Germantown Voices: Recent Episodes
Germantown Voices
The Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia is full of stories—and we wanted to help neighbors share them. The Germantown Info Hub and G'town Radio teamed up during the unexpected time of the pandemic to produce more than 40 first-person audio narratives of and by the community. Listen in as neighbors shared stories about the neighborhood or how the pandemic affected them in various ways.
Lead Producer: Jeanette Woods Editor Producer: Katie Davis Producer: Nichole Currie
Michael Cogbill noticed something strange on Juneteenth. He walked through Center City and saw many enjoying the new national holiday, but others were working. Most who were working were Black people. Michael speaks about his observations and hopes for the city of Philadelphia.
The move-in day for Dionne Chambers and her husband was unreal. It was a day to remember ad Dionne and her husband learned what it means to be a true Germantown resident.
While some of us were forced to stay home during the pandemic, others were forced to jump from shelter to shelter during a global pandemic.
Philadelphia and other cities scrambled to find a solution for people experiencing homelessness. Our city promised no one would be left out on the streets, but Morris Rainey says solving homelessness is not that simple.
It was three years ago when Chantel Carden & Hannah Yoon met. In a Temple University classroom, they both sat down eager to learn about their neighborhood, Germantown.
But while there is a lot to love about Germantown, there are things we can't ignore: Gentrification.So for Hannah and Chantel, having an honest conversation about gentrification eventually happened. Here is Chantel interviewing Hannah about their upcoming project; finding a way to ease the unsettling topic of gentrification.
When the pandemic began, work stopped for graffiti artist NOMAD. Due to social distancing and studio closures, he found himself practicing his craft at home— but then something magical happened.
The Germantown artist began gaining traction online for his work in and outside of Philadelphia, and for someone who tags “Black is Beautiful” throughout the city, the only thing he could think of doing was paying that magic forward.
Photography helps people see. What Germantown Photographer Steven A. Taylor wants people to see is, themselves.
Because “we are one,” according to him. Steven spent most of his pandemic days working on a space to show this. Ubuntu, the first fine art photography gallery in the neighborhood. Ubuntu is South African for a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity.
A deep transition began for Ja-vac Ag-ni six months before the pandemic. He lost his mother, a huge influence in his life.
So he began reflecting long before most of us were forced too. In his reflection he took lessons from his mother and combined them with the idea of “shining the light on the fruit in the community.”
Last year taught us that seeing family and friends, going to a grocery store, or a job, are not something we can control. Millions lost their routines as the coronavirus outbreak, and Tomarra Sankara-Kilombo was one of them.
The Germantown resident says she lost the “absolute best job”—but instead of cursing 2020 as the worst year ever, she looked for the good.
Living in Germantown is one thing, having generational wealth in Germantown is another. Our next story isabout that; being part of ancestral lineage that began in Germantown. Listen as Joyce Kearney talks about the importance of keeping her family in Germantown.
Moving to a new neighborhood is exciting, especially when you make a new friend right away. When Janice Totso moved to Germantown, she met Miss Waddiyah, the best neighbor anyone could ask for.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Moments of growth spur from humility, vulnerability and accountability. And it’s true that the most uncomfortable conversations produce change. What’s more uncomfortable than sitting down with a therapist?
That’s what Christian Watts did. Christian is a woman who says a spiritual and emotional pandemic began for her in 2018. The past covid-19 pandemic was the gold at the end of her rainbow.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Alexia Doumbouya’s first pregnancy wasn’t great. She experienced anxiety, trauma and postpartum depression.
So when the mother decided to try pregnancy again, she vowed to find support..unfortunately there was little.
Produced by Nichole Currie
A good home is made, not bought.
Vashti DuBois made a great home on Newhall Street in Germantown. While today she is known for using her house as the curator for The Colored Girls Museum, her house encases so much more. Stories, revelations and healing.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Do you remember the first time you fell in love with your craft?
Maybe it was a sure fit or maybe it was something you had to eventually love?Karen Smith fell in love with an instrument that is the backbone of most bands.
The drums.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Our neighbor Supreme Dow grew up with activists, revolutionaries, and literature about fighting oppression and racism.
It’s no surprise he founded the Black Writers Museum in 2010. Before Supreme was known for the museum, he was known as Dody Dow’s son.
In this Germantown Voices story, he shares how his mother made him who he is today.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Doriana Diaz was among thousands of college students who didn’t have a graduation last year. In addition to losing a traditional celebration, the job market wasn’t exactly open for new students. But one silver lining was Doriana’s first apartment.
Germantown poet Doriana shares what life was like as a new graduate and how an empty apartment forced a spiritual evolution within her.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Black pride, history and liberation.
These were the values of Harriette and the late Ed Robinson. A couple who had two loves; each other and the history of their people.
The Robinsons spent years fighting to mandate Black History in the Philadelphia School District and authored a Black History text named “The Journey of the Songhai People.”
Here is their story shared by Harriette Robinson.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Millions died from the Coronavirus, and the death count is still rising. But while the world centered their focus on a pandemic, gun-violence was also taking lives in cities like Philadelphia.
Shameka Sawyer lost her brother last year to gun violence—she shares how her film-making skills and brother’s rap career as TANCH led her to create a documentary.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Dance is storytelling, it’s communication, expression and referred to as a form of kinesics by Germantown resident Kristen Clark.
Clark has been dancing or moving her entire life, whether in a studio, at home, or in public. Dance is almost everything to her, but she was faced with a difficult question last year: What happens when the activity that is part of your soul is unexpectedly taken away.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Artist across all mediums felt the effects of the pandemic. On the surface, they had nowhere to perform or showcase their art. Below the surface, creating became challenging in unexpected times. Musician Miles Butler interviewed his dear friend and poet Ursula Rucker on this experience.
The two confided and shared how artists dealt with the uncertainty of the pandemic.
Produced and composed by Miles Butler
Nearly 500 people died from guns last year—Four times that have been shot.
One Germantown resident, Jamal Johnson, known for his anti-gun violence and police brutality activism, came up with a personal idea to push change in the city.
A hunger strike.
Produced by Nichole Currie
Douglas Rucker lives in his family home in the quaint Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, and he has no plans of leaving. He loves the neighborhood, but cannot ignore the signs of gentrification; the infiltration of developers and long-time neighbors being forced out of the community.
Rucker says enough is enough, and he has a solution. It involves a stage.
Produced by Jeanette Woods
In early March, the pandemic had just begun to trickle to America. Businesses were open, and masks were not yet recommended. It was early and unclear how the coronavirus would affect our nation, but Germantown Resident Barbara Kigozi felt the effects of the virus before it hit America.
Kigozi lost her 81-year-old mother to the virus in England, long before we knew this was a pandemic.
Produced by Nichole Currie