Last month, a few BSR staffers and writers enjoyed a day of working together IRL at Indy Hall Clubhouse. Especially when working remotely, like the BSR team has done for years, it's important to connect with coworkers, and remember that there's a real person behind every email address. As you can see in the picture below, we love a chance to get together while continuing our meaningful work.
This week, you can join us online at Indy Hall as well: on Thursday, July 6 at noon EST, tune in for an interactive "Show and Tell" presentation on Zoom by me and BSR executive director Neil Bardhan. We'll be introducing BSR and talking about what arts journalism really is, and why it matters today. It's free! RSVP here.
In other news, we thought the week of the July Fourth holiday is a good time to think about public space in Philly -- particularly for young people. After months of headlines about police dispersing mobs of teenagers, we sat down with the office of City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who has a reputation as an advocate for our youth. Why doesn't Philly invest more in spaces and programming for our young people, instead of criminalizing them?
And in a BSR Book Week preview that's also timely for the week we celebrate American history in Philadelphia, we're covering a new edition of an essential text by W.E.B. Du Bois. Book Week starts this Monday (July 10), and we can't wait to bring you a whole slate of Philly-centric book reviews (plus our BSR Book Chat on July 13). Follow along on socials, and share your own recommendations, with the #BSRBookWeek hashtag.
See you soon!
Alaina Johns
BSR editor-in-chief
