In 2018 I began working with the Philadelphia Sisters of Otherly Love on a freelance basis. I assisted the board with crafting their mission statement and documents to submit for consideration as a non-profit organization. In June 2019 I was again brought in to help them craft sensitive press releases regarding the ongoing protests in Philadelphia. The board was passionate about the issues Americans of Color were facing, and the violence imposed by the police upon them. Their initial draft statement was equally as passionate, but the language used was not suitable for release. Ultimately, I worked with them on their draft and we rewrote it using more appropriate language, but kept the spirit of their passion alive.
See the finished press release below.
“The Philadelphia Sisters” Stand with BLM
A Message from The Philadelphia Sisters
The Philadelphia Sisters was founded as an organization to uplift, support, defend and fight for marginalized groups, including (and especially) our comrades of color. BIPOC have borne the brunt of systematic racism, oppression, and state violence since the founding of this country; they have rung the bell, sounded the alarm, and screamed out their pain. Their pain, their experiences, have been ignored or patronized by those in power for far too long. Our organization believes that allyship is a consistent, concerted effort; it is something we must always strive towards and improve upon. A part of this act of allyship is recognizing that we have been silent for too long. After considering the burdens of widespread, grievous violence and the generations-long-hardships, we are making the formal statement on our belief that any silence on these issues or hesitancy to join voices and lift up their cries makes us complicit. Silence is violence to the communities that we pledged to support.
We will not be silent.
Some of our individual members have been acting independently during the last few weeks. They have done so by joining demonstrations, organizing, disseminating supplies to local groups, and working with jail relief efforts. However, The Philadelphia Sisters should and will be acting as an organization to support these efforts. We want our organizational efforts and fundraising to reflect our core values. Therefore, we must do our best to support the communities crying out in need. It is absolutely vital that we do everything we can.
This month, on our organization’s 2nd Anniversary, we are hosting a virtual telethon event where we raise money for our grant-giving arm that supports the local community. This year all of the money that we raise, every dime, is going to Black Lives Matter Philly and Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. Through fundraising, we will be supporting the voices of the black community both on the ground and in print.
Going forward, will be using our platform to lift up community-led advocacy, information, fundraising, and events pertaining to this struggle. We will be using our social media presence to advocate for communities of color and to boost black voices. This means that, as allies, we will not dominate the conversation but instead embrace their words and fortify them.
On the ground, our members have already been involved in efforts, demonstrations, and actions that lend our voice to the community. However, we also want to encourage people to reach out to The Philadelphia Sisters organization for any requests or needed resources. We will be devoting time and resources to ensuring that our comrades of color feel supported by us. Anything we can do, we will. We must all do our part.
It is our fervent belief that the violence, hatred, and apathy that has been shown to BIPOC people in this country is abhorrent and can go no further. The structures of oppression, systemic racism, and violence towards them is an atrocity that privileged communities all have played a part in creating. We therefore must all work at dismantling these systems completely. We owe marginalized communities a debt that can never be repaid; we owe them for wrongs that can never be righted. We owe them our efforts and our solidarity. We will not be swayed by the empty gestures of those in power and we vow to support this fight until we see radical societal change.
-Yours in Solidarity,
The Philadelphia Sisters