Cecil B. Moore Library community grows more skeptical of Councilmember Young
Brewerytown mural Depicting the late civil rights icon and activist, Cecil B. Moore, for which the library is named.
The Cecil B. Moore Library is a neighborhood historical gem and staple for the surrounding communities of Brewerytown, Sharswood, North Central, Cecil B. Moore, Strawberry Mansion and Stanton. The time to start renovations is now yet there’s no word on when they will actually happen. This moment is crucial for the people who frequent the library as an essential resource. The lack of credibility and integrity being displayed by those in positions to make this pillar in society function properly raises doubt about representatives hired to do so.
The library has seen numerous closures due to issues only remedied by a full renovation. The people of this community remain steadfast in their demands for these renovations to be done now. Politicians often run on campaigns of promise to better circumstances but once elected simply follow their own agendas. This is seemingly the case for this necessary project. Constituents of this district have lost confidence in Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr. leading this initiative. What’s to come for this historical resource hub? The people closest and most affected by this want to know why the councilman has not released the funds.
At the very least they are expecting transparency about when the renovations will begin since 10.2 million in funding is readily available. His agenda doesn’t seem to match that of the overwhelming majority of The Cecil B. Moore Library’s (CBM) patrons. He’s promised not to bring to fruition his idea of building “affordable” housing over top of the building and vowed he wouldn’t have it demolished. The people adamantly showed their opposition to those options at a town hall meeting back in March of this year. Transparency is required to avoid confusion. The people have made their demands clear and they deserve answers followed by action. Yet Young’s office remains stagnant about renovations.
Kate Goodman, union member of AFSCME District Council 47 Local 2187 recounts the ongoing struggle for renovations dating back to 2017. “Former Councilman Clarke, who originally got $2 million dollars while other branches got an excess of 7 or 8 million. So we had been in conversation with Councilman Clarke when he was in office, to push for more money to be allocated for renovations,” said Goodman.
A flyer for Councilmember Young Jr.’s office encouraging district 5 resident to contact his office. Fairmount.
“By the time that Rebuild [Philadelphia] actually got to planning our renovation assessing the building and doing community designing with community members and staff in 2022, Darrell Clarke had allocated about another $2 million dollars. We had also worked with the state and private donors to get more money and then Jeffery Young went and pursued 5 million more dollars to renovate the branch and we were expecting to begin renovations last October [2024]. They haven’t happened yet, the renovation plans are drawn up but Jeffery Young has not signed the notice to proceed.”
Goodman’s view of the ordeal is fairly straightforward. “I think it's pretty clear to see that developers and city council have eyes on this neighborhood. We can see gentrification coming up Ridge [Avenue] and coming up from Brewerytown and Sharswood and so I think developers have an eye on this block to use it as a development site. I was alarmed but not surprised to hear that the city councilperson wanted to start from scratch and put housing here because they’ve put so many thousands of units south of us and coming up Ridge and so we don’t know if there are developers that they are working with behind the scenes to generate this idea. But we see it as part of the plan to redevelop the neighborhood for new neighbors, higher income neighbors and ignore the needs of the lower income Black neighbors who have been here for decades. This library was built in 1962 and it hasn’t had significant renovations since then.”
Frequent closures this summer sparked an impromptu advisory for community members, go to Widener Library. But the redirection, often on short notice doesn’t guarantee access for the regular patrons of the library. For the elderly, youth or disabled it isn’t feasible for all to make the mile-plus trip to Strawberry Mansion. The presumption doesn’t account for those unable to travel for various factors: the access to a car, the means for public transportation or the capability of hopping on a bike is not a reality for all affected. Libraries should be accessible to their direct neighborhoods and for the neighbors who live in them.
“Getting this right doesn’t seem like a priority to them because I’ve done community engagement many years almost 15 years before I was a librarian. I worked in Camden, I worked in North Philly, I’ve done union organizing in schools and grocery stores and this is the easiest win I’ve ever seen. The money is there, $5 million dollars existing from Rebuild and $5 million in capital money and $10 million dollars would pay for a comprehensive renovation. I also think this is a huge win for Jeffery Young and so to see that he is not moving forward on the renovation it definitely doesn’t seem like a priority to me and I don’t quite understand the political calculations when the community members have made it so clear what they want and need and he is still not willing to sign off on it.”
Cierra Freeman, the director of Brewerytown Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition and devoted member of this community bears witness to the nearly nine-year struggle for library funding. Noting the dwindling resources and the constant community led efforts to fortify the space, Freeman censures citywide leadership for their blatant disregard for a collaboration with the entire community and praises resident-led organizations that have been actively advocating for the needs of the neighborhood. All the while honoring the significance of the historical context of this library for collective liberation.
“The Cecil B. Moore Library is named for the lawyer Cecil B Moore, an activist who helped the youth fight for their educational liberation, an activist who was very no nonsense in making sure that the folks in this neighborhood had not only access to education, but access to resources, access to jobs, and just really put it all on the line to make sure that generationally, the people in this neighborhood and across the city of Philadelphia and within the greater nationwide struggle for Black liberation. You know, had what they needed. So that's, that's the primary reason, because this library is named for Cecil B. Moore on an avenue named for Cecil B. Moore, down the street from the place that he helped to desegregate Girard College.”
City Council conducted a limited canvassing in the neighborhood. Freeman asserts that the folks that have been following this story haven't exactly been invited to the table to have their voices heard. “You know, picking and choosing small pockets of neighbors to engage with instead of engaging overall with the community has been a concern for many years and I'm really proud of my neighbors, because they've always had a voice. They've always had a say. They've always, you know, known what they needed. They weren't always invited to the table.”
BSNC targeted stakeholders for the library renovations. Graphic designed by Jeron Williams II.
Freeman highlighted the ways in which people in power follow the status quo and dismiss the people that know most about their circumstances and needs,
“I think the city's operated a specific way for a very long time. I think they, you know, they've had decisions passed down to them from the people who were here previously that told them how things work, and I think that we, as just regular neighbors or constituents, as they call us, are helping them to change their minds by us making sure that we're very present and active.”
To date, Councilman Young has not made himself available to the 2BD team’s requests for comment.
Efforts to begin the renovation process are progressing. A community meeting is set for Saturday, November 22 at 11am at the Cecil B. Moore Library. In the interim, the calls to action from BSNC is to reach out and put pressure on the stakeholders with their demands (pictured below).
