Olney Culture Lab (OCL) of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia was born seven years ago out of a need to affirm and hold up the diverse ethnic communities found in the Olney neighborhood. With over 50% of its residents being African-American or of African-descent, many of OCL’s events celebrate the expressions of those cultures.

As an organization that aims to celebrate people of color and act as a counterweight to often negative perceptions of those communities by the dominant White establishment, the events of recent weeks and months – around the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, along with the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on African-Americans over and above other groups – have greatly saddened and angered us.

We, as a society and a people, cannot allow the systemic racism that buttresses these atrocities to continue. We must take this moment to have difficult conversations with each other in order to enact the changes that correct generations of discrimination and prejudice in law enforcement as well as in the realms of economics and health. We must find a better way forward together in shared spiritual and material prosperity.

We stand in collective grief and frustration and ask anyone who is in any way aligned with or supportive of Olney Culture Lab to stand in solidarity and call for justice for those killed by the police and racially motivated vigilantes.  We say unequivocally that black lives matter, and that we will continue to be a catalyst for change and positive cultural exchange and understanding in the Olney neighborhood.