Grid Magazine November 2020 [#138]

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Seeking justice after a hit-and-run

The murals that beautify and inspire

Online college—is it working?

p. 8

p. 12

p. 62

NOVEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 138 / GRIDPHILLY.COM

T O W A R D A S U S TA I N A B L E P H I L A D E L P H I A

HO G I F TL I D AY GUID 2020 E

CRUEL&

UNUSUAL Philadelphia leads the world in sentencing people to die in prison.

19 92 MA RI E SC OT T,

Marie Scott’s lawsuit could change that.

MARIE S COTT,

2017

Lia Huntington Philadelphia, PA liahuntington.com @brick.and.wire TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF I’m Lia Huntington, a mixed media artist specializing in metals, fiber, and photography. I’m the owner and founder of Brick & Wire—a line of jewelry and photography prints that express ideas about location, public spaces, how materials change over time, and how valuable materials and experiences are.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? My art practice includes collecting images and materials from my surroundings and incorporating them into jewelry and sculptural pieces. I split my studio time between gradually creating complex jewelry pieces and sculptures and developing production jewelry pieces and related photograph prints.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS? My goal is to continue developing my art practice and skills.

I love creating an idea, planning and executing the steps, and making it into a physical object that others can use and enjoy.

I enjoy seeing how the idea changes as I make decisions along the way, and how the final object is both different and similar to the original idea.

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EDI TO R ’S NOTES

by

alex mulcahy

What happens to a dream deferred? …

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

publisher Alex Mulcahy managing editor Alexandra W. Jones associate editor Timothy Mulcahy copy editor David Jack Daniels art director Michael Wohlberg writers Bernard Brown Francesca Furey Constance Garcia-Barrio Randy LoBasso Jason N. Peters Lois Volta photographers Drew Dennis Milton Lindsay Aaron Salsbury Wolfgang Schwan illustrators Sean Rynkewicz Lois Volta published by Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 G R I D P H I L LY. C O M

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Or does it explode? langston hughe s, “harlem”

I

n the aftermath of the police killing of Walter Wallace, a 27 yearold black man suffering from bipolar disorder, I think the answer to Langston Hughes’ famous question is both: It exacts a toll on us everyday, and then, suddenly, it erupts.

Growing up in Wilkes-Barre in the 1970s and ’80s, the fight for racial equality seemed distant. Or more accurately, it seemed like the movement was a success.

Yes, there were still racist people, we were taught, but they were the exception. As my white school in my white neighborhood would tell it, slavery was a problem the founders should have addressed, but eventually the noble sentiments at the root of our country—the ideals of democracy and equality—prevailed. The logic continued that, while we are not yet a perfect union, a Black person can be whatever they want to be, even president.

The numbers tell a different story. One out of every 249 Black residents in Philadelphia has received a life sentence without parole, or as advocates working to change the situation call it, death-by-incarceration. When I read this statistic in our cover story, I was sure it had to be wrong. But when I did the math, the numbers were right. How can this be?

In 2020, there are two words I always notice when reading the news. One is “mendacity,” always applied to Donald Trump, often specifically about his racist rhetoric.

The second is “disproportionate.”

If things were in proportion, people of every race would have the same chance of dying from COVID-19, living on the streets,

being hungry, being deprived of a decent education, going to prison—even getting hit by a car while crossing the street.

But things are not equal, and the results are poisonous.

Like climate change, the effects of systemic racism no longer feel abstract to me. The helicopters are hovering above my house.

When I take the garbage out, my neighbor says that she is keeping her 19 year-old son in for the night, out of harm’s way. Not a night for a young Black man to be outside.

Down the street, our drugstore has been looted—again. As I bike by, I see our pharmacist outside with three other men surveying the damage, a look of distress on his face apparent even from across the street.

My kids see things like boarded up businesses and broken windows. Explaining to them the nuances of what is happening, that peaceful demonstration about social injustice is positive, but sometimes people take advantage of a chaotic situation, is difficult. (Likewise, commuting life sentences is a nuanced proposition. State Representative Jason Dawkins makes it clear that “...some incarcerated people absolutely should not come out.”) Thankfully, both of the schools they attend talk about the Black Lives Matter movement. My son’s school principal emailed a recommendation for a book called “Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice.” I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to.

I wish it were a better world I was explaining to my children. Parents always do.

My hope is that, if we seize this moment, maybe when it’s their job to talk to their kids, they will have a better story to tell.

ALEX MULCAHY Editor-in-Chief alex@gridphilly.com

I L LU S T R AT E D P O R T R A I T BY J A M E S B O Y L E ; C OV E R P H OTO S C O P Y R I G H T BY H O WA R D Z E H R , U S E D W I T H P E R M I S S I O N F R O M G O O D B O O KS

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TH E VO LTA WAY

by

lois volta

DEAR LOIS,

O

ver the summer my girls—ages 11, 13 and 14,—and I did a deep cleaning/purging of the house. We reorganized furniture, cleaned out the basement, addressed the backs of closets and set up online learning spaces while we gracefully swept up the settled dust after my husband (their stepdad) removed the last of his things.

We just went through a massive whirlwind of change, and, in a way, I am thankful at how abruptly it all happened during the COVID-19 wave. We are taking ownership of our new lives with satisfaction and pride and living out our new leases on life with positive perspectives, while we cohabitate in our home during quarantine.

The kids have developed a sense of empathy when it comes to giving me space to work from home.

We developed this in various ways.

When they are in a Google classroom, the last thing they want is to be distracted by their mother reenacting their birth, naked, dripping wet after a late morning shower— out of view of the camera. When I ask for my personal space, they gladly give it with understanding and respect. And I, likewise, shower before they get up.

The girls have also been discovering what being resilient means, and the strength it takes to have a positive attitude through a storm of uncertainty. Inside our home, they saw my heartbreak, tears and the new amount of work that was taking their mom away from games and summer leisure. They see how flawed I am. They also see the courage it takes to apologize as I teach them that when we know better, we do better.

I explained the goal: a harmonious, happy home in a world that is unknown. I want 4

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our family to engage with all life with grace and power. If we are unhappy inside of our homes, how empowered could we possibly be? We reconcile, talk out our differences and practice being nice to each other. Sometimes showing up and engaging in hard conversations, even when we don’t want to, is taking the high road.

It is better to hug and encourage than bicker and tune out. We accommodate each other’s moods, tantrums and attitudes because we love each other. From there we can set healthy boundaries about what is okay to do and say and what is not. It’s not okay to storm off or give up; we need to learn how to stick with it and push through the hard work with our heart and head in the game.

We stand together in all of our faults and

victories and learn to respect each other’s processes.

These lessons can’t be sowed in a child through a book or article. It takes a lot of patience to be in a relationship with people and work through differences. We have a responsibility to understand how we can hurt people, especially those we love, and be as gentle as possible with fragile things.

I have failed so many times at this because I have not been properly honoring how I am good, and, at times, fragile.

I don’t believe the average person is walking around looking to hurt someone. People want to be nice, good and helpful. We get lost in seeing the bad in people when we fail to see the good in them.

It’s not them, it’s you.

You are part of the problem and it is causing more pain for everyone. When we think about issues out of our control, we wiggle our way out of responsibilities all the time. For instance: “There is nothing I can do about the trash pile in the ocean,

P O R T R A I T BY J A M E S B O Y L E

My kids are driving me crazy. Is it me or them?

IL LUSTRATIO N BY LO I S VOLTA

and it is the big corporations and people in power who are responsible to clean it up.”

Or, “My children have minds of their own.

I can’t control how they are being belligerent and disobedient and they will learn eventually—hopefully not the hard way.”

I believe that responsibility has to work from the inside out. Teaching children how to be responsible starts in the home. Learning how to clean up after ourselves, reconciling after disagreements and respecting each other and the environment are taught in the home. Controlling the family’s handle on waste and our personal carbon footprint is planting seeds for their future. Working through disagreements teaches children how to relate to people when they are grown. What is seemingly out of our control now is more of a matter of perspective when we think of the big picture. It is hard work to be a parent.

When my kids are arguing or making a mess of the house it is easy to complain about how they are driving me crazy. In these moments, for me, it is clear where I haven’t spent the time and energy to address what really matters to me most: Love. I love my kids. I want them to be kind, generous and understand people who keep it together. I want them to be brave and have the courage to face their humanness while we walk through this world together. No one gets left behind, everyone is important and we treat each other like this is true, because it is.

On this new path, as I cry, yell and dance around with joy, I just want love to take over. When we are abandoned, lied to and abused, we see how not to be. When we look out our windows and see corruption, greed and cruelty, we see how not to be. Taking responsibility for how we have been these things ourselves, in our own hearts, is where healing for all life begins.

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rEAD

lois volta is a home consultant, musician and founder of Volta Naturals. loisvolta.com.

Send questions to thevoltaway@gmail.com.

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bike talk

Crash Money Hit-and-runs are on the rise, but state funds can help victims recover

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t was just after midnight on June 30, 2018, and Ag Manta and his brother, Vin, were riding their bicycles home from Main Street in Manayunk toward the path along Kelly Drive. Manta remembers the driver of a gray Scion taunting them from behind, using homophobic slurs.

Then things escalated. Manta remembers hearing screeching tires before being hit from behind by the driver. He hit a telephone pole and watched the driver speed off through three red lights.

These incidents are very unsettling, but it’s important to discuss them because they are happening more and more.

Motor vehicle crashes have spiked in Philadelphia (and other cities throughout the 8 GR ID P H I L LY.CO M NOVEM B E R 2020

country) during the pandemic. Hit-and-runs are on the rise and, despite fewer vehicles on the road, crashes are way up compared to 2019. According to official police data on OpenDataPhilly.org, there have been 20 more traffic deaths and injuries this year than the same time period last year—up 37%.

While advocates work on ways to slow down reckless motorists, those affected by traffic violence should understand what rights they have.

As a mechanic at Keystone Bikes, Manta had encountered several people over the years who’d gotten into bike crashes, and he knew how to handle the situation.

Manta and his brother called the police and filed a report. Another friend quickly

by

randy lobasso

came and drove him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “Luckily, I had some friends nearby,” Manta says.

In the coming days, Manta’s left hand was sore and swollen, and he had a large bruise on his upper right thigh.

He was also left with conflicted feelings about the crash. He’d been taunted and assaulted by the driver, who still hadn’t been identified. He reached out to Stuart Leon Bicycle Crash Law to take on his case; the firm immediately got to work, both laying out Manta’s legal rights and trying to find the driver.

Father-son attorneys Stuart and Zach Leon put up 50 “witnesses wanted” posters within two blocks in each direction of the IL LUSTRATIO N BY S EAN RY NKEWI CZ

crash site and interviewed folks who were in the area at the time.

