Insight Pt. 1: North Philly: A Black Freedom Jawn

 North Philly: A Black Freedom Jawn
North Philadelphia has always been a powerhouse of culture, activism, and resilience — a cornerstone in America’s ongoing freedom story. North Philly: A Black Freedom Jawn is bringing that legacy to life through intergenerational storytelling, docent training, and community celebration. Joining us are Dr. Victoria Best, CEO of Victoria Urban Outreach Tutoring Service (VUOTS) and Acting President of The Society to Preserve Philadelphia African American Assets (SPPAAA), and Jacqueline Wiggins, Owner of Wiggins Tours N More, LLC and Vice President of SPPAAA. Together, they share how this project is empowering residents to preserve their own history and redefine how the world sees North Philadelphia — not just as a neighborhood, but as a living archive of Black freedom and ingenuity.
🌐 Connect & Learn More
Website: www.vuots.org
Instagram: @vuotsphilly | @NPBFJ
Facebook: Victoria Urban Outreach Tutoring Service
LinkedIn: Victoria Best
📧 Emails: [e-mail] | [e-mail] | [e-mail]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard. Morrow. We're going to be
talking with the Save the Cease will be More Library Coalition,
a grassroots effort uniting neighbors and community leaders to restore
one of North Philadelphia's most vital public spaces. We'll also
talk with Keisha Jordan from the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia

(00:21):
about scholarships that open the door to safe quality K
through eight schools. And we'll talk with Mensa Dean from
The Trace, the nation's only newsroom dedicated to gun violence,
reporting about their Safer Together forum coming up soon. But first,
North Philadelphia's always been a powerhouse of culture, activism, and resilience,
a cornerstone in America's ongoing freedom story. North Philly a

(00:44):
black freedom John is bringing that legacy to life through
intergenerational storytelling, docent training, and community celebration. Joining us our
doctor Victoria Best, CEO of Victoria Urban Outreach Tutoring Service
or VOUGHTS and acting President of the Society to Preserve
Philadelphia African American Assets, and the owner of Wiggins Tour

(01:07):
and More LLC and Vice president of that organization that
I just mentioned Jacqueline Wiggins, and she is with the
Institute to Preserve Philadelphia and African American Asset. So, Doctor
Best Victoria, let's start with you. What inspired the creation
of North Philly a Black Freedom, John And what does
this project mean for the community.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
This project is very deeply culturally enriching for the community.
This project got off the ground and started because of
Major Deborah Garry. She's a resident of North Philadelphia. Excuse me.
She was a resident in North Philadelphia, born and raised
in this community, and she spoke so thoroughly about the
richness and the history that lied in this area and community.

(01:49):
And so she was our former president and co founder
of SPA, and so we coupled together and wanted to
make sure that through the semi cent s at Quinials celebration,
we were able to uplift North Philadelphia as a full
project and initiative.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
Jacqueline, you've been deeply involved in education and cultural tourism.
How does the docent trainings and neighborhood tours help folks
see North Philly through a different and new lens.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, the hope is that with the information that we
are providing with some of the speakers we're going to
be getting. We just had our first speaker last Saturday,
that the audience, the participants will be able to see
that there is so much to this story of North
Philadelphia and to Philadelphia as a whole. And so when
we put the call out for people to respond, you know,
you get a little nervous with respect to a call

(02:37):
like that. But we had thirteen people arrived our first session,
and last Saturday we had our second session and with
our speaker, Joseph Becden of Becton Tours, you know, in
his revolutionary outfit right once again gave a liveliness to
a part of the story of the revolution. So I
think that and we had fifteen participants, So I think

(03:01):
that either word could be getting out. But also it
is what we as a part of the North Philadephial
Feet of John are about. Doctor best Umi Odom now,
Hannah Wallace. We want content to be thorough, we want
content to be effective, we want content to be correct.
So this is what we are we are attempting to

(03:21):
do with this story. Because you're going to be a docent,
there's certain background knowledge that you probably already bring to
the table. But now we're going to enhance that with
what we are presenting.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
And when we say docent, we mean someone who can
be kind of like a guide. Is that right?

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yes? AND's so the fancier word because the words sometimes
is used to our particular location and so someone for example,
I think Vicky and I both worked at Clifton, and
so there were some docents there that were one thousand
percent about the Revolutionary War, there were one thousand percent
about furniture, there were one thousand percent about objects. But

(03:57):
today we use the word maybe a little bit more broadly.
So that's why in our advertise we have docent slash
tour guide so that people get a sense.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Of right right right Victoria. The project includes a youth
led oral history collection. How are young people being trained
to capture and preserve these intergenerational stories through.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
A black business small black business in North Philadelphia and
Progress Plaza. We are collaborating with Katika to host workshops
to teach young folks, high school students who have experienced
either living in North Philadelphia or going to school in
North Philadelphia, how to do interviews. And people may say, oh,
well that's simple, ask some questions. No, we want you

(04:42):
to be properly trained to be a professional, to be
able to execute the question and that and the response.
How do we implement that into keeping it in an archive.
How can we make sure that we uplift these voices
and keep the correct questions and our mindsets and our
mind frame that is, what is your experience? How can
you share it with us? And getting it in your words?

