PNN’s mission is to engage, educate and empower our neighbors to make our City a better place to live. Here’s what’s coming up in each of these areas:
Engage: Prison Justice Emergency Town Hall
Educate: Juneteenth Literacy Celebration, Prison Documentary
Empower: Collect Petition Signatures, Free Girl Scout Camp
Juneteenth Celebrating Literary & Artistic Freedom
Saturday, June 17th, 1PM-3PM, 219 S. 6th Street
The African American Children's Book Project will be presenting "Juneteenth - Celebrating Literary & Artistic Freedom" at the Athenaeum. This family-friendly program will feature award-winning children's authors and illustrators who will discuss how their books reflect the literary and artistic strides black Americans have made in our nation since the Emancipation Proclamation. Every child who attends will get a free book signed by one of the authors.
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Incarceration Crisis Virtual Town Hall
Tuesday, June 27th, 7PM, Virtual
Join PNN and our allies for this two-hour virtual town hall as we explore the many problems inmates are facing in Philly prisons - too many deaths, too much violence, too many kids in adult jails, and too many women and gender minorities abused in a system that offers too many excuses.
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Join the Girl Scouts & Get a Free Week of Summer Day Camp!
Saturday, June 24th, 10AM-12PM, 3259 N. Broad Street
Mother African Zoar United Methodist Church is the "campsite" for girls who want to become Girl Scouts this summer. This is an opportunity to get girls and young women involved in wholesome, useful activities, make new friends and create lifetime memories.
This activity is free to all girls from the 5th thru 12th grades, and it includes a free year's membership and a free week of summer day camp that will take place July 31st thru August 4th! Spots are limited, so sign up today!
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Help WFP Candidates Get on the Ballot
Petition Signatures, Immediate Action Requested
Although the primary is over, and the Democratic candidates nominated for Council At-Large are virtually guaranteed to win in the General Election, two At-Large seats are up for grabs. That's because under the City Charter, Democrats can only fill five of the seven seats.
Four years ago, Philly NN endorsed two Working Families Party members for those two seats because they so well represent our values, and one actually won, Kendra Brooks. We haven’t taken an official endorsement vote yet this year, but the WFP candidates need help getting on the ballot.
The WFP candidates in the upcoming General Election are Kendra Brooks and Nicholas O’Rourke for City Council At-Large and Jared Smith for City Commissioner. They certainly should have the right to run so that our only choice for the two non-Democratic seats is not limited to Republicans.
Many of you will want to help get them on the ballot, even before we take the formal endorsement vote. However, to get ballot access, the WFP candidates need to get thousands of signatures. If you’re interested in helping, please click this link and we will get you petitions and instructions on how to get them signed by voters.
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No Way Home - Documentary on Life Without Parole in Pennsylvania
Friday, June 30th, 6:30PM, Central Branch Library,1901 Vine Street
Join our friends from Amistad Law Project and CADBI for a riveting documentary called, "No Way Home - A Documentary on Life Without Parole in Pennsylvania & a Mother's Struggle to Reunite Her Family". This film has been a year and a half in the making and features the story of progressive icon Ms. Dee Dee and her son Phillip Ocampo, as well as commentary from Kris Henderson and Mike Lyons on the history of extreme sentencing in PA. Watch the trailer here.
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This Week in History
June 18, 1983 – Ride, Sally Ride. On this day, Dr. Sally Ride became the first woman in space when the shuttle Challenger flew its second mission.
June 19, 1865 – Juneteenth. See above.
June 21, 1788 – U.S. Constitution Ratified. The After two years of negotiations, New Hampshire became the ninth and last necessary state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land.
June 22, 1944 – F.D.R. Signs G.I. Bill. The last of the New Deal reforms was signed to avoid a relapse into depression following the war, giving veterans money for tuition, living expenses, books, supplies and equipment, effectively transforming higher education in America.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director