A pirate, a Disney princess and a SEPTA worker take over Malcolm X Park for a ‘Spooky Cleanup’

They might not have been the most obvious partners, but on Wednesday night in West Philly, a pirate, Anna from Frozen, and a SEPTA worker all teamed up.

They were just a few of the young community members who came to Malcolm X Park for a Halloween themed “Spooky Cleanup,” organized by Climate Action PA and Friends of Malcolm X Park. As participants picked up trash around the park, kids were also able to join in on arts and crafts, plus enjoy some candy a few days early.

Carmela Dow with Friends of Malcolm X said that she hoped events like this one would inspire community members young and old to “[associate] cleaning up with something positive” and continue to ask, “What can we do for the community?”

Teaching the importance of environmental justice and collective action were important for the event organizers, too. “It’s more about bringing people together,” said Gabriella Druid with Climate Action PA. “Groups are able to accomplish more than the individual.”

Dow believes caring for places like Malcolm X is especially important now, given the decline in “third spaces” across Philadelphia.

“You can’t really hang out anywhere [else],” she said.

Bernadette Rose brought her 7-year-old daughter, Faith, who dressed up as a pirate, to the cleanup. They come to Malcolm X Park all the time, and it felt obvious to Bernadette that they ought to help tidy things up.

“It’s my community,” she said. She wants her daughter and more of their neighbors to understand their responsibility in taking care of shared places. “They need to keep it clean like it’s their own space,” she said.

Matthew Keen, who dressed his 2-year-old daughter, Leila Keen, in a homemade SEPTA uniform, felt the same personal connection to the park. They live just around the corner, and he tries to pick trash off the ground whenever they come for a visit.

While Keen is happy to play his part in caring for Malcolm X Park, he hopes that the city ultimately comes through on its promise to invest in this West Philly hub through the Rebuild initiative.

“The community can only do so much,” he said.

For now, these smaller scale cleanups will do. The next one at Malcolm X Park is scheduled for Saturday November 11, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Chinere Wright with Friends of Malcolm X brought her 6-year-old daughter, Devon Allen, to the Spooky Cleanup. Devon cleaned up trash while wearing Anna from Frozen’s signature black and green dress, lollipop in hand.

Wright knows that it will take some work and persuasion to get more of her neighbors involved in events like this one, but she’s determined to not let that goal feel overwhelming.

“How do you eat an elephant?” she joked.

“One bite at a time.”