In this episode, I speak with Bruce Rush, Treasurer of the Achievement Foundation and member of Kappa Alpha Psi, and Keith Ellison, President of the Achievement Foundation. As part of its yearlong 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Kappa Achievement Center (5521 Germantown Avenue, Germantown), the Achievement Foundation—the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.—is presenting the inaugural Germantown Avenue Food Truck Festival on Saturday, September 6, 2025 (12–6 PM) along the 5400 block of Germantown Avenue. Themed “Backpacks, Bites & Beats”, this free community event will feature food trucks, local vendors, live entertainment, an Art Village, a children’s play area, and a bookbag giveaway. Rain date: Sunday, September 7.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNQ6U3DJ2kT/
Next, I’m joined by Mark Wainwright, Founder & CEO of It Takes A Village To Feed One Child, a nonprofit fighting food insecurity through weekend meals for children, mobile food programs for the homeless, senior food delivery, and pop-up pantries. The organization is also hosting the Hunger Village Awards 2025 at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia this September.
🌐 Website: www.itavtfoc.org
🌐 Hunger Village Awards
📸 Instagram: itavtfocinc
My conversation continues with Walter Pryor, author of This Leaves Me Okay: Race, Legacy, and Letters From My Grandmother. His memoir reflects on the decades-long correspondence with his grandmother, Lucille “Mama Ceal” Hatch Eldridge, whose handwritten letters helped him find belonging and resilience despite systemic racism. Through her words, Pryor intertwines personal history, the Black experience in rural Arkansas, and the ongoing struggle for racial equity.
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retlawop/?hl=en
First, I speak with Erikka Goslin, Executive Director of Taller Puertorriqueño, about the annual Feria del Barrio Festival. Taking place Sunday, September 7, 2025 (12–5 PM) on North 5th Street, this free family-friendly event will showcase live music, dance, food, art, and culture.
🌐 Website: www.tallerpr.org
📸 Instagram: @tallerpr
📘 Facebook: Taller Puertorriqueño
🐦 X/Twitter: @tallerpr
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNQ6U3DJ2kT/
Next, I’m joined by Mark Wainwright, Founder & CEO of It Takes A Village To Feed One Child, a nonprofit fighting food insecurity through weekend meals for children, mobile food programs for the homeless, senior food delivery, and pop-up pantries. The organization is also hosting the Hunger Village Awards 2025 at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia this September.
🌐 Website: www.itavtfoc.org
🌐 Hunger Village Awards
📸 Instagram: itavtfocinc
My conversation continues with Walter Pryor, author of This Leaves Me Okay: Race, Legacy, and Letters From My Grandmother. His memoir reflects on the decades-long correspondence with his grandmother, Lucille “Mama Ceal” Hatch Eldridge, whose handwritten letters helped him find belonging and resilience despite systemic racism. Through her words, Pryor intertwines personal history, the Black experience in rural Arkansas, and the ongoing struggle for racial equity.
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retlawop/?hl=en
First, I speak with Erikka Goslin, Executive Director of Taller Puertorriqueño, about the annual Feria del Barrio Festival. Taking place Sunday, September 7, 2025 (12–5 PM) on North 5th Street, this free family-friendly event will showcase live music, dance, food, art, and culture.
🌐 Website: www.tallerpr.org
📸 Instagram: @tallerpr
📘 Facebook: Taller Puertorriqueño
🐦 X/Twitter: @tallerpr
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You are listening to Insight, a show about
empowering our community. I'm Lorraine Baller. Tomorrow we're celebrating community
culture and service in Philadelphia. You'll be hearing from Bruce
Rush and Keith Ellison of the Achievement Foundation on the
inaugural Germantown Avenue Food Truck Festival. Mark Wainwright from It
Takes a Village to Feed One Child talks about fighting
(00:22):
food insecurity and also about their upcoming Hunger Village Awards.
I speak with Walter Pryor on his Moving Memoir. This
leaves me okay, But first joining me right now is
Erica Goslin. She is executive director of Taierra pertur Quano,
which is one of the sponsors of a wonderful event,
Feria del Barrio. Erica, thank you for joining us here
(00:43):
today and tell us about this event that's coming up.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yes, sure, well, thank you for having me and the
event that we have coming up on Sunday, September seventh,
from twelve to five pm is our annual Feria bel Barrio.
This is our forty first year doing this event and
it's a collaboration with the pri with Asse with Association
(01:07):
Puerto Rican Marca with reals the five organizations a year
after year put on this event that's a family festival
with music and food and artists to just put on
a day of celebration and enjoyment.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It is a wonderful family event and it's really for everyone,
although it does uplift and encourages us to have a
greater and deeper understanding of Latino culture. So give us
an idea of a few of the things that we
can expect. I know there's there's always music, and there
are always wonderful vendors and of course the food of course.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, so we'll get to enjoy some food from Bourriqua
Restaurant this year, some great Puerto Rican food. In addition,
we will have some different activations like the clay Studio
will have a table this year to have some active
clay and we'll also enjoy again, like you mentioned, great
(02:05):
local artists who will be showing their craft. We also
have a community stage where we have different folk dancing
from different traditions such as Guatemala, Colombia, so we have
different representation for everyone to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So give us the specifics the date once again, the
time and the location. Yes, so the date.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
It's Sunday, September seventh, from twelve to five pm and
the location is at Taier Puertrigeno. We will be on
North fifth Street between Huntington and lehi Ave.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And if people want more information where do they go?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Please go to Fidia del Badio dot org, where you
can also find us on tierpr dot org as well.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Erica Goslin. She is executive director of Taier Parqun which
is one of the primary sponsors Offlia de Barrio, which
is a wonderful family event and we hope to see
you there. Thank you for joining us, Erica.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
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Speaker 1 (04:47):
I love my Philadelphia food trucks because they often have
such delicious food available on the street. What if you
got them all together in one big festival. And that's
what we're going to be talking about as well. Of
the final pieces of its year long thirtieth anniversary celebration
of the Kappa Achievement Center on Germantown Avenue. The Achievement Foundation,
(05:08):
the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Will present the inaugural Germantown Avenue
Food Truck Festival along the fifty four hundred block of
Germantown Avenue. That's happening on Saturday, September sixth. To tell
us all about it is Bruce Rush. He's a member
of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and treasurer of the
(05:30):
Achievement Foundation and the president of that foundation, Keith Allison,
is joining us here today. Bruce Food, you had me
at hello, So tell us more about this food truck Festival.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Well, it's certainly an opportunity first and foremost for us
to support the community in some diverse ways. We are
now part of the Urban Germantown Historic Village and so
that's going on. Also, we're trying to expand our footprint
of community oriented things that the Achievement Foundation is doing,
(06:02):
and certainly something that helps to support business while also
helping school age kids is an idea that we came
up with through Key's vision.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, Keith, let's have you sidle up to the microphone
and tell us more about the Achievement Foundation, which is
the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Speaker 7 (06:21):
Tell us more so, our organization provides a comfortable, safe
place not just for members, but also for the community.
