Flashpoint

Philadelphia-born book authors, Richard Dilworth and Brett Mandel, talk to host Racquel Williams about corruption in Philadelphia. Then, Shara Dae Howard remembers Harry Belafonte's civil rights activism through his collaborations with Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Philadelphia area has an expanding 378 miles of recreational trails, connecting nine counties along rivers and trees that are used by individuals and families for exercise, commuting and socializing. Iresha Picot tells host Racquel Williams how she has been introducing women to the trails for self-care and community with her cycling club, Black Girl Joy Bike Rides. Also, Shara Dae Howard walks the grocery aisles of Bebashi’s FoodFirst Pantry, which is helping to feed families in need since pandemic-era assistance has been terminated. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grant money from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office is helping to transform guns into garden tools in Kensington. Host Racquel Williams speaks with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and RAWTools Philly's Shane Claiborne about how the non-profit organization is using the anti-violence prevention funds redistributed from civil asset forfeiture. Then, Shara Dae Howard sits with Janice Sykes-Ross, Executive Director of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Paul Robeson House and Museum to celebrate the singer, actor, lawyer, athlete and scholar’s 125th birthday at the residence he called home. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sister Mary Scullion and Candice Player of Project HOME tell host Racquel Williams that if everyone had a safe place to call home, equal and livable wages, and quality health care, they could break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. For 35 years, the non-profit has been working towards creating access to affordable transitional and permanent housing programs in Philadelphia’s most challenged neighborhoods. Then, Shara Dae Howard talks to the curators of the exhibition, Rising Sun: Artists in An Uncertain America. It's a new collaboration between the African American Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts featuring 20 artists who explore the question, "Is the sun rising or setting on the experiment of American democracy?" To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Leth Oun, who was among the thousands of Cambodian refugees who found a home in South Philly in the 1980s. He is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, which eliminated a quarter of the country’s population. He talks to host Racquel Williams about writing his new memoir, A Refugee’s American Dream: From the Killing Fields to the Secret Service with his co-author Joe Samuel Starnes. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to our guest, Dr. Carmen Guerra, the number of people under the age of 50 diagnosed with colorectal cancer is growing, and researchers don’t know why. But they do know the age to begin getting screened for this type of cancer is 45. By the time most people feel symptoms it’s often too late for successful treatment for survival. The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine's physician is joined by Patti Hollenback, a nurse who lost her husband to colorectal cancer, and who has become an oncology nurse navigator at Crozier Health System. Then, alto saxophonist and composer, Immanuel Wilkins, describes his journey from Upper Darby to Juilliard and beyond, guided by Philadelphia jazz legacies, including Sun Ra. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the game of chess, the queen is the most powerful piece on the board. But it wasn’t until the 1500s that she gained these advantages. Two-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion Jennifer Shahade shares the history of chess with Racquel Williams and our Philadelphia-based panel of young, female chess players. She says chess became a better game after the queen’s role changed, and she is working to make top level chess more inclusive. Then, we check in about the fire damage to Camden’s MLK House with Pastor Amir Khan. The owner and founder of the non-profit is confident that they will rebuild the structure where Martin Luther King, Jr. was staying when his civil rights movement work was inspired, while studying at the now-closed Crozer Theological Seminary. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly, host Racquel Williams examines the sources of and solutions to Philly’s youth violence with Youth Art and Empowerment Project’s Gabriel Jackson and Lutheran Settlement House’s Richie Schultz. Then Shara Dae Howard sits down with advocate Kendall Stephens to hear how her brutal 2020 attack has help strengthen some legal protections for the LGBTQIA+ communities and people of color in Philadelphia. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring has sprung early in Philadelphia, and the nation’s largest and longest running horticultural event has arrived. The annual Philadelphia Flower Show has moved back inside to the Pennsylvania Convention Center after two years, which runs from March 4-12. Host Racquel Williams walks through elaborate installations, and finds out how this year’s theme, “The Garden Electric” powers professionals and non-professional horticulturists’ work. She meets the President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Black Girl Florists, and educators and students who are learning from each other in creative installation builds. And Shara Dae Howard asks Mural Arts’ Jane Golden how the country’s largest public art program became a feature on the hit TV show series, “Abbot Elementary.” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Bridging Philly marks a year since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, causing millions of Ukrainians to flee the Texas-sized country. In addition to Europe and other safe harbors, the United States has been a refuge to hundreds of thousands displaced Ukrainians. Host Racquel Williams talks to two people from the Philadelphia region who have been helping victims of the conflict. Immigration attorney, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, the Executive Director of HAIS Pennsylvania, an immigrant-assistance organization in Philadelphia, clarifies that most of the Ukrainians here are not legally designated as refugees, but have entered the U.S. through a complicated sponsorship program. Cooper University Health Care Emergency Medicine Physician, Joshua S. Rempell, MD, MPH, describes his experience as part of a 12-member medical professional team who recently flew to Ukraine to train local medical workers and civilians in emergency medical care, trauma and life support methods. Then, Shara Dae Howard taps into the mind o