“I missed work at least one day and I remember not riding a bike for a while and taking SEPTA and having a weird relationship [with] getting around town,” Manta says. “I didn’t feel comfortable riding a bike at that point.” It was a strange time for him: he had been riding a bicycle as his primary means of transportation for years.

Within a couple weeks, Manta came to grips with the fact that they probably weren’t going to find the driver who intentionally hit him. It was unfortunate, but the Leons told him he still had options.

That included applying for compensation through the Pennsylvania Financial Responsibility Assigned Claims Plan (PFRACP), a state program that requires insurance companies practicing in Pennsylvania to contribute a small fee each month to help victims of car accidents caused by uninsured drivers and incidents like hit-and-runs.

The fund provides bicycle riders with support for medical bills, bicycle and property damage, lost wages, as well as other damages.

Victims of hit-and-runs are entitled to a form of justice.”

— zach le on, attorney at Stuart Leon Bicycle Crash Law “We worked at that point to get Ag qualified as a victim of a hit-and-run with the state,” recalls Zach. “Victims of hit-andruns are entitled to a form of justice.”

Victims, notes Zach, need to file their police report within 30 days of the incident, so it was great that Manta had filed his report immediately after the crash.

“Pennsylvania has a strong victims compensation fund program for bicycle riders who get hit, and so many people fall into that category,” adds Stuart. “The fund is there and they want to make sure people aren’t frauding the government. Once we get through the red tape, people seem happy to get a sense of justice from the fund.”

Although monetary compensation wasn’t Manta’s goal in the ordeal, by the time the

Leons were able to secure PFRACP funds for him, the payout was welcome.

To be clear, the goal is for no one to be in the position in which Manta, and many others, find themselves. Advocates like myself, and the Leons, have been working hard to make Philadelphia a safer, better place for cyclists and pedestrians, but road rage happens and crashes are still inevitable.

If this sort of thing happens to you, it’s important you file a police report and have legal representation because, even if the driver isn’t found, there’s help available.

“It was an ‘Aha!’ moment,” says Manta.

“I was like, ‘My bike’s messed up, my leg’s messed up, and I was messed up for a little while.’ Then, getting a notice saying I was entitled to something—that was awesome.”

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urban naturalist

Speaking My Language Bilingual birding tours make the natural world more accessible

T

en adults dressed in layers, hats and face masks gathered on a chilly September morning to go birding in Tacony Creek Park.

They kept a couple yards apart from each other while peering through binoculars at local birds such as robins, kingfishers and cardinals along with some recently arrived winter visitors like a red-breasted nuthatch and a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

What made this outing remarkable is that the walk leader, environmental educator Brandon McCracken, was identifying and discussing the birds in Spanish as well as English.

Although it is rare to hear a nature walk of any kind conducted in a language other than English in the Philadelphia area, Spanish and other languages are common to hear 10 GR ID P H IL LY.CO M NOVEM BE R 20 20

in Tacony Creek Park and its surrounding neighborhoods.

“We did a demographic survey last summer,” says Julie Slavet, the executive director of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTF), which sponsored the walk. According to the survey report, about 41% of the people living in the area speak a language other than English at home. For 26%, that language is Spanish.

“There were a lot of people who just don’t know that there is a park,” she continued, noting that the population of the surrounding neighborhood is turning over. Many Black and white residents are aging and their kids are moving away, Slavet says. Many newcomers speak Spanish, so in order to appeal to all neighbors, the park realized it needed to communicate in Spanish as well.

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bernard brown

The need for bilingual materials became apparent to Doryán De Angel, community watershed leader for TTF, at outreach events they held in the Philadelphia neighborhoods within the watershed, which begins in suburban Montgomery County and extends along the creek (which has three names along its course) into North Philadelphia to the Delaware River waterfront.

“It was incredible how much Spanish I ended up speaking,” says De Angel, who started her job in 2014. “We were giving away materials in English and we realized we need to have these in Spanish, so these families can see what we’re doing and receive the message.”

TTF, which published an English-language birding guide to Tacony Creek Park in 2016, published a Spanish translation of P HOTO G RAP HY BY M ILTO N LI NDSAY

Bird-watching tours of Tacony Creek Park are now offered in both Spanish and English.

the guide in June 2020.

TTF offers environmental education walks, some focusing on birding, as part of its broader watershed education mission.

De Angel could translate when she joined the walks, but “just because I speak Spanish, I don’t necessarily know birds,” she says. “We needed someone bilingual who knows birds.”

In 2019, TTF hired McCracken to lead a series of bilingual walks held in partnership with the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education and Riverfront North. The walks combined nature observation with education about ways participants could improve the health of the watershed, for example, reducing the use of de-icing salt in winter and gardening with native plants.

In 2020, TTF followed up with a series of bilingual birding walks.

“The biggest challenge for me was teaching myself the bird-specific vocabulary, the common names,” says McCracken, who grew up speaking Spanish at home with his Peruvian father. “So, leading up, I made myself these virtual flashcards. After that I felt pretty good about it.”

Common names for birds in Spanish can be particularly challenging, since a single type of bird can have different names depending on the country or region. An aguililla cola roja (red-tailed hawk) in Mexico is a guaraguao in Puerto Rico. (This happens in English as well. Many of our hawks would be called “buzzards” in the United Kingdom.)

Gonzalo Pavón Valerio, who grew up in Mexico and is most comfortable speaking Spanish, and his wife, Enriqueta Estrada, who is from Philadelphia and is fully bilingual, have attended all of the bilingual walks, “so he can talk in his own language,” says Estrada.

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Estrada says, “it’s really something different to do. You get transported into a different place. All you see is trees, and the creek, it’s really nice.

It’s relaxing.”

Pavón Valerio says he is particularly a fan of raptors like falcons and eagles.

“We’re the kind of people who love to see animals,” says Pavón Valerio.

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street stories & curbside characters

The Art of Healing Philadelphia’s mural artists uplift and inspire the city

T

he imp of irony plotted an odd course between painter Jane Golden and Philadelphia. If Golden hadn’t gotten a grim diagnosis years ago, the city could have missed out on lots of healing.

Since her arrival here decades ago, Golden, 67, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, has brought wholeness to many neighborhoods with museum-quality murals, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if the Imp hadn’t dealt Golden a wild twist.

A native of Margate, New Jersey, Golden grew up with art.

“My mother was a wonderful painter,” says Golden, who double-majored in fine arts and political science at Stanford University. She studied Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera (1886-1957), husband of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), whose gigantic murals packed a social and political punch.

After graduating, Golden moved to Los Angeles.

“It was the center of the mural universe,” she says. She began painting murals and recruiting young people on probation to help her.

Then came the unexpected: She was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune illness that can damage major organs.

“I was told I wouldn’t live very long. It was life-changing,” recalls Golden. “It gave me empathy and made me connect with people. After fighting the diagnosis for months, I

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constance garcia-barrio

came to Philadelphia to be with my family.”

In 1984, when Golden felt better, she landed a position with then-mayor W. Wilson Goode’s Anti-Graffiti Network. The job threw Golden in with a slew of graffiti artists.

“They were interested in art,” she says.

“Many of them had raw talent.” She persuaded them to paint murals with her, earn money and sign an agreement not to paint graffiti. Over time, Golden’s program morphed into the Mural Arts Program (now Mural Arts Philadelphia).

“Philadelphia has become the mural capital of the world,” says Phyl Francis, 72, a tour guide, noting that Mural Arts has painted more than 4,000 murals. “People come from all over to see them.”

The murals crackle with color and characters, and they also express values. In the 1990s, Golden asked renowned L.A. muralist Kent Twitchell, one of her mentors, to do a mural of Julius Erving, aka Dr. J, for $2,000, at a time when Twitchell commanded $50,000 per mural. He agreed to Golden’s offer, provided he could paint the former 76ers star in a suit, not his team uniform.

“Twitchell wanted people, especially youngsters, who view the mural [at 1234 Ridge Avenue], to see Dr. J not only as an athlete but a businessman and community leader,” says tour guide and painter Caroll Drazen, 76. “Teens on my tours smile when they see his image,” she says. It’s three stories tall and shows him with “the biggest right hand in the known world,” Drazen jokes.

I paint for the children, for the youngest in the community. They’re the ones who enjoy the colors, the design, the stylized figures.”

— parris stancell , mural artist

by

Parris Stancell, 70, of Mount Airy, a longtime painter with Mural Arts, also does murals with young people in mind.

“I paint for the children, for the youngest in the community,” says Stancell, known for many murals, including “The Healing Power of Music,” 916 N. 17th Street, done in partnership with WXPN (88.5 FM). “They’re the ones who enjoy the colors, the design, the stylized figures,” says Stancell, who loved to draw as a child and took classes at South Philly’s Fleisher Art Memorial as a teen.

“The children have something beautiful to look at, and it livens up their days.”

Stancell attests to the healing power of murals.

“One time, during the crack epidemic, I was in West Philly painting a mural commissioned by the community, a church and the DEA: ‘The Three Graces: Community, Tragedy, Spirituality’ [at 52nd and Master streets]. A guy came by. He was kind of high and had a [liquor] bottle in his hand.

He looked at the mural, which has three arches: under the first one is a community scene, the middle arch shows a woman in a state of debauchery and the third one shows a pastor in a church. When the man saw the pastor, he got down on his knees, right there on the street, and started praying,” Stancell says. “That man got the message [of redemption]. As a mural painter, you know that you’re affecting people, whether they realize it or not.”

Then again, some murals are just fun.

“The Famous Franks,” by David McShane, 52, stretches along two walls of the northeast corner of 13th and Pine streets. That site, Dirty Franks Bar, has no sign, but people know the spot by the mural. It includes Benjamin Franklin, Aretha Franklin, Frankenstein’s monster, Pope Francis, a frankfurter and other well-known Franks.

One of Philly’s newest murals, “Crown,”

by Russell Craig, 39, is on both sides of the P HOTO G RAP HY BY D RE W DENNI S

Parris Stancell stands in front of his mural, “The Healing Power of Music.”

wholeness, Mural Arts has partnered with Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services for the Porch Light program. In the program, people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities work to create murals as a healing activity.

Mural Arts Philadelphia has also stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic with “Homeschool with Mural Arts,” 10- to 30-minute art tutorials for parents and children. It has also created brightly colored murals with public health messaging for hand-washing stations that provide access to clean water and soap.

“My biggest challenge is funding,” says Golden. “The city provides 30% of our budget, and we have to come up with the rest.”

Still, she remains undismayed.

“It’s a moral imperative for us to do this healing work—and do it well.” city’s coat of arms on the front window of the Municipal Services Building. It honors Black Lives Matter protesters. “It’s a modernized version of Eugène Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People,’ ” says Phyl Francis. Protesters’ upraised fists suggest the points of a crown. Craig learned mural-making during his incarceration for

drug possession in the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Graterford. Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice Guild Program offers returning citizens and young adults on probation a paid apprenticeship that lets them build job skills and reconnect with their communities.

