Insight Pt. 2: The Save the Cecil B. Moore Library Coalition, Children's Scholarship Fund PHL, The Trace

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballad Marl. Today we're spotlighting local
movements and organizations making real change right here in Philadelphia. First,
we'll hear from the Save This CEC will be more
at Library Coalition, a grassroots effort uniting neighbors and community
leaders to restore one of North Philadelphia's most vital public spaces.

(00:22):
Then Kisha Jordan, President and CEO of the Children's Scholarship
Fund Philadelphia, joins us to share how families can apply
for scholarships that open doors to safe quality K through
eight schools, with a priority deadline coming up November fifteenth.
But first we're talking about gun violence today and the
progress Philadelphia's made in reducing it. Joining us is Mensa

(00:43):
Dean Philadelphia staff writer for The Trace. He is a
Pulitzer Prize finalist and award winning journalist who has spent
years covering the issue of justice, corruption, and community safety.
He's going to talk to us about The Trace and
also about an upcoming event, a conversation about this issue
that's facing us in that America's gun violence crisis. Manci,

(01:05):
you've been reporting on gun violence in Philadelphia for so
many years, we've seen a historic decline in shootings. What
are some of the factors driving this drop and what
do you think has changed on the ground.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, hello, Lauren, and thank you for having me. Well,
there are many factors involved in the drop in gun
violence in Philadelphia in recent years. As many of your
viewers know, we hit a record high of homicides in
Philadelphia back in twenty twenty one. There were five hundred
and sixty two homicides. Ever since then, the numbers have

(01:37):
been going down steadily. In recent years, they've been going
down dramatically. City officials, state officials, and national officials have
identified a handful of reasons why that is. Among them,
returned to normalstly after the COVID upheaval. Schools were shut down,
after school programs, businesses, there were a lot of idle people. Unfortunately,

(02:01):
you know, idle mind is the devil's workshop, and so
as we got back to normalcy, those gun numbers started
to go down. In addition to that, the city invested
millions upon millions of dollars in prevention efforts on the
police side and the community side. On the police side,

(02:21):
Operation Pinpoint, where they used data to figure out where
to send officers reinforcement officers, and they sent extra officers
to the high crime police districts, the twenty second, twenty fourth,
twenty fifth, and thirty ninth districts. They also implemented more
community police beats that was started by Mayor Parker. Some

(02:43):
three hundred more officers were sent out to community business corridors,
communities you away from center city to get more officers
just out circulating amongst the people. And they also had
engaged existing community groups, who are you working for day
decades in these communities in some cases, and they funded

(03:03):
these groups to do more grassroots prevention work with the
young people to stop them from getting involved in gun violence.
One program that specialized in this that the city stood
up is called Group Violence Intervention. They got that program going.
It's a program that's all over the country. The model
is and so Philadelphia had that before and then reintroduced

(03:26):
it under Americ Heiney and it's been going, you know,
continue to buy Mayor Parker. And what they do is
they send a team of people to individuals who have
been identified as likely to get themselves in trouble. And
before they do that, they visit them at home, where
they meet people in group settings and they give them

(03:47):
alternatives to continuing in crime. That program has been so successful,
according to the city officials, that they started a juvenile
group violence intervention program as well.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
So it sounds like there are strategies that at are
beginning to work. And we're also seeing also a return
to somewhat of normalcy after the COVID pandemic, which certainly
had a huge impact on everybody's well being. Now, The
Trace is the nation's only newsroom dedicated exclusively to reporting
on gun violence. And you have an event called the

(04:19):
Safer Together Forum on Tuesday, November eighteenth at WHYY Studios.
What can attendees expect and why is this event so
timely right now for Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
The Safer Together Forum is the first time The Trace
has done this in Philadelphia. It will be November eighteenth
from to seven thirty pm. It will be held at
the WHYY Studios. It will be a form where there
will be a lot of speeches of workshops featuring policymakers, academics,

(04:54):
community people who are engaged in violence prevention, people on
the front line, people on the policy side, people on
the grassroots side some of the featured people who will
be there, a Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, Austin Davis. Adam Gear,
Philadelphia's first director of Public Safety, will also be there.