This week on Bridging Philly, we learn how the Philadelphia-based Gift of Life organ and tissue donation program connects donors and organ recipients – and continues to support families through their lives in crucial ways, including grief counseling. A lung recipient and donor mother share their stories with host Racquel Williams. Then, civil rights history meets vintage and thrift clothing in a West Philly fashion boutique. KYW’s Shara Dae Howard talks to Dr. Kimberly McGlone, a former high school teacher, who has taken her social justice lessons from the classroom to the storefront. Bridging Philly is sponsored by Gift of Life. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly: child welfare agencies here and across the country were established to protect children. But after decades of research, our guest Dorothy E. Roberts tells the stories of Black children who are more likely to be torn from their families and placed in foster care than their white counterparts. The University of Pennsylvania professor of sociology and law believes the current welfare system should be abolished. Then, Motown Philly’s Boyz II Men reflect on how today's kids can stay away from the streets of crime by listening to the people who came up before them. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly - building foundations and bridging gaps between the police and the community. Many of us have viewed or heard about the fatal beating in Memphis, Tennessee of Tyre Nichols, the Black victim of a traffic stop gone wrong at the hands of Black police officers. Host Racquel Williams checks in with book author, columnist and radio host, Solomon Jones to discuss the unsettling event. Then, Dr. Angela Roman Clack helps us cope with the trauma of witnessing these violent videos by recognizing complex, underlying psychological processes and dynamics. Finally, showing youth experiencing homelessness new options and more opportunities to home ownership with NoMO Inc.’s CEO Rickey Duncan. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly, we celebrate the pages of Philadelphia’s African American book authors and book sellers. Host and KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams discusses the legacy of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University with its curator, Dr. Diane Turner, who worked closely with the scholar. She and art director Eric Battle describe the historic contributions of Black Philadelphians in their recent graphic novel, BLAM! Black Lives Always Mattered! Next, children’s book author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow shares how important it is to publish pictures of young, Black Muslim children for kids to see images that look like them. Finally, West Philly’s Hakim’s Bookstore earns a blue historic marker for the distinction of the city’s longest-operating, Black-owned bookshop. Yvonne Blake continues her father’s dream of sharing knowledge. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your

This week on Bridging Philly, host and KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams goes back to 2014, when a killing of a three-year-old girl shook the city. She discusses the solutions Unity in the Community’s Anton Moore is providing for neighborhood kids. Moore and his co-filmmakers say they hope their work will eliminate a “part three” to their newly released part two of “The Weight of Death” documentary series. Also, can Germantown Avenue become a version of the Avenue of the Arts? And astrology predictions for 2023. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams shines the spotlight on an initiative that involves grassroots organizations, clergy members and the city's District Attorney's Office, all collaborating to end gun violence. The newsmaker of the week is Senator Sharif Street. KYW's Shara Dae Howard checks in with the Democratic state representative of the 3rd Senatorial District Office. The Philly Rising Changemaker of the Week is a man who just wants to see clean neighborhoods. KYW's Antionette Lee talks with Hakeem Devore about the Inner City Peace Organization. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact reporter Racquel Williams spotlights the Philadelphia Lullaby Project, which is now entering its 4th year. The project pairs new parents with local musicians to craft lullabies for their little ones. It’s presented by World Café Live in Partnership with Carnegie Hall.  The newsmaker of the week is Erica Hawkins, award winning documentary film maker, who talks with KYW's Shara Dae Howard about the work and recently winning an Edward R. Murrow award. The Philly Rising changemaker of the week is DadLab Director Dr. Jay Cherney, who talks with KYW's Antionette Lee about the work DadLab is doing to support new dads and dads-to-be. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams talks with members of The Elevation Project of Philadelphia. The Elevation Project offers a supportive space for the formerly incarcerated and those at risk of incarceration. This week's Newsmaker has been named one of Philadelphia's cultural treasures by the Ford Foundation. Vashti Dubois, founder of the Colored Girls Museum, talks with KYW's Shara Dae Howard. Our Philly Rising Changemaker is Ryan Harris, who talks with KYW's Antionette Lee about his work heading up a local non-profit dedicated to gun violence prevention. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams talks with the authors of the book, "White Fragility: Why Understanding Racism Can Be So Hard For White People." It's written by Robin D'Angelo and adapted by Toni Graves Williamson, the director of equity and inclusion at Friends select School in Philadelphia, and Ali Michael. Today's News Maker is Haneef Hill, founder of Urban Youth Kings and Queens. Born and raised in Philly, he founded Urban Youth Kings and Queens as a safe haven for neighborhood kids in Germantown and Mount Airy. Now the organization serves hundreds of kids all over the city through education and sports programs Our Philly Rising Changemaker is Nikki Bagby from the nonprofit A Humbled Heart.   To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The School District of Philadelphia recently announced its commitment to invest an additional $1.7M to support District paraprofessionals to become teachers. In collaboration with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the Paraprofessional Grow Your Own program covers the full cost of tuition and provides additional support so participants graduate debt-free and earn a bachelor’s degree and a teaching role in the District. We're joined by Philadelphia schools superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington and Larisa Shambaugh, Chief Talent Officer for the School District of Philadelphia. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices