Bridging Philly

This week on Bridging Philly, host Racquel Williams examines the sources of and solutions to Philly’s youth violence with Youth Art and Empowerment Project ’s Gabriel Jackson and Lutheran Settlement House ’s Richie Schultz. Then Shara Dae Howard sits down with advocate Kendall Stephens to hear how her brutal 2020 attack has help strengthen some legal protections for the LGBTQIA+ communities and pe...

Spring has sprung early in Philadelphia, and the nation’s largest and longest running horticultural event has arrived. The annual Philadelphia Flower Show has moved back inside to the Pennsylvania Convention Center after two years, which runs from March 4-12. Host Racquel Williams walks through elaborate installations, and finds out how this year’s theme, “The Garden Electric” powers professionals...

This week, Bridging Philly marks a year since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, causing millions of Ukrainians to flee the Texas-sized country. In addition to Europe and other safe harbors, the United States has been a refuge to hundreds of thousands displaced Ukrainians. Host Racquel Williams talks to two people from the Philadelphia region who have been helping victims of the conflict. Immigration...

This week on Bridging Philly, we learn how the Philadelphia-based Gift of Life organ and tissue donation program connects donors and organ recipients – and continues to support families through their lives in crucial ways, including grief counseling. A lung recipient and donor mother share their stories with host Racquel Williams. Then, civil rights history meets vintage and thrift clothing in a W...

This week on Bridging Philly: child welfare agencies here and across the country were established to protect children. But after decades of research, our guest Dorothy E. Roberts tells the stories of Black children who are more likely to be torn from their families and placed in foster care than their white counterparts. The University of Pennsylvania professor of sociology and law believes the cu...

This week on Bridging Philly - building foundations and bridging gaps between the police and the community. Many of us have viewed or heard about the fatal beating in Memphis, Tennessee of Tyre Nichols, the Black victim of a traffic stop gone wrong at the hands of Black police officers. Host Racquel Williams checks in with book author, columnist and radio host, Solomon Jones to discuss the unsettl...

This week on Bridging Philly, we celebrate the pages of Philadelphia’s African American book authors and book sellers. Host and KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams discusses the legacy of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University with its curator, Dr. Diane Turner, who worked closely with the scholar. She and art director Eric Battle describe the historic con...

This week on Bridging Philly, host and KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams goes back to 2014, when a killing of a three-year-old girl shook the city. She discusses the solutions Unity in the Community’s Anton Moore is providing for neighborhood kids. Moore and his co-filmmakers say they hope their work will eliminate a “part three” to their newly released part two of “The Weight of Deat...

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams shines the spotlight on an initiative that involves grassroots organizations, clergy members and the city's District Attorney's Office, all collaborating to end gun violence. The newsmaker of the week is Senator Sharif Street. KYW's Shara Dae Howard checks in with the Democratic state representative of the 3rd Senatorial...

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact reporter Racquel Williams spotlights the Philadelphia Lullaby Project, which is now entering its 4th year. The project pairs new parents with local musicians to craft lullabies for their little ones. It’s presented by World Café Live in Partnership with Carnegie Hall.  The newsmaker of the week is Erica Hawkins, award winning documentary film make...

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams talks with members of The Elevation Project of Philadelphia. The Elevation Project offers a supportive space for the formerly incarcerated and those at risk of incarceration. This week's Newsmaker has been named one of Philadelphia's cultural treasures by the Ford Foundation. Vashti Dubois, founder of the Colored Girls Mu...

Today on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams talks with the authors of the book, "White Fragility: Why Understanding Racism Can Be So Hard For White People." It's written by Robin D'Angelo and adapted by Toni Graves Williamson, the director of equity and inclusion at Friends select School in Philadelphia, and Ali Michael. Today's News Maker is Haneef Hill, founder of Ur...

The School District of Philadelphia recently announced its commitment to invest an additional $1.7M to support District paraprofessionals to become teachers. In collaboration with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the Paraprofessional Grow Your Own program covers the full cost of tuition and provides additional support so participants graduate debt-free and earn a bachelor’s degree and a te...

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams speaks with Care Not Control, a Philly nonprofit working to end juvenile incarceration. They just released a new project that puts their message to music. For the Newsmaker of the Week, KYW's Shara Dae Howard introduces us to Imperfect Gallery, an artist run gallery opened in 2012 in Germantown. They welcome the community...

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams speaks with Mazzie Casher and Steven Pickens of Philly Truce, a violence prevention group working tirelessly to stave the gun violence in Philadelphia. The newsmaker this week is Beyond Literacy, a group in Philadelphia working to raise the literacy levels in the city. KYW's Shara Dae Howard learned how the organization a...

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams speaks with Rachel Honore and Anne Kennan of Literacy and More. Literacy and More is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide access to community resources for the empowerment of Philadelphia families living in resource-scarce areas. Our newsmaker this week is Christine Brunson, founder of P...

LUCY Camden (or Lifting Up Camden's Youth) is a comprehensive after-school and summer youth mentoring program. KYW Community Impact reporter Racquel Williams visited their state of the art, renovated space to find out more about the work they're doing and what's in store for the organization. The Newsmaker of the week is Joss Duncan Asé, the founder of a new multimedia platform that focuses on lif...

This week on Bridging Philly, Racquel Williams talks with Kathy Rafter, Cara Gimble and Cait Pringle from Abington Senior High School. The school has two programs for young adults, ages 18-21, with IEPs, or Individualized Education Programs. ACTIVE academy and STRIVE utilizes the classroom and community to teach students vocational, travel training, and independent living skills. Students are give...

Today on Bridging Philly, Racquel Williams talks with two Philadelphia women who decided to take a DNA test to trace their ancestry and they got way more than they bargained for. Lisa Swyer and Donna Garey learned their true identities and reached out to Right To Know, a national support group founded by Kara Rubinstein Deyerin and Alecia Weiss. The group helps individuals who learn their true ide...

Terrill Haigler might be better known in Philadelphia as Ya Fav Trashman. The former sanitation worker has built a reputation and an online as an advocate for sanitation workers and cleaner streets. He's written a children’s book that teaches kids about clean communities. And now he's running for Philadelphia City Council. Racquel Williams sits down with Haigler to talk about why he's running and...

The City of Philadelphia is working with the American Cancer Society to remind everyone to get screened for cancer. Today on Bridging Philly, we talk with some doctors from ACS about the importance of early detection.  Dr. Carmen Guerra is a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine. Dr. Guerra talks with Racquel Williams about cancer screenings, the disparities...

I'm Listening is a Bridging Philly special presentation about suicide prevention and the importance of talking about mental health.  In this special edition of the show, we talk about the importance of checking in on your mental health and how to get support when you need it, how kids are doing in these times of change and uncertainty, the unique struggles faced by people in marginalized communiti...

This week on Bridging Philly, Sistahs in Transformation speak on their upcoming Women's Empowerment Conference happening at the end of September. Sistahs in Transformation is a non-profit that was founded amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We hear how three local women came together to make a safe space for Black and Brown women to be empowered by taking control of their mental, physical, and financial h...

This week on Bridging Philly, we highlight Healthy Aging Month, which was designed to focus on the positive aspects of aging. We sit down with the President and CEO of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, Najja Orr. He shares the efforts the organization is doing to help the local elder community, such as health and nutrition job training and advocating for elders when it comes to financial abuse a...

Summer is officially over for many students and the Philadelphia School District is still trying to fill teacher vacancies. This episode, we sit down with the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, Jerry T. Jordan, to speak on the national teacher shortage and efforts in retaining school teachers in classrooms.  A shortage of teachers is not the only issue Pennsylvania is facing. Ac...