The 2021 Philadelphia Juneteenth Parade and Festival will not take place in their usual form due to continued COVID restrictions, but the organizers, Juneteenth Philly, will hold some other great events this Saturday to commemorate the end of slavery and celebrate Juneteenth.

The celebrations will kick off at 10 a.m. with Freedom Day Rally, followed by a march down 52nd Street from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. The inaugural “Art in the Park” exhibit featuring local artists will take place in Malcolm X. Park (52nd and Pine) from 12-7 p.m.

Gathering for the Freedom Day Rally and March will begin at 9 a.m. at 52nd and Haverford. The organizers are encouraging participants to fill out a sign-up form online.

For more information, please visit http://juneteenthphilly.org/.

The first Day of Remembrance of the MOVE bombing, including a march to Malcolm X. Park, will be held on Thursday, May 13. The march marks the 36th anniversary of the bombing, which killed 11 people, including five children, and burned dozens of homes in West Philadelphia.

The MOVE house at 6221 Osage Ave. was the target of the city-sanctioned bombing in 1985. Surviving members and relatives will participate in a MOVE bombing victims commemoration event, which will begin at 5 p.m. at Osage Ave. and Cobbs Creek Parkway. Community members are invited (see the flyer below for more details). Continue Reading

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A community walk will take place in West Philadelphia to bring attention to the issue and provide resources to community members who need help. The Walk for Domestic Violence Awareness is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon. It will start at New Birthing Worship Center, 5949 Spruce St., and end at Malcolm X Park, 52nd and Pine streets. State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown will co-host and participate in the walk.

“Far too often do we see on the news about victims being attacked by their spouse and even killed,” Brown said in a statement. “Enough is enough, and I’m calling on the community to join me in rising above these hateful acts of violence.”  Continue Reading

In response to the recent protest and tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia, Philadelphia religious organizations will be holding the following events this week:

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, a march and rally under the banner of “Unmasking White Supremacy in Philadelphia” will take place beginning at 7 p.m. The following agenda has been scheduled, according to the event organizer “POWER”, an interfaith organization:

7:00 p.m. – Gather outside Congregation Rodeph Shalom Synagogue (615 N. Broad Street)
7:15 p.m. – March down Broad Street as “we unmask white supremacy in Philadelphia institutions”
8:00 p.m. – Rally and action inside Arch Street United Methodist Church (55 N. Broad Street)  Continue Reading

This Sunday, hundreds of people are expected to participate in the 9th annual May Day March, Rally and Festival in West Philadelphia.

The event, which is organized by May Day USA Education Committee (Facebook page) and co-sponsored by PhilaPOSH and the Pennsylvania Labor History Society, will begin at 1 p.m. in front of the McDonald’s at 40th and Walnut Streets, where the participants will gather for the march. The march will proceed to Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore, and the rally will start at 2 p.m., followed by a festival, featuring food, music and entertainment.

This year’s rally will focus on the fight for a $15/hour minimum wage and feature Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, Black Lives Matter author Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, District 1199C President Henry Nicholas, and City Councilwoman Helen Gym.

The May Day rally is an annual event to honor the history of May Day and the many workers who died in the struggle for the eight-hour day in the 1880s.

More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page.

Samuel Powel Elementary School students and teachers are planning a series of marches against gun violence and are inviting the community to join them.

“4th graders at Powel School… have been studying Gun Violence in our neighborhoods and city this year. They have decided that they wanted to march through our communities to raise awareness about gun violence,” writes teacher Joe Alberti.

The 4th graders at Powel will be marching through Powelton and Mantua on Thursday, April 21 from 1-2 p.m.

They will be marching up 36th St. to Spring Garden, then up 35th St. to Aspen before walking down 37th St. and back to school, located at 301 N. 36th St. The children created fliers about the march to invite neighbors. Here’s one of them:  Continue Reading