Awarded Grants

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support a time capsule book and website of essays, photographs, poems and other creative formats documenting the Uprising (Against White Supremacy, in Defense of Black Lives) in Philadelphia from May-June 2020. The project will collage intergenerational reflections of Black Philadelphians with an intersectional emphasis and attunement to the ongoing labor of “how we get free.”

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support a collaboration between 215 People's Alliance, Reclaim Philadelphia, Free Press, and Movement Alliance Project to strengthen and expand information networks that were created in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Using innovative outreach and organizing tactics to meet information needs, the group's project will lift up stories of disconnected and disaffected Philadelphians, and support Black dignity, where systemic barriers to timely, quality information have left city residents in the dark during a public health emergency.

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support Project Engage, an internet radio programming targeting community violence, mental health, education, and civic engagement in Chester, Pennsylvania and surrounding communities.

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support an intergenerational storytelling project aimed at preserving the oral traditional history of the African diaspora while facilitating communication and cultural exchange among young and elderly members of Philadelphia's African immigrant and refugee communities. In addition, the project will capture the stories and impact of COVID-19 on African immigrant frontline workers.

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support “Just Love Stories,” a multimedia series that documents stories of love, justice, and culture that work towards social justice. Stories written by, as well as interviews of, community groups and individuals leading movements will be featured in a documentary web series titled “Just Love.”

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support the creation of a video documentary and multimedia performance of young peoples' artistic response to the impact of COVID-19 on their lives and their communities.

The Heaux History Project (HHP) will use the 2020 Community Voices grant to gather the stories and histories of Black and Brown sex workers and how they are surviving through COVID-19. HHP will collect oral interviews, writings, and artistic representations, with a long term-goal to create a documentary and archival project.

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support the production of a mini series, working title: “COVID-19 Season and Beyond,” that explores how the pandemic has exacerbated long-existing social inequities and economic disparities that primarily impact Black and Brown communities.

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support the production of "Audio Olney," a monthly podcast featuring diverse Olney community leaders, residents and artists and designed to address arts & culture and local issues. The podcast will reflect Olney Culture Lab's mission of showcasing the diverse cultural expressions in Olney, strengthening community networks, and building social capital.

The 2020 Community Voices grant will support a five month pilot for Black and Brown youth using video, feature stories and podcasts to document and archive youth voices and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social uprisings in response to racist injustice and persistent state-sanctioned violence.