Before opening the floor to discussion about neighborhood solutions, Sajda “Purple” Blackwell asked those assembled in the Church of the Holy Apostles and the Mediator in West Philadelphia to describe their feelings in one word.
The responses people shared included feelings of disappointment, confusion, and fatigue. But the two used most often were traumatized and numb.
Community meetings are hosted monthly by the Blackwell Cultural Alliance, where residents of the area are invited to speak freely, and then sit down together for dinner.
Gregorio Cojulun Jr., president of Friends of Malcolm X. Park, speaks at a community conversation in the Church of the Holy Apostles and the Mediator in West Philadelphia. (Sam Searles/WHYY)