In another push toward the city’s

To donate to Philadelphia Mural Arts or learn more about its public, private and virtual tours, visit muralarts.org/public-tours or call 215-9253633. Walking tours are $24 per person, run about 90 minutes and have up to 10 guests. These walking tours require face masks and reservations and will continue through November.

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water

Streaming Nature Watershed fellows create video series to promote by bernard brown Camden nature preserve

W

ith birds singing in the background, three fellows at the Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE) walk through Camden’s Cramer Hill Nature Preserve.

They point out a frog in a puddle, examine bones and feathers of a wild turkey, and point out invasive plants, among other conservation challenges. They wrap up with a request for visitors to do their part to keep the preserve clean by picking up trash they see on their own hikes.

But it’s not your typical nature walk— Adriana Amador-Chacon, Ivana Quinones and Priscilla Rios are the hosts of this virtual tour, posted on YouTube.

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According to Amador-Chacon, Quinones and Rios, few Camden residents would have considered exploring nature at the preserve, which for 40 years was the site of a sewage treatment plant. Once the plant closed in 1990, the site served mainly as an illegal dumping site. In 2019, the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation celebrated two years of cleanup efforts by opening the space as a nature preserve. The three AWE fellows—all Camden natives who live a few blocks from the preserve—spent the summer introducing their neighbors to local green spaces such as the preserve vi a virtual tours, wildlife profiles and scavenger hunts.

They worked “to pursue it in a way that gives Camden a better outlook than we’ve had lately in the news,” says Amador-Chacon, “...[E]veryone sees it as impoverished and not somewhere you’d like to go on the weekends.”

The Alliance for Watershed Education for the Delaware River Fellowship program, which kicked off in 2017, funds summer environmental education positions for young adults at the 23 environmental centers in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey that comprise the AWE, according to Robin Irizarry, the AWE fellowship coordinator.

“When you look at a room full of environmental organizations,” says Irizarry, “that room doesn’t reflect the diversity of our region, the population that relies on the Delaware River for drinking water, that uses the trails. We wanted to build a program to empower young people from the communities we were working in to become environmental leaders.”

Most of the environmental centers hosted fellows in the first three years of the pro-

P HOTO G RAP HY BY M ILTO N L IN DSAY

gram, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw this year’s plans into chaos as the centers closed their doors in March and cancelled in-person programming.

“Going into the springtime, we had big plans for fellows out in the communities, out on the trails, in the community,” says Irizarry. “Typically it’s very hands-on, engaging with people, helping connect people to the watershed and watershed issues.”

Thirteen centers chose to host fellows in 2020, according to Irizarry.

“What was really great was to see how alliance fellows were able to adapt their programming,” she says. “We had folks adapt nature walks so they were videos, people developing signs and brochures for self-guided walks. We had people developing kits for people to do nature activities at home.”

This is how Amador-Chacon, Quinones and Rios ended up creating YouTube tours.

“Normally I would have those three fellows at the aquarium,” says Linda Cairnes, assistant director of experiential engage-

ment at the Center for Aquatic Sciences, which is based at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden.

However, in March, when the aquarium closed to the public, it became clear that a traditional fellowship wouldn’t work, Cairnes says. Cairnes collaborated with staff at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust— each organization officially hosts one fellow, though the three are coordinated together out of the Center for Aquatic Sciences—and made the fellowships virtual, capitalizing on supplemental funds from the William Penn Foundation to purchase a camera, computer and software packages to produce content such as the virtual tour of the Cramer Hill Nature Preserve.

The Camden fellows welcomed the opportunity to introduce their neighbors to the parks around them, even if they weren’t interacting in person.

“When I first started, I was just telling my family about it, and anyone I would run into I would tell about it, and they were like,

‘That is really amazing. We should go,’ ” says Rios, a biology major at Rutgers University–Camden.

Quinones, too, has enjoyed the work regardless of the limitations posed by the pandemic.

“I really loved the opportunity to educate people about protecting the Delaware River,” says Quinones, who is a marine biology major at Stockton University. “Everything that happens in the river goes into the ocean.”

The Center for Aquatic Sciences received funding to extend the three fellows’ positions beyond the summer, according to Cairnes, giving them more time to develop virtual resources for additional green spaces and to translate the videos into Spanish.

“We’re constantly working on new material that’s up and coming,” says Quinones.

They think the video series will serve as a good introduction to the space for many.

“From their homes they can witness what it would be like if they visit,” says Amador-Chacon, “And that’s the goal. We want people to come out here.”

From their homes they can witness what it would be like if they visit.”

— a driana amador-chacon,

CREDITS TK

Alliance for Watershed Education fellow

Opposite: From front to back, Adriana Amador-Chacon, Priscilla Rios and Ivana Quinones examine flowers inside the Cramer Hill Nature Preserve.

Left: The tour guides pose in front of the preserve’s sign.

N OV E M B E R 20 20 G R I DP HI LLY.COM 1 5

We keep it Produce and and Produce goods from from our our goods two Philly Philly farms farms two and over over 500 500 and local vendors! vendors! local

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16 GR ID P H IL LY.CO M NOVEM BE R 2020

Community-owned markets, open to everyone. www.weaversway.coop

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2020 #nextfabmade ------------

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Learn more about these Philadelphia special gifts on pages 30-31.

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ANEXT special American the FA Bthanks .CO M to 2 0 Beaty 2 0 H O LI DAY G I FTand GU I D E Resource Exchange for their support with this Gift Guide.

Dear Grid Reader, 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for all of us, with the pandemic, lives lost, economic devastation, social injustice reaching a breaking point, and a political climate that has added insult to injury.

Through these challenges, I’ve struggled with stress, felt helpless and hopeless at times, but time and again, I remember that I’m fortunate, and NextFab provides me with an opportunity to have a positive impact on the world, and I feel inspiration and obligation to do what good I can.

During the pandemic shutdown, part of the NextFab team was engaged in producing medical supplies for healthcare providers, but overall the business was like so many others- unable to operate and wrestling with how to survive. In that dark time, our loyal members helped us keep NextFab going until the first wave of the pandemic subsided and we were able to reopen again.

Many of those same members who have helped NextFab survive have been fighting for the survival of small businesses of their own. They are skilled artists, artisans, and technologists, bringing beauty and innovation to our world. Once NextFab was able to reopen, many of them returned to work immediately, and I’m proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to ensure that NextFab provides a safe and productive workplace for these dedicated local entrepreneurs.

This year, as we approach the holidays, and consider purchasing gifts and supplies, each dollar we spend has the potential to be more influential than it has ever been before, at least in my lifetime. A hand-crafted product from a small local business is not only a more distinctive and thoughtful gift, it can help that business to survive, and strengthen our local economy.

It’s a vote for a diverse and resilient local economy. The same amount spent at a global e-commerce giant is a drop in an ocean of billions, with little to no local value. What’s more, as our shopping has moved online, we’ve lost many of the small retail businesses that have made our city such a vibrant place to live. But we can change the trajectory of our local economy with our purchasing decisions, which is why we’ve crafted this Gift Guide and have an online shop dedicated to our makers at nextfab.com/shop.

As you read this gift guide, I know you’ll be inspired by the skill and creativity on display. Just imagine the joy of seeing your loved ones appreciate such thoughtful and unique gifts, and the pride you’ll feel at having supported these local entrepreneurs at a time when your choice really matters!

Stay safe and well, and I wish you an early Happy Holidays! evan mal one President, NextFab

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS In The Kitchen Destined Goods Jezabel’s Atelier Pellegrino Cutlery

6 Wholesale Nuts And Dried Fruit

Home Goods Ben Doar Studio Birch & Maine Dinora Bock Designs DropLight Industries Jawnstown Loma Living

9 Ordinary O Pandemic Design Studio RethinkTANK Untitled_Co WoodGlowCo

Young At Heart Pals Socks

15

TWEE

Jewelry & Beauty Addi Naturals Brick & Wire Cartrageous Cherné Altovise Confetti From RAW Materials Historical Dream

16

Idol Light Kpellé Designs Linda Celestian Livetodream m. et al.

The Most

Small Gifts 7textures Engrave My Achievement Eric Zippe Fine Art Maria Schneider Arte Meanings of the Heart Art

23 miniAlley OrganizeYourTech Philadelphia Laser & Industrial Design Roadside Linen Arts Tanzi Products YRCInc

Custom Ironman Lanning Woodworks

29 Vanshee Builds

Philadelphia Fans Girl Holding a Pen Jawnaments Padouk Crafts

30

Philly Phlights Settlers of Philadelphia

P.S. —NextFab with the help of Grid, produces and publishes this gift guide as a gift to our members. We take no commission on sales.

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See more from our diverse range of Jewelry & Beauty artists and products starting on page 16.

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Browse through our kitchenware and home goods gifts on pages 6-14.

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I N

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K I T C H E N

JEZABEL’S ATELIER JEZABEL CAREAGA

Jezabel’s Atelier is a female-run, locally crafted timeless design rooted in sustainability, hospitality and minimalism. $12.50-$85 @jezabelsatelier, @jezabelscafe jezabelscafe.com Products are available for purchase in-person and through online store.

WHOLESALE NUTS AND DRIED FRUIT MATTHEW BARON

Wholesale Nuts and Dried Fruits sells wholesale and bulk amounts of nuts, dried fruit, and seeds online.

From $20 to $500 @Wholesalenuts wholesalenutsanddriedfruit.com Products are available for purchase in-person and through online store.

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PELLEGRINO CUTLERY STEVE PELLEGRINO

Pellegrino Cutlery designs and builds high performance tools for the kitchen and field bringing unencumbered designs for the home cook and the professional. $200-$1,000+ @pellegrino_cutlery pellegrinocutlery.com Products are available for purchase through online store.

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K I T C H E N

DESTINED GOODS MARK BRANDON

Destined Goods produces handcrafted home goods that are customizable to commemorate life’s best memories and milestones. As high-quality elements, the ceramic, leather, and metal can stand on their own. When combined, they add up to produce a flair of modern elegance.

From $15 to $150 @DestinedGoods destinedgoods.com Products are available for purchase on online store.

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H O M E

G O O D S

PANDEMIC DESIGN STUDIO DAVID ROZEK

Pandemic Design Studio is a design and manufacturing enterprise that specializes in organic and contemporary ceramics, lighting, and furniture.

From $30 to $300 @pandemicdesignstudio pandemicdesignstudio.com Products are available on website or at their physical location.

DROPLIGHT INDUSTRIES JOHN BROGAN

Droplight Industries designs products that incorporate elements and forms that inspire and define us.

From $40 to $120 @droplightind droplightind.com Products are available for purchase in-person and through online store.

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G O O D S

LOMA LIVING KEN HOLIDAY

Loma Living is a local design and manufacturing home goods company whose minimalist design style is driven by their belief that the best designs are often the simplest. Their products include wireless charging docking stations, office essentials, wine and barware, valet trays, and coasters.