So different entities can use our location for various events.
And as Bruce was mentioning, we're spreading out into the community.
(06:42):
One of our flagship programs is something called KAPA Cares
or the Achievement Academy, where we mentor young men of
grades eight through twelve. That's been our flagship program. The
building really came about in the mid nineteen ninety where
we have been doing a lot of community work, but
(07:03):
we need a place, a headquarters where we can gather
and plan, and so back in nineteen ninety five is
when we really opened the building, and this is our
thirtieth anniversary of the building.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well, this festival is going to be so much fun
because not only is there going to be food there,
but you've got a little bit of a theme backpacks,
bites and beats. Bruce, tell us what's going to happen there,
So In addition to the food, there's also going to
be free backpack and school supply giveaways.
Speaker 8 (07:32):
Yes, through one.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
Of our sponsors, we were fortunate enough to get some
backpacks that will be given away to school age children.
Speaker 8 (07:40):
There.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
There also will be an art village where participating youngsters
will get a chance to help make a mural. We
have stage entertainment featuring one of the acts in particular
is going to be the Dobbins High School drum Line,
and so that's something we're looking forward to. Other elements
of things like moon Bounce, and we're still trying to
work out if there's going to be a petting zoo
(08:02):
courtesy of some school district personnel.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Ah, that sounds really fun. Well, it sounds like a
great family event. Keith, give us all the particulars. Again,
this is happening on Saturday the sixth. Tell us where
exactly what time? All the detail?
Speaker 7 (08:14):
Yes, fifty four hundred block Germantown Avenue between Culter Street
and Schoolhouse.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Lane, all right, and it starts at twelve o'clock.
Speaker 7 (08:22):
Artsa is from twelve till six And.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
If people would like more information not only about the festival,
but about the achievement Foundation. Where do they go?
Speaker 6 (08:30):
Germantownfoodfest dot org. That's our website. You can find out
everything you need to know about this upcoming special event.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Fantastic and Keith, if people want to know more about
the Achievement Foundation, where do they go for that?
Speaker 7 (08:42):
Philly Kappas dot org. That's p h I l l
Y Kappas dot org.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Kappa is always doing good in the community. Bruce Rush,
a member of Kapa Alpha Psi and pressure of the
Achievement Foundation. It's president Keith Allison, thank you both for
joining us and telling us about this fun family event
and benefiting the wonderful organization which is the Achievement Foundation,
the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity in.
Speaker 6 (09:10):
Thanks, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
You're listening to Insight. We're joined by Mark Wainwright, founder
and CEO of It Takes a Village to Feed One Child,
a nonprofit dedicated to fighting food insecurity across our region.
For weekend meals for children, to mobile food programs for
the homeless, senior food deliveries, and pop up pantries, the
organization is tackling hunger on multiple fronts and this September,
(09:38):
they're hosting the Hunger Village Awards twenty twenty five at
Live Casino to honor leaders and raise critical support for
that mission. So, Mark, thank you so much for joining
us here today. Mark. For listeners who may not be familiar,
what inspired you to start it takes a village to
feed one child? And what is the core mission?
Speaker 8 (09:58):
I guess the inspiration is basically addressing hunger and food
insecurity and communities that are less fortunate, disadvantaged communities, regardless
of ethnicity or background. We started this journey about thirty
five years ago. Personally, back in twenty seventeen, we started
this specific organization. We're under a permanent contract with the
(10:18):
USDA Pennsylvania Department of Education, and we put out over
two hundred thousand meals on a monthly basis to multiple communities,
multiple counties throughout Pennsylvania. And it's been a blessing. It's
a blessing. It's something that I don't need an alarm
clock to wake up and do well.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Feod insecurity touches, families, children, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness.
Can you talk about the different programs that you offer?
Speaker 8 (10:43):
Sure, we offer Child in adult care food programs that's
under the Pennsylvanian Department of Education. We do pop up
pantries in a community. We partner with organizations like Saint
Christopher Hospital, various churches. We feed the homeless. We primarily
work with child in adult care as well. We pretty
much do it all when it comes to hunger and
food in security.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
When it comes to food in security, we are facing
a potential crisis because of the massive cuts to SNAP
programs and other programs that are related to food and security,
and I wonder if you can talk a little bit
about how the landscape is evolving and what you're trying
to do in order to address the need.
