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Hail Morocco! Oh, Wait . . .

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Assessments of Oppression Need More Nuance

Philadelphia Black Journalists Chapter Leaves NABJ (Dec. 16 update)

. . . NABJ Wishes Philadelphia Group Well

The Black Woman Some Believe Co-Founded ‘Ms.’

. . . Steinem Has No Idea How ‘Myth’ Started (Dec. 17 update)

Number of Jailed Journalists Breaks Record
Leonard Pitts Signs Off After 46 Years
NPR Cancels Next Year’s Summer Internship
Lightfoot Wants to Hide Police Radio Traffic
Half of NPR’s ‘Ghetto Life’ Team Dies

Right-Leaning Spanish Radio Spreads Falsehoods 
Byron Allen Makes Deal to Stream PBS Content
Racism Poured From Nation’s First Water Taps

Short Takes: Fannie Lou Hamer and International Documentary Association Awards; drop in diversity in commercials; journalists at U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit; Hebrew Israelite groups; Central Park’s new “Gate of the Exonerated”; HuffPost-BuzzFeed Talent Residency; Broadway’s KPOP musical; “critical role Black journalists play”; retort from “heavily pregnant” anchor; Prince Harry, Meghan and Netflix;

Tre’vell Anderson and transgender; Jennifer Kho and John W. Fountain; parking lot over Black and Cuban graves; oops on “only Black” television network president; Jesse Jackson and Standard General-Tegna merger proposal; journalist death on “the rooftop of Africa”; Facebook role in Ethiopian violence; Chinese-owned app and misinformation in Nigeria.

Homepage photo: Morocco at the World Cup (Credit: ESPN FC)

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ESPN tweeted, “This Morocco team may have not won the World Cup, but they won our hearts” (Credit: ESPN)

Assessments of Oppression Need More Nuance

As news media praised Morocco’s victories at the World Cup this week as heralding new respect for African and Arab countries, the press-freedom group Reporters Without Borders was handing out awards to journalists who exemplified courage, impact and independence.

The honor for “independence” went to Omar Radi (pictured) of Morocco. But Radi couldn’t be at the Paris ceremony, or at the games. He was in a Moroccan prison.

It’s also unlikely that there was much cheering in Western Sahara, the territory occupied by Morocco that is called “Africa’s last colony.” As “Democracy Now!” put it in a noteworthy series in 2018, “Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation.”

Reporters Without Borders added the next year, “Morocco applies a quasi-systematic policy of turning back the foreign press trying to enter Western Sahara and of harshly punishing the local citizen-journalists who strive to give a version of the news differing from the official line, through social networks. Over the years, these two sorts of blockade have imposed a virtual news black-out on Western Sahara.”

In other words, while Morocco’s World Cup successes are portrayed as a victory of the formerly colonized over the former colonizers, Morocco has itself become a colonizer.

On the “PBS NewsHour” on Wednesday, Shireen Ahmed, a senior contributor to the CBC Sports in Canada, gave this assessment:

One of the things “that I think people in different parts of the world need to understand, really, is that we like to compartmentalize, like, this is an African nation.

“It is definitely situated in North Africa. But the reality is, it’s a nation that’s comprised of many, many peoples. There are Afro-Arabs there. There are Arabs there. There are Amazigh populations, which is a particular tribe and [has] historically been nomadic.

“So it is — it’s far more complex and layered and beautiful at the same time. But there are still discussions about how Arab communities in the rest of the world have embraced Morocco as their own. But then there’s other folks that struggle with that, because there is — there are issues of anti-Black racism within that country as well. . . .”

About the media, Ahmed said, “we centralize our coverage too often here. I think it’s important to read about teams from journalists who know a lot historically, sociologically about those places.” She cited Maher Mezahi of Algeria, a soccer journalist, as one example.

This is what Reporters Without Borders said of Radi, its Moroccan press-freedom honoree.

“This investigative reporter and human rights activist has been subjected to judicial harassment for covering corruption and other sensitive subjects for more than ten years. The authorities began investigating him on suspicion of spying in June 2020, shortly after Amnesty International reported that the Pegasus spyware had been used to hack into his phone.

“A month later, he was jailed on the basis of a rape allegation and ended up being tried simultaneously on the completely different rape and spying charges, increasing doubts about the fairness of the trial. He was sentenced to six years in prison in July 2021. The authorities had been targeting him for at least three years prior to this trial. He began a hunger strike in April 2021 in protest against his detention but had to abandon it after 21 days because he suffers from Crohn’s disease, and has been in very poor health ever since.”

