Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Brain Drain and Race
As a young Philly native living out of town for a few years now, I was interested in [Cover story, "Why Can't We Keep Them?" Doron Taussig, June 16, 2005]. I regret that so much of the emphasis in the brain-drain discussion is focused on "young, bright" people who come to Philly from outside town, and usually to Penn. I left Philadelphia to study film in New York and then film preservation in Amsterdam. Philly does not have any established program in film preservation so I will begin a trade program in film archiving in Rochester, NY this coming fall. Wouldn't it be productive for local arts, government and historical organizations to invest in this type of education for Philly locals? I would like to see the city of Philadelphia supporting scholarships for specialized study outside the city on the condition that these recipients come back and contribute their acquired knowledge to projects that will contribute to the local culture and community. Young graduates, particularly in technical fields (like film preservation), are anxious to practice and refine their skills — even on a short-term volunteer basis.
Joanna Poses
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Does the City Paper look at its own covers? I am calling into question the logic of [Cover story, "Make no mistake about it: I was going to kill someone," Brian Hickey, June 2, 2005] that depicts a stark photo of an African-American man. Then, on this most recent cover, you have five obviously white kids, smiling, and the caption "Why can't we keep them?" Put the covers side by side — even an idiot could see there is something else being communicated there. Do I really need to say any more?

Most images I see of blacks in the media are of us killing others or taking drugs or doing 1,000 negative things. Most newscasts lead off with a black man doing something wrong. I think it's a requirement for the City of Philadelphia, along with the weather on the 9s. On the other hand, images I see of white people are typically of them smiling, living life, owning corporations, being victimized by some minority or another. There is an uproar when a white girl goes missing, a little blip if a black girl goes missing.

Now I'm not naive, there are those in the black community who do commit crimes. But there are also those in the white community who commit crimes. Last time I checked, there were more white people than black people, ergo, more white people commit crimes. The media would make you think otherwise.

Do you know how many times I will walk down a street, only to have a white woman cross to the other side? I am college-educated; hold down an honest, great job with responsibility; do not take drugs, never had; don't drink, never had; never been arrested or in trouble with the law. Yes, I'm 6 feet 2 inches, but I have to think that if I was white, they wouldn't cross to the other side. Images such as those on your cover reinforce the negative stereotypes of blacks. I am quite disappointed, and so should you be.
Kevin Gordon
Via email

Editor's reply: Would you have preferred we didn't tell Joel Hobson's story? Our cover decisions are based on story merit, not race.

By Golly, Return That Trolley
We appreciate the mention of the Girard Avenue trolley petition in City Paper's Ultimate Summer Fun edition [Cover story, "Monday, June 20," Patrick Rapa, June 9, 2005], but we'd like to clarify that the return of trolleys to Girard Avenue is about more than just "quaint" transit for University City. In fact, the point we're trying to make to City Councilman Michael Nutter and his colleagues, as well as to the mayor and SEPTA, is that the return of renovated trolleys to Girard Avenue is of importance to people across a wide swath of the city, from Port Richmond to Overbrook. Multiple neighborhoods in at least four different Council districts are counting on the Girard Avenue trolley to give a boost to local revitalization efforts. Almost 500 people have signed our petition in support of our message to city leadership. In a city with as many big, intractable problems as Philadelphia has, this should be one problem that can be solved quickly.
Niel McDowell and Patrick Kavanagh
Fairmount

Still Exhibitonists
While we at Girard College will miss Karen Sullivan's congenial presence, her departure in no way affects our successful and ongoing effort to share our remarkable collections with a wider public [News, "Hiding Treasures," Jenna Portnoy, June 9, 2005]. Over the past five years, we have dramatically increased the quality and quantity of our museum's public offerings. Like most historic sites, we make strategic choices about how best to present our collections. Focusing on reserved tours enables us to ensure a quality visitor experience by offering a slate of programs (e.g. architecture, French culture, civil rights, yellow fever, antiques, pipe organ demonstration).

To attract adult visitors, we have established successful collaborations with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Open House, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Center City District and the Tri-state coalition for Historic Places, among others. To engage student visitors, we now offer innovative grade-specific programs for Girard's 678 students (in grades one through 12) as well as students from other schools, college and universities throughout the region.

Visitors to Founder's Hall are uniformly amazed by what they learn here. We rejoice that our high quality public programs continue to engage visitors of all ages.
Elizabeth Laurent
Associate Director of Historic Resources, Girard College