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An archaeological dig helps re-envision West Philadelphia’s demolished Black neighborhood

The small light-brown button excavated in broiling August heat rests in the palm of Megan C. Kassabaum, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Weingarten Associate Curator for North America at the Penn Museum. Dug up from one of three small sites in the parking lot behind the Community Education Center

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8 mins read
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Docents give energizing presentations on local Black history

The late autumn wind began to bite during the 1838 Black Metropolis walking tour last year, but historian Michiko Quinones warmed the 10 participants with stories of riches, a riot and secret dealings in Philly’s antebellum Black community. “Some 20,000 Black people lived in Philadelphia in the late 1830s,” Quinones said. “The 1838 census showed

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5 mins read
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Camden kids build a pathway to environmental careers through fellowships

It was a muggy morning, on a midsummer Wednesday, and the fish weren’t biting. A dozen or so preteens kept dropping their baited lines into the water from a dock and pulling them out empty. Or often, tangled, requiring repeated assistance of nearby camp counselors. A tedious exercise? Perhaps. But just beneath the surface were

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5 mins read
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John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge teaches the next generation of archery — and nature — enthusiasts

Archers celebrated summer solstice with bows and arrows on the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum archery range this year. Instructors like Kelly Kemmerle, who leads the youth archery program, welcomed Philly residents onto the archery range for safety lessons and target practice. Many attendees were new to the sport, holding a bow and

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2 mins read
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Weavers Way Co-op’s vendor diversity initiative is building business and community, one BIPOC entrepreneur at a time

After the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the racial reckoning that followed, enterprises from major corporations to independent businesses around the globe released statements of support for the protests and commitments to do better. But Weavers Way, a cooperative grocery store founded in the historically diverse neighborhood of Mount

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2 mins read
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Nonprofit Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden provides compassion and support for immigrants

One morning in the dead of winter, Robert, 83, and his wife, Donna, 71, (their last name is withheld at the couple’s request) members of Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden, a nonprofit that aids immigrants and asylum seekers, drove from their East Falls home to Center City’s Greyhound bus station to meet a Central American family just

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5 mins read
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