Mostly $50-$150, average is $100 @loma_living lomaliving.com Products are available for purchase on online store and Etsy.

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BEN DOAR STUDIO BEN DOAR

Ben Doar Studio is compiled of unique and one-of-a-kind woodwork, utilizing hand selected lumber that focuses on showcasing the natural beauty of the material, incorporating traditional joinery, and hand finished details.

From $100 to $5,000 @BenDoarStudio bendoarstudio.com Products are available on website or through direct messaging on Instagram.

DINORA BOCK DESIGNS DINORA BOCK

Dinora Bock Designs handcrafts designs that implement wood and steel, resulting in objects that are useful and environmentally friendly.

From $25 to $120 Products are available for purchase in person from her home craft fairs.

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H O M E

G O O D S

JAWNSTOWN JOHN COMBS

Jawnstown is a locally-based woodworker who creates handmade furniture and home decor.

From $15 to $300 @builtbyjawn Products are available for purchase on Etsy.

BIRCH & MAINE EVALEEN LAMB

Birch & Maine offers high quality, customizable and personalized wooden signs for your home or business, including painted on designs, 3D designs and carved/ engraved designs.

From $30 to $400 @birchandmaine, birchandmaine.com Products are available for purchase in-person, at craft markets, and on online store and Etsy.

WOODGLOWCO JOHN MOORE

WoodGlowCo utilizes hand drawn designs to create unique and delightful laser-cut coasters.

From $20 to $40 Products are available for purchase on Etsy.

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ORDINARY O OLIVIA KAUFMAN-ROVIRA

Ordinary O is a collection of unique works of threedimensional art for your home that highlights the extraordinary in the ordinary and is all about finding and creating joy and moments of intrigue in the home and in our everyday lives.

From $38 to $128 @ordinary__o ordinaryo.com Products are available for purchase through online store.

Follow along on Instagram for sale dates.

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H O M E

G O O D S

UNTITLED_CO CODY HUGHES

Untitled_Co is a design studio creating home goods and furniture using sustainably gathered materials. $12.50-$85 @untitled_co_ untitledco.design Products are available for purchase on website, other online retailers, Etsy, brick and mortar stores and in person markets.

RETHINKTANK JASON LEMPIERI

RethinkTANK’s manhole cover series has expanded to over 175 designs permanently etched into functional art in the form of trivets, coasters and magnets.

From $16 to $36 @Rethinktank rethinktankdesign.com Products are available for purchase through online store, Etsy and several local retailers.

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Y O U N G

AT

H E A R T

TWEE KATE LEIBRAND

PALS SOCKS EDWARD DRAKHLIS

Pals Socks creates inclusive mismatched socks for kids, with unique designs, message and comfort to inspire creativity and a friendlier world.

TWEE is a women owned handmade sidewalk chalk company based in Philly.

Creating sidewalk chalk in unique designs that are easy for a child to grasp, while also inspiring imaginative play.

From $10 to $45 @tweemade, tweemade.com Products are available for purchase through online store, Etsy and some local shops.

From $10 to $13 @palssocks, palssocks.com Products are available for purchase through online store and some local shops.

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J E W E L R Y

&

B E A U T Y

CHERNÉ ALTOVISE CHERNE BISHOP

ChernĂŠ Altovise is a femalerun collection of jewelry, handbags, accessories and clothing for men and women.

From $5 to $300 @chernealtovise chernealtovise.com Products are available for purchase on website and Amazon.com.

ADDI NATURALS YEMINA ISRAEL

Addi Naturals specializes in natural and organic personal care products locally grown and harvested from seed.

From $5 to $130 @addinaturals addinaturals.com Products are available for purchase through online store.

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IDOL LIGHT MACHELE NETTLES

Idol Light uses scientific glass in new sustainable ways to create prismatic, interactive, color changing jewelry.

From $60 to $400 @Idol.Light idol-light.com Products are available for purchase on online store.

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J E W E L R Y

&

B E A U T Y

THE MOST DAWN MYERS

THE MOST is a female-run business, specializing in hardware and liquid product offerings for textured hair.

From $9 to $40 @themostcurls, themostcurls.com Products are available on online store.

HISTORICAL DREAM NINA GRIER

Historical Dream raises the awareness of historic icons by creating and producing jewelry, apparel, and other fun items for everyday consumers.

From $40 to $400 @historicaldream, historicaldream.com Products are available for purchase on online store and Etsy.

KPELLÉ DESIGNS GWEN BARKER

KpellĂŠ Designs makes handmade jewelry and accessories which include earcuffs, loc jewelry for hair, and head scarves.

From $10 to $48 @kpelle.designs, kpelledesigns.com Products are available for purchase on online store and Etsy.

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BRICK & WIRE LIA HUNTINGTON

CONFETTI JEREMIAH JORDAN

Confetti is a fabrication/retail project that designs carefully crafted earrings using traditional power tools, varying materials, digital designs and laser cutters.

Brick & Wire is a jewelry line that incorporates the colors, textures, and materials of Philadelphia’s building landscape, including enamel earrings, brick and silver jewelry, digitallyembroidered bracelets, postcards and stickers.

From $20 to $100 @brick.and.wire, liahuntington.com Products are available for purchase through Instagram and craft fairs.

From $20 to $50 @confettipaint, jeremiahfjordan.com Products are available for purchase online or through direct messaging on Instagram.

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J E W E L R Y

&

B E A U T Y

CARTRAGEOUS DEANNA MCLAUGHLIN

Cartrageous crafts stylish necklaces, earrings, tie tacks, and cuff links that are true conversation starters utilizing the most iconic image of our consumerbased culture, the shopping cart.

From $80 to $285 @cartrageous cartrageous.com Products are available for purchase on website and locally by appointment.

LINDA CELESTIAN LINDA CELESTIAN

Linda Celestian is a Wilmington-based fine artist who crafts contemporary laser-cut acrylic and wood pendants and earrings.

From $25 to $60 @lindacelestian lindacelestian.com Products are available for purchase through online store.

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LIVETODREAM ELIZABETH KARASEK

Livetodream depicts interpretations of everyday life using the free form capabilities of previous metal, gemstones, wood, and leather. In addition to her wire wrapped jewelry line, Livetodream expanded into handmade leather and wood handbag designs.

From $45 to $300 @__livetodream simplpost.com/livetodream Products are available for purchase online store and Etsy.

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J E W E L R Y

&

B E A U T Y

M. ET AL. KRISTI HABEDANCK

m. et al. makes handcrafted sterling silver jewelry using ancient cuttlebone casting method.

From $80 to $200 Products are available for purchase through word of mouth, spontaneous, and select local craft fairs.

FROM RAW MATERIALS RACHEL WELSH

From RAW Materials creates attractive and personal gifts—from jewelry for a friend to a sign for your front door, each item is created with the recipient in mind.

From $15 and up @FromRAWMaterials, fromrawmaterials.com Products are available for purchase via trunk shows and online at Etsy, Facebook and website.

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S M A L L

G I F T S

ERIC ZIPPE FINE ART ERIC ZIPPE

Eric Zippe Fine Art is a Wilmington-based artist that offers fine art prints, original photography transferred on to wood, and laser engraved art.

From $5 to $500 @ezippe ezippe.art Products are available for purchase on website, Etsy, and in person at local art/craft fairs.

PHILADELPHIA LASER & INDUSTRIAL DESIGN SHARIF PENDLETON

PLAID (Philadelphia Laser & Industrial Design) is a design-centric micro manufacturer whose products are infused with pop-culture references and tonguein-cheek that complement their usability, functionality and durability. PLAID is the home of Phillylovenotes.

From $5 to $225 @laserphilly, laserphilly.com Products available for purchase through online store or in person at Cherry Street Pier in Studio 4.

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S M A L L

G I F T S

YRCINC SAM YANKELL

YRCInc artist Sam Yankell crafts sculpture figurines for your home completely constructed out of NextFab “found” or bought materials.

From $100 to $400

ORGANIZEYOURTECH JOHN PETTIT

OrganizeYourTech designs and manufactures wearable technology organizers that easily incorporates your technology into life’s everyday workflow.

From $5 to $100 @organizeyourtech, organizeyourtech.com Products are available on online store.

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7TEXTURES LAUREN RASKE

7textures is a specialty artists agency with a wide variety of talents for custom artwork, event design, entertainment, and styling. This year they’re selling “Never Die Botanicals” — leaves or flowers individually sculpted from a single template, cut out of what would be polycarbonate waste material, and added to your favorite vase or pot, as well as real floral designs for the local market.

From $15 to $1500 @7textures, 7textures.com Please visit website to buy products or tickets to live experiences.

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S M A L L

G I F T S

ROADSIDE LINEN ARTS KAREN BICE

Roadside Linen Arts creates weird and wonderful dark-themed shadowbox art pieces using laser cut printed images.

Each box is a portal to something ancient, weird, humorous, shocking, or mystical.

From $36 to $62 @roadsidelinenarts, rlarts.indiemade.com Products are available for purchase through word of mouth, spontaneous, and select local craft fairs.

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ENGRAVE MY ACHIEVEMENT RON FIERRO

Engrave My Achievement creates uniquely shaped laser cut and engraved imagery from your favorite photos and life’s best moments.

From $50 to $300 @ema.engrave, emaengrave.com Products are available for purchase on Etsy.

MINIALLEY KHAI VAN

MiniAlley are intricately handcrafted diorama bookshelf inserts that capture another world, from a cozy Italian village to the Wizarding world of Harry Potter.

From $200 to $239 @mini_alley minialley.com Products are available for purchase on website and Etsy.

TANZI PRODUCTS RICHARD RUTENBERG

Tanzi produces designs and manufactures electronic cigarette pen stands.

From $14.99 tanzistand.com Products are available for purchase on Etsy.

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S M A L L

G I F T S

MARIA SCHNEIDER ARTE MARIA SCHNEIDER

Maria Schneider is a Philadelphia-based fine artist who creates manipulated photography and laser-etched images.

From $5 to $100 @mariaschneiderarte mariarschneider.com Products are available via Instagram direct message.

MEANINGS OF THE HEART ART DOLORES BARTHOLOMEW

Meanings of the Heart Art crafts fine art displays of inspirational art gifts which feature moments of the heart, bonding experiences that bring us closer together and more connected.

From $12 to $1400 meaningsoftheheartart.com Artwork may be purchased via online and in person art shows held at various galleries.

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C U S T O M

IRONMAN BILL DANKANIS

Ironman builds live-edge and epoxy resin tables, acrylic paintings, coasters, serving boards, steel furniture bases and chairs.

From $10 to $1000

VANSHEE BUILDS TATIANA APARICIO

Vanshee Builds assembles custom and pre-built van conversions you can work or play from anywhere without sacrificing the comforts of having your own private kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, workspace, and transportation.

