During the summer of 2015, the fourteen original co-creators of #RacismIsASickness came to G-Town Radio from neighborhoods across Philadelphia, each bringing their own lived experiences and perspectives to the project. On this page are the photographs Smith shot of each of them in 2015.
Also, on this page are the maps highlighting sites of Black presence, history, and resistance in and around each participant's home neighborhood. They reveal how Black communities created institutions, places of gathering, and spaces for belonging that both sustained community life and responded to the realities of racial exclusion.
Center City
thom
Thom, photographed August 21, 2015Home neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square
Map
Lower Northeast Philly
king non
King Non, photographed August 19, 2015Home neighborhood: Kensington area
map
north philly
Monique
Monique, photographed July 22, 2015Home neighborhood: Strawberry Mansion
Map
northwest philly
map
Robin, rita, and jim
Robin, photographed July 23, 2015Home neighborhood: East Mt. Airy
Rita, photographed July 31, 2015Home neighborhood: Germantown/Wister
Jim, photographed August 5, 2015Home neighborhood: SW Germantown
Vicki, paula and jewell
Vicki, photographed August 13, 2015Home neighborhood: SW Germantown
Paula, photographed August 17, 2015Home neighborhood: SW Germantown
Jewell, photographed August 24, 2015Home neighborhood: Germantown/East Falls border
Karen
Karen, photographed August 23, 2015Home neighborhood: Germantown/Penn-Knox
West Philly (Garden court/cobbs creek)
meredith and cara
Meredith, photographed August 2, 2015Home neighborhood: Garden Court
Cara, photographed August 25, 2015Home neighborhood: Cobbs Creek
map
west Philly (Overbrook area)
len and brad
Len, photographed July 27, 2015Home neighborhood: Overbrook
Brad, photographed July 28, 2015Home neighborhood: Overbrook