(05:16):
So it's going to be again an all day affair
where people who are interested in learning what's going on
in Philadelphia with regard to public safety and what's working
and what's coming down the pike, and people who have
their own community programs, people who want to get involved
in the community should certainly check this out. Just trying

(05:37):
to build on the momentum that's out there. You know,
gun violence is down, and we at the Trace are
trying to always figure out why that is, what's working
and amplify what's working for the public good.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
If people want more information about this event, but also
if they'd like to follow the Trace, which is a
wonderful website that provides very in depth information and about
the whole issue of gun violence and violence in general,
how do they find out more?

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Just go to Thetrace dot org. That's the tr Ace
dot org, and you just go to the search engine
and type in safer together all the information should pop
up for you on that. If you even go to
Google and just type in The Trace Safer together, looking

(06:27):
forward to candeening people who are interested in keeping Philadelphia.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Safe fantastic appreciate all the work that The Trace does.
It is once again the only newsroom dedicated to exclusively
reporting on gun violence and the solutions to prevent it.
We were joined by Mansa Dean, Philadelphia staff writer for
The Trace, a Politzer Prize finalist, award winning journalist who
spent many years covering issues of justice, corruption and community safety. Mensa,

(06:56):
thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
Thank you, Lorayen.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
The Save the CEC Will Be More Library Coalition is
a grassroots effort uniting neighbors, community leaders, and local organizers
to protect and restore one of North Philadelphia's most vital
public institutions. Rooted in the legacy of civil rights leader
Cecil B. Moore, The coalition is demanding the release of
allocated funds to renovate and reopen the library as a

(07:25):
community hub for education, culture, and connection. Despite securing over
five point eight million dollars in combined city and state funding,
bureaucratic delays of stalled progress where residents continue to organize,
hold forums and demand transparency and community control We're going
to be talking with the community organizers behind this effort

(07:46):
and also about an upcoming event it's happening November twenty
two to discuss this issue. Joining us right now is
Sierra Freeman organizer BSNC and Save This CBM Library Coalition,
Goodman Library Worker, af's me DC forty seven Local twenty
one eighty seven, Joel Northam organizer, Party for Socialism and

(08:07):
Liberation Sydney, Paulinchuk organizer Sunrise Movement Philadelphia, and Save the
CBM Library Coalition in Jordan Hulbert, b SNC Youth and
Education lead and coach from vox High School. So let's
talk to Kate and Sierra. Libraries are sanctuary. I know
that for me, you know, I would check out six
books a week and read them all and it was

(08:29):
a really wonderful place for me to hang out after
school when my parents were working, and it was a
safe space. So I wonder if you can just talk
about what the concept of a library is in our community.
Sierra and Kate very quickly tell us what does a
library mean to the neighborhood.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
So, you know, our library is a critical space and
one of the only public spaces in the neighborhood where
people can come free of charge visa safe space. It's
a safe space they can pursue their own interests. Were
full of adults during the morning and kids of all
ages in the afternoon. We do cooking classes, our computer

(09:06):
help people come yeah to find jobs. So it's an
essential it's an essential part of the community.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
Tell us more about the cec will be More Library itself.
It's clearly something that people honestly really are passionate about
and really want to uplift and make sure that it
continues to be what it is. What has cecil Be
More Library meant to the community and someone else can
jump in and if you do, just say who you are.

Speaker 4 (09:34):
Sure.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
So the library has been here since nineteen sixty two,
so it's been an essential part of the community since then.
There's a lot of history here. I think a lot
of people don't know how long. There have been been
critical cultural moments that have happened here. So one interesting
thing is Sesame Street magazine was premiered here. So it

(09:59):
has been a space, you know, for the last sixty
years where community have gathered for open mic nights, community meetings,
political education, all kinds of stuff.

