Akira Drake Rodriguez

I just got an email informing me that my Annual Review on structural racism with @tyson-brown.bsky.social and @pahoman.bsky.social is open access. So, download away.

The woke college students were right but we can't acknowledge this because then we'll have to consider whether they're right about other things too. That I'm a big stupid moron for instance

Why Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration fired its top DEI and LGBTQ+ affairs officials due to a ‘semi-nude’ photo neither sent Tyrell Brown, the director of LGBTQ+ affairs, and Brandee Anderson, the city's chief of diversity, equity and inclusion, were terminated this week, they said. Anderson said she was fired "unjustly."

What a mess www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...

Great, new work across my radar today: Kim, Palm, Hand @njklein.bsky.social "strong evidence for intersectionality between traditional indicators of sociodemographic vulnerability (i.e., gender, immigration status, disability, ethnic minority status) and greater time stress" doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

60-year-old Black history archive faces uncertain future after federal cuts For decades, the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans has served as one of America’s largest repositories of artifacts on Black history, from 15 million rare documents dating back to the 1780s to a ...

For decades, the Amistad Research Center in NOLA has served as 1 of America’s largest repositories of artifacts on Black history, featuring a collection of 15 million rare documents dating back to the 1780s, as well as a fine art collection. Its future is uncertain. www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...

We’ve lost ten times that many students since 2014/2015. Those savings are gone. The problem wasn’t and isn’t capacity utilization. It was, is, and will be, what stabilizes and grows enrollment. If the intervention provided doesn’t promote enrollment growth, it doesn’t matter what the utilization is

It is regularly shared that the School District of Philadelphia saved 20M a year by closing 23 schools in 2012/2013. If the figure of 13,000 dollars of enrollment driven funding per student is right, then losing 1,500 would negate those savings

Harvard has been undermining and repressing not only student movements on campus but also Palestinian Studies as a site of academic inquiry (the repression of both is the same project)

Thousands of Philly renters could be displaced without deal to preserve affordable units A private developer wants to sell his vast portfolio. City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier is pushing for the city to buy it.

Thousands of Philadelphia renters could be displaced without a deal to preserve affordable units.

Here's what to know ↓

I have a chapter in the New Planning Histories edited volume. Lots of great chapters covering a range of topics and cities!
link.springer.com/book/9789819...

Housing in Chicago Working* in Housing Policy in Chicago A very incomplete guide Table of Contents The purpose of this document What counts as “housing policy”? What local housing media is in Chicago? What about nation...

Soft launch docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Give Standing Up for Philly Schools a follow and share a story with them on your Philly school building story! www.instagram.com/standupforph...

Facilities Planning Process: Facts, timelines and community concerns The district is moving to rightsize its building stock. Some Philadelphians are concerned about whether their voices will be taken into account.

Really good roundup on what has happened so far in the facilities process (still no data sharing 😡,community meetings in the summer 🙃) and what is coming more meetings in the fall and closures (tho they don't save money or cause better outcomes 😔). whyy.org/articles/phi...

Philly is first district in the nation to be criminally charged over asbestos in schools The Department of Justice found the Philadelphia school district put students and teachers at risk by failing to regularly monitor for asbestos and make repairs. But the district struck a deal with fe...

This Inquirer article elides the district's recent criminal charges by the DOJ for its negligence around asbestos remediation and management. By advocating for more maintenance workers and funding, we can avoid emergency catastrophic repairs www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Stand Up for Philly Schools (follow on IG) have been advocating for increased community engagement and the removal of all closure recommendations (including co-location, repurposing) from the district plan, and instead prioritizing increased maintenance ($250M/yr)

Meeting dates/times/locations are here: www.philasd.org/operations/#...

Philly is nearing a decision on closing some schools. Here’s a look inside the process. Addressing “enrollment trends that have created financial and operational inefficiencies” at Philly schools is imperative, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said.

inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-closing-facilities-master-plan-meetings-20250708.html By December we will know which schools the district plans to close.Closures save no money, and lead to lower academic achievement and attendance.We need more people to come out to these meetings in July!

"Talking Walls moves through the Black queer spaces of Detroit, Philly, + NYC, tracing the architecture of queer resistance + joy. Through voice + archival fragments, the 📽️ honours the remnants of homes + hidden places where touch, language + memory hold defiant histories of survival + belonging."

Take care ❤️ really happy to hear you found a better place for you and your work!

Evaluating K-12 Public School District Sustainability Plans for Justice and Equity Energy policy research from the University of Pennsylvania

POLICT DIGEST: Sustainability and climate plans for public K-12 districts have the potential to address infrastructural gaps that produce outdated, unhealthy, and unsafe school facilities.

This digest from ‪‪@akirarodriguez.bsky.social & Samantha Shasanya takes a deeper look at several plans:

Board of Education Takes District Backward – Philadelphia Hall Monitor Board of Education approves new charter at May action meeting. Credit: Lisa Haver Advocates for the city’s public schools have come to learn, unfortunately, that Philadelphia’s Board of Education does...

hallmonitor.org/board-of-edu...

Philadelphia community leaders ring alarm bells about school closure process School district officials have pledged not to repeat mistakes that fractured communities and hurt students. But parents and community leaders involved in the district’s facilities planning process, wh...

Philly's school district wants the community to participate in its closure/modernization process. But members of their advisory groups say their time has felt wasted by bureaucratic presentations. They worry the district is using them to add credibility to a flawed process.

Philadelphia community leaders ring alarm bells about school closure process School district officials have pledged not to repeat mistakes that fractured communities and hurt students. But parents and community leaders involved in the district’s facilities planning process, which will likely result in school closures, say the process is already frustrating and opaque.

Concerns grow over potential plan to close Philadelphia schools
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/06/10/community-leaders-concerned-about-school-closure-process/

tabling for NYC PLAN outside MS 35/TBBS this morning!

YouTube video by Black Liberation Media NBROC: Closing Plenary - Is there an Electoral Strategy for Building Political Power

National Black Radical Organizing Conference " #NBROC: Closing Plenary - Is there an Electoral Strategy for Building Political Power" #BlackLiberationMedia www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSm-...

Thank you, that means so much coming from you!

Public housing failed miserably in Chicago. Why is the city now opening a housing museum? National Museum of Public Housing leaders hope visitors see there’s more to life in public housing than what's on the news.

National Museum of Public Housing leaders hope visitors see there’s more to life in public housing than what's on the news.

Diverging space for deviants: the politics of Atlanta’s public housing Published in Housing Studies (Ahead of Print, 2025)

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
new book review in @housingjournal.bsky.social by @katrinanacker.bsky.social

New Orleans settles suit filed by family of Kim Groves, woman murdered on cop's order in 1994 New Orleans officials have reached a settlement with the children of Kim Groves, the 9th Ward woman who was murdered on the order of a police officer after she filed

The city of New Orleans didn’t agree to pay a settlement to Groves’ children until 2018. www.nola.com/news/courts/...

More about Kim Groves, a 32-year-old mother of three. veritenews.org/2024/10/14/k...