Thank you for your words in action
To the Swarthmore Community,
As we embark on this week of Juneteenth 2021, I cannot help but reflect on the progress we’ve made for my community in Chester City. Several friends from Swarthmore have stepped up during — and prior — to the pandemic and civil unrest due to the murder of George Floyd. Thanks to many of you, our nonprofit, Making A Change Group, was able to transition from our primarily school-based youth mentor programs to meeting the needs of youth and families while developing a robust community outreach program.
It’s with the help of our Swarthmore friends like Jim and Wendy Emrich, Heidi Carp, Grant Grissom, Coach Landry Kosmalski, Jason Kilpatrick, Scott Richardson, Pen Reed, Kim Schmucki, Barbara Macken, Habib Dorlery, Rev. Sarah Cooper Searight and the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, Stephen Lehmann and Carol Sabersky, and others who have served with us with both time and treasure. This has varied from food, clothing, and toy drives to administrative support and more. Thank you for standing with us!
As of this year, I began another advocacy journey in the quest for political reform in Chester. It began with Stefan Roots, a Chester native whom I’ve known for decades, and Todd Strine, who I’ve met within the last 12 months. The journey was/is called “Roots for Chester,” and it started with Stefan’s campaign for Chester City Council in the Democratic Primary.
This was a huge task that many people thought was impossible. On the campaign trail I often referred to it as Chester’s “Obama 2008 or County Council’s 2017” victory moment. This was an uphill battle to not only win and begin the process of restoring good government in Chester, but also to inspire citizens — who felt lost and forgotten — with hope, and for those that didn’t believe the election process and local government could work in their favor. So I was shocked when Todd wanted to visit those neighborhoods with the lowest engagement first on our weekly trail. He suggested we go to neighborhoods which we call “The Hood” and give those residents a voice by listening to their concerns and taking action, in our grassroots way.
As we began to caravan and canvas Chester with people from both Swarthmore, Chester, and parts of Delco, we all started to connect with our brothers and sisters in a new light. I have been advocating and organizing community programs and initiatives for 17 years and I even learned quite a few things throughout this process. We made new friends, recruited campaign team members, and formed a family together called Team RFC along the way. On any given weekend you’d find 20 to 30 of us, often with our spouses and children, either hanging out working at The Strine House or at campaign headquarters (Uno’s Pizzeria in Chester). There were occasional tears shed publicly and privately either due to the dilapidated housing conditions or the stories from the young men and women just wanting opportunity in and out of their neighborhoods.
On Election Day, May 18, 2021, we received our report card. Stefan Roots had not only won the primary election with more than 45% of the three way vote, we also nearly tripled voter turnout from 2017. The numbers in this decisive victory clearly said a few things to me — the residents want change and they believe Stefan Roots is an avenue for it. Team RFC had successfully begun to inspire hope in the Chester residents whom many didn’t believe had a voice in this process.
As we look back to one year ago, this is what progress looks like to me. An organization that has survived, grown and even thrived during these tumultuous times and reforming political systems in a nearly bankrupt city that desperately needs help. This is how sharing the issues of concern for social justice causes are implemented and put into practice here at home and in our backyard. It’s easy to get lost in the national issues on racism of various forms. Advocating for those causes is necessary. However, the advocacy needs to go beyond words and be put into plans of action. I am a deep believer of my Christian faith and one of my favorite scripture readings says: “You have faith, I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
So again, thank you to my friends and community partners of Swarthmore and on this Juneteenth week of celebration. The Chester community has several new inspired reasons to remain hopeful because of so many of you!
Cory Long
Cory Long is the founder and executive director of Making A Change Group, an organization devoted to improving the lives of youth and families in the City of Chester.
