had a long history of being petty thieves at Urban Outfitters, even with daddy and mommy’s money in their wallets.

I grew up on 49^th street and have a long relationship with University of Pennsylvania students. In 4^th grade I had a “Penn Pal”, very literally. We exchanged letters and toured the university at the end of our school year. I attended a University of Pennsylvania Partnership public elementary school, not as big of a relationship with Penn as you might think. I’ve sold them movie ticket after movie ticket, drink after drink and watched them get caught stealing at my prior job.

I would say, overall, we have a somewhat tension fueled relationship and I say this even knowing a handful of friends that currently attend the university. Once I had a discussion with Angela Leonardo, a close childhood friend who will be graduating from Penn this May, she was reminiscing on her freshmen orientation,

I was in the tour group and near the end one of the kids asked if it was true that you shouldn’t ever go past 42nd street, and the tour guide was like, yeah I’m not sure…I haven’t ever been out there, I think it’s probably best not to… people have definitely been confused over the years when I tell them I grew up at 49^th street. It was also impossible to get most of my friends to come over for dinner or hangouts.

My mother remembers twenty years ago when she was getting her masters from The Wharton School, the school’s car service would drop her off a block away from our house, refusing to go past 48^th street. They also sent her a letter, suggesting she should not live past 46^th street.

Has race been a part of my life? Again, I say yes! As an 11^th grader I participated in Operation Understanding, it was a life changing experience for Philadelphian African American and Jewish 11^th graders to learn “each others histories and cultures to effectively lead the communities of Philadelphia and beyond to a greater understanding of diversity and acceptance.”  We traveled to Senegal and Israel and exchanged experiences that challenged each of us to see differently. Race was discussed daily, if not hourly.

I want to quickly discuss drugs, since it seemed to be such an important factor of Huber’s article. As a white person, more often than not I was the minority in my various schools. Drugs did not become an evident part of my classmate’s lives until I attended private school as a high school freshmen. Suddenly, people where being expelled for selling drugs or doing them on school grounds. Besides my current university, the private school I attended as a 9^th grader, had the largest proportion of white students compared to other race and ethnicities and the white students were the ones doing drugs.

If I had one hope for the day I choose to begin to raise a family, it is that my children are blessed to have such a well-rounded experience of their community and our world. Hopefully it can be similar to the one I feel so lucky to have grown up in. I hope they get to experience sledding on trashcan lids in Clark Park, eating chicken patties at Brown Sugar on 52^nd street, samosa’s at International Food & Spices, pretending to be models at the Kingsessing Recreation Center’s free after school programs, teaching 3-year-olds to swim at the West Philly YMCA, fighting for Philadelphia public school students at the Philadelphia Student Union office on 50^th and Baltimore, and making friends that are Black, White, Asian, Hispanic (etc.). I don’t want to raise my children “color-blind” – they would miss so many beautiful things.

The Penn Community School Student Partnerships (CSSP) and the West Philly Recess Initiative program (WPRI) work on improving recess environment at Alexander Wilson and Henry C. Lea elementary schools in West Philadelphia. As part of this initiative, a campaign is underway to raise funds for new recess supplies. To donate, please visit this page.

WPRI is also looking for additional adult volunteers to work with Lea and Wilson students. WPRI volunteers help organize recess activities and assist the lunchtime staff. Their work includes encouraging interactive play, increasing physical fitness and outdoor play, and minimizing conflicts and bullying during recess. If you would like to help or for more information, please contact Kate Mills at: katewmills@gmail.com.

You can read more about West Philadelphia Recess Initiative here.

School lunch in Philadelphia is a social justice issue for many.

This summer the School District of Philadelphia closed the kitchens at several schools, leaving just a handful of schools in the City – mostly high schools – with meals cooked onsite. The vast majority of schools serve pre-packaged lunches trucked in for out of the area. Health concerns surrounding these pre-packaged lunches coupled with the fact that 40 percent of kids are at risk for childhood obesity have sparked concern among parents, teachers and activists.

Those folks and others will gather at the Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust St.) on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. to discuss where school food comes from and how to make it healthier. Interested community members are welcome to join the discussion.

Speakers will include:

For more information about the event please contact: Bryan Fenstermaker at 215-895-4020 or by email: bfenstermaker[at]theenterprisecentercdc.org.

Only one school in the area is slated to close, the Charles R. Drew School near 38th and Powelton, in the school consolidation plan unveiled yesterday by the School Reform Commission.

Beginning next school year students at Drew, which is a K-8 school, will be spread among Samuel Powel Elementary, Martha Washington Elementary, Alaine Locke School and Middle Years Alternative school.

The plan also changes the grade configuration in the 2013-2014 school year at Alexander Wilson School (46th and Woodland), which is currently K-6, to K-5. Sixth grade students will attend Shaw Middle School. Shaw (54th and Warrington) will expand from 7th and 8th grades to include 6th grade as well. Grade changes at Comegys Elementary (51st and Upland) and Harrington Elementary (53rd and Baltimore) to K-5 will also feed Shaw’s new configuration.

Students at two other local elementary schools – Lea Elementary and Penn-Alexander – will experience no changes under the plan, which will eliminate 14,000 empty seats. The School District of Philadelphia has said that it hopes to eliminate some 70,000 empty seats over the next several years.

Under the plan, West Philadelphia High School will be put for sale sometime during the 2012-2013 school year.

The District has scheduled a series of public meetings to discuss the consolidation plan. The fist meeting in West Philadelphia will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the new West Philadelphia High School.

The full report is available for download here.

The death of an infant from starvation and dehydration at a West Philadelphia family shelter has been ruled a homicide. Police say the boy, 2-month-old Quasir Alexander, was found by medical personnel at the Traveler’s Aid Family Services shelter at 111 N. 49th St. and later pronounced dead at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the boy had been living at the 75-room shelter, which is well stocked with food, with his mother and siblings.

Traveler’s Aid Family Services started as an organization focused on helping immigrant families in the early 1900s. It has evolved to help homeless families and stranded travelers, according to its website. Families typically stay at the shelter an average of five months.

Read the full Inquirer story here.

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