Speaker 8 (11:23):
Sure, we're actually our organization is part of the Food
Task Force with a city Council, with other great organizations
like Food Trust, the Share Food Program, Full Abundance, and
some of the others. I've been doing a lot of
advocacy with them recently. I think a few months ago
we went to DC to meet with Senators and House
representatives to keep that bad which is very crucial and
(11:46):
beneficial to our communities. We're still fighting that fight today
and we're actually trying to come up with solutions under
the leadership of Keyanna Johnson to address food and security
and hunger also snap A lot of.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Folks don't understand what hunger is. We go through the
day and maybe we skipped lunch and your stomachs are
rumbling a little bit. But I wonder if you can
describe what it truly means to be hungry and what
the impact that is.
Speaker 8 (12:17):
Well, so I guess for me, it started when I
was a child growing up in West Philly. There was
one of my best friends lived across the street, and
it was something that I believe God placed inside of
me just to care for humanity. I would only eat
half of my food and take the other half across
the street because he was a falster child and I
(12:39):
knew he lacked food. So many of the children that
we serve on a DAILI basis, our meals go out
every single day, and our meals are going out to
kids who might not receive a meal if not for
a organization like ours, because again we're delivering those meals
and the lowest, most disadvantaged communities across the state of PA.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
In addition to the physical impact of hunger, I think
we also have to talk about the emotional impact, because
it certainly does impact a child's ability to learn in school,
perhaps of their own self esteem, because when you're hungry,
that is a marker that you don't have enough, and
(13:19):
there has to be a certain stigma associated with that,
and perhaps people would want to hide the fact that
they're so hungry. So I wonder if we can talk
a little more about what the ripple effect of hunger is.
Speaker 8 (13:30):
Sure, absolutely children, First of all, they have low immune systems,
so it's critical that they get healthy and nutritional meals
to even focus, to even concentrate in school. I was
fortunate to go to a boarding school about one hundred
miles away from here. It was also a military school
as well, so we had a great cafeteria, We had
(13:50):
great nutritional and healthy meals. But unfortunately it's not the
case in certain communities and counties. When children starve or
go hungry, it's hard for them to function, it's hard
for them to think, it's hard for them to exist.
And often tell people, you know, addressing hunger and food
and security, it's a humanity thing. It's all of our
(14:10):
responsibility because you know, the children are our future and
they need to be well nourished.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
You have the Hunger Village Awards coming up on September
thirteenth that Live casino. What can people expect at this
event and how does it support your programs year round?
Speaker 8 (14:24):
Well, it's gonna help raise funding for a lot of
the community initiatives that we currently have, like the partnerships
with the pop up pantries, the weekend meals for children,
addressing the homeless, taking food directly to the homeless on
the street, delivering to seniors right to their door. So
part of the proceeds will go towards those programs. But
it's going to be a great event on September thirteenth.
(14:46):
People can go to Hunger Village Awards dot com to register.
They can also go to Feed One Child dot org.
That's our website in Hunger Village Awards is also will
direct them to that. We're honoring Kenyatta Johnson. We're honoring
Pastor Ted and Pastor down Wensley, who also are the
chaplains of our Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Shanaiah Bennett
(15:10):
who works at the Mayor's office, Navarre Gatson from Brother
Lui Love Pro and Foundation, Mighty Writers. Pastor Richard Smith,
who does great work as far as dress and hunger
in the community. He's done that for years. But we're
going to have some athletes there, some celebrity, some celebrity
video appearances, some great networking, some great food. We have
a violinist, we have a drum unit. It's just going
(15:32):
to be a jam pack evening.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
That sounds like fun. If people would like to support
your organization, It takes a Village to Feed One Child.
Tell us the different ways we can help.
Speaker 8 (15:41):
Sure, you can go as I mentioned earlier, and you
can go to feed one Child dot org. That's the
word feed the number one child dot org. That'll land
you on our website where you can see all of
the great work we do, and it'll take you to
our donations page where you can find all the ways
that you could donate. You can also text to give
too at five to three for US five five five,
(16:01):
and then in the box of the tacks you just
place feed one or feed two.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Mark Wainwright, founder and CEO of It Takes a Village
to Feed One Child, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting food
insecurity across our region. They are doing a lot to
help close that gap that exists for those thousands of people,
including children who don't get enough to eat each day.
Thank you so much for all that you do.
Speaker 8 (16:25):
Mark, thank you, and last thing I want to say,
become a part of our village when you give. Please
consider us.
Speaker 7 (16:36):
Hello.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
This is doctor John Porter, director of the Trauma Center
at Cooper. Join us Saturday, September twenty seventh at Milandra
Hall and Camden for a free men's health awareness event
with health screenings, expert talks and wellness resources. Black men
are sixty seven percent more likely to get prostay cancer
and twice as likely to die from it. Early detection
saves lives. Let's break the silence and take charge of
(16:57):
our health together. Men, checked in your numbers. This is
brought to you by the MD Anders and Cancer Center
at Cooper in the Camden County Cancer Screening Project.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
My guest is Walter Pryor, author of This Leaves Me Okay, Race,
Legacy and Letters from My Grandmother. In this moving memoir,
Prior reflects on the decades's long correspondence with his grandmother,
Lucille Mama Cilee Hatch Eldridge, whose handbrid letters despite her
limited formal education in long hours as a domestic worker,
(17:32):
nurtured his sense of worth and belonging. So thank you
so much for joining us here today. And I wonder, Walter,
if you could tell us what inspired you to take
your grandmother's letters and weave them into a memoir that
blends personal reflection with the history of race and resilience
in America.
Speaker 9 (17:47):
Well, thank you very much for having me, Lorrain, and
I'm happy to be here. I will stay that. I
think in everyone has someone in their family who I
called their person, and for me, that was my grandmother,
Mama Sile. And she was my person, not only because
you know, she wrote me letters, but she was just
this mythic figure in so many ways, a Renaissance woman
(18:09):
before I even knew what that meant. She sewed, she quilted, shade,
she knitted, she needle point crosstage, she did all of that.
