PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Jim Kenney's Office of Public Engagement is launching a new initiative called the Black and Gold Series. Its purpose is to prompt tough conversations, promote mutual understanding, and bridge the gap between Black and Asian communities.
The effort was sparked by an incident on a SEPTA subway last November, when a group of African American teen girls attacked a group of Asian American teenagers.
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“To bring communities together to begin to understand why the incident happened, and perhaps look for ways that our communities have been separated and look for ways to be able to heal," said Romana Lee-Akiyama, director of the Office of Public Engagement.
Lee-Akiyama says the city faces a segregation problem.
"Oftentimes, we rub up against people that we don’t live in community with but we might interface with, and I think that’s what we saw in the SEPTA situation.”
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One event taking place at the end of the month is called “Anti-Blackish.”
“This is designed with Gen Z and Millennials in mind, to be able to understand how anti-Black racism affects all of us," Lee-Akiyama said.
The Asian Arts Initiative hosts another event, a round table discussion on the critical tenets of mutual aid in resistance movements.
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Another planned event is called Black History Month Bunka-sai (Cultural Fair) which includes film, anime, and drum performances and workshops exploring the cultural intersections of African American and Japanese American communities.
The office chose to launch the series in February, when Black History Month and the Lunar New Year intersect, to maximize the impact of building bridges in both communities.
Get more information about the Black and Gold Series of events.