The United States has joined other nations in urging Morocco to respect human rights, including those of journalists.

The United Nations Human Rights Council reviewed Morocco’s human rights record in November.

Among its recommendations was one from the United States: “Ensure journalists, human rights defenders, and other individuals are not prosecuted or detained for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, or association, and ensure all individuals receive fair trial guarantees.”

Spain urged, “Guarantee the full exercise of the freedoms of expression, press, association and assembly in accordance with the 2011 Constitution, and international human rights standards, as well as the free exercise of the work of journalists and human rights defenders of human rights.”

Uganda recommended, “Strengthen the legal and policy framework to fully implement racial equality of all persons.”

Morocco’s World Cup trajectory ended Wednesday, at least for this year. As The Washington Post reported, “Moroccans were devastated but still proud Wednesday after their national soccer team lost, 2-0, to France in the World Cup semifinals — dashing hopes for an upset that would have sent the first Arab and African club to the tournament’s final match.”

“A Moroccan win would also have been historic in a more profound sense,” the Post’s Siobhán O’Grady reported. “France controlled Morocco as a protectorate for more than four decades until the country’s independence in 1956. More recently, the countries were locked in a diplomatic dispute after France limited visas for Moroccans, leaving citizens of the North African country especially hungry for a triumph against their former colonizer. . . .”

France stocked its team with “some of the most remarkable football talents on the planet,” wrote Laurent Dubois, a University of Virginia professor.

Still, the growing multicultural nature of France and its teams calls for more nuance. Writing in The New York Times, Laurent Dubois of the University of Virginia noted that in 2018, team manager Didier Deschamps “had put together a majority-Black roster, stocked with some of the most remarkable football talents on the planet. Alongside Paul Pogba, whose parents emigrated from Guinea, played the young phenom Kylian Mbappé, whose mother is from Algeria and father is from Cameroon, and the brilliant midfielder N’Golo Kanté, whose parents came from Mali. . . .”

Journal-isms asked two of Western Sahara’s ambassadors for their thoughts. “I rooted for France because it is a [much] better team, besides the Moroccan team represents an expansionist and repressive regime,” said Mouloud Said, envoy to the United States.

Mohamed Yeslem Beisat, Western Sahara’s ambassador to South Africa, and former ambassador to the United States, said of Morocco’s athletes, they “have just been defeated by an African team that played with France flag!”

Anchor Rick Williams of WPVI-TV receives the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists’ 2022 Journalist of the Year award in November. (video) (Credit: WPVI-TV)

Philadelphia Black Journalists Chapter Leaves NABJ

The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, which precedes the National Association of Black Journalists and gave NABJ its first president in activist editor Chuck Stone, has left the national organization.

The Philadelphia unit disputed the requirements the larger group has set for its chapters.

They range from a requirement to supply the email addresses of members of the local organization who aren’t members of the national group to a mandate that two-thirds of the members of PABJ be eligible for NABJ membership. They also disagree about the split of proceeds between national and local.

PABJ President Ernest Owens (pictured) told Journal-isms Friday that his organization, which he said has more than 300 members, prepared its statement of disaffiliation Thursday but released it Friday only after negotiations with NABJ President Dorothy Tucker (pictured, below) failed.

“Until there is a more reputable National President that can represent our needs in good faith, alongside a board that can prioritize principle over personal politics, we have zero confidence in NABJ’s current leadership team. We will not be submitting a chapter audit at this time,” the PABJ statement said. “We will reconsider our organization’s options of affiliation to their organization when a new NABJ President is elected that may best understand the concerns we have raised with them for over a year.”

An NABJ spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment, but the PABJ statement quoted Tucker:

“Your decision not to submit a chapter audit and remain out of compliance means the Philadelphia [Association] of Black Journalists will not receive the benefits of being affiliated with the National Association of Black Journalists.

“Furthermore, we must abide by our constitution. Chapter 5, Article 1, Section 2, (B) of the NABJ Constitution reads: The applying organization, at the time of its application for alignment with NABJ, and at the time of the annual renewal of that status, submits to NABJ a membership list showing that two-thirds of the organization’s members are eligible for NABJ status as provided in Chapter 4, Article I, Sections 2-6 of this constitution.”