She could cook, you know, traditional Southern dishes as well
as very elaborate French or Italian dishes. She was a
fisher person, She gardened, she loved wrestling, She taught me
(18:31):
to play cards. I mean, she was just this really
wonderful person in my life, partly because she wrote me
letters and partly because I came to appreciate a number
of the challenges that she had overcome in her life.
I wanted to honor her life and her impact on
me in a meaningful way. The fact that she wrote
letters was just an avenue or a vehicle for delving
(18:55):
into her story.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
You write not only about the past, but also about
this struggles that your grandmother's great grandchildren face today. How
do you see the threads of her hope and resilience
continuing or being challenged in this generation?
Speaker 9 (19:10):
Well, without question, I believe that you know, there is
a thread of resistance that flows through my mother to me,
to my grandchildren, but also from her generation to current generations.
I think in today's time, in the sense that democracy
feels like it's under threat, the existence of black people
and minorities and immigrants is under threat. Obviously, there are
(19:34):
people who agree with what's going on, but I believe
there are so many more people who do not, and
it is their resistance, whether it's through you know, seeking
their own joy or taking more active forms of protest.
Her life is a lesson in resistance and bending the
arc of the moral universe towards justice. It doesn't just
do it on its own. I think it requires help,
(19:56):
and I think that is the lesson that her life
has for me.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Are a general counsel and a CEO at a financial
institution serving underserved communities, And I wonder if you can
talk a bit about how your professional life connects to
the legacy that your grandmother left you.
Speaker 9 (20:12):
Well, one of the great joys of my life was
being asked to come work with my well a very
dear friend from college, Darren Williams, who's the CEO of
Southern Bank Corp. But I had been familiar with their
work for a number of years. And just to give
you a little bit about the institution itself, it was
formed back in the eighties when then Governor Bill Clinton
(20:35):
learned of South Shore Bank in Chicago, which had been
formed specifically to address the financial needs of black residents
who had been discriminated against and redlined, and he wanted
to take that concept and apply it to the Delta,
specifically Arkansas and Mississippi. And so from the very foundations
(20:56):
of our beginning, our focus has been on an unders communities,
providing financial assistance and services, but also building wealth in
those communities. When I think about my grandmother's life, and
where she was born, where she lived most of her life.
She was in one of those rural communities that did
(21:16):
not have access to financial services. And even to the
extent that she did, she would have been a black
woman in the Jim Crow South and so she would
not have been able to access that. So I find
it really rewarding that I am helping us meet the
needs of people like my grandmother.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I'd like to talk a bit about the power of
the written word. We've kind of lost, I think the
art of letter writing, and I know in my past
and I haven't written a letter in a very long time,
but I did used to write letters, and I remember
the experience of pen to paper was really more than
(21:55):
just the simple act of writing, right. So I wonder
if you can maybe reflect on what it meant for
you for Mama Seal to put pen or pencil to
paper and write, even though she had only an eighth
grade education, And yet the words that she was able
to commit to paper and then in turn send to
(22:16):
you and inspire you. Tell me more about what that
means to you.
Speaker 9 (22:22):
So at its most basic sense, the fact that someone
takes the time to put pen to paper and commits
the time to convey a greeting of encouragement or even
just a note to let you know that they're thinking
of you. It just means a lot. And certainly as
a child, I don't recall anyone telling me that it
(22:44):
was a big deal to get mail or to get
a letter, but I certainly felt that. And as I
recount in the book, one of my earliest memories is
of my mother reading to my sister and me a
letter from my grandmother. And this was before I was
able to read her letters. And it was such an
important phenomenon for me, and it continued to be throughout
(23:05):
my adult life. I mean, my grandmother wrote me almost
the entire time that we shared the planet and my
wife and I estimated that she wrote me alone probably
over a thousand letters.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Wow.
Speaker 9 (23:17):
And so having someone to do that anchors you, right,
It helps you know that you matter, and those subtle
kinds of messages, even though she wasn't saying you matter specifically,
she was sending that message. And I believe that it
contributed to my sense of self a strong sense of
self esteem, and helped shape into the person that I am.
(23:41):
So my hope is that you know, people recognize the
importance and significance of letter writing that occasionally they may
decide to do it themselves as well. And in addition
to recognizing letter writing, I also hope that there's this
recognition of celebrating those people in your family who make
(24:01):
those pivotal kinds of decisions that influence how your family,
the trajrectly that your family takes. In my instance, my
grandmother made the decision to send my mother, who was
her long awaited child, to live with the relative because
she had this idea she wanted her to go to college.
That was one of the aspects of her life that
I wanted to honor and recognize because it took a
(24:23):
great deal of sacrifice on her part and it results
in a lot of other challenges in her life. But
she wanted to sacrifice so that her child would have
better and I think that's a common thing among many
many families.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, Well, your book has received strong praise from Publishers,
Weekly and Kirkus. These are all very prestigious organizations, and
I wonder if you can just reflect on what the
response has meant to you personally and what conversations do
you hope that this book sparks.
Speaker 9 (24:52):
Well, I have to tell you, it has been really
overwhelming to see the response. I think I don't even
know if I had a sense of what having a
book be successful is, and it's probably still early to
call it successful, but in terms of how it's been received,
it's been especially rewarding. I'm thrilled that people see their
(25:14):
own families in this story, be they white or black,
immigrant or native to this country. I'm thrilled that it's
causing some people to go back and consider who those
pivotal people were in their families, who sent their families
on a particular trajectory. And I also think it's important
to recognize not only personal history, but collective societal history,
(25:39):
particularly in this day and age when history seems to
be under attack. I think it's very important for us
to own and celebrate and recognize our history and not
to depend on federal governments or educational institutions or others
outside of us. I think we own that we have
the responsibility to carry it forward, and so I hope
that people are inspired to perhaps write a letter, to
(26:03):
perhaps talk about a family member who's important to them
and to celebrate their impact and legacy and to also
follow those themes of resistance and courage in this present moment.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I guess my last question is the title of the book,
This leaves Me Okay. That must have been a phrase
that you pulled from one of her letters. Tell me
about that.
