Rallying for Black Lives in Swarthmore

Neighbors gathered in Umoja Park for the Black Lives Matter Rally and March on July 18. Photo: Andy Shelter

On Saturday, July 19, neighbors from Swarthmore and surrounding areas made their way to Umoja Park for a rally and march in support of Black lives. The sun was shining, and, despite the excessive heat advisory, there was the gift of an occasional breeze. The organizers set up a folding table with a small sound system, hand sanitizer, and Clorox wipes. A “Black Lives Matter” banner hung in the trees behind it. 

Looking Back Before We Can Move Forward

The rally was held on July 19 in part to commemorate the July 16 birthday of Ida B. Wells and her life-long commitment to activism, abolition, and education. The event opened with Katherine Sibley, Professor of History and director of the American Studies Program at St. Joseph’s University, giving a brief background on Wells. 

Amy Beth Sisson, writer and former attorney, spoke about Swarthmore’s intimate history with racism, from segregated schools to discriminatory policies at the swim club. She left the crowd with these words: “We need to own our considerable history of racism, so that we can do better.”

Protestors marching through Swarthmore’s town center on July 19. Photo: Andy Shelter

Good Trouble and Hope for the Future

The next speaker, Pendo Kamau (SHHS ’20), along with some peers, has created the Racial Literacy Initiative (RLI). RLI is working to bring an African American studies course to Strath Haven High School as a graduation requirement. “The school district needs to equip students with the knowledge of what equity and justice look like,” Kamau said. She informed the crowd that RLI has put together a petition to garner community support for this course. 

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5) abandoned her original speech in light of the passing of congressman John Lewis, a civil rights leader who encouraged all Americans to “get in good trouble.” Scanlon instead shared an anecdote of her first meeting Lewis when she was lost in the tunnels under the House floor and he helped her find her way. She described him as humble, kind, and spiritual. 

State Senator Tim Kearney encouraged the white people present to take action. “It’s our job to get at the roots” of white supremacy, he said. “It is incumbent on us to not let this moment pass for real and lasting change.”

Poetry and a Pause

Toni Love, a poet and activist from Upper Providence, was the last speaker. She shared two poems, one written in 2016 for the Mothers of Black Sons Rally in Philadelphia, and a second written in the wake of the murder of Philando Castile. 

Rally co-organizer and Swarthmore-Rutledge School fifth grade teacher Liz Corson then introduced 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence. She played a recording of the Chester Children’s Chorus singing “I Still Can’t Breathe,” a song composed for the group by its founder, John Alston, after the 2014 killing of Eric Garner.

During those 8 minutes and 46 seconds, there was the occasional sniffle, the voice of a child, and the sound of birds oblivious to the weight of the moment, chirping above. 

Why Now?

Rally co-organizer Virginia Adams O’Connell talked about the impetus for the rally. “There is something about joining a movement, being feet on the streets, and standing there with people to say this is unacceptable.” O’Connell, a Swarthmore resident, is an associate professor of sociology at Moravian College, where her classes cover police brutality, discrimination, and inequality. “This is not America,” she said.

Wendy Voet, who attended the event with her rising sixth grader, asked, “Why do we keep needing facts to re-prove this truth?” She referred to the transparent gall of our “white supremacist president,” and said, “Perhaps this was the final straw, even though the final straw should have come long ago.”

Jeannine Osayande, a lifelong resident of the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore (HBNS) and an artist working in and with the community for over 25 years, offered a different perspective on why so many people, locally and nationally, are getting involved at this time. “If it wasn’t for COVID, and everyone being at home, the moment would have passed us.” 

Mistakes and Missteps

Despite the rally and march taking place in the seat of the HBNS, there was little representation from the neighborhood at the event. 

Osayande attributed this to the neighborhood not being informed of the event or invited to attend until the last minute. “A week before it happened, I found out through a neighbor, and then a couple days later I was asked to be a speaker.” Osayande said she was taken aback to find out in this manner, and affronted by the last-minute invitation. 

Osayande reported that when she shared her feelings with O’Connell, the co-organizer apologized. 

O’Connell said the event was thrown together quickly, with some of the organizers not meeting face to face until the day of the rally. “It was a hodgepodge of the game telephone.” 

At Osayande’s suggestion, O’Connell made flyers and delivered them to mailboxes throughout the HBNS the day before the event. But the oversight left many in the community feeling disrespected, Osayande said.

Moving Forward

Despite the misstep, Osayande said she “would rather have an event with stumbling and falling than no event at all. Folks aren’t always going to get things right. What is important is that they are humble when they get it wrong, and willing to expand their cultural competency.”

Osayande’s mother, Betty Ann Wilson, a community elder and the fourth generation of her family to live in Swarthmore, said, “All in all, it was well done. I don’t care if there’s one, or if there’s 10. If there’s a Black Lives Matter protest, I will be there.”

Where Do We Go From Here?

Community Members Reflect

The nation is alive with civil unrest and the demand for social justice. Dozens of protests and rallies are happening each day across the country, and Swarthmore is a part of that. The borough has had four Black Lives Matter demonstrations since May. It is clear that many people yearn for change, but where do we go from here?

Kimberly Durnell, member of Wesley AME Church in the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore:

“We need to have hard conversations. The conversations need to take place with the understanding of mutual respect. People are scared of what they don’t know and don’t understand. I would start with town hall meetings. Community training. We all have to work towards inclusion.” 

Wendy Voet, Swarthmore resident and former Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board member:

“We need policies. We need a greater effort by the government to support its people. We have to show up to council and board meetings. We need to make it uncomfortable not to do the right thing.” 

Jeannine Osayande, teaching artist and resident of the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore

“We have to dismantle and challenge the legitimacy of a white-centered education. We have to stop perpetuating lies like Thanksgiving. We need to take the textbooks we have in the schools and throw them away.”

Samina Iqbal, Swarthmore resident and architect:

“There has to be more awareness. We’re not very educated about the history and status of our laws and how they are being enforced. There needs to be more required education [on those subjects], at a much earlier age than high school, and way past February. We need more public dialogue. And I want to see more Black leaders locally.”

Isys Nelms, rising ninth grader at Strath Haven High School

“When opportunities arise to put Black people in positions of power, don’t default to white men because it’s the easier decision. I also think that white people in the community need to listen to what Black people and people of color are saying they need and want, instead of assuming they know what’s best for us.”