Conflict between Tucker and the Philadelphia chapter surfaced during Tucker’s 2021 re-election effort. She was challenged by Manuel McDonnell-Smith, PABJ president in 2019 and 2020, who maintained that NABJ needed to become closer to its members. Tucker won, 531 votes to 111. McDonnell-Smith tweeted his support for PABJ pulling out.

PABJ was founded in 1974. NABJ followed a year later on Dec. 12, 1975. Today it claims a membership of more than 4,000.

Owens said he was not urging individual members to leave the national organization.

. . . NABJ Wishes Philadelphia Group Well

NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry (pictured) issued the following statement shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern time on Friday:

“In explaining PABJ’s decision to no longer be affiliated with the national organization, chapter president Ernest Owens advised that one main reason is that the group no longer met our constitution’s requirement for affiliates to have at least two-thirds (66 percent) of its members eligible for NABJ membership.

“ ‘In full transparency, PABJ doesn’t currently have two-thirds of our members eligible for NABJ status based on your constitution — and might not ever be given our current success,” Owens stated.

“Eligible persons for NABJ membership include journalists, journalism educators, students interested in pursuing a career in journalism, and people or entities that support the organization’s vision and goals (this includes media-related professionals working primarily in a field related to journalism – such as public relations, public information, marketing, communications, advocacy, legal, etc.).

“A vast majority of our professional affiliate groups have already turned in their compliance documents for the coming year. We look forward to continuing amicable and positive relationships with those local chapters.

“We want our national members in Philadelphia to know that NABJ values their contributions to our organization and industry. We will continue to advocate for them and support them. We have heard from multiple longtime, national members who are also members of PABJ that have indicated they do not concur with the leadership’s decision to no longer affiliate with NABJ. We are working to address their concerns.”

PABJ later “liked” a tweet from former PABJ president Manuel McDonnell-Smith, “It took years of hard work for @pabj to get to this point where we can stand strong alone for truth. This fight is not about @NABJ. It’s about representing for the legion of underserved + under-supported members, leaders, and who want and need more from this organization.”

Black feminist and community activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes in the1971 photograph in which she and her close friend and speaking partner, Gloria Steinem, hold up their arms in solidarity. (Credit: National Portrait Gallery)

The Black Woman Some Believe Co-Founded ‘Ms.’

“It should not be lost on anyone that Dorothy Pitman Hughes died on Dec. 1, but her death did not make news until more than a week later,” Boston Globe columnist Renee Graham wrote Thursday in a newsletter for Globe subscribers. “A community activist, child welfare advocate, and pioneering feminist, hers was a life devoted to the hard work of changing the world, not garnering headlines.

“In 1971, Pitman Hughes co-founded Ms. Magazine with Gloria [Steinem], an achievement celebrated in an iconic Esquire photo. Standing side by side, Pitman Hughes and [Steinem] each have a clenched right fist raised in a Black Power salute. That photo now hangs in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

“But in a Town & Country article published in 2020 that purports to tell ‘the true story’ of Ms. Magazine’s origins, Pitman Hughes is never mentioned. To tell the true story would be to acknowledge how Black women like Pitman Hughes had to create space for intersectional feminism that also challenged racism and classism — including within a women’s movement then dominated by middle-class white women.

“ ‘As a Black woman I’m speaking about sexism and racism and I believe that is needed, especially where women are talking about being sisters and we really are getting it together, I think we can’t allow women to forget it,’ Pitman Hughes, who also co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, said in a 1971 interview. ‘I think I have as a Black woman a real function in coming out with a white woman and saying these things.’

“Raised in the Jim Crow South, Pitman Hughes committed her life to social justice after Klansmen nearly beat her father to death in Georgia. She understood a fact [that] few white feminists bothered to recognize more than 50 years ago, and some still struggle with today. Black women have always been at the vanguard of progressive social movements for freedom and equality and that you can’t tackle one ‘ism’ while ignoring or perpetuating another. . . .”

The women re-enacted their famous photo in 2017, and the new image was added to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery collection. Photographer Daniel Bagan said, “The women were dynamically engaged in their iconic stance, and the result was inspiring. Even decades later, their power and beauty show no sign of age, just wisdom reflected in their soft smiles.” (Credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

. . . Steinem Has No Idea How ‘Myth’ Started

Gloria Steinem said Saturday that “I have no idea how the myth got started that Dorothy founded or ever worked at Ms. Magazine” (See above item), referring to some stories about Black feminist Dorothy Pitman-Hughes, who died on Dec. 1 in Tampa, Fla., at 84.