Speaker 9 (26:28):
Absolutely, It's a phrase that she would often use in
many of her letters, and I never fully understood where
it came from. But even as I researched it a bit,
one of the interpretations was that it can convey this
allows me to be okay, This allows me to be fine.
And what I took from that is that it served
(26:50):
probably many purposes for her. I think in some ways
it was just a relation of where she was at
a particular moment, but I think it also served as
a mantra, as a prayer, as an inspiration, as an
encouragement to me. And so as I learned more about
her life and came to appreciate a lot of the
themes that were coming through as I examined her life,
(27:12):
I felt that that was a truly apt title to
capture what I hopes people would gain from getting a
glimpse of her.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Do you have a website.
Speaker 9 (27:22):
I do. It's still being built out, but it's Walter
Pryor dot com and you can get the book on
Amazon or at Pyramid Books. I'm also on Instagram at
retlaw op R E t l A wop and on
Facebook at Walter Pryor.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I think you might have inspired me to start writing
letters again. I think that's such a powerful gesture of
connection with friends and family. So thank you well.
Speaker 9 (27:51):
I love that and you're absolutely welcome.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Walter Pryor, author of this Leaves Me Okay, Race Legacy
and letter from my grandmother. Thank you so much for
joining us today.
Speaker 9 (28:03):
You're welcome. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app yy Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard MOREL and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(28:26):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you
Good morning. You are listening to Insight, a show about
empowering our community. I'm Lorraine Baller. Tomorrow we're celebrating community
culture and service in Philadelphia. You'll be hearing from Bruce
Rush and Keith Ellison of the Achievement Foundation on the
inaugural Germantown Avenue Food Truck Festival. Mark Wainwright from It
Takes a Village to Feed One Child talks about fighting
(00:22):
food insecurity and also about their upcoming Hunger Village Awards.
I speak with Walter Pryor on his Moving Memoir. This
leaves me okay, But first joining me right now is
Erica Goslin. She is executive director of Taierra pertur Quano,
which is one of the sponsors of a wonderful event,
Feria del Barrio. Erica, thank you for joining us here
(00:43):
today and tell us about this event that's coming up.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yes, sure, well, thank you for having me and the
event that we have coming up on Sunday, September seventh,
from twelve to five pm is our annual Feria bel Barrio.
This is our forty first year doing this event and
it's a collaboration with the pri with Asse with Association
(01:07):
Puerto Rican Marca with reals the five organizations a year
after year put on this event that's a family festival
with music and food and artists to just put on
a day of celebration and enjoyment.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It is a wonderful family event and it's really for everyone,
although it does uplift and encourages us to have a
greater and deeper understanding of Latino culture. So give us
an idea of a few of the things that we
can expect. I know there's there's always music, and there
are always wonderful vendors and of course the food of course.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, so we'll get to enjoy some food from Bourriqua
Restaurant this year, some great Puerto Rican food. In addition,
we will have some different activations like the clay Studio
will have a table this year to have some active
clay and we'll also enjoy again, like you mentioned, great
(02:05):
local artists who will be showing their craft. We also
have a community stage where we have different folk dancing
from different traditions such as Guatemala, Colombia, so we have
different representation for everyone to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So give us the specifics the date once again, the
time and the location. Yes, so the date.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
It's Sunday, September seventh, from twelve to five pm and
the location is at Taier Puertrigeno. We will be on
North fifth Street between Huntington and lehi Ave.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And if people want more information where do they go?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Please go to Fidia del Badio dot org, where you
can also find us on tierpr dot org as well.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Erica Goslin. She is executive director of Taier Parqun which
is one of the primary sponsors Offlia de Barrio, which
is a wonderful family event and we hope to see
you there. Thank you for joining us, Erica.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
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Speaker 1 (04:47):
I love my Philadelphia food trucks because they often have
such delicious food available on the street. What if you
got them all together in one big festival. And that's
what we're going to be talking about as well. Of
the final pieces of its year long thirtieth anniversary celebration
of the Kappa Achievement Center on Germantown Avenue. The Achievement Foundation,
(05:08):
the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Will present the inaugural Germantown Avenue
Food Truck Festival along the fifty four hundred block of
Germantown Avenue. That's happening on Saturday, September sixth. To tell
us all about it is Bruce Rush. He's a member
of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and treasurer of the
(05:30):
Achievement Foundation and the president of that foundation, Keith Allison,
is joining us here today. Bruce Food, you had me
at hello, So tell us more about this food truck Festival.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Well, it's certainly an opportunity first and foremost for us
to support the community in some diverse ways. We are
now part of the Urban Germantown Historic Village and so
that's going on. Also, we're trying to expand our footprint
of community oriented things that the Achievement Foundation is doing,
(06:02):
and certainly something that helps to support business while also
helping school age kids is an idea that we came
up with through Key's vision.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, Keith, let's have you sidle up to the microphone
and tell us more about the Achievement Foundation, which is
the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Speaker 7 (06:21):
Tell us more so, our organization provides a comfortable, safe
place not just for members, but also for the community.
So different entities can use our location for various events.
And as Bruce was mentioning, we're spreading out into the community.
(06:42):
One of our flagship programs is something called KAPA Cares
or the Achievement Academy, where we mentor young men of
grades eight through twelve. That's been our flagship program. The
building really came about in the mid nineteen ninety where
we have been doing a lot of community work, but
(07:03):
we need a place, a headquarters where we can gather
and plan, and so back in nineteen ninety five is
when we really opened the building, and this is our
thirtieth anniversary of the building.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well, this festival is going to be so much fun
because not only is there going to be food there,
but you've got a little bit of a theme backpacks,
bites and beats. Bruce, tell us what's going to happen there,
So In addition to the food, there's also going to
be free backpack and school supply giveaways.