Speaker 1 (10:10):
Jill, let's talk about how the campaign has united community members,
union workers and activists. How has this coalition building strengthened
your movement.

Speaker 5 (10:22):
You Know, what I've noticed since being involved in this
campaign has been actually really heightened the political consciousness around
this issue. But I think and what I mean by
that is to say that, you know, this library struggle,
this library fight, is it's so important that it's actually
opened the eyes of a lot of people to just
the entire thought around third pace, third spaces and common

(10:47):
spaces and community control of public resources. This isn't the
first fight to keep open and maintain public spaces in
Philadelphia in recent memory, but what we've seen lately has
been and why is it? You know, people asking questions
about why is it that, like, you know, these spaces
are being closed, and yet money and funding is being

(11:09):
allocated to things that people did not particularly ask for.

Speaker 4 (11:12):
You know.

Speaker 5 (11:12):
The city councilman has you know, in the in the
district that has been you know, stalling the renovation of
the library has also said, Okay, cool, yeah, we're going
to stall the renovations of this library, but we're going
to throw forty million of city taxpayer funds toward building
a brand new, shiny police headquarters in the middle of
you know, in the middle of North Philly on Diamond Street.

(11:32):
Nobody asked for this, nobody demanded this. It just kind
of happened on a whim like that. Yet at the
same time, people have been asking, begging, demanding, canvassing, having
forums and meetings to get this library renovated for our youth,
for people that our communities for you know, years now,
and yet that has been stonewalled. And so it's just
raised a lot of questions as to what the priorities

(11:54):
are of people that are you know, purportedly supposed to
represent us in these places. And I think what we've discovered,
like you know, through the course of being in the
community and talking to people about trying to maintain this
space and make sure that it gets renovated, is that,
like people are very hip to the reality that there's
a sort of continuity of agenda between you know, across

(12:16):
like you know, ruling political factions for privatizing public resources
at the expense of you know, the desires of people
that actually live in the community and use these resources.
And people are very upset about that. And that's been
a very very strong agitational point that we've been using
in these conversations and on this campaign. And I think,

(12:41):
you know, like there's also a certain amount of just
like historical pride in the neighborhood specifically, like you know
this area, I mean the Black Panthers used to work
and they had their office on seased to be more Avenue,
sesed to be more. In the civil right struggle, it was,
it came right through here. There were marches that came
right through here with MLKA and others. And so I
think that like there is kind of, you know, a

(13:01):
re emergence of political consciousness for people in this neighborhood
that is like, you know, actually when people come together,
when they actually organize, we can actually set policy for
ourselves as a community if we apply enough pressure. And
so I think that has been a really really good
agitational point and lunchpin for the struggle.

Speaker 1 (13:18):
Right, Sidney polcheck, Let's talk more about some of the
roadblocks that have occurred. You guys, raised or raised was
raised with five point eight million dollars. That's incredible, and
yet there have been roadblocks that have occurred. What are
some specific things that are standing in the way of
these renovations moving forward.

Speaker 6 (13:36):
Yeah, so currently our biggest roadblock is a single signature
that we are missing. So the notice to proceed is
really the one thing that we need to get this rolling.
And we have been, as you said, building up to
this for a long time. You can see our full
timeline of events on the ccilbe Moore's Library website, and

(13:57):
right now we're just waiting for council Member Young to
sign that piece of paper and let us begin. We
really don't want to keep pushing this back because the
worst it gets, the longer we won't have a library.
We've had to close several times due to high or
low temperatures, and the longer we keep pushing this off,

(14:17):
the worse it we'll get, and then we won't have
a library to use currently and we'll still be waiting
for a new library. So we really don't want to
be in that position where the community is just stuck
with nowhere to go at all, which is why we
are being so adamant that this rebuilds needs to happen
right away.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
What I'm impressed by is just your passion, all of
you getting together and really moving forward. The conversation about
saving Cease will Be More Library, Sierra. You originally reached
out to me and tell us about this situation which
I was not aware of, And now we want folks
to be aware of what is being done and what
isn't being done. Well. As organizers, you've got activities planned

(14:59):
ahead and you want community input and activism, So tell
us about the things that we can do to support
all of you.