The Associated Press was among those making the mistake, though it was later corrected.

“She was an organizer, not a writer or editor, and she was proud of the fact that she didn’t go to college and had worked as a maid as well as a singer in New York,” the pioneering feminist messaged Journal-isms through an intermediary. “My guess is that our speaking photo — the one with raised fists — was wrongly interpreted by someone and that got repeated. In fact, it was the differences in our life experiences that made us a good speaking team.”

Steinem also said, “No, Dorothy was neither a founder nor editor of Ms. magazine, she founded and ran the West 80th Street Childcare Center in New York City. After I met her and wrote about her Center in New York Magazine, she and I sometimes travelled and spoke together. We only stopped after she had another child, and traveling with an infant was too difficult. Dorothy later founded and ran a [stationery] and office supply store on 125th Street in Harlem,and organized small business owners there.

“Dorothy was also a great singer, and her whole family was musically gifted.

“On the highway near Lumpkin, Georgia, her family home, the state erected a monument to Dorothy, an extraordinary and well- deserved honor, and we both went there to celebrate it.

“Dorothy is survived by children and grandchildren now living mostly in Florida.”

A Dec. 10 Associated Press story, still on some websites, began, “Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a pioneering Black feminist, child welfare advocate and activist who co-founded Ms. Magazine with Gloria Steinem . . .”

However, a Dec. 10 story updated Dec. 11 says, “Though Hughes was often said to have also co-founded Ms. Magazine with Steinem in the same era and biographer [Laura L.] Lovett says she helped inspire the idea, she did not have a formal role with the magazine.“

Boston Globe columnist Renee Graham, who accused media outlets of ignoring Pitman-Hughes’ role in founding Ms., messaged Journal-isms later Saturday, “I will address the discrepancy in my next newsletter but, make no mistake, Dorothy Pitman Hughes was and will remain a pioneering Black feminist.”

Number of Jailed Journalists Breaks Record

“It’s been another record-breaking year for the number of journalists jailed for practicing their profession,” Arlene Getz wrote Wednesday for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“The Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual prison census has found that 363 reporters were deprived of their freedom as of December 1, 2022 – a new global high that overtakes last year’s record by 20% and marks another grim milestone in a deteriorating media landscape.”

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders released a separate study. “A record total of 533 journalists are currently detained worldwide, according to the annual round-up of violence and abuses against journalists published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The number of those killed has increased again this year – to 57– while 65 journalists are being held hostage and 49 are missing,” it said.

CPJ said, ‘This year’s top five jailers of journalists are Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus, respectively. A key driver behind authoritarian governments’ increasingly oppressive efforts to stifle the media: trying to keep the lid on broiling discontent in a world disrupted by COVID-19 and the economic fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine. . . .

“Imprisoning journalists is just one measure of how authoritarian leaders try to strangle press freedom. Around the world, governments are also honing tactics like ‘fake news’ laws, are using criminal defamation and vaguely worded legislation to criminalize journalism, are ignoring the rule of law and abusing the judicial system, and are exploiting technology to spy on reporters and their families.

“In countries ranging from Russia to Nicaragua to Afghanistan, independent media outlets have been gutted as reporters flee into exile or are intimidated into self-censorship. And while suppressive strategies differ between countries, the cases documented in CPJ’s census share a common thread of official cruelty and vindictiveness.

“Some, like China and Saudi Arabia, have a record of keeping journalists in detention even after their sentences end. Others engage in random acts of callousness. . . .”

Leonard Pitts Jr. reads from his novel “Grant Park” at the Journal-isms Roundtable Holiday Party in 2015. (Credit: Sharon Farmer/sfphotoworks)

Leonard Pitts Signs Off After 46 Years

“Well, as Carol Burnett used to say, I’m so glad we had this time together,” Leonard Pitts Jr. wrote Tuesday in the Miami Herald, beginning his final column.

“I’ve written about 1.6 million words as a columnist. This 600 or so will be the last. I’m retiring for a few reasons. One is that, while I’ve managed to squeeze out four novels between column deadlines, my dream was always to write books full time. I turned 65 in October, so if not now, when? . . .

“Tomorrow, I will wake up for the first time in 46 years without a deadline to meet. It’s going to feel strange. I’ve always considered this podium a great privilege: Everyone has an opinion, after all, but precious few get to have their voices magnified — much less be paid for it.