Speaker 8 (07:32):
Yes, through one.
Speaker 6 (07:33):
Of our sponsors, we were fortunate enough to get some
backpacks that will be given away to school age children.
Speaker 8 (07:40):
There.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
There also will be an art village where participating youngsters
will get a chance to help make a mural. We
have stage entertainment featuring one of the acts in particular
is going to be the Dobbins High School drum Line,
and so that's something we're looking forward to. Other elements
of things like moon Bounce, and we're still trying to
work out if there's going to be a petting zoo
(08:02):
courtesy of some school district personnel.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Ah, that sounds really fun. Well, it sounds like a
great family event. Keith, give us all the particulars. Again,
this is happening on Saturday the sixth. Tell us where
exactly what time? All the detail?
Speaker 7 (08:14):
Yes, fifty four hundred block Germantown Avenue between Culter Street
and Schoolhouse.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Lane, all right, and it starts at twelve o'clock.
Speaker 7 (08:22):
Artsa is from twelve till six And.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
If people would like more information not only about the festival,
but about the achievement Foundation. Where do they go?
Speaker 6 (08:30):
Germantownfoodfest dot org. That's our website. You can find out
everything you need to know about this upcoming special event.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Fantastic and Keith, if people want to know more about
the Achievement Foundation, where do they go for that?
Speaker 7 (08:42):
Philly Kappas dot org. That's p h I l l
Y Kappas dot org.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Kappa is always doing good in the community. Bruce Rush,
a member of Kapa Alpha Psi and pressure of the
Achievement Foundation. It's president Keith Allison, thank you both for
joining us and telling us about this fun family event
and benefiting the wonderful organization which is the Achievement Foundation,
the charitable arm of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity in.
Speaker 6 (09:10):
Thanks, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
You're listening to Insight. We're joined by Mark Wainwright, founder
and CEO of It Takes a Village to Feed One Child,
a nonprofit dedicated to fighting food insecurity across our region.
For weekend meals for children, to mobile food programs for
the homeless, senior food deliveries, and pop up pantries, the
organization is tackling hunger on multiple fronts and this September,
(09:38):
they're hosting the Hunger Village Awards twenty twenty five at
Live Casino to honor leaders and raise critical support for
that mission. So, Mark, thank you so much for joining
us here today. Mark. For listeners who may not be familiar,
what inspired you to start it takes a village to
feed one child? And what is the core mission?
Speaker 8 (09:58):
I guess the inspiration is basically addressing hunger and food
insecurity and communities that are less fortunate, disadvantaged communities, regardless
of ethnicity or background. We started this journey about thirty
five years ago. Personally, back in twenty seventeen, we started
this specific organization. We're under a permanent contract with the
(10:18):
USDA Pennsylvania Department of Education, and we put out over
two hundred thousand meals on a monthly basis to multiple communities,
multiple counties throughout Pennsylvania. And it's been a blessing. It's
a blessing. It's something that I don't need an alarm
clock to wake up and do well.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Feod insecurity touches, families, children, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness.
Can you talk about the different programs that you offer?
Speaker 8 (10:43):
Sure, we offer Child in adult care food programs that's
under the Pennsylvanian Department of Education. We do pop up
pantries in a community. We partner with organizations like Saint
Christopher Hospital, various churches. We feed the homeless. We primarily
work with child in adult care as well. We pretty
much do it all when it comes to hunger and
food in security.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
When it comes to food in security, we are facing
a potential crisis because of the massive cuts to SNAP
programs and other programs that are related to food and security,
and I wonder if you can talk a little bit
about how the landscape is evolving and what you're trying
to do in order to address the need.
Speaker 8 (11:23):
Sure, we're actually our organization is part of the Food
Task Force with a city Council, with other great organizations
like Food Trust, the Share Food Program, Full Abundance, and
some of the others. I've been doing a lot of
advocacy with them recently. I think a few months ago
we went to DC to meet with Senators and House
representatives to keep that bad which is very crucial and
(11:46):
beneficial to our communities. We're still fighting that fight today
and we're actually trying to come up with solutions under
the leadership of Keyanna Johnson to address food and security
and hunger also snap A lot of.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Folks don't understand what hunger is. We go through the
day and maybe we skipped lunch and your stomachs are
rumbling a little bit. But I wonder if you can
describe what it truly means to be hungry and what
the impact that is.
Speaker 8 (12:17):
Well, so I guess for me, it started when I
was a child growing up in West Philly. There was
one of my best friends lived across the street, and
it was something that I believe God placed inside of
me just to care for humanity. I would only eat
half of my food and take the other half across
the street because he was a falster child and I
(12:39):
knew he lacked food. So many of the children that
we serve on a DAILI basis, our meals go out
every single day, and our meals are going out to
kids who might not receive a meal if not for
a organization like ours, because again we're delivering those meals
and the lowest, most disadvantaged communities across the state of PA.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
In addition to the physical impact of hunger, I think
we also have to talk about the emotional impact, because
it certainly does impact a child's ability to learn in school,
perhaps of their own self esteem, because when you're hungry,
that is a marker that you don't have enough, and
(13:19):
there has to be a certain stigma associated with that,
and perhaps people would want to hide the fact that
they're so hungry. So I wonder if we can talk
a little more about what the ripple effect of hunger is.
