Chaos or Community
The political climate is evolving. As a part of our IF Lab presents: In the Lab series, Little Giant Creative is hosting a series of conversations centered around the role of women leaders in big cities.
Building on our previous conversation with Black women council leaders, we are continuing the discussion on systemic racism and policies that have directly contributed to the educational, wealth, and social barriers that burden Black and Brown women. Their exclusion to pivotal resources, hiring and promotions, and overall acknowledgement has further disadvantaged their significant positions in society.
Join us for a candid discussion around the displacement, exclusion, and segregation of Black and Brown women with Philadelphia leaders who experience and pave solutions to these issues including:
- Unequal distribution of wealth, resources and sustainable income in career and communities
- Educational inequities impacting social and academic outcomes
- Disparities in healthcare fostering neglect and lack of efficient care
Guest speakers include:
Helen Gym seated in 2016, Councilmember Gym leads a human rights agenda rooted in housing, education, and racial and economic justice. She has worked to end the eviction crisis in Philadelphia that impacts Black and Brown families, establishing a tenant legal defense fund, local rent vouchers, and a law guaranteeing legal counsel for renters facing eviction. During the COVID crisis, she issued one of the first moratoriums on evictions, utility shutoffs, and mortgage foreclosures; championed rent assistance which led to Philly sending $60 million in rent checks to landlords and tenants; and set up a mandatory diversion program in landlord-tenant court.
Jovida Hill was appointed Executive Director by Mayor Kenney in June 2016. Prior to joining the administration, she was an award-winning writer and producer of more than 200 films and videos for the education, broadcast and training markets. Her work has included the civil rights documentary series In the Land of Jim Crow, which documents poignant first-person accounts of the African American struggle for justice and equality. A founding member of the African Sisterhood and Women Gather Conference, Hill currently serves on the boards of the Black Women’s Health Alliance and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.
Samantha Porter is the Community Engagement Advisor and Outreach Manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, in the Community Development and Regional Outreach division of Public Affairs. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve she spent 3 years working in the administration of Mayor Jim Kenney. Her role at ICF built upon her experience as program manager in the Sandy Recovery Division of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, where she led the design and implementation of a $40 million program to rebuild low to moderate income housing.