Phillies Fever Shows Just How Thirsty This City Was for Joy
I wasn’t even following baseball, but I love how happy the World Series run has made my fellow Philadelphians. How can we make the feeling last?
When Everything Shut Down, Philly’s Black Community Found New, Revolutionary Ways to Convene
When Odunde and the Roots Picnic were postponed, there came a wave of reimagination that, characteristic of our American experience, took the bad and made something new and good.
Six of Philly’s Best Writers on How the Past Year Changed the City — and Us All
After a long, unprecedented year, Philadelphia is still standing. We asked these powerful voices to reflect on how their favorite places in the city evolved and endured.
On Birth of a Nation and Luke Cage
Johnson: We still haven’t fully addressed where we are as a country.
How Beyonce Made Football a Protest Space
Johnson: And why her show tonight at the Linc will feel different as a result.
Monday-Morning Quarterbacking Colin Kaepernick’s Protest
Johnson: Debate always revolves around the “how” of the protest, never the “why.”
What Frank Ocean’s Blond Says About Living — and Loving — in the City
Johnson: The follow-up to Channel Orange is all about walls.
What Simone Manuel’s Gold Medal Comments Say About Race in America
Johnson: There’s no compartmentalizing your experience when you’re so intimately familiar with injustice.
The Two Big Ironies in David Clarke’s RNC Speech
Johnson: And why his quoting of MLK is especially — and grotesquely — off base.
What Hillary and the New Ghostbusters Have in Common
Johnson: Like the presumptive Democratic nominee, the much-anticipated remake is fighting 30 years of legacy, and a public that can’t get past gender.
The Most Excruciating Black Pain
Johnson: Where we once had still photos of hanging black men, we now have graphic videos of shootings of black men.
After Latest Freddie Gray Acquittal, All I Feel Is Numb
Johnson: We’ve been here before. And the outcome was never really in question.
Orlando, Charleston Were Hateful Attacks on Safe Spaces
Johnson: Why protecting marginalized communities and sanctuary spaces is more crucial than ever.
Muhammad Ali’s Biggest Fight Continues
Johnson: More than our greatest prize fighter; Ali was America’s greatest champion for social justice.
Lemonade Stand: What Beyoncé Will Be Bringing to the Linc
Johnson: What to expect when the world’s biggest pop star takes the pulpit in South Philly.