From $20,000 to $60,000 @vanshee.builds, vansheebuilds.com Contact through website or Instagram to reserve a spot on our build calendar, or check out our online store for modular furniture kits.

LANNING WOODWORKS ANDY LANNING

Lanning Woodworks constructs handmade outdoor furniture for family gatherings and outdoor adventures.

From $25 to $400 @lanningwoodworks, lanningwoodworks.com Products are available via online store.

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P H I L A D E L P H I A

F A N S

GIRL HOLDING A PEN LAUREN & KEVIN KELLEY

Girl Holding a Pen creates timeless calligraphy-style designs for life’s best moments, including customized Christmas ornaments, wedding/event stationery, invitations, signage and decor and calligraphy services.

From $15 to $50 @girlholdingapen, girlholdingapen.com Products are available on online store and Etsy, as well as a seasonal holiday pop-up at 19th Street & Fairmount Avenue.

SETTLERS OF PHILADELPHIA ADAM TECZA

Settlers of Philadelphia is a custom built Philly-themed version of the classic board game, which allows you to conquer Philadelphia by building your empire of Super Wawa’s, but beware of the PPA, Kids on Dirt Bikes, and others who wish to disrupt your plans.

A limited run will be built and auctioned, the proceeds of which will be donated to support Project Home. For raffle details, email Phillysettlers@gmail.com.

JAWNAMENTS SUSAN MURPHY

Jawnaments are hyper-local Christmas ornaments for Philadelphia and cities across the US that show the love for their neighborhoods and hometowns with “onlya-local-would-understand” designs. $15 plus shipping @jawnaments, jawnaments.com Products are available for purchase on online store and Etsy.

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PADOUK CRAFTS COREY KILBANE

Padouk Crafts crafts Philadelphia-themed products in wood and metal for fashion, fun, and home.

From $10 to $50 @PadoukCrafts etsy.com/shop/PadoukCrafts Products are available for purchase on Etsy.

PHILLY PHLIGHTS DAVID COYLE

Philly Phlights specializes in handcrafted wooden products, including coasters, bottle openers and drink flights.

From $20 to $40 @phillyphlights etsy.com/shop/PhillyPhlights Products are available on Etsy and Philadelphia Independents.

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DEATH by

another

NAME Those convicted of second-degree murder receive life without parole in Pennsylvania. A lawsuit aims to give these inmates a chance at redemption story by constance garcia-barrio

I

f she served as the lookout during a gas station holdup, Marie “Mechie” Scott, then 19, believed she would get cash to buy the heroin that helped her blunt deep pain. ¶ Raped first at age 5 and repeatedly into her teens, in addition to enduring poverty and homelessness, Scott began drinking at age 9, smoking pot at 14, and using heroin at 16. ¶ At the gas station, things went wrong. ¶ Scott’s co-defendant, a 16-year-old boy who had a gun, shot and killed gas station attendant and volunteer firefighter Michael Kerrigan. Scott didn’t know that the youth planned to shoot Kerrigan and never intended that Kerrigan should die, but she was convicted of felony murder, an unintentional death that occurs in the course of committing a felony. Pennsylvania law categorizes such deaths as second-degree murder; different from first-degree murder, a planned killing, and third-degree murder, an unintentional murder or one committed in the heat of passion.

In Pennsylvania, felony murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Scott has been in prison since 1973. She has served 47 years of her life-without-parole sentence in Muncy State Correctional Institution, in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

The Board of Pardons is the only recourse for prisoners like Scott. The board can commute a sentence to allow parole, at least in theory.

Scott has petitioned the board for parole several times. In her nearly half-century of imprisonment, Scott’s accomplishments include earning an associate degree in sociology, completing training as a paralegal, leading peer support groups, writing a play about bullying, working as a sewing machine operator, developing a program for children of incarcerated parents, designing and leading workshops on codependency and developing a coloring book for grieving children.

“I made terrible choices when I was very young,” Scott says. “Mr. Kerrigan would be alive if I had just said, ‘No.’ I’m responsible for his death, but I’m a different person now.”

activists and organizers who “advocate for the recognition of human rights of all people.” Once relatively frequent, commutations in Pennsylvania for life-without-parole sentences have dwindled to just eight between 1995 and 2018.

The Board of Pardons seems to sweep aside even expert opinions. For example,

it repeatedly rejected brothers Reid and Wyatt Evans for parole. Wyatt and Reid were 18 and 19, respectively, when they carjacked the owner of a popular Center City bar, Leonard Leichtner, using a nonfunctioning gun. They stole $47 from him then dropped him off near a phone booth, as he asked. Hours later, Leichtner died of a heart attack. The Evans brothers didn’t kill him or intend that he should die.

Convicted of felony murder, the brothers, now 57 and 56, have served 37 years.

They accept responsibility for Leichtner’s death. They have exemplary conduct records and have completed many rehabilitative programs. They’ve made charitable donations to the Bethlehem School District and acquired skills, such as working with sheet metal, that will help them secure gainful employment.

In December 2019, the Evans brothers sought parole again, one of many such petitions they’ve made during nearly 40 years in prison. Philadelphia District Attorney

Marie "Mechie" Scott, pictured here in 2017, has been in prison for 47 years.

H O WA R D Z E H R

THE BOARD OF PARDONS turned Scott down.

That ruling came as no surprise in some circles. “[The Board of Pardons ] is a broken system,” says attorney Kris Henderson, 34, co-founder, organizer and executive director of the Amistad Law Project, an organization whose members include attorneys, N OV E M B E R 20 20

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seeming reluctance to grant life-without-parole inmates a second chance, Scott and others convicted of felony murder may yet leave prison in something other than a coffin. A lawsuit, legislation and grassroots organizing could result in reforms that free them.

On July 8, 2020, the Abolitionist Law Center (ALC), a Pittsburgh-based public interest law firm organized to abolish race- and class-based incarceration in the U.S., filed a lawsuit on behalf of Scott and three other plaintiffs—Normita Jackson, 43, Marsha Scaggs, 56, and Tyreem Rivers, 42—against the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.

ALC is co-counseling on the lawsuit with the Amistad Law Project, of Philadelphia, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, of New York City, an organization “dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

The four prisoners have served a combined total of 125 years for killings that they neither committed nor intended. The suit challenges current laws that deny these inmates a chance for parole, referring to their sentence as “death-by-incarceration” (DBI). Forcing prisoners to die behind bars amounts to “cruel punishment,” the lawsuit argues, something prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

Pennsylvania stands at an extreme not only in the United States but the world in dishing out DBI sentences, the lawsuit notes.

“Pennsylvania [is] staking a claim as a national leader in the practice of condemning people to die in prison,” Bret Grote and Quinn Cozzens, both attorneys with the Abolitionist Law Center, write in their report, “A Way Out: Abolishing the Death Penalty in Pennsylvania.” More than 5,300 people in this state are

Average Age of People Serving DBI Sentences 46.8

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There are two criminal justice systems: One for the haves and another for the have-nots, and it's racialized.”

— christopher rabb , Pennsylvania State Representative serving DBI sentences. Of that number, 1,100 were convicted of felony murder.

About 70% of those serving such sentences are Black, a number out of all proportion to the number of people of African heritage in Pennsylvania.

“Put another way, Black Pennsylvanians are serving death-by-incarceration sentences at a rate more than 18 times higher than that of white Pennsylvanians,” Grote and Cozzens state in the report.

While the state holds a grim record for caging its citizens until they die, Philadel-

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phia has the even more damning distinction of being the life-without-parole capital of the world. Its courts have sentenced some 2,694 people to die in prison, a number that amounts to more than 50 percent of people serving DBI sentences in Pennsylvania, Grote and Cozzens state in “A Way Out.” Those numbers scream that this is a Philly problem: “In Philadelphia, one of every 294 Black residents is serving a sentence of death-by-incarceration,” the ALC finds.

More alarming still, the Abolitionist Law Center points out that the numbers have spiked. In 1974, fewer than 500 people were serving DBI sentences in Pennsylvania. Today’s figures of 5,300 represent a more than 10-fold jump in such sentences.

the criminal justice system, and money may sully it further. The two factors go hand-in-hand, points out Christopher Rabb, 50, state representative for Pennsylvania’s 200th Congressional District, which includes parts of Northwest Philadelphia.

“There are two criminal justice systems: One for the haves and another for the havenots, and it’s racialized,” Rabb says. “So RACISM POISONS

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Larry Krasner sent a statement of support.

Because of “... the low likelihood of recidivism among older people … incarcerated for long periods of time, … the defendants’ age at the time of the incident … and conduct while incarcerated, this office [Krasner’s] did support commutation for both Reid and Wyatt Evans,” the statement read.

Even the DA’s statement cut no ice. The Board of Pardons nixed parole then, but voted in favor of it in September in the face of mounting pressure.

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P H OTO C O U R T E S Y O F PA H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S

State Rep. Jason Dawkins at the Pennsylvania State Capitol with advocates against deathby-incarceration.

poor Black and Brown people often end up on death row or serving DBI sentences because they don’t have money for a good defense,” says Rabb, who’s introduced bills for criminal justice reform.

Faith Adams, 58, whose son has been serving a DBI sentence since 2008, agrees.

“People who were to help us financially [with the cost of defense] dispersed,” says Adams, a member of the Coalition Against Death-By-Incarceration (CADBI). “If you don’t have money, you’re screwed.”

Mechie Scott believes lack of funds for a private attorney hampered her, too.

“I had a court-appointed lawyer who didn’t pay attention to any of my ideas about the case,” she says. “I wanted to request a change of venue because my case was so notorious, and I didn’t feel I could get a fair trial here because Rizzo was mayor at the time.”

Often, circumstances seem engineered to lead to life imprisonment.

“With the school-to-prison pipeline, it’s as if everything is set up to get the offender to the place of serving a life sentence,” says Barb Toews, associate professor of social work and criminal justice at the University of Washington Tacoma, and author of “The Little Book of Restorative Justice for People in Prison:

Rebuilding the Web of Relationships.”

Besides involving race and class inequities and personal tragedy, DBI sentences put a back-breaking burden on taxpayers, the ALC lawsuit notes. Maintaining older DBI prisoners comes at a huge cost. States would save about $66,000 per prisoner released per year, according to estimates in a 2012 report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “At America’s Expense: the Mass Incarceration of the Elderly.”

The graying prison population, whose numbers have soared due to harsh sentencing guidelines of the past, may require oxygen, wheelchairs, diapers and insulin—the same care and equipment that elders in the rest of society may need.

The ALC lawsuit stresses that allowing parole for people like Scott, who’s nearing 70, would pose no danger to the public. “… The majority [of prisoners serving DBI for felony murder] are aging or considered elderly by prison standards, with an average of 48 years, and have already spent decades in prison,” it says, “… there is evidence to show [advancing their age] correlates to low recidivism.”

