Articles by Teresa Emerson

If 2024 feels a bit familiar to you, and not in a good way, it should. It was basically 2016 on steroids. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle ParkerAP photo By Denise Clay-Murray Stop me if you’ve heard this before. In 2024, American voters decided that when given the choice between an accomplished woman and a man who…

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The African drummers play music after the lighting of boathouse row in honor of the Kwanzaa holiday, Dec. 26, 2018, in Philadelphia. (Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File) By George Burrell Some thoughts as 2024 draws to a close: Holiday aspiration My prayer for Christmas and Kwanzaa: Black power unapologetically focused on Black…

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Willie Crayton’s hat hangs on a cross bearing the Lord’s Prayer and marking the location along Elder Road, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Dadeville, Ala, where the Alexander City Community Work Center transport van he was riding in crashed in April 2024, killing Crayton and Bruce Clements. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) By Robin McDowell and Margie…

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Renee O’Connor stands in one of the classrooms where she teaches Black history at Miami Norland Senior High School, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) By Kate Payne Associated Press/Report for America TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Buried among Florida’s manicured golf courses and sprawling suburbs are the artifacts of its slave-holding…

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Tyrone Sanders and Felicia Sanders comfort each other at the graveside of their son, Tywanza Sanders, on June 27, 2015, at Emanuel AME Cemetery in Charleston, S.C. (Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP, File) By Jeffrey Collins and Ali Swenson ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Victims’ families and others affected by crimes that…

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NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners has voted to approve the 2025 Budget and 2025-2029 Capital Improvement Plan. The 2025 Budget prioritizes investments in housing, mental health and recovery efforts, major infrastructure projects, plus County staff, programs, and services. The budget also accounts for rising costs due to inflation, allowing the County…

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UPPER DARBY, Pa. — UDAEF recently shared a statement from Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown regarding the proposed UDAEF Cultural Arts & Education Center at Barclay Square. With unanimous approval at the December 18 Township Council meeting, Upper Darby Township will honor the original federal ARPA grant of $800,000 in support of this significant community…

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The School District of Philadelphia headquarters are shown in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) By Michael Rubkinam ASSOCIATED PRESS The Philadelphia school district failed to show it protected Jewish students from harassment despite “repeated, extensive notice” that students, teachers and administrators were engaging in antisemitic behavior, the U.S. Department of Education…

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Members of the Mayor’s Commission on African & Caribbean Immigrant Affairs met recently at Kilimanjaro Restaurant to discuss the immigration policies of the incoming Trump administration. (Photo/Progressive Images)By Marilyn Kai Jewett The threat Immigrants throughout the Philadelphia region are worried about President-elect Trump’s plans for mass deportation of immigrants identified as criminal and those who…

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FAMILY FEATURES Respiratory viruses are common in the fall and winter months. Flu, COVID-19 and RSV can surge during the cooler weather and keep people from gathering with family and friends. They cause many people to get very sick or even to be hospitalized. “We know that getting vaccinated is the best defense against severe…

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