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What begins as flattened boxes becomes a parade that fills the streets of West Philadelphia on a breezy autumn afternoon where artists, activists, and families march as one.
For over a quarter century, the annual Peoplehood Parade has turned early November into a moving gallery of puppets, banners, and music. The day itself is only the finale. Behind it is a month-long series of art builds, workshops, and rehearsals, where hundreds of artists and families gather around tables of cardboard, paint, and tape to turn everyday objects, and even trash, into art.
Participation is welcome at any point, whatever a person’s experience level. As Spiral Q puts it, “everyone is an artist and everyone can make art.”
Moved by Drums, Music, and Imagination
By late morning on November 7th, the streets around the Paul Robeson House at 4951 Walnut serve as a final assembly point for last-minute fixes. Banners unroll across the pavement; onlookers wave and cheer from the porches and sidewalk. And along the route, community groups of all kinds walk alongside each other.
For the Earth Quaker Action Team, the parade is as much a gathering as a march. “Peoplehood is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other organizations working to make our city and world a better place, and to reconnect with the joy and love that drive our activism,” states Sandra Telep, Campaign Director. The group also looks forward to seeing what others are working on and reflecting on its own work “through an artistic lens.”
Transit Forward Philly rolled into the procession with a large, hand-built trolley, made in Spiral Q’s community art builds. The group, which advocates for safe, accessible, and reliable public transit, says the art-making is part of the point.
“Creating these pieces collectively alongside fellow advocates for a better city shows the power of art and community to bring us together,” states Stephen Bronskill, Coalition Manager with Transit Forward Philly.
Tali Ruskin, a healthcare professional and organizer active with the Philadelphia chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, spoke on behalf of Families for Ceasefire Philly. Taking part in the parade, Ruskin explained, “aligns with our goal to integrate children and families in the struggle for justice, using art, storytelling, music, and joy.”
Healthcare Workers for Palestine Philadelphia also leveraged the power of art to create papier-mâché replicas of medical schools and a hospital, modeled after real buildings in Gaza. The pieces are part of a fundraising campaign to support medical students in Gaza.
Banners and a giant cardboard pill bottle fill the street as Healthcare Workers for Palestine Philadelphia marches with mutual aid networks–including Jewish Voice for Peace Philadelphia and Families for Ceasefire Philly. (Hanbit Kwon for Billy Penn)
As Yasmine Azzi, MD, conveyed, “We hope to honor the institutions, students, educators, and healthcare workers whose work and futures have been profoundly impacted by the ongoing destruction, while raising awareness and mobilizing support for the continuation of medical education in Gaza.”
A New Coalition Joins the Parade
Also joining this year’s parade is the No Data Centers in Philly Coalition. The coalition officially launched its campaign with a rally at Philadelphia City Hall this year–calling for a citywide moratorium on large-scale data center construction and regulations to protect local neighborhoods.
The coalition says it marched in the parade to connect the many issues Philadelphians organize around. “The story across all these campaigns is community,” states Sachio Henson, Senior Organizer. “We are inviting people to be part of this story.”
Many Groups, One Parade
For many families, the day begins at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community, which opened its doors to children and families for the occasion. Alisha Berry, the center’s Board Secretary, says she wanted to create a welcoming space for kids.
Families for Ceasefire Philly hosted a story time where children and families read books about immigration and Palestine, decorate signs, and rehearse songs. Camp Sojourner, Berry’s nonprofit, brings its own contingent of children to march.
“Peoplehood is a great opportunity for us all to come together,” Berry says, adding that it is “a really important sacred thing” for children to experience community and know they are part of something bigger.
The Dog Bowl Becomes a Stage
The route ends at Clark Park’s Dog Bowl, where the parade settles into the Peoplehood Pageant and the marchers join the audience, sprawled across the grass.
Speeches from organizers are part of the afternoon. Transit advocates call on city and state leaders to support a long-term funding solution, a transit access fund, and universal student fares. Healthcare speakers draw attention to access to care for people experiencing homelessness and remember community members lost to medical neglect and overdose.
For Councilmember Jamie Gauthier of Philadelphia’s 3rd District, the parade captures what makes West Philadelphia special. For her, the Peoplehood Parade “embodies so much about what’s special about West Philadelphia,” with “people coming together for the things that matter to their neighbors, from housing to the environment to mass transit. But here, we do it with passion and with joy,” Gauthier says, “and that’s what I love about the parade.”