(05:05):
So these youth are integrated in the part of pulling
out the stories of elder history. They are also initiating
the opportunity to define or determine who are the elders
in their communities stakeholders. And the last thing is they
are a part of a generational experience that will hopefully

(05:25):
ignite more youth to want to ask the questions to
their elders, what is your story? Because we can always
identify the contributions of others through their story, we don't
always have to see them uplifted through others just hearing
someone's story. And so that is the hope that these
youth get and that they soar in this process.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Jacqueline, you're mapping your organization's mapping key cultural and historical sites,
and you know a lot of us know about freedom Theater,
the Black Doll Museum. Oh I see, for instance, what
are some of the landmarks or stories. It's stand out
to you so far.

Speaker 3 (06:02):
Well, one of them that stands out that has to
go back in time is let's say Brian Presbyterian Church
Brean Institute, which now has another name in terms of
being a technical training center, the Historic Church of the Advocate.
Some of the markers that are in North Philadelphia, of course,
the Tanner House, but also Don Carlos Ebenezer Bassett who

(06:23):
was an ambassador in Haiti, and there's so much more.
Pearl bil their markers, Pearl Bailly's marker, there's a tour
that has been conducted on Diamond Street, the Strawberry Mansion,
there's a Cold Traine House, their murals there, markers. Now,
these are iconic places that are there, but we also
have there's the other history, the history for example of

(06:44):
let's say Diamond Street, the Dimond Street historic district that
would move from Broad in Diamond to Van Pelton Diamond
on let's say twenty first in Diamond, where something is
going on there that some folks in the neighborhood are
in favor of and some are not in favor of
and that's because of the history you know of the block.

(07:06):
So those are some of the things the business district.
You know, from let's say Allegheny right up to the
high there's Dobbins High School in Franklin High School. There
is I would say one of our premier high schools,
George Washington Carver. I give him all that credit, George
Washington Carver High School for Engineering and Science. And we
have some of the chartists that are there free air.

(07:28):
We also have our regular public schools. We all kinds
of things that have happened wonderfully for children. And you
we have Mead, we have William Dick, even have some
of the schools that could be closed now. But I
always like to mention my old grade school, which was
Saint Elizabeth and where for example, we are housing the
dose in Training program. Is that the cease will be
more library and something interesting happened in the session, wouldst be.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
More a library that's been That's a whole other story
that we're actually doing a special report on because of
efforts by the community to make sure that it's run
evaded properly and all the funds go where they're supposed to. Go,
it's a whole thing. But anyway, continue.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
That's still a thing.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
That's the whole thing.

Speaker 3 (08:08):
But something interesting that happened was one of the we
have a we have a father daughter duo. He's determined
that his daughter is a sophomore in high school and
he was he was we hadn't started yet, so he
was coming back into the room and I heard him say, no,
it's cease be more avenue and she STI looked at
the phone and said, okay, uncle, I'll talk to you lady.

(08:28):
Well uncle was saying, you mean Columbia Avenue else so
the forty you old father saying like, I never heard that.
And so we shared it with the group and they
were like, yeah, I heard Columbia, that's what. But it
was it was in a generation some had.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
Some remember it one way and other people remember another.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
So I thought that was was It was great. It
was a great kind of you know, inter generational thing
to happen. So and it's gonna be more. It's gonna
be more that can happen. So we mentioned some of
the those are the places, and I think of Yorktown
and I think a sister is at a tharps marker
that's there. There's God, it's so much.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
There's so much. And I think that what this project
does is it makes our history come alive because I know,
I've been on a history tour of the Underground Railroad, right,
and you walk these streets every day, and then when
you find out what happened on those streets, then it
gives you this deep understanding of the importance of our

(09:30):
neighborhoods and the importance of our history. And so I
am so excited for you. This is so great.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
I love it. Finally, how can listeners get involved, whether
through volunteering, attending events, or supporting your work online?

Speaker 2 (09:42):
You can follow us at North Philly Black Freedom John
on Instagram. You can follow voids vuot us on Instagram
and Facebook. We always have our registration forms on our websites.
Miss jack Long, Wiggans Tours and more. She can share
more about her website information Miss Jaking.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Info at Wiggins toursandmore dot com.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Well, I want to thank you both for doing the
work that you're doing and your collaboration with so many
organizations working together to uplift and tell the story of
North Philadelphia. North Philadelphia spent a powerhouse of culture, activism,
and resilience, and that's why we're so excited about North
Phillia Black Freedom. John bringing that legacy to life through

(10:25):
intergenerational storytelling, docent training, and community celebration. Thanks to doctor
Victoria Best, CEO of Victoria Urban Outreach, Tutoring and Acting
President of the Society to Reserve Philadelphia African American Assets,
and Jacqueline Wiggins, who is vice president of that organization
but also the owner of Wiggins Tours and more. Thank

(10:47):
you both for joining us today.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
We'll have more insight after these messages.