Colleen Kennedy

A Story of Delaware County We Hope to Change By Colleen Kennedy (they/them) October 2022Our small group of advocates, activists, and researchers climbed the cramped stairway to conduct a walk-through of the facility. The first thing we noticed was the intense oversight from Yeadon Police Lieutenant Burns. We were all being watched. If someone sneezed, it was noticed. If someone looked at a poster on the wall, it was noticed.

Listen closely and you will hear snippets of hip-hop greats, jazzy horns, ballroom house beats, and more… in our galleries. The BMA flips (and spins and remixes) the antiquated notion of silent museums by creating a hip-hop soundscape for The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop, The Culture captures the extraordinary influence hip hop has had on contemporary society.

In the summer of 2018, I was hired by then candidate Mike Zabel to be his campaign manager. I was hired after several interviews and my final interview took place at the Zabel residence, where I also got to meet his wife, Lauren, for the first time. After my hiring, we quickly got to work. I worked many hours and I worked with a shoestring budget to create a winning campaign. There were a number of experiences on that campaign that made me clear on my desire not to work in his office should we win.