The high school speech that launched Cherelle Parker’s career
Long before Cherelle Parker won the Democratic primary for Philly mayor, she gave a high school speech so impressive, it helped launch her career.
- Delivered at a citywide oratorical contest in 1990, Parker’s essay about her upbringing and the power of literature reportedly brought the audience near tears.
Parker also shouted out the teacher who led her to “redemption”: Jeanette Jimenez, who has strong memories. “It was pandemonium,” Jimenez told BP’s Meir Rinde. “They didn’t clap — it was like they saw a zeppelin come by.”
Husband and wife team fulfill dream with South Street BYO
When Hans and Samira Eggstein first met in Casablanca, they bonded over common culinary interest and a shared dream of opening a cafe.
- After surpassing the initial language and distance barrier — he was German, working at Le Bec-Fin, and she was her native in Morocco — the couple battled bureaucracy and several false starts.
Today, 17 years later, the Eggsteins are the proud owners of Chez Hansi, Ali Mohsen reports, where they serve food that marries their dual heritages.
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
• A bill that would increase penalties for illegal dumping, pervasive in Philadelphia, passed the Pa. House in a 122-79 vote last week. [BP 2022/Capital-Star]
• Philadelphia saw yet another junkyard fire on Friday, this one at 61st and Passyunk — where a similar fire had broken out last year. The site was due for reinspection on June 2. [CBS3/6ABC]
• The city needs to hire 400 lifeguards this summer, and Temple is trying to help by offering its students three college credits for working at city pools this summer. [Phila Gov/PhillyVoice]
• In honor of Memorial Day, here are eight city landmarks that commemorate people lost while serving in U.S. armed forces. [Billy Penn]
• ISO visual artists! Made in America is seeking design submissions for the annual Cause Village sign at the Labor Day weekend music festival. [MIA Fest]
• Pasta. Arsenic. Mass murder. In this edition of “Headlines of Yore,” a look into South Philly’s infamous 1930s poison ring. [Billy Penn]
• It won’t help get Jimmy Butler back, but the Sixers have reportedly hired a new head coach: Nick Nurse, who spent five years with the Toronto Raptors and is known as a hard driver. [NBCS Philly]
MAYOR WATCH
Mayor Kenney hosts a City Hall press conference to help announce details of this year’s Odunde festival, which on June 11 has its culminating event — the largest Black and African cultural festival in the U.S.
ON THE CALENDAR
🎪 Satisfy that urge to run away and join at the Hand to Hand Circus Festival at FringeArts, with free workshops on acrobatics, juggling, plate-spinning, and wire walking. (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 3)
🧆 Snack on kibbe, shawarma, and baklava while surrounded by dancing and singing as the annual Lebanese Festival takes over South 10th Street for the weekend. (Friday, June 2, to Sunday, June 4)
Catch up on the previous week
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