“I tried to use that privilege to sound alarms about human rights, democracy, gun violence, the misinformation crisis and more. The fight on all those fronts goes on. Nothing ends here, except my access to this megaphone. I’ll be teaching and, of course, writing novels from now on.

“Which is fine. I’ve said pretty much all I had to say. Except for this: Isn’t it amazing how fast the years go?

“Turns out, time doesn’t really care if you’re having fun; it flies, regardless. Again, Carol Burnett said it well. ‘Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say, so long.’ Good night, everybody.”

NPR’s 2020 summer internship class. The network said it hopes to be able to reinstate the program soon. (Credit: NPR)

NPR Cancels Next Year’s Summer Internship

“NPR has canceled its summer 2023 internship program as it faces an economic shortfall caused by declining corporate sponsorship revenue, the network confirmed to Current Tuesday,” Tyler Falk reported Tuesday for Current.

“ ‘We are committed to providing a positive intern experience and hope to be able to reinstate it soon,’ NPR said in a statement provided by spokesperson Isabel Lara. ‘Interns and fellows remain a vital asset to our content and culture— many of NPR’s best-known journalists, hosts and executives started as interns. We fully understand the value of this program for NPR and the public radio system.’

“NPR CEO John Lansing announced last month a hiring freeze and cuts to discretionary spending in response to the anticipated sponsorship decline. The drop presents ‘a severe financial challenge,’ NPR said in its statement.

“ ‘We are acting quickly to address it, while preserving and protecting our critical public service and prioritizing the preservation of existing jobs,’ NPR said. ‘Unfortunately this means we have to make hard choices and, in addition to a near hiring freeze, we made the difficult decision to cancel this summer’s internship program.’

“NPR pays interns $16.10 per hour, according to its website. . . .”

Lightfoot Wants to Hide Police Radio Traffic

“Mayor Lori Lightfoot is defending the city’s decision to start the process of encrypting police radio transmissions, a move that will block the public from listening to those transmissions in real time,” Chicago’s WLS-TV reported Wednesday.

“A coalition of media organizations, including ABC7, is asking the mayor to reconsider the decision. Among the reasons is the impact it will have on the release of real-time information to keep the public safe during an emergency.

“On Wednesday, Mayor Lightfoot said keeping transmissions unencrypted could allow criminals access to communication and put officers in danger.

” ‘It’s about officer safety,’ Lightfoot said. ‘If it’s unencrypted and there’s access, there’s no way to control criminals who are also gonna get access, listen in and adjust their criminal behavior in response to the information that’s being communicated.’

“The media coalition pointed out that the city has never identified members of the press as the disruptors. And members of the media are regularly in touch with officials to make sure our reporting does not jeopardize police investigations or public safety. . . .”

Half of NPR’s ‘Ghetto Life’ Team Dies

“Lloyd Newman, who teamed up with a fellow teenager in the 1990s to record two award-winning radio documentaries that bared the pernicious underside of growing up in a Chicago public housing project, died on Dec. 7 in Elmhurst, Ill. He was 43,” Sam Roberts wrote Tuesday for The New York Times.

“His death, in a hospital, was caused by complications of sickle cell anemia, his brother Michael said.

“Mr. Newman, the understated, harder-luck half of the duo, was 14 and in the eighth grade when he and his best friend, LeAlan Jones, 13, tape-recorded 100 hours of oral history and interviews to produce ‘Ghetto Life 101.’ The producer David Isay transformed it into a 28-minute segment on National Public Radio in 1993.

“In 1996, the youths won a Peabody Award, the youngest broadcasters at the time to do so, for ”Remorse: The 14 Stories of Eric Morse,” a collage of recordings exploring the killing of a 5-year-old boy, tossed from the window of a vacant 14th-floor apartment in the Ida B. Wells Homes by two children, ages 10 and 11, because he had refused to steal candy for them, according to the police. . . . “

Some Spanish-language radio hosts disseminate disinformation directly or indirectly by allowing callers and guests to freely repeat falsehoods or vituperation without challenge or counterpoint. (Illustration by Rachel Handley/Miami Herald)

Right-Leaning Spanish Radio Spreads Falsehoods 

The Miami Herald, in partnership with bilingual graduate students and faculty at Florida International University’s Department of Journalism and Media, monitored popular local Spanish-language shows on talk radio and YouTube, listening to more than 100 hours of programming from Oct. 17 to Nov. 11, Andres Viglucci, Joey Flechas and Leslie Cosme Torres reported Thursday for the Herald.

