#philadelphia city council 2023 race

[bernettaayers]

Christopher Gladstone Booth for Philadelphia City Council At-Large

[msclaritea]

Philadelphia students navigate school without access to school libraries – Pennsylvania Capital-Star

PHILADELPHIA – In 2020, Egypt Luckey graduated from Building 21, a high school in Northwest Philadelphia affiliated with the Learning Innovative network, which emphasizes real-world learning experiences. For the entirety of her high school career, Luckey never had a public school library available to her, and she thinks it put her at a disadvantage during the transition to college.

“I never had a library in school where I could actually go, sit, and enjoy reading because I am a bookworm. I love reading, writing, anything that has a creative expression,” Luckey said. “Not having that experience kind of set me back a little bit because I had these situations where I needed help but didn’t know what to do in those moments.”

A 2022 study by Rutgers University found that first-year college students who had prior high school research experience, especially those from schools with certified librarians, felt more confident in their academic research skills and performed better in using research tools and strategies, such as information and digital literacy, and the difference between a primary and secondary source of information.

“Our students need to develop the skills to learn on their own. [They need] the thinking skills to be able to discern information that they can believe, in order to become digital citizens,” Barbara Stripling, cofounder of the Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Libraries (PARSL) said. “They need to be taught these skills, they need opportunities to practice them, and it needs to become who they are. They need to understand the importance of looking at multiple perspectives.”

PARSL is a nonprofit organization staffed by retired educators and librarians. It operates without external funding, relying solely on volunteers. The organization wants to improve public school libraries in Philadelphia, aiming to improve academic performance. PARSL produced a white paper earlier in 2023 addressing the link between students’ reading abilities and the shortage of librarians, proposing solutions that involve collaboration with the school district and City Council to secure additional funding.

In the School District of Philadelphia, the number of school librarians has declined over the past decade, from about 57 in the 2012-2013 school year to just one in the 2023-2024 school year.

Marissa Orbanek, communications officer for the Philadelphia School District said that the district does not have enough funds for all the positions that are ultimately needed and desired.

“We will continue to advocate for adequate and equitable funding for education so that historically underfunded districts, like Philadelphia, have the resources necessary to provide all students with access to the 21st-century learning environments, including libraries and Instructional Media Centers,” Orbanek said...

I'm not surprised the book banning is so bad, both in Texas and Pennsylvania. Outside of various pockets along the East Coast, a large contingent of Freemasons settled in those two states, in particular, post-Civil War. You can pretty much tie any area that had race riots to be heavy freemason enclaves, deliberately built up. Kansas and Atlanta, too. These groups should have been outlawed, a long time ago.

[ernestowens]

Official Bio of Ernest Owens

Ernest Owens is an award-winning journalist and CEO of Ernest Media Empire, LLC. He is the Political Writer at Large for Philadelphia Magazine, President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and Regional Vice President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Mid-Atlantic Chapter). He is a proud life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is the executive producer and host of the hit podcast “Ernestly Speaking!” and host of Philadelphia City Council Live on WURD Radio. He’s the author of the book “The Case for Cancel Culture” that’s published by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. As an openly Black gay journalist, he has made headlines for speaking frankly about intersectional issues in society regarding race, LGBTQIA, and pop culture. In 2018, he launched his growing media company that specializes in multimedia production, consulting, and communications. 

In June 2016, he made a viral post on Twitter that called out superstar Justin Timberlake during the BET Awards. The tweet got a response from Timberlake that prompted a national discussion on cultural appropriation. For several years, his extensive reporting on racism in the LGBTQ community received national attention as he revealed acts of racial discrimination in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood. His coverage was cited by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations as reviving a decades long issue in the community that finally led to local government intervention, an anti-discrimination bill being unanimously passed, and the city's pride rainbow flag to now include black and brown stripes to acknowledge racial inclusion. His versatile talent has taken him from Ghana to the White House, where he’s interviewed countless political leaders (such as Vice President Kamala Harris) to Hollywood where he’s interviewed industry heavyweights (such as Oprah Winfrey and Academy Award winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney).

An innovative millennial, Ernest has already become an emerging media mogul in his own right. He received his B.A. in communication from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master’s degree in communication management from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He’s an adjunct professor at Community College of Philadelphia. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, CNN, NBC, Dr. Phil Primetime, and other prominent media outlets. He’s also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, and the Online News Association. 

He has earned countless honors, which includes landing on the 2024 Most Influential African Americans list by The Philadelphia Tribune, the 2023 City & State PA Pride Power 100 list, winning the 2020 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and other honors from Forbes, American Society of Magazine Editors, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, Pen & Pencil Club, and City & Regional Magazine Association. In 2022, he was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for his writing at Rolling Stone magazine. 

He can be found on Twitter and other social media platforms at @MrErnestOwens & ernestowens.com.

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