In addition, life-without-parole sentences waste older prisoners’ wisdom.

“I’ve visited seven prisons, and in all of them I’ve seen older prisoners actively mentoring younger ones,” says Rabb. “Once paroled, older returning citizens could talk with members of the next generation at risk for entering prison. Returning citizens may have a more powerful preemptive impact than anything else because they speak from experience.”

Crimes and prison sentences avoided, thanks to the first-hand advice of former inmates would translate into tax dollars saved, Rabb points out.

Henderson, of the Amistad Law Project, makes that point about Marie Scott.

“If Ms. Scott is released, she could be, would be and should be talking with young people about her experience,” Henderson says.

Besides dollars and cents, life-without-parole for felony murder sentences exact an emotional price from prisoners and their families.

“It takes a toll on you when you have a loved one in prison, mentally, physically, emotionally, financially,” says Cee Cee, 61. Cee Cee, a member of CADBI, has a son in prison.

“He went in at 21. Now he’s 46,” she says.

“My mother died in 2016 and my sister died in 2017, so now I’m alone.”

Adams, too, has seen a multigenerational impact.

“My son has been in prison since September 18, 2008,” she says. “I walked around in a daze for six years [after his incarceration]. It affected my health. Besides that, my son has a daughter who was 2 years old when he went to prison. When she was smaller, every time our visit with him ended she would fall apart. She’s 14 now, but she still has a level of sadness.”

CADBI member Julie Burnett, 54, currently has five family members in prison, three of them serving life-without-parole sentences. “I want to work on prison reform and restorative justice,” says Burnett, who has turned her anger into activism. “I’m pursuing a master’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in human services.”

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may take its time, a movement toward ending life-without-parole for felony murder seems to be gaining traction in the United State Congress.

New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker introduced “a groundbreaking bill” last year: the Second Look Act. It would allow a person who has served at least 10 years in federal prison to ask a judge to take a second look at their sentence to see if they’re eligible for reduction or release.

The defendant would have to show that he or she does not endanger anyone, presents no risk of committing crimes, shows readiness for reentry and that a change in the sentence serves justice.

Senator Booker’s bill sounds a hopeful WHILE PENNSYLVANIA

Restorative justice looks at repairing the harm done by the crime. It looks at healing everyone involved.”

—juwan bennett, Ph.D. candidate, Temple University Department of Criminal Justice

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note on the national scene, but Philadelphians need to step up locally, given the city’s callous record of condemning its citizens, especially Black citizens, to die in prison.

“People need to become politically engaged and work with grassroots organizations to ensure that politicians put ending DBI at the top of their agenda,” Grote says.

Successful reentry from prison is more than a matter of opening doors, ALC lawyers state. Former lifers must have a structure that gives them support.

“Decarceration means more than emptying prison beds,” Grote says. “It requires funding social services, employment opportunities, vocational training and other initiatives.”

Wider public knowledge of restorative justice could make a difference in sentencing, Juwan Bennett, 28, a Ph.D. student in Temple University’s Department of Criminal Justice, believes. “Restorative justice looks at repairing the harm done by the crime,” he says. “It looks at healing everyone involved. Sometimes, but not always, that means bringing victims and perpetrators together.”

That said, this reform must start with a political push.

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families struggling to provide moral and financial support for relatives sentenced to life-without-parole.

State Representative Jason Dawkins, of Pennsylvania’s 179th congressional district, which stretches through lower Northeast Philadelphia, draws on personal knowledge in crafting bills to eliminate life-without-parole for felony murder.

“I had the experience to see [murder] from multiple angles,” Dawkins says. “I was raised in Frankford in a single-parent home, the youngest of three boys. My oldest brother was shot and killed at 21. My younger brother, by a different mother but the same father, murdered a man at age 16.

The man was a drug dealer who’d beaten up his mother.”

Dawkins’ personal perspective puts him in a unique position as a legislator.

“Losing a family member to murder is a tough issue,” Dawkins says. “Some families express empathy [for the murderer]; some want you to stay in prison forever. I thought it important to have a pathway to redemption,” he says. Dawkins’s bill provides for review for parole after 15 years.

“I took a good deal of flack for proposing that bill, and I’m not saying that everyone should be released from prison,” Dawkins says. “Some incarcerated folks should absolutely not come out. They need more help than the system can give them.”

Dawkins feels the bill has a long road ahead. He introduced it in 2016, then reintroduced it in 2017, while Sharif Street, of the third senatorial district, presented a companion bill in the State Senate.

“The bill is still in camera, or being reviewed. I have to figure out what changes can be made so that it’s more acceptable to Republican colleagues while preserving the heart of the bill,” Dawkins says. “This isn’t a sprint, but I never thought it would be. It may take my whole career to see some movement on it.”

Rabb reminds fellow Philadelphians that you don’t have to be a professional lobbyist to talk with your representatives.

“You have the constitutional right to talk with legislators,” he says. “Church groups, community groups and others can ask for time to present their point of view, but be strategic about your argument. For example, if you’re addressing a Republican legislator, you may have to frame eliminating DBI in terms of fiscal responsibility and the cost of incarcerating the elderly.”

in prison, her co-defendant in the gas station holdup has been granted parole. As he was 16 years old at the time of his crime, he qualified for relief after a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that barred giving minors mandatory life sentences. Current felony-murder laws allow no such leeway for Scott.

“She’s a great person, warm, caring,” says Amistad’s Henderson. “She’s been in prison longer than I’ve been alive. If one or two circumstances had been different—for instance, if the holdup had happened in another state—she might have been charged with third-degree murder, which allows for parole. The idea that she should die there is appalling.”

That prospect frightens Scott.

“I’ve seen people grow old and sick in prison and not get the care they need before they die,” she says.

But Scott can envision a future where she uses her grandmotherly age and years of imprisonment to good effect.

“I won’t say I want to give back, because you can’t give back a life, but I’d like to continue the work of helping children of incarcerated parents because during my time here, I’ve seen members of the second generation from the same family wind up in prison,” she says. “I’ve also devoted time to help the children of incarcerated mothers and fathers ... to honor my victim and the trauma I caused for his children.”

For now, Scott feels the weight of every day behind bars.

“In prison, you’re disrespected by the guards,” she says. “You don’t get visitors because you’re too far away. You hear that your mother passed away, that your sister has cancer. Today, I would say [in court], please give me the death penalty and get it over with.”

W HILE SCOTT LANGUISHES

EDUCATE and ACTIVATE Interested in learning more or getting involved?

Here’s a list to get started

by Constance Garcia-Barrio, in collaboration with Juwan Bennett

FILMS “Concrete, Steel and Paint” This Philadelphia documentary “tells the story of men in prison, victims of crime and an artistic partnership that helps break down barriers between them.”

2009, 55 minutes.

“Just Mercy” A true story detailed in Bryan Stevenson’s 2014 book about a wrongful conviction and death sentence.

2019, 137 minutes.

PHOTOS “Transcending: Reflections of Crime Victims” This book

by Howard Zehr includes revealing portraits of family members affected by murder and their heartfelt thoughts. 2001, Good Books.

PUBLICATIONS “The Abolitionist” This bilingual (English/Spanish) publication is dedicated to ending the prison industrial complex. It's a publication of Critical Resistance. abolitionistpaper.wordpress.com

COMIC BOOKS The Real Cost of Prisons has published several comic books covering how prisons affect prisoners and communities. realcostofprisons.org

“The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and U.S. Social Transformation” This book by Fania E. Davis looks in depth at race and restorative justice. 2019, Good Books.

“Race, Systemic Violence, and Retrospective Justice: An African American Quaker Scholar-Activist Challenges Conventional Narratives” This booklet by Harold D. Weaver, Jr. looks at “justice that compensates for and helps remove historical inequities related to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, chattel slavery and their legacies.” 2020, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #465

ORGANIZATIONS The Abolitionist Law Center Based in Pittsburgh, this public interest law firm seeks to abolish class- and race-based mass incarceration in the U.S. abolitionistlawcenter.org The Amistad Law Project Based in Philadelphia, this public interest law center advocates for recognition of the human rights of all people. amistadlaw.org Coalition to Abolish Death

By Incarceration (CADBI) This all-volunteer group fights to end death-by-incarceration.

CADBI general meetings are the third Wednesday of the month.

(267) 606-0324.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) Based in Washington, DC, this nonprofit advocacy organization strives

to “create a more fair and effective justice system … while keeping our families and communities safe.” (202) 822-6700. famm.org Human Rights Coalition Founded in 2001, this coalition works to end “abuse, torture and unjust practices in U.S. prisons and the ‘above-thelaw’ attitude and actions of the criminal justice system.” hrcoalition.org Pennsylvania Prison Society This organization advocates on behalf of prisoners, formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.(215) 564-4775, prisonsociety.org Sentencing Project Based in Washington, D.C., this research and advocacy center works for decarceration and ending racial disparities in sentencing. sentencingproject.org

PROGRAMS Inside-Outside Prison Exchange Program This Temple University program brings traditional college students and incarcerated students together in jails and prisons for semester-long learning. (215) 204-5163. insideoutcenter.org Prisoner Visitation and Support This program organizes volunteers who visit prisoners in U.S. federal and military prisons. (215) 241-7117. prisonervisitation.org

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STOCKED UP

Community-minded Philadelphians find a new way to help neighbors amidst the pandemic story by jason n. peters — photography by aaron salsbury

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ith a smattering of bright yellow refrigerators across the city, Michelle Nelson is on a mission to better the lives of food-insecure Philadelphians in light of the pandemic.

“COVID has amplified problems that have always existed and made them more prevalent,” says Nelson, the founder of the Mama-Tee.com Community Fridge Project, which established Philadelphia’s first community fridge, on Seventh Street and Girard Avenue in late July.

The fridges make it easy for neighbors to help neighbors and frames food insecurity as a community problem.

“People say ‘It’s a homeless problem,’ ” Nelson says of food insecurity. “No, it’s not.

It’s an everyone problem.”

There are now 11 community fridges across the city. Nelson herself has installed a total of seven in Northern Liberties, Fairmount and West Philly. The other four fridges are not operated by Mama-Tee and are located in West Philly, Germantown and South Philly.

The fridges can be found outside breweries, burger shops and restaurants.

COVID-19 and Food Insecurity The community fridge phenomenon has boomed nationwide, as the need for such services has never been more evident.

COVID-19 has worsened food insecurity across the United States.

The term “food insecure” is defined by the USDA as “lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.” A 2018 study showed

that 16.3% of Philadelphia households are food insecure, affecting more than 257,000 people. More than 40% of Philly’s food-insecure homes are more than half a mile away from the nearest food pantry.

Strangely enough, hunger decreased in most of the United States over the last six years, but the number of people who couldn’t afford enough food increased in Philly. Statewide, food insecurity increased by 7% in 2018 but dropped in neighboring New Jersey by 26% and in Delaware by 8%.

