Bridging Philly

Latest Episodes:

Search for the Cooper | peer counselors & underserved youth Jul 09, 2023

Show notes

This week, Bridging Philly features different ways of helping the next generation prepare for their future by fostering collaboration, and helping them find themselves through peer counseling. First, we hear about the journey of three South Jersey teenagers who kayaked, bushwhacked and hiked through 17 miles to discover natural beauty at their backdoor. Their expedition is chronicled in the documentary, A Search for the Cooper: A River Hidden in Plain View. Then, peer specialists from Intercultural Family Services tackle behavioral health needs of underserved youth throughout the city by sharing their own life experiences.

Philly summer music | Sabrina Revelle and her role on The Crossover Jul 02, 2023

Show notes

Music and arts lovers are able to fully enjoy outdoor festivals for the first time since 2019! Susan Slawson, General Manager of The Dell Music Center, Cathy Cahill, President and CEO of the Mann Music Center, and Jesse Lundy, talent buyer for Rising Sun Presents, have weathered pandemic restrictions and describe their summer music series offerings of 2023. Then, East Oak Lane-born-and -raised Sabrina Revelle explains how the Disney+ series , The Crossover - in which she stars - represents diversity and families in a realistic way.

Remembering historian Charles l. Blockson & the truck driver who died in the I95 crash Jun 25, 2023

Show notes

We remember Charles L. Blockson, the curator emeritus and founder of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University with Diane D. Turner, the current curator of the collection, who worked closely with the man who preserved and disseminated information about people of African American descent. Then, Molefi Kete Asante, a professor in the Department of Africology at Temple University, reflects upon the “Robesonian character” whose 700,000 piece collection is one of the most important collections of African American and African materials in the U.S. Finally, Isaac Moody describes his cousin, Nathaniel Moody, the South Jersey truck driver who died in the fiery crash on I95, as a family man and careful driver.

Juneteenth 2023: Reconciling, Educating & Celebrating | The Philly Citywide Poem Jun 18, 2023

Show notes

2023 is the second year Juneteenth is recognized as a national holiday, which is based on the day in 1865, when enslaved African Americans were told they were free - more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. African Americans have been celebrating this day since the late 1800s. Our guests discuss the importance of education, in addition to the celebrations of this significant date. Timothy N. Welbeck, Esq., Director of Temple University’s Center for Anti-Racism and VanJessica Gladney, a History PhD Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania examine how to reconcile the fraught event and its cultural legacy. Then, a city-wide poem’s voices of freedom and calls to action include Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, Philadelphia poet laureate Yolanda Wisher, Marsha Wesley Coleman, Director of Learning and Development with Friends Services Alliance, Dr. Reverend Malcolm T. Byrd, organizer of the Juneteenth Schools initiative, and Vashti DuBois, founder of the Colored Girls Museum in Germantown.

Community Colleges are Real Colleges | Caravan of Hope Jun 11, 2023

Show notes

How can we future-proof our economy? Our guests believe that free or inexpensive community college can help strengthen and stabilize our workforce, but the idea of community college is often misunderstood. Dr. Donald Guy Generals, President of the Community College of Philadelphia, Dr. Lovell Pugh-Bassett, President of Camden County College, and Sara Goldrick Rab, author of the book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, discuss the varied programs, certificates and scholarships that can help pave a pathway to success. Then, we meet Philadelphia lawyer Angela Giampolo, who is touring the United States in her Caravan of Hope to offer her legal services in support of civil rights for the LGBTQ + community.

Philadelphia Parking Authority's new leadership | Kicking off Philly Pride Month with safe spaces Jun 04, 2023

Show notes

We find out how the new Philadelphia Parking Authority is making it easier to park, bike, and walk our city streets by improving customer service. Executive Director Rich Lazer and Philly 3.0’s Engagement Director John Geeting discuss safety issues including bike path clearing and ghost car removal. Then galaei’s Executive Director Tyrell Brown describes how this year’s Philly Pride festival is providing safe spaces & resources, in addition to marching in the street.

Ending the loneliness epidemic | Philly's first LGBTQ City Council nominee May 28, 2023

Show notes

"Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling," according to a recent op ed by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy. Our guests, Drs. Hallie A. Lightdale and Matthew Hurford, describe the mental and physical risks heightened by social disconnection, including heart disease, dementia and stroke. Joining them is writer and poet, Athena Dixon, who explains what inspired her to write The Loneliness Files. Then, we meet longtime civil rights advocate Rue Landau, Philadelphia’s first LGBTQ City Council nominee.

Ending healthcare disparities among African Americans | Lowering African American maternal mortality rates May 21, 2023

Show notes

Recent research shows life expectancy improves when African Americans live near Black doctors, and Temple University primary care physicians, Dr. Delana Wardlaw and Dr. Menachem Leasy, explain why they're not surprised by this data, as they see it every day in their practices. Then, Oshun Family Center’s founder, Saleemah McNeil describes how her holistic approach to birthing as a reproductive psychotherapist, certified lactation consultant and birth doula, can reduce the rising number of Black maternal and fetal death rates.

Finding the right therapist | The Awbury Arboretum's natural and artistic landscape May 14, 2023

Show notes

Navigating the mental health care system is a challenge for the most sophisticated of patients, but what about people looking to see a therapist for the first time? Where do you start? Do you go to someone who matches your demographic? Is tele-health private? Host Racquel Williams asks these questions and more with our panel of therapists. Then, Shara Dae Howard introduces us to the poets and musicians who are inspired by the historic Germantown Awbury Arboretum.

Fighting the corrupt, contented & consenting Part 2 | What Philadelphians want from their mayor May 07, 2023

Show notes

We pickup with the second half of host Racquel Williams’ interview with Philadelphia-born book authors Richard Dilworth and Brett Mandel, who share their ideas of solutions to make city government more transparent. Then, Shara Dae Howard talks to voters in the city’s varied neighborhoods, and finds growing gun violence to be the biggest problem they want their next mayor to fix.

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