Speaker 8 (13:30):
Sure, absolutely children, First of all, they have low immune systems,
so it's critical that they get healthy and nutritional meals
to even focus, to even concentrate in school. I was
fortunate to go to a boarding school about one hundred
miles away from here. It was also a military school
as well, so we had a great cafeteria, We had
(13:50):
great nutritional and healthy meals. But unfortunately it's not the
case in certain communities and counties. When children starve or
go hungry, it's hard for them to function, it's hard
for them to think, it's hard for them to exist.
And often tell people, you know, addressing hunger and food
and security, it's a humanity thing. It's all of our
(14:10):
responsibility because you know, the children are our future and
they need to be well nourished.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
You have the Hunger Village Awards coming up on September
thirteenth that Live casino. What can people expect at this
event and how does it support your programs year round?
Speaker 8 (14:24):
Well, it's gonna help raise funding for a lot of
the community initiatives that we currently have, like the partnerships
with the pop up pantries, the weekend meals for children,
addressing the homeless, taking food directly to the homeless on
the street, delivering to seniors right to their door. So
part of the proceeds will go towards those programs. But
it's going to be a great event on September thirteenth.
(14:46):
People can go to Hunger Village Awards dot com to register.
They can also go to Feed One Child dot org.
That's our website in Hunger Village Awards is also will
direct them to that. We're honoring Kenyatta Johnson. We're honoring
Pastor Ted and Pastor down Wensley, who also are the
chaplains of our Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Shanaiah Bennett
(15:10):
who works at the Mayor's office, Navarre Gatson from Brother
Lui Love Pro and Foundation, Mighty Writers. Pastor Richard Smith,
who does great work as far as dress and hunger
in the community. He's done that for years. But we're
going to have some athletes there, some celebrity, some celebrity
video appearances, some great networking, some great food. We have
a violinist, we have a drum unit. It's just going
(15:32):
to be a jam pack evening.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
That sounds like fun. If people would like to support
your organization, It takes a Village to Feed One Child.
Tell us the different ways we can help.
Speaker 8 (15:41):
Sure, you can go as I mentioned earlier, and you
can go to feed one Child dot org. That's the
word feed the number one child dot org. That'll land
you on our website where you can see all of
the great work we do, and it'll take you to
our donations page where you can find all the ways
that you could donate. You can also text to give
too at five to three for US five five five,
(16:01):
and then in the box of the tacks you just
place feed one or feed two.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Mark Wainwright, founder and CEO of It Takes a Village
to Feed One Child, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting food
insecurity across our region. They are doing a lot to
help close that gap that exists for those thousands of people,
including children who don't get enough to eat each day.
Thank you so much for all that you do.
Speaker 8 (16:25):
Mark, thank you, and last thing I want to say,
become a part of our village when you give. Please
consider us.
Speaker 7 (16:36):
Hello.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
This is doctor John Porter, director of the Trauma Center
at Cooper. Join us Saturday, September twenty seventh at Milandra
Hall and Camden for a free men's health awareness event
with health screenings, expert talks and wellness resources. Black men
are sixty seven percent more likely to get prostay cancer
and twice as likely to die from it. Early detection
saves lives. Let's break the silence and take charge of
(16:57):
our health together. Men, checked in your numbers. This is
brought to you by the MD Anders and Cancer Center
at Cooper in the Camden County Cancer Screening Project.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
My guest is Walter Pryor, author of This Leaves Me Okay, Race,
Legacy and Letters from My Grandmother. In this moving memoir,
Prior reflects on the decades's long correspondence with his grandmother,
Lucille Mama Cilee Hatch Eldridge, whose handbrid letters despite her
limited formal education in long hours as a domestic worker,
(17:32):
nurtured his sense of worth and belonging. So thank you
so much for joining us here today. And I wonder, Walter,
if you could tell us what inspired you to take
your grandmother's letters and weave them into a memoir that
blends personal reflection with the history of race and resilience
in America.
Speaker 9 (17:47):
Well, thank you very much for having me, Lorrain, and
I'm happy to be here. I will stay that. I
think in everyone has someone in their family who I
called their person, and for me, that was my grandmother,
Mama Sile. And she was my person, not only because
you know, she wrote me letters, but she was just
this mythic figure in so many ways, a Renaissance woman
(18:09):
before I even knew what that meant. She sewed, she quilted, shade,
she knitted, she needle point crosstage, she did all of that.
She could cook, you know, traditional Southern dishes as well
as very elaborate French or Italian dishes. She was a
fisher person, She gardened, she loved wrestling, She taught me
(18:31):
to play cards. I mean, she was just this really
wonderful person in my life, partly because she wrote me
letters and partly because I came to appreciate a number
of the challenges that she had overcome in her life.
I wanted to honor her life and her impact on
me in a meaningful way. The fact that she wrote
letters was just an avenue or a vehicle for delving
(18:55):
into her story.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
You write not only about the past, but also about
this struggles that your grandmother's great grandchildren face today. How
do you see the threads of her hope and resilience
continuing or being challenged in this generation?
Speaker 9 (19:10):
Well, without question, I believe that you know, there is
a thread of resistance that flows through my mother to me,
to my grandchildren, but also from her generation to current generations.
I think in today's time, in the sense that democracy
feels like it's under threat, the existence of black people
and minorities and immigrants is under threat. Obviously, there are
(19:34):
people who agree with what's going on, but I believe
there are so many more people who do not, and
it is their resistance, whether it's through you know, seeking
their own joy or taking more active forms of protest.
Her life is a lesson in resistance and bending the
arc of the moral universe towards justice. It doesn't just
do it on its own. I think it requires help,
(19:56):
and I think that is the lesson that her life
has for me.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Are a general counsel and a CEO at a financial
institution serving underserved communities, And I wonder if you can
talk a bit about how your professional life connects to
the legacy that your grandmother left you.