In 2017, Delaware and New Jersey increased their minimum wage while Pennsylvania did not.

Due to a spike in unemployment levels, experts have estimated the pandemic will only drive these numbers up.

COVID-19 and unemployment were the impetus for the creation of mutual-aid efforts like community fridges. “Like so many other people, I was laid off because of COVID,” explains Syona Arora. “So I had a lot of time on my hands. I was focused on mutual-aid efforts around the city and I saw that my cousin had started a fridge in New York City.” This newfound free time allowed Arora to establish two community fridges in South Philly.

In May 2020, the nonprofit Feeding America made a projection model estimating the number of Americans that would become food insecure because of the pandemic. Their most drastic model showed 14 million additional families, totaling 54 million Americans facing food insecurity.

However, that model did not account for the unemployment rate to go beyond 11%, making their projections a conservative estimate.

Mama-Tee’s bright yellow community fridges were the first to arrive. There are now 11 community fridges across the city. Left, the Mama-Tee’s fridge at Castellino’s Italian Market.

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Not A Charity As Philadelphia gets its first taste of community fridges, the concept is brand new to many city residents. A community fridge is set up by and for community members to share food with one another. There is no financial exchange or point of sale—the fridge is simply open and available to those who need it.

Sisters Sonia and Sonam Parikh established The People’s Fridge on 52nd Street in honor of their father, who died of COVID-19.

“We wanted a way to memorialize him,” explains Sonam. “It all came together when he died. Literally dozens of people called us who we never met, just being like, ‘Your father used to put food out for us here’ or, ‘He used to buy us groceries sometimes’; ‘He used to leave diapers for single moms.’

It was just humanity at work.”

All of the Philadelphia community refrigerators were established since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Each organizer emphasizes the space their fridges provide for mutual aid.

“This is not an act of charity, this is not, ‘Oh here’s my gross leftover pears.’ It’s simply people feeding people,” says Sonam of The People’s Fridge.

“Mutual aid is when people from a community support the people in their community—I help you, you help me,” Sonam continues. “Anyone who wants food, no matter how much money they make, is welcome to come to the fridge.”

You don’t have to do or give anything to receive mutual aid. “It simply belongs to the people and it’s powered by the people … ,” she says.

Struggles brought on by COVID-19 have forced people to look to one another for help.

Anyone can use a community fridge, says Sonam.

“Single moms who forgot an onion, businessmen who want to bring apples home for their kids,” she explains.

Organizer Syona Arora reaches into the Philadelphia Community Fridge at the Bok Building in South Philadelphia.

No matter your socioeconomic circumstances, you are welcome to give and/or take whatever you’d like. “So you have everyone from a barista to the single mother who just wants to make ends meet,” says Nelson.

Google Trends shows that in March 2020 interest in the term “mutual aid” began to spike, reaching peak popularity in June.

Community fridges are just one form of mutual aid. Philadelphia has a robust and active network of mutual-aid organizations.

Philly We Rise created a directory of mutual-aid efforts that includes links to over

The motto of the community fridge is ‘take what you need and give what you can.’”

— jane ellis, Germantown Fridge founder 58 GR ID P H I L LY.CO M NOVEM BE R 20 20

100 different mutual-aid projects, some national, some local. Groups are offering cash, food, technology, housing assistance—even emotional support and advice.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Community Fridges “If you won’t put it in your own mouth, do not put it in the fridge,” says Sonam.

Each community fridge has their own guidelines specific to their operation. None of the community fridges allow for raw meat, alcohol or expired items. The fridges are typically stocked with healthy items meant to benefit the community. Donating food that is particularly pungent or has the potential to leak should also be avoided.

Fridges are consistently cleaned. With COVID-19 as the motivation for establishing the fridges, hygiene is top of mind.

“The motto of the community fridge is ‘take what you need and give what you can,’” explains Jane Ellis, creator of the

and encouraged. Some refrigerators allow pastries, breads and home-cooked meals, others do not.

Most importantly, everyone is welcome to use the community fridges.

Where are Philly’s Community Fridges?

Germantown Fridge. “We ask people not to take more than they need.”

Restrictions are in place to avoid cross-contamination and to keep the fridges accessible to as many members of the community as possible. “Our biggest thing is no

meat, just to respect dietary restrictions and avoid contamination. Meat is the most likely to go bad,” explains Arora.

Fruits, vegetables and non-perishables like condiments, rice, pasta, peanut butter and pre-packaged goods are welcomed

The People’s Fridge is outside of Sonam’s coffee shop and bakery, Mina’s World, on 52nd Street. It’s a floral refrigerator, provided by Snapdragon Flowers, that was converted by a technician to hold food.

The Germantown Fridge is located outside of the Greene Street Friends School, established by Ellis, a fourth-grade teacher at the school.

It’s housed by a shed that was painted

by Germantown residents. Inside the colorful shed there is also a pantry filled with non-perishables, personal protective equipment and a myriad of snacks.

Mama-Tee, which operates the lion’s share of Philly’s community fridges, are located outside of Ambassador and Spot Gourmet Burgers, on opposite sides of Girard Avenue; by Triple Bottom Brewing, on Spring Garden Street; outside Franny Lou’s Porch, in Kensington; Castellino’s Italian Market, in Fishtown; Philly’s Fairhill section; and 39th Street in West Philly.

There are two fridges in South Philly run

by Arora, under the moniker Philly Community Fridges. One can be found outside of the Bok Building, and the other at Sixth and Titan streets.

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Soy Cafe sets the standard for healthy, from-scratch vegan cooking story by francesca furey

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hen covid-19 hit, Soy Cafe owner Alice Leung was forced to close. It was a stressful time for everyone, especially for small-business owners. However, Leung kept her cool and brainstormed how to support her staff.

“We’re still going through it, and it’s such a sad and hard thing to cope with,” says Leung, “But somehow, [the pandemic] 60 GRIDPH IL LY.CO M NOVEM BE R 2020

gave me a surge of energy to become creative again. It was a mental escape.”

After the initial shock of the pandemic, Soy Cafe donated meals to frontline healthcare workers at local hospitals. This allowed several staff members to return to work, which Leung thought was essential, she affirms. Leung also partnered with Project HOME to provide the homeless with nourishing food during the initial outbreak.

And the community outreach during the pandemic didn’t stop there.

Leung teamed up with staff member and yoga instructor Haley Kowal to offer sunrise and sunset yoga to a handful of patrons every Sunday. Kowal promotes a “happy belly, happy mind” sentiment to those who participate, she says.

“I learned a lot from [Leung] in how she handles situations. She wanted everyone to work and have a paycheck, and she did the best she [could],” says Kowal.

Deanna Meyler, a certified vegan lifestyle coach and a friend of Leung, loves sunrise yoga at Soy Cafe because of its “safe and comfortable environment.” For her, it’s a getaway in the city.

In addition to its yoga events, Soy Cafe also holds Taco Tuesdays, Tie Dye Thursdays and a written notes campaign of inspirational messages on its to-go boxes. This playful and colorful approach to darker times is refreshing, Meyler says, and allows for loyal customers to explore again.

These little touches of joy are one reason Leung loves owning a restaurant—she thrives on making others happy. For an outgoing person like her, it was a no-brainer to make Soy Cafe an open-kitchen restaurant when she opened it in Northern Liberties 16 years ago.

“The concept of open-kitchen wasn’t really a thing when I first started. I want to see people while I’m cooking and see their reactions when they have their first bite,” says Leung.

But Leung didn’t open another run-ofthe-mill smoothie joint. With fine-dining

P HOTO G RAP HY BY D RE W DENNI S

Left: Soy Cafe owner Alice Leung (left) with staff member and yoga instructor Haley Kowal.

Right: Leung prepares a menu item to order.

and kitchen-staffing experience and a background in nutritional wellness, she possessed the chops to build a menu around vegan cuisine long before it came into style.

Now Soy Cafe, at Second and Fairmount, brings an extensive plant-based menu to vegans and veg-curious folks alike. In its early years, animal byproducts lingered on the menu, but they were removed by 2008.

Soy Cafe has a sizable menu of house-made items, but Leung doesn’t just stick to what she knows. She adds new dishes, smoothies and baked goods based on what culinary experiments appeal to her and her staff.

When Leung “gets bored of eating the same thing,” she’ll try out new recipes, which can be ordered on the special menu. Most special-menu items acquire main-menu status after rising in popularity with customers.

On the menu, one can find American staples—macaroni and cheese, cheesesteaks and burgers, an all-day breakfast—but there are also hints of international cuisine, with items that celebrate Indian and Thai cooking.

Some Soy Cafe favorites are its wraps and toast-ons; miso soup; taco salad; and the “Dumpling Party,” an assortment of veggie dumplings either steamed, fried or shumai style. There are also seasonal menu items that change depending on what local produce is available.

The restaurant’s 40-plus smoothies and creative coffee drinks are icing on top of the (vegan) cake. Leung creates all of her smoothies with house-made soy milk and wildflower honey. Customers can choose between fruity delights like mango and kiwi, or eclectic picks like carrot and tofu,

or ginger, vanilla and cinnamon.

Patrons looking for a coffee kick can dive into espresso classics or specialty items, from espresso with rich cocoa to a wintry peppermint-flavored coffee.

Earl Weinstein, a 66-year-old vegan and Center City resident, is one of Soy Cafe’s most loyal customers. After going vegan five years ago for health reasons, Weinstein found that many vegan esta blishments and grocery items were “overprocessed and overrated.”

“Unfortunately, I won’t eat at [some popular vegan chains] because they’re frying everything. It’s just not healthy. There’s plenty of vegans out there that have medical problems or they’re overweight—being vegan doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being healthy,” Weinstein says.

As someone with a whole-food, plantbased diet, Weinstein avoids processed and fried foods. When he came across Soy Cafe several years ago, the menu catered to his needs. “[Leung] has met all my expectations. She cooks without too much salt, sugars, processed ingredients or added oils … It’s so hard to find places with made-from-scratch and healthy food like Soy Cafe,” says Weinstein.

Before the pandemic, Weinstein estimated he frequented the cafe about twice a week, bringing business associates and friends along for the cuisine. He particularly enjoys the vegan cheesesteak, artichoke and tomato sandwiches and the newly added oat milk soft-serve ice cream.

What’s especially important to Weinstein is Soy Cafe’s inexpensive take at vegan cuisine. For someone on a budget and with

specific dietary needs, the cafe hits the mark, adds Weinstein.

Leung, who has nutrition and wellness certification under her belt, prides herself on serving nourishing food. “ ‘Healthy food equals happy people’ has been my whole concept from the get-go,” Leung explains.

For Fran Costigan, Leung’s “energy, compassion and high-quality ingredients” make Soy Cafe a one-of-a-kind restaurant.

