Fun Things to Do in Philly this Week and Weekend

This week in Philly is your last chance to catch the Auto Show and the beginning of Center City Retaurant Week. Plus live stand-up comedy, a local playwright premiere, a local author booksigning, new gallery exhibits, and much more

By Lauren McCutcheon and Christina Griffith

This Kwanzaa, Define Thyself

The seven principles of the seven-day celebration, which starts today, are good guides for how to live all year round. A Citizen contributor and WURD host reflects on the ideal that means the most to him

By James Peterson

A Fitting Rebuke to Rizzo?

A monument to civil rights icon Sadie Alexander, planned for where Mayor Frank Rizzo’s used to stand, would be only the third statue of a real-life Black Philadelphian on public view

By Malcolm Burnley

“Love each other and raise our children.”

Reflecting on the power of James Baldwin’s timeless lessons in time for what would have been his 100th birthday.

By James Peterson
Citizen of the Week

Bigga Dre

A grassroots Black empowerment activist who has long flown under the mainstream radar is one of the reasons Juneteenth in Philly is the harmonious, artful and joyous celebration it is today

By Abigail Chang

A Time To Weep

Yes, let’s celebrate our liberation on Juneteenth. But also, let’s remember the history that came before

By James Peterson

Philadelphia Celebrates Juneteenth 2024

A holiday with Philly roots includes some of the city's biggest events of the year, from Germantown to West Philadelphia to Southwest and Old City — and then some

By Abigail Chang and Lauren McCutcheon
Listen

Ali Velshi Banned Book Club — Black Stories in Philadelphia

The MSNBC host and Citizen board member talks to fellow Citizen board member Angela Val, Visit Philly CEO, about making Philly the epicenter for resisting book bans through the use of "Little Freedom Libraries"

By Ali Velshi

Erasure and the Fiction of America

What Zora Neale Hurston, Oscar-nominated American Fiction, and the sacrifice of Black women tell us about America on the cusp of Black History and Women’s History months

By James Peterson
Guest Commentary

“Touch the Bones,” a Black History Lesson

A philosophy professor, lawyer, and WURD regular warns against embracing distorted histories of African American leaders and activists

By Timothy Golden