Speaker 7 (15:07):
Absolutely, as the say of the Seas Will Be More
Library Coalition, we continue to intend to do everything we
can until this library is renovated. That means we are
writing letters, that means we are making testimony and to
be council that means that we are rallying. And the
most immediate thing that we have going on is coming

(15:28):
up November twenty second, at eleven am. We will be
at the Seas Will Be More Library to talk about
updates about the campaign or in depth and continue to
put together our next steps for getting this library renovated.
The one thing that we need that hasn't been done
yet is for our councilmen to sign the Notice to proceed.

(15:52):
That then triggers the City of Philadelphia to work with
Rebuild to get the renovations going.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
So I imagine you'd encouraging people to reach out to that
council member to push him forward to do that right.

Speaker 7 (16:05):
Yes, absolutely and definitely can keep up with our campaign
at libraries our dot life backslash save CDM Library and
if you're interested in getting more involved, we can email
save CeCILL be More Library at gmail dot com.

Speaker 1 (16:23):
And Jordan Hilbert, BSNC, Youth and Education lead and coach
at Books High School. Just a final word, why should
we care? Why should community members step up and join
you all in this effort to save cecil be More Library.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
Well, for one, we know how important libraries are.

Speaker 4 (16:42):
I think everyone listening, everyone on this call for sure,
can think back to a time when they were a
kid or a teenager and being able to escape physically
in a library or more importantly, through a book. Being
able to read and write and communicate through languages is
a critical skill.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
It's also a place that we can gather.

Speaker 4 (17:00):
We have few and fewer places together and now is
the time to use the money, because to have funds
and not be using those funds in this time in
twenty twenty five, when the national government is shut down,
when the state doesn't have a budget in place to
have five point eight million dollars readily usable for something
that is as important as a library. It's part of

(17:21):
my friends, but foolish to not proceed and release the funds.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
So saving Thank you, yeah, no, thank you all for
doing what you're doing for your activism. This organization, this
campaign saved the CEAC Will Be More Library Coalition, a
grassroots effort uniting neighbors, community leaders, and local organizers to
protect and restore one of North Philadelphia's most vital public institutions.
Rooted in the legacy of civil rights leaders. CEC Will

(17:47):
Be More. This coalition is releasing, is demanding the release
of allocated funds. The money is there to start the
renovate and reopen the library as a community hub for education,
culture and connection. Thank you so much for joining us here.
A Freeman organizer b SNC and Save the CBM Library Coalition.
Kate Goodman, Library Worker asks me DC forty seven Local

(18:08):
twenty one eighty seven. Joel Northam organizer, Party for Socialism
and Liberation. Sydney Bolacheck organizer Sunrise Movement Philadelphia and Save
the CBM Library Coalition. Jordan Hlbert b SNC Youth and
education lead and coach from Vox High School. It's a mouthful,
but hey, I'm so glad to talk to all of you.
You guys are inspiring and Sierra one more time. What

(18:30):
is the website? To find out more?

Speaker 7 (18:33):
Yes, go to librariesur dot life, Backslash, Save CBM Library.
You can also visit us on Instagram at Bsncphilly, at
ccy'll be More Friends at PSL Philly at Sunrise Movement Philly.
We're also on.

Speaker 1 (18:52):
Instagram fantastic and freddyone who missed all that. We will
have this posted as a podcast and you can get
all that information the podcast description and of course they're Google.
So thank you all very much for joining us today.
Good luck to you and keep us informed on your
progress and let us know what we can do to
support the Save the Cees will be More Library Coalition.