 “The goal: exploring whether and how misleading accounts of political events and topics are disseminated across Miami’s media landscape — a controversy that has gained prominence as the region’s Hispanic voters have swung dramatically to the right. . . .

“The review found that, while some radio news hosts and commentators do provide balanced accounts of current events and political debates, others disseminate disinformation directly or indirectly by allowing callers and guests to freely repeat falsehoods or vituperation without challenge or counterpoint. . . .

“The project, launched at an especially fraught political moment in what is a unique kind of American town square, provided a window into the news, discussion and political commentary reaching a large immigrant and refugee community where many people rely primarily or exclusively on Spanish-language outlets for information. And, in instance after instance, it found the political thermometer near to bursting with partisan anger and frustration.

“On the airwaves and on some of the most popular social-media platforms, the conversation seemed to be dominated by highly partisan and sometimes extreme conservative voices, often trafficking in hyperbole that can verge on outright misinformation without context on topics ranging from the border and immigration, to U.S.-Cuba relations and the COVID-19 pandemic. . . .”

Byron Allen Makes Deal to Stream PBS Content

“Allen Media Group’s free streaming service for local news and entertainment Local Now announced today a partnership to include live streaming of local PBS stations and that network’s Kids 24/7 channel,” Tom Tapp reported Tuesday for Deadline. “Local Now’s audience will have access to PBS’s award-winning content, from locally-produced shows to high-quality educational series to viewer favorites like PBS Newshour, Frontline and Antiques Roadshow.“

“ ‘The addition of local PBS stations is a major achievement for Local Now and cements our position as the leader of free-streaming local news and entertainment in America,’ said Byron Allen (pictured), Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group, parent company of Local Now. ‘Viewers of all ages know and love PBS and soon they will be able to stream this amazing content for free, anytime.’

“PBS Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, Ira Rubenstein also weighed in.

“ ‘This exciting partnership helps us continue to meet viewers everywhere they are with the quality content they expect from PBS,’ he said. ‘By providing an accessible platform through Local Now, PBS stations will be empowered to expand their digital footprint and engage new audiences with locally-produced and distributed programming. It’s all part of supporting and boosting the presence of our PBS stations in the communities we serve.’ . . . ”

The Philadelphia Inquirer collected what it considered its best videos of 2022. “Lights. Camera. Crime,” the second episode of the “A More Perfect Union” series, made the cut. It “offers a look at how a format of TV news created in Philadelphia and exported to more than 141 media markets portrayed Black people as criminals, which discouraged empathy and helped to popularize harsher criminal justice policies.” (Credit: YouTube)

Racism Poured From Nation’s First Water Taps

“A taste of revolution was still in the air in 1798 when Philadelphia began creating the nation’s first municipal water system. But from the first plan on, racism polluted the taps,“ Layla A. Jones and Dain Saint wrote Dec. 6 for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s “A More Perfect Union” project.

The series is “examining the roots of systemic racism through institutions founded in Philadelphia.”

“The British architect charged with imagining the steam-powered pumps and public baths intended to keep the city hydrated and free of disease won over the city’s elite with an innovative proposal. He made no secret of whom the infrastructure would serve. It was a water system designed to cool the city’s European residents who ‘have not yet learned how to live healthy in a hot climate,’ wrote architect Benjamin Latrobe.

“White Europeans couldn’t take the heat, so it was time to modify the kitchen.

“The system Philadelphia built operated on the premise that water was a property right, not a human right. The clean H₂O flowed only to those who could pay for it to be piped into their homes. Meanwhile, the plan guiding the city’s development prioritized European colonial settlers who could buy land and build homes, but left few options for Black people to build their own. These families shared overstretched public pumps.

“By 1899, when W.E.B. Du Bois published his landmark sociological text, The Philadelphia Negro, less than 14% of Black families surveyed had access to bathrooms, water closets, or private outhouses, according to his research. Even comfortable families shared water resources. ‘[I]ts water,’ Du Bois wrote of Philadelphia, ‘is wretched.’

“Racial disparity in water access persists. . . .”

Short Takes

(Credit: WABC-TV)

College Hill Cemetery was once a burial ground for 1,200 of Tampa’s pioneering Cuban and Black residents. There is no evidence the bodies were moved. Archaeologists believe the graves could still be on the land that is now a parking lot for the Italian Club Cemetery. (Credit: Tampa Bay Times)

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