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A portrait of an Emancipation Day celebration in 1900. (Image via Wikimedia Commons, credited to Grace Murray.)

In the midst of civil unrest, Juneteenth is here. What does emancipation mean today?

Is this my freedom?

What is Juneteenth and what does it mean for the movement happening in our current sociopolitical climate? Kyle V. Hiller considers.

Kyle V. Hiller

Jun 16, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

When this movement goes quiet, what will be left for Black people?

Wrestling with silence

Silence is complicity. But what happens when you’re Black and you’ve been silent? What are you being complicit about? Kyle V. Hiller considers a different kind of silence.

Kyle V. Hiller

Jun 09, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

After a weekend in crisis across the city, boarded-up businesses line East Passyunk Avenue. (Photos by Alaina Johns.)

Riots in Philadelphia: At BSR, this is why we said what we said

Here all along

Especially when our city is in crisis, BSR is a team. This is not the beginning of the work for editors Alaina and Kyle. And it’s far from the end.

Kyle V. Hillerand Alaina Johns

Jun 02, 2020 Editorials 3 minute read

Before the storm: Alaina, at left, with her fellow campers in 1993. (Photo courtesy of the Johns family.)

Should 2020 be the year I try camping again?

Escape from Periwinkle Park

What was so bad about camping, anyway? After two and a half months of stay-at-home in South Philly, Alaina Johns tries to remember.

Alaina Johns

May 26, 2020 Editorials 4 minute read

Being watched is unmistakable once you get to know the feeling—even in a Pikachu mask. (Photo courtesy of Kyle V. Hiller.)

Who will be able to return to normalcy once quarantine is over?

When it hurts to feel safe at home

As states reopen before the coronavirus is contained, Kyle V. Hiller considers how a stressful Sunday stroll served as a preview of what life will be like post-quarantine.

Kyle V. Hiller

May 19, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

Is it possible to quarantine while on vacation? (Image via Pixabay.)

I thought we were in this together. If others are ending quarantine, why not follow?

You’re going where?

Our #FlattenTheCurve quarantine was hard enough when solidarity abounded and we stayed home together. But how does it feel when others decide to start venturing out? Alaina Johns is anxious.

Alaina Johns

May 12, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

The Ralph Brooks Park Project by Steve Powers, a Mural Arts project, feels especially timely. (Photo by Kyle V. Hiller.)

For Philly arts to survive beyond 2020, we need some positive pessimism

This is not a mutiny

In the face of a proposal to kill Philly’s office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Kyle V. Hiller says positive pessimism will help the arts bounce back.

Kyle V. Hiller

May 05, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

Is City Hall about to say goodnight to arts and culture in Philly? (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

Will we let the City of Philadelphia defund the arts because of the pandemic?

Not a cut. A collapse.

Last week Mayor Jim Kenney released a proposed 2021 budget, revised for life during and after the pandemic. It would eliminate the city’s arts office.

Alaina Johns

May 05, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

Here is the approximate number of emails I receive in an average workday. (Photo by BanduG via Wikimedia Commons.)

Before we cancel in-person meetings forever, can we make email less annoying?

Sins of the inbox

Some people are exclaiming about the benefits of canceled meetings—but if that means even more emails than before, Alaina Johns isn’t ready.

Alaina Johns

Apr 28, 2020 Editorials 5 minute read

The Delaware river could creep into the edges of our city within our lifetime, but we can help prevent that, beginning today. (Photo by Kyle V. Hiller.)

Especially in Philly, don't ignore the storm brewing around a global pandemic

Nice weather we’re not having

Kyle V. Hiller, once an aspiring meteorologist, spends Earth Day considering how climate change is directly linked to COVID-19 and the economic crash.

Kyle V. Hiller

Apr 21, 2020 Editorials 4 minute read