Speaker 7 (19:13):
Thank you, thank you, thanks so much, thank you.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
A great education can change everything, but for many Philadelphia families,
financial barriers make that dream harder to reach. The Children's
Scholarship Fund Philadelphia is helping bridge that gap by providing
thousands of scholarships so children can attend safe, quality K
through eight tuition based schools. Joining us right now is
Keishi Jordan, President and CEO of the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia.

(19:45):
She's going to share how families can apply for scholarships
for the twenty twenty six twenty seven school year and
learn more about upcoming opportunities. So Keisha, for listeners who
may not be familiar, what is the Children's Scholarship Fund
Philadelphia and how does it help families acro the city.

Speaker 8 (20:01):
Sure, thank you so much, Lorraine for talking to me
today and giving me a chance to talk about our
scholarships with your listeners. Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia is a
twenty four year old kindergarten through eighth grade private school
scholarship program. We are the largest kindergarten through eighth grade
focused private school scholarship program in Pennsylvania and we specifically

(20:24):
focus on families in Philadelphia. So we provide scholarships of
up to thirty three hundred dollars per student for up
to three students in a family, and the family can
then use those scholarships to attend pretty much any private
school in the Philadelphia region that they choose.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
You've expanded the scholarships reach to more than sixty five
hundred students, which is incredible growth. What's driving the success
and why is access to tuition based schools so important?

Speaker 8 (20:58):
Yeah, So, Lorraine, I have some even updated data for
you because we are just now reassessing how many students
we're serving this year, and we are seeing this year
an eighty six percent retention rate, meaning eighty six percent
of students are returning year over year. We've never seen
anything like it, so we are now actually newly you're

(21:20):
one of the first to hear serving over sixty eight
hundred students this year. So you know, why is that
growth happening? Why is there that need? We're still trying
to understand that, but what I can say is that
we still have so many families every year applying for
scholarships more than we can give out, and so, you know,

(21:40):
I think there's still a need. Families tell us that
what they want is quality, equality, academic program, they want safety. Interestingly,
we see families looking for religion or religious values in
a school that they're choosing, and so we've made sure
that we do everything we can as CSFP to make

(22:02):
the scholarships possible for family. So since twenty twenty two,
when we launched the breaking Barriers campaign. We've now guaranteed
every scholarship through eighth grade, so no matter what year
a student enters, they're going to receive that scholarship through
eighth grade without having to reapply. So that gives families

(22:23):
the confidence that once they're in our program, they can
stay at their partner's school. And that's so important because
all the achievement data says the longer the student is
in their partner school, the more likely they are to
be proficient in math and reading and graduate high school
on time and get into the high school of their
choice and go to college or whatever their famili's dreams

(22:45):
are for them. So that's been an important piece of
our growth, I believe is sticking by families through eighth grade,
providing the help with how to select your child's school,
other resources, giving camp scholarships to our families, having a
parent leadership program. I think what we're seeing is that

(23:07):
families are looking for exactly this type of help and support,
an organization that's going to be there for them, and
we just are really grateful to be able to be
that resource for our families.

Speaker 1 (23:18):
And I think the other secret sauce for the children's
scholarship in Philadelphia is that it's not simply that you're
giving money to these families, but you're really engaging the
parents and the community, the village around that child. And
I think that one of the markers for success is
parental involvement, right.

Speaker 8 (23:39):
Yes, for sure, the more a parent is involved with
their child's school, the more likely their child is to
be successful. And we just recently conducted a study and
learned that the families who receive CSFP scholarships tend to
be more resource meaning finding the resources. They are families

(24:00):
who are out there looking for things. They spend more
hours than the national average searching for a school for
their child. So you're absolutely right. A family that's engaged
doing their homework, partnering with an organization like ours is
getting the opportunity to see success for their child through scholarships.

Speaker 1 (24:20):
There is an important priority deadline on November fifteenth. Why
is that date so crucial for families hoping to receive
a scholarship?

