Resolve Philly

Members of the 2024-2025 cohort of the School for Grassroots Leadership in discussion. (Photo courtesy PhillyBOLT) For Jalil Meekins, a resident of the Germantown neighborhood, the city’s “best-kept secret” isn’t a speakeasy or hole-in-the-wall eatery — it’s PhillyBOLT.

Stay up to date with the latest news and info for Philadelphia! Make your selections below: Resolve Philly Announcements(Stay in the loop of all things Resolve Philly - new programs, partnerships, awards & events) Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative Newsletter(The latest solutions journalism reporting from our 30 partner newsrooms.) Germantown Info Hub Newsletter(A compilation of resources, events, and news for Germantown residents.) Philly Documenters Newsletter(A compilation of public...

Germantown neighbors (from left to right) Lorraine Givnish, Julie Carroll Stapleton, Ann Doley, Barbara Dowdall, Renee Cunningham, and Patricia Burk, at the PHDC headquarters at 1234 Market Street, 16th floor. (GIH | Rasheed Ajamu) Germantowners greeted the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) during the second public portion of their board of directors meeting, which took place at 4 p.m. Wednesday on the dot.

As 2024 comes to a close, we are  reflecting on a year that challenged us deeply, and also revealed the resilience and heart of the Resolve Philly team. Our moments of uncertainty and sadness went alongside those of gratitude, hope, and pride in what we’ve accomplished together. Our staff has chosen to share moments that stood out to them personally—moments that brought joy, fulfillment, and a sense of purpose.

Stay up to date with the latest news and info for Philadelphia! Make your selections below: Resolve Philly Announcements(Stay in the loop of all things Resolve Philly — new programs, partnerships, awards & events) Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative Newsletter(The latest solutions journalism reporting from our 30 partner newsrooms.) Germantown Info Hub Newsletter(A compilation of resources, events, and news for Germantown residents.) Philly Documenters Newsletter(A compilation of public...

Stay up to date with the latest news and info for Philadelphia! Make your selections below: Resolve Philly Announcements(Stay in the loop of all things Resolve Philly — new programs, partnerships, awards & events) Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative Newsletter(The latest solutions journalism reporting from our 30 partner newsrooms.) Germantown Info Hub Newsletter(A compilation of resources, events, and news for Germantown residents.) Philly Documenters Newsletter(A compilation of public...

Headshot of Shameka Sawyer. (Provided by Shameka Sawyer) Shameka Sawyer is a proud Germantown native, community advocate, and storyteller who harnesses the superpower of filmmaking, which is how she supports and strengthens the community around her. She believes storytelling is a transformative practice. Embracing this belief, she has mastered the art of filmmaking via her production company, 5Shorts Project, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.

St. Luke’s campus on Germantown Avenue. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu) Imagine the neighborhood of Germantown in 1811. It was still a separate borough from Philadelphia. It was over a century before the multiple waves of the Great Migration brought many African-American families to the neighborhood. So many physical and cultural changes have happened in those 200-plus years, but in that time, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has been in the neighborhood, with a history of neighborly love that still exists.

For several years before the 2020 election, the elderly residents of Germantown Home needed only to take the elevator downstairs to cast a ballot in the polling center set up in their lobby. It was convenient, and it was busy: Older voters are the most consistent voters, even among the high voter turnout neighborhoods of Northwest Philadelphia.

Being a formerly incarcerated person in this country means that in many ways you become, as civil rights activist Michelle Alexander put it, a “second-class citizen,” punished ad infinitum for mistakes you made in the past but have already paid the price for. Born and raised outside of Philadelphia, I moved to Florida when I was 30 to surf and bartend on the beach, but quickly fell into a lifestyle of hard partying and poor choices.