On March 27, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana will visit Philadelphia for a day built around four major stops: Lincoln University, the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Temple University, and a Ghana-focused pop-up opening at Brown’s ShopRite.
While names like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Maya Angelou rightfully have their place in our history books, countless other Black women, who shaped America through their courage, brilliance, and determination, have their contributions relegated to the background or forgotten entirely.
Higher education is under fire from every side: families questioning the return on investment, political pressure reshaping what campuses can say, and a cultural climate that treats disagreement as dangerous. And in the middle of that, Rev. Lamont Wells’ message throws a challenge: “If colleges were founded to widen access and form ethical citizens, why are so many institutions shrinking into fear?”
In a classroom of 35 students, Alieu Jallow stands confidently, teaching English Language with clarity, warmth, and authority. His voice moves across the room, explaining, questioning, and guiding. To his students, he is “Sir.” A teacher, mentor, and disciplinarian when needed.
I attended Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2026 Budget Address at the Pennsylvania General Assembly which afforded me a firsthand look at the legislative priorities shaping our Commonwealth.
Faith and activism converged over the weekend at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church during its 2026 “She’s My Sister” event. Founded by First Lady Dr. Ellyn Jo Waller, the “She’s My Sister” (SMS) ministry has spent nearly two decades evolving from a local awareness group into a powerhouse of advocacy and restoration for victims of human trafficking.
On a Saturday afternoon at Penn’s Gutman College House, a group of Black boys is doing something radical. They are learning to hold a violin bow or read sheet music; preparing to sit in a PEACE circle with total strangers and to facilitate a community-building circle session to complete their rite of passage.
“the liberation of the African mind, the empowerment of the African character, and the enlivenment and illumination of the African spirit.”
When Maureen Murugi Smith left Kenya for Philadelphia in July 2015 to join her husband, she arrived with the hopes familiar to many immigrants. She dreamed of starting over, finding work, and building a sense of community. What she did not expect was that the very organization that welcomed her into the city would one day become the place where she would help hundreds of others find their own voices just as she had done.
“I was a leader called for such a time as this,” she said. “But I had to ask: ‘Am I also the leader for the future?’”
