Letters to the Editor | March 4, 2024

In the recorded histories of the nations of this world, the first successful peaceful transfer of power (that wasn’t between relatives) occurred on March 4, 1797, in Philadelphia’s Congress Hall (now part of Independence National Historical Park). On this date, George Washington peacefully and quietly turned the presidency of the United States of America over to John Adams, who was not related by blood or marriage. A few nations anticipated the significance of this event and sent representatives to observe if it would actually happen. The current democracies of this planet should celebrate the anniversary of this date. We all should pray that the nation that originated the peaceful transfer of power will be able to continue this world-changing tradition.

Rob Kettell, Philadelphia

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has a huge task in cleaning up the city; it is commendable that she is ready to take it on. There are many areas that need to be cleaned up. One that stands out as extremely offensive, and at the same time is relatively easy to fix due to its contained footprint, is Philadelphia International Airport. On a recent trip, I was shocked at how dirty and, quite frankly, disgusting the facilities were. The elevators had what appeared to be dried saliva on the walls. The smell of urine permeated the air in the stairwells, in baggage claim, and even in the elevator. There’s litter and debris, broken soap and towel dispensers in the restrooms. There are a lot of great things about the airport. It’s where first impressions are made, and it has the potential to be a jewel in the crown of all that Philadelphia has to offer. To shed the “Filthadelphia” moniker, the city must first clean its welcome mat.

George Wood, Willow Grove

As a large-scale package of citywide changes, the development of SEPTA’s Bus Revolution route redesign has in many ways ignored the real travel needs of existing riders — many of whom rely on SEPTA as their primary mode of transportation. The changes presented are often arbitrary and the impacts remain inequitably distributed, with the most vulnerable and transit-dependent populations bearing the negative impacts of a scheme designed to attract potential new riders. Proposing such a massive overhaul in a time of continuing staff shortages and funding uncertainty only adds to the disruptive nature of these changes.

What ultimately matters to most transit users is not where they could go, but whether they can get where they need to go. I urge the SEPTA board to reject this inherently flawed proposal and urge Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, City Council, and other local elected officials to do whatever they can to resist its implementation. Where changes are necessary, I would then suggest SEPTA staff clear the slate and begin again with a real, grassroots engagement process allowing for localized public input, line by line and stop by stop. It won’t be easy, but it’s the only way it can be done right.

Nicholas Baker, Philadelphia

In his recent op-ed, Penn Museum director Christopher Woods relies on the general goodwill and trust in museums as he attempts to smooth over the scholarly and community resistance to the burial of what he claims to be the crania of Black Philadelphians in the Morton Cranial Collection. As one of the unnamed “critics” in the op-ed, I must speak back against his mischaracterization of our position.

Keeping the crania in storage at the museum indefinitely was never the desire of those of us who care about finding ceremony and rest for the ancestors in the Morton Cranial Collection; however, Woods does not want to concede the existence of any options other than keeping them stored in the museum’s basement or burying them. But there is a third option: that these and other remains in the Morton Cranial Collection be handed over to a descendant-led process in which they will be cared for while we continue the research needed to reunite them with their kin.

This detailed proposal was shared in January 2023 by myself and my co-convener of Finding Ceremony, aAliy Muhammad, who first called for the return of ancestors in the Morton Cranial Collection back in 2019 in The Inquirer. Woods knows our proposal, which was supported by leading scholars of repatriation as well as community members who have been seeking the return of these remains for years.

Yes, Finding Ceremony’s proposal is bold and has never been done before. After the severe and very public harm caused by the museum’s retention and research on the human remains of Black Philadelphians in the Morton Cranial Collection and from the MOVE bombing, the University of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia have the opportunity to gain international praise instead of condemnation from anthropologists and museum workers worldwide by accepting our proposal and yielding the stolen remains of our ancestors to the care of descendants.

Lyra D. Monteiro, assistant professor of history, American studies, and Africana studies, Rutgers University-Newark

Jenkintown’s dilemma is not unfamiliar to me. Small, local police forces are being squeezed out by cost, and even contracting with surrounding townships’ departments can eventually come to the same conclusion. My small but growing township had contracted for several years with a police force that covers two other townships, one of which is contiguous to mine. Last year marked the end of that relationship when the township declined to negotiate without any notice to residents. That leaves us under the aegis of the Pennsylvania State Police, itself understaffed for the growing number of places with no other police coverage. The nearest barracks within the county are at least 30 minutes away.

Although I don’t have a suggested plan for how to achieve this, I see a growing need for a more regional design of policing that would work in concert with the state police. A regional force would cover some number of contiguous townships so a county might have, say, 10 forces instead of 25 within it. This would promote a better, more consistent level of communication about safety and criminal issues over a wider geographical area. Each municipality would pay into the system. It is never easy to bring political fiefdoms into agreement, but it is time.

Melanie Baer, West Chester

As a previous editor-in-chief of Lower Merion High School’s student newspaper and an American Jew, I echo columnist Jonathan Zimmerman’s criticism of the Lower Merion School District’s recent censorship of the Merionite. Unlike Zimmerman, I am not “offended by accusations that Israel practices apartheid or commits war crimes.” I am a member of Jewish Voice for Peace and condemn Israel’s indiscriminate killing of civilians, history of apartheid, and racist abuse of the Palestinian people. But it’s precisely such disagreements that underscore the importance of free speech. I concur with Zimmerman that “the real threat to education lay in removing the op-eds, not in publishing them.”

Rather than resort to censorship, the district should teach the value of viewpoint diversity to students — and frankly, to their parents. I also encourage the district to roll back its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism and consider an alternative, such as the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, which is clearer and protects open debate. The district’s decision is yet another example of caving to those with the “loudest mouths,” as Zimmerman aptly puts it, individuals who probably purport to stand for free speech — but only speech that suits them.

Maya Afilalo, Philadelphia

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