Speaker 9 (20:12):
Well, one of the great joys of my life was
being asked to come work with my well a very
dear friend from college, Darren Williams, who's the CEO of
Southern Bank Corp. But I had been familiar with their
work for a number of years. And just to give
you a little bit about the institution itself, it was
formed back in the eighties when then Governor Bill Clinton
(20:35):
learned of South Shore Bank in Chicago, which had been
formed specifically to address the financial needs of black residents
who had been discriminated against and redlined, and he wanted
to take that concept and apply it to the Delta,
specifically Arkansas and Mississippi. And so from the very foundations
(20:56):
of our beginning, our focus has been on an unders communities,
providing financial assistance and services, but also building wealth in
those communities. When I think about my grandmother's life, and
where she was born, where she lived most of her life.
She was in one of those rural communities that did
(21:16):
not have access to financial services. And even to the
extent that she did, she would have been a black
woman in the Jim Crow South and so she would
not have been able to access that. So I find
it really rewarding that I am helping us meet the
needs of people like my grandmother.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I'd like to talk a bit about the power of
the written word. We've kind of lost, I think the
art of letter writing, and I know in my past
and I haven't written a letter in a very long time,
but I did used to write letters, and I remember
the experience of pen to paper was really more than
(21:55):
just the simple act of writing, right. So I wonder
if you can maybe reflect on what it meant for
you for Mama Seal to put pen or pencil to
paper and write, even though she had only an eighth
grade education, And yet the words that she was able
to commit to paper and then in turn send to
(22:16):
you and inspire you. Tell me more about what that
means to you.
Speaker 9 (22:22):
So at its most basic sense, the fact that someone
takes the time to put pen to paper and commits
the time to convey a greeting of encouragement or even
just a note to let you know that they're thinking
of you. It just means a lot. And certainly as
a child, I don't recall anyone telling me that it
(22:44):
was a big deal to get mail or to get
a letter, but I certainly felt that. And as I
recount in the book, one of my earliest memories is
of my mother reading to my sister and me a
letter from my grandmother. And this was before I was
able to read her letters. And it was such an
important phenomenon for me, and it continued to be throughout
(23:05):
my adult life. I mean, my grandmother wrote me almost
the entire time that we shared the planet and my
wife and I estimated that she wrote me alone probably
over a thousand letters.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Wow.
Speaker 9 (23:17):
And so having someone to do that anchors you, right,
It helps you know that you matter, and those subtle
kinds of messages, even though she wasn't saying you matter specifically,
she was sending that message. And I believe that it
contributed to my sense of self a strong sense of
self esteem, and helped shape into the person that I am.
(23:41):
So my hope is that you know, people recognize the
importance and significance of letter writing that occasionally they may
decide to do it themselves as well. And in addition
to recognizing letter writing, I also hope that there's this
recognition of celebrating those people in your family who make
(24:01):
those pivotal kinds of decisions that influence how your family,
the trajrectly that your family takes. In my instance, my
grandmother made the decision to send my mother, who was
her long awaited child, to live with the relative because
she had this idea she wanted her to go to college.
That was one of the aspects of her life that
I wanted to honor and recognize because it took a
(24:23):
great deal of sacrifice on her part and it results
in a lot of other challenges in her life. But
she wanted to sacrifice so that her child would have
better and I think that's a common thing among many
many families.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, Well, your book has received strong praise from Publishers,
Weekly and Kirkus. These are all very prestigious organizations, and
I wonder if you can just reflect on what the
response has meant to you personally and what conversations do
you hope that this book sparks.
Speaker 9 (24:52):
Well, I have to tell you, it has been really
overwhelming to see the response. I think I don't even
know if I had a sense of what having a
book be successful is, and it's probably still early to
call it successful, but in terms of how it's been received,
it's been especially rewarding. I'm thrilled that people see their
(25:14):
own families in this story, be they white or black,
immigrant or native to this country. I'm thrilled that it's
causing some people to go back and consider who those
pivotal people were in their families, who sent their families
on a particular trajectory. And I also think it's important
to recognize not only personal history, but collective societal history,
(25:39):
particularly in this day and age when history seems to
be under attack. I think it's very important for us
to own and celebrate and recognize our history and not
to depend on federal governments or educational institutions or others
outside of us. I think we own that we have
the responsibility to carry it forward, and so I hope
that people are inspired to perhaps write a letter, to
(26:03):
perhaps talk about a family member who's important to them
and to celebrate their impact and legacy and to also
follow those themes of resistance and courage in this present moment.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I guess my last question is the title of the book,
This leaves Me Okay. That must have been a phrase
that you pulled from one of her letters. Tell me
about that.
Speaker 9 (26:28):
Absolutely, It's a phrase that she would often use in
many of her letters, and I never fully understood where
it came from. But even as I researched it a bit,
one of the interpretations was that it can convey this
allows me to be okay, This allows me to be fine.
And what I took from that is that it served
(26:50):
probably many purposes for her. I think in some ways
it was just a relation of where she was at
a particular moment, but I think it also served as
a mantra, as a prayer, as an inspiration, as an
encouragement to me. And so as I learned more about
her life and came to appreciate a lot of the
themes that were coming through as I examined her life,
(27:12):
I felt that that was a truly apt title to
capture what I hopes people would gain from getting a
glimpse of her.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Do you have a website.
Speaker 9 (27:22):
I do. It's still being built out, but it's Walter
Pryor dot com and you can get the book on
Amazon or at Pyramid Books. I'm also on Instagram at
retlaw op R E t l A wop and on
Facebook at Walter Pryor.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I think you might have inspired me to start writing
letters again. I think that's such a powerful gesture of
connection with friends and family. So thank you well.
Speaker 9 (27:51):
I love that and you're absolutely welcome.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Walter Pryor, author of this Leaves Me Okay, Race Legacy
and letter from my grandmother. Thank you so much for
joining us today.
Speaker 9 (28:03):
You're welcome. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app yy Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard MOREL and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(28:26):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you
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