Our Political Moment - Reclaim Philadelphia

It’s not “goodbye” it is just ta ta for now! We started this podcast with a mission to demonstrate how the Universal is Personal and how the Personal is Political. The purpose of this first season was to bring to life how dominant narratives and structural oppression play out across this city and to show how our individual struggles are connected. We also timed this season with the Primary Elections to illuminate how policies dictate the lives of Philadelphians and how important this upcoming election is to creating a Philadelphia that works for all of us.

In this final episode of season 1 we come together to reflect on the season and discuss the Reclaim Philadelphia endorsed candidates and how they align with our values.

In episode 6 Lea Devon Sorrentino and Sergio Cea are joined by Staci Moore and Christi Clark of the Women’s Community Revitalization Project. Staci shares her story of moving to Philadelphia and her experience with housing insecurity and the importance of fighting for affordable housing. Christi shares with us the ways that WCRP and 65 other organizations are trying to make Philadelphia a sustainable affordable city for low income and working class residents.

Episode 5 focuses on what it means for Philadelphia to be a sanctuary city and explores if they city is living up to that claim. Storyteller and interviewee Miguel Andrade, an organizer with Juntos here in the city went to York County Detention Center to speak with detainees. He shares his story of growing up as undocumented, the impact it had on his family and how that experience is still happening to the people he met with at York County.

During the Interview Miguel explains what it means for Philadelphia to be a sanctuary city and ways in which the city can live up to it’s name. He also breaks down how Visionquest– a junivelle detainee center opening in the Logan area of the city is counterintuitive to the ideals of sanctuary.

Episode 3 features a hotel housekeeper, Katherine Paine and a union organizer Earlene Bly, fighting for a fair process to allow employees to decide if they want to unionize their workplace.

Katherine tells her story of how working two jobs has impacted the stability of her life and family. She is then joined by Earlene to discuss the importance of a fair process, how management intimidates workers and how you can get involved in this fight.

Episode two hosted by Kelly Morton explores the state of the Philadelphia School system. Listen to Nayeli Perez, a student at Palumbo Academy talk about her experience in a special admissions public school. Kelly first heard our storyteller speak at a fundraiser for school funding last fall. At that time, Nayeli pointed out that as a student, she didn’t have a lot of power but she hoped that by speaking others would amplify her words to create change.

The conditions in our schools and the experiences of our students compared to those across the state are not accidental. In this episode you will also hear from an organizer with Our City Our Schools, Kendra Brooks about how Philadelphia public schools reached this point of crisis.

After hearing this episode, if you want to get involved with Kendra and Our City Our Schools in our fight for fully funded public education, sign this PETITION mentioned in the episode and fill out the form below to stay involved.

How exciting! The first episode of Reclaim Philadelphia’s podcast Our Political Moment: The stories behind the structure is finally here! This podcast will feature stories from Philadelphians impacted by some of the biggest issues facing our city, including education, housing, workers’ rights, mass incarceration, immigration and poverty. Our hosts, Sergio Cea, Kelly Morton and Lea Sorrentino will offer an analysis of the dominant narratives and structural oppression involved in these issues and interview organizers across the city who are fighting for solutions. Each episode will conclude with a call to action, a way our listeners can get involved and be part of local collective change.

Our first episode is a unique because it features three story tellers to kick-off the first season and set the foundation for the episodes to follow. You will hear stories from Mass Liberation Campaign Organizer Akeem Sims, Artists and co-host Lea Devon Sorrentino and Video editor and Organizer Paul Fitzgerald.

Final Episode of Season 1

In episode 6 Lea Devon Sorrentino and Sergio Cea are joined by Staci Moore and Christi Clark of the Women’s Community Revitalization Project. Staci shares her story of moving to Philadelphia and her experience with housing insecurity and the importance of fighting for affordable housing. Christi shares with us the ways that WCRP and 65 other organizations are trying to make Philadelphia a sustainable affordable city for low income and working class residents.

To get involved in the fight for affordable housing you can:

Join Reclaim Philadelphia’s Housing Task Force
Get involved with the Women’s Community Revitalization Project
Vote on May 21st for movement candidates who will fight for affordable housing

Episode 5 focuses on what it means for Philadelphia to be a sanctuary city and explores if they city is living up to that claim. Storyteller and interviewee Miguel Andrade, an organizer with Juntos here in the city went to York County Detention Center to speak with detainees. He shares his story of growing up as undocumented, the impact it had on his family and how that experience is still happening to the people he met with at York County.

During the Interview Miguel explains what it means for Philadelphia to be a sanctuary city and ways in which the city can live up to it’s name. He also breaks down how Visionquest– a junivelle detainee center opening in the Logan area of the city is counterintuitive to the ideals of sanctuary.

In Episode 1 we heard from Mass Liberation organizer Akeem Sims. During his story he talked about his experience and work with The Participatory Defense Hub. That conversation didn’t make it into the first episode– so we are sharing it now! Every Thursday from 6-8pm in West Philadelphia at 4901 Kingsessing Ave. this group meets to help people facing charges, their families, and communities to impacted. To explain what the Participatory Defense Hub does let’s listen to Akeem explain the power of organizing people!

Reclaim Philadelphia’s Mass Liberation Campaign has a lot of important work happening across the city. To find out more information on The Participatory Defense Hub or get involved go to participatorydefense.org.

On 4/8/2018 make sure to attend Judge the Judges– A Judicial Forum hosted by the Judge Accountability Table where you can hear directly from candidates to help make informed decisions on which candidates align with your values. There will be 7 vacancies in the Philadelphia Courts up for election, make sure your voice is heard. The doors open tonight at 5:30 pm at the friend center 1501 Cherry St.

Mass Liberation Campaign is also pushing our listeners to support the Dignity Act discussed in our last episode. You can sign the petition HERE to let Pennsylvania legislators know that you support women who are currently or formerly incarcerated and that they deserve to be treated with dignity. We are trying to collect as many signatures as possible before June. Stay connected through facebook, instagram and twitter on more upcoming ways to support the Dignity Act.