And Costigan knows what it takes: she’s the director of vegan baking and pastry at Rouxbe Online Culinary School. At Rouxbe, students from across the globe learn the ins and outs of vegan baking.

Costigan first met Leung about 10 years ago, at a vegan baking course she taught in New York City. Leung commuted from Philadelphia for the 5 a.m. course, and Costigan saw she was “clearly talented and committed to her work,” she says.

Costigan reunited with Leung years later after moving to Philly. Now, the pastry chef finds herself exchanging tips and tricks with Leung.

While Soy Cafe’s menu is delicious, Costigan believes the restaurant’s prosperity “comes from the top.” That Leung’s “terrific curiosity” and approach to her business is the root of its success.

“It is rare to meet someone who is passionate, hardworking and as honest as honest can be. She knows food and has an amazing palate … the food is delicious, but you can really feel the love and the vibe of the shop,” adds Costigan, “I’ve never seen a chef so uniformly beloved.”

Consistent with Leung’s attitude and mission, there isn’t a “type of customer” at Soy Cafe. Costigan believes the pandemic allowed the “vegan train to leave the station.” More people have experimented with plant-based recipes at home and branched out to businesses they’ve never visited, like Soy Cafe.

“Anybody can come in. They hang out and get coffee, or a full meal, or come in for an after-workout smoothie. Moms can come in after school for a cookie or cupcake … We’re a one-stop shop,” Leung says.

N OV E M B E R 20 20 G R I DP HI LLY.COM 6 1

ZOOM UNIVERSITY

Most area colleges are operating online during the pandemic.

How are students and professors adapting? story by jason n. peters

T

he Class of 2020 didn’t attend prom, senior week, graduation parties or various other rites of passage associated with graduating high school. Those graduates, now college freshmen, sit perched at their laptops from wherever they feel safest during a global pandemic.

“Missing out on the rest of my senior year, I just kept having the thought ‘It’s going to be okay. I’m going to move into college and see my friends then,’” says Kerri Peters, a 2020 Archbishop Ryan High School graduate slated to dorm at West Chester 62 GR ID P H I L LY.CO M NOVEM BE R 20 20

University this fall semester.

Peters remained at her parent’s house as the semester kicked off, jealous of her friends that got to move away.

“What sucks the most is watching other schools get to go on campus … It was something I was really excited to do,” she says.

West Chester University is a popular landing spot for Philadelphia students.

“The only people taking in-person classes are students taking labs and courses that need specific in-person instruction” says a representative from the University.

In July, West Chester opted to switch to an

all-online course load. However, many of its campus facilities are open and allow for 50% capacity.

One of the schools that allowed students to move on campus was Temple University. Initially, Temple was offering “hybrid scheduling,” allowing for 25% in-person classes and 75% online classes. “The immediate intention at the time was to make sure that our students’ education could continue with as little interruption as possible,” says Raymond Betzner, assistant vice president of communications at Temple.

“I’m choosing to stay home because of COVID,” explains Temple sophomore Brian Kinkade. Kinkade is paying rent for off-campus housing, while living in Bucks County with his parents.

“There was a rapid rise over the two weeks we were there, seeing people walk around not caring. It was safer to just come home,” he says.

During the first two weeks of classes Temple tested 3,814 students, 8.3% of which tested positive for COVID-19. Betzner cites P HOTO G RAP HY BY WO L FGAN G SC HWA N

Temple University students cross the street. The university suspended in-person classes in September.

I prefer online classes. When we switched last semester, I found it to be easier for me.”

—brian kinkade , Temple University sophomore

that Temple’s plan to reopen had been cleared by “Dr. Farley, the Department of Education and Department of Health in the state, and a team of over 150 people including faculty researchers, medical professionals and epidemiologists.”

“We had a staff member, one of our docs, individually work with each of the universities in the city. They would submit their plans to us, we’d review it,” explains James Garrow, the communications director for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. After reviewing each college’s reopening plans, providing feedback and approving those plans, the city left implementation of those plans in the hands of the universities.

Garrow cited the city’s “Guidelines for Reopening Colleges and Universities” which highlights crowd size limitation, ventilation and communication strategies.

The guidelines failed to mention issues like off-campus housing and social gatherings, which would prove to be more dynamic obstacles for universities. The city’s guidelines proved to be too little too late, as the

Department of Public Health published them on August 31, one week after Temple’s classes started and its outbreak was at its worst.

When asked how big of a priority college reopening was for the Department of Public Health, Garrow responded, “definitely not that big.”

On September 3, Temple suspended in-person classes.

“The data was pretty clear. That’s what drove the decision to go to a blend that has 95% online and about 5% still in the classroom,” he continues. The 5% of students still attending in-person classes are in fields that require an in-person element, “nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and studio arts students,” Betzner lists.

“I prefer online classes. When we switched last semester, I found it to be easier for me,” proclaims Temple sophomore Brian Kinkade.

Out of the college students interviewed for this article, he was the lone interviewee that expressed that sentiment. Kinkade

followed up: “At the same time, paying the same tuition for online classes is a bit ridiculous, but I get it.” Kinkade is not alone in feeling shortchanged by his university.

“We were on a hybrid schedule. There were some classes being held on campus, some online,” Olivia Bellito, a senior at Chestnut Hill College, explains. “They collected tuition, then two weeks before the semester started, they went fully online.

They did refund housing, but there was no change in tuition.”

Chestnut Hill College declined to comment.

Rhea Katzman, a senior at Drexel University has a more specific qualm with her tuition, citing a specific $790 “university fee” meant to fund facilities on campus that were closed due to COVID-19.

“We pay this fee every term on top of tuition to maintain facilities like the gym, the arts college, the studios, the film equipment room … They charged us for that, but we have no access to it,” Katzman explained.

Students at Drexel University are still paying full tuition despite the fact that Drexel’s online courses are advertised to be 40% cheaper per credit.

Temple, like Drexel, continues to charge full tuition despite classes being moved online for the majority of its 30,000 undergraduate students. Lynn Darby, a Temple University student and the organizer of “Refund Us TU” is taking action.

“We’re trying to organize the student body to stand against Temple still charging us full tuition despite playing us and telling us we’re coming back in person, then moving us online a week later.” Darby was raising awareness for Refund Us TU in front of the Constitution Center during President Trump’s visit to Philadelphia and his flyers can be spotted on campus.

When asked if this switch is fair to students, Betzner pushed back.

“One of the chief benefits is the faculty member whose teaching you, right? I mean, you’re still being taught by the exact same faculty, whether they’re standing in front of you in a classroom or whether it’s being taught online,” Betzner says, going on to express N OV E M B E R 20 20 G R I DP HI LLY.COM 63

Temple University students have had to reevaluate the cost of a degree with classes moving online.

that there are online alternatives for clubs, counseling services and library resources.

Professors cite that students have difficulty paying attention in online classes and students cite that professors are not adapting to online class well either.

“When I say that I love Temple, I typically mean that I love the professors and the people, but some professors don’t know how to use Zoom,” says Temple senior Daisy Confoy.

Sherri Hope Culver, an associate professor at Temple University, explained instructors were mandated to take online courses offered through Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching to better equip them for online teaching. Required assignments aside, Culver expressed that professors come with a varying level of proficiency with technology.

“There’s no question that at a university with so many professors, you’re going to have a wide array of competencies,” she says.

Confoy went on to explain that she interacts far less with her teachers and other students now. “The amount of class sections where we meet at the same time every

week has decreased. Normally on a Tuesday, Thursday class we meet twice a week, now it’s just once a week. I have a class that doesn’t meet synchronously at all, so it’s on us to watch lectures and do the assignments, there’s essentially no direct communication with the professors,” she explains.

College students across the country have had to familiarize themselves with the asynchronous classes as well as synchronous classes. Synchronous courses are the preCOVID-19 standard—classes with a set meeting time with an instructor. Asynchronous courses, on the other hand, are self-guided courses with no set meeting time.

Professor Culver currently teaches two synchronous and one asynchronous. “My preference would be for everything to be synchronous just because it feels a little more like you’re in class,” says Culver. “You can have conversations with students in real time, it feels more like a face-to- face environment.”

The issues that COVID-19 have caused for colleges and their students are vast and complex. Kinkade (Temple) is paying rent

It’s a sucky situation and it will get better.

It won’t be like this forever, but it is this way right now.”

—Sherri Hope C ulver, Temple University professor 64 GR IDPH IL LY.CO M NOVEM BE R 20 20

for an apartment he’s not living in, Peters (West Chester) is considering a switch to community college, and Katzman (Drexel) doesn’t have access to campus mental health services.

On top of those dilemmas, students are forced to face the exorbitant cost of a college education while living through the second major economic recession of their lifetimes.

While classes go fully online, students are forced to reevaluate the value of a college degree.

The students interviewed for this piece continually brought up that they were “missing out on the college experience,” while professors and administrators emphasized the importance of “getting students to graduation.”

Students feel that they are paying for more than an education; to them, college is meant to be an experience. Little did the freshman class in 2020 know that their college experience would have more in common with the class of 1918 than the class of 2018.

According to Harvard Magazine, during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, “School officials regulated dining halls to avoid crowding, and … prohibited students from entering public spaces, shops or streetcars, requiring them to stay inside a bounded area within Cambridge.”

Walking through Temple’s main campus, the chatter of students was muffled by masks. Campus was active but depleted.

Most food trucks were closed, seats in the brand new Charles Library were distanced, and students sat in groups of one or two on benches across campus. No campus preachers, no Red Bull brand ambassadors, and no political activists. There was still vibrancy and bustle, but with far fewer students and far more masks.

With no vaccine in sight, the near future of education appears to be online. Students will continue to learn and professors will continue to teach despite the many hurdles in the way.

“We’re all doing the best we can,” says Professor Culver. “It’s a sucky situation and it will get better. It won’t be like this forever, but it is this way it is right now.”

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Going with the flow in a time of rapid change Practicing environmental resilience and adaptation with a Penn alumnus-turned-instructor “Adaptation requires you to look at what you’ve done and decide on a better path ahead—whether you’re dealing with a public health crisis or a very large environmental crisis that’s coming and will not go away,” explains John A. Miller (Master of Environmental Studies ‘18), who serves as Mitigation Liaison to the State of New Jersey for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Miller has learned that it is best to work with water rather than to fight it—and to find ways to address the complex issues of health, housing, policy, and property that accompany areas of high flood risk.

John A. Miller Mitigation Liaison to the State of New Jersey for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Master of Environmental Studies instructor

Virtual Café

A Master of Environmental Studies (MES) alumnus, Miller returned to the program this fall to share his professional expertise in a course titled Floodplain Management in a Changing Climate. “We’re all going to learn together,” says Miller. “One thing you can say about Penn students is that they don’t sit on their hands. I see the students as part of the teaching, because they are going out and looking and analyzing and bringing that back to the classroom. I’m excited about really hashing things out and having good debates, because there aren’t any easy solutions.”

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