Speaker 8 (24:29):
So that is our priority deadline. So we will pull
a lottery in December and then again in March, and
so in order to receive a scholarship in December, which
is the most in demand time. It's important that we
have as many families as want to be in the

(24:49):
lottery registered by November fifteenth, so you know, there's still
a chance to receive a scholarship after November fifteenth, but
the best chance is to apply before then. And what
that does, Lorraine, is to help families to start the
application process because applications for private schools do start now

(25:10):
for the next school year. It also gives families the
best chance of applying for financial aid and other scholarships.
So it really is the starting early gives families the
ability to jump start the process and know that they're
going into this journey with CSFP by their side and
a scholarship that they can utilize to be able to

(25:30):
make the private school possible.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
And I think it should be pointed out that your
application process is pretty simple when you think about applications
in general. You know a lot of times there's several
pages and you have to fill out a million blanks.
But the cf Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia application is pretty
user friendly.

Speaker 8 (25:50):
Thank you. I think so too. It's really just contact information.
It's free. It just takes a few minutes, and so
you know it is in a family's best interest if
they even think that they might want to consider private
school for next year, especially if they have a younger
child entering kindergarten or first grade for the first time.

(26:13):
It is it only takes a few minutes to do
the application.

Speaker 1 (26:17):
Fantastic. So, finally, how can the community support CSFs? I
keep stumbling over that. How finally, how can the community
support the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia's mission? And where can
families find out more information or connect with you online?

Speaker 8 (26:39):
Yeah, so for families, the very best way to connect
with us is through our website CSF Philadelphia dot org.
You can click on scholarships, there's a button to apply. Also,
there's a lot of great information there. There is their resources,
there are other scholarship programs, there's a lit of schools.

(27:01):
There is a tool that families can use to search
for a school using whatever criteria they want. So that's
really the best resource. We also have live chat that
is there on the website for any questions and for
the general community. You know, there's lots of ways to
get involved.

Speaker 4 (27:19):
We are an.

Speaker 8 (27:19):
Organization that raises millions of dollars every year and gives
it back out as scholarship. So you know, donations are
very much needed, and on our website of course is
a donation button or there's contact information. We're also, you know,
often looking for volunteers. We have a great event in
which volunteers get to call the families who win the

(27:41):
lottery and give them that great news that they're going
to receive a scholarship through eighth grade, which is a
very joyful occasion. And we have other events and lots
of ways that we invite the community to get involved.
And you know, lastly, I would say to spread the
word please. You know, exposure for us US is really important,

(28:02):
both for the general community as well as for parents,
so please share, and our website is the best resource
to do that.

Speaker 1 (28:08):
Wow, fantastic And I know those phone calls must be
so much fun for the volunteers because of the shouts
of joy. It must be amazing, must be, yes, really.

Speaker 8 (28:20):
Funny you were invited, Lorraine. It would be lovely to
have you on a team. Companies use it as a
team building events. They bring a team and we serve
dinner and they get together. So, oh, would love to
see you there.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
What a great idea. I may take you up on
that I thank you so much. The Children's Scholarship Fund
Philadelphia is bridging that gap, providing thousands of scholarships so
children can attend safe, quality K through eight tuition based schools.
Keisha Jordan, President and CEO of the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia,
thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 8 (28:53):
Thanks for having me, Lorrain.

Speaker 1 (28:55):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in key word Community.
You can also listen on the iHeartRadio app ye 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? You've been listening to Insight and thank

(29:18):
you

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Ruthie's Table 4

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Insight Pt. 2: The Save the Cecil B. Moore Library Coalition, Children's Scholarship Fund PHL, The Trace

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Ruthie's Table 4

The Joe Rogan Experience

All Episodes

Insight Pt. 2: The Save the Cecil B. Moore Library Coalition, Children's Scholarship Fund PHL, The Trace

On Purpose with Jay Shetty