Title
Honoring and recognizing
Joann Bell, who throughout her illustrious career, has marshaled the power of government for those who have long been excluded from political and economic power, helped to transform Philadelphia politics, and served as a skillful organizer and thought leader.
Body
WHEREAS,
Joann Bell has dedicated her life's work to the struggle for equality for women and Black and Brown Philadelphians, fighting for access to the halls of power and for an equitable economy in a system designed to prevent both; and
WHEREAS,
Joann Bell was born to a working-class family, rich in love and values, who always had a seat at the dinner table for anyone that could use one; and
WHEREAS,
Bell moved to Philadelphia from New York to attend Temple University after her father was transferred to the Philadelphia Navy Yard; and
WHEREAS, while a student at Temple University,
Joann developed her afro-centric world view and her commitment to making change; always a voracious reader,
Bell was inspired by the work of Angela Davis and closely followed her persecution and the larger attempts of government to dismantle sources of Black power; and
WHEREAS,
Bell became involved in the victorious effort to defeat an amendment to the City Charter that would have permitted Frank Rizzo to serve a third consecutive term; she helped to elect Augusta Clark to City Council in 1980, only the second Black woman to ever serve on City Council; and helped to turn the tide in a city where political power was long denied to Black Philadelphians; and
WHEREAS, After graduating from Temple University,
Bell took a job with the City of Philadelphia, working as part of a violence-prevention effort that conducted outreach to gang members; federal funding for the program was later cut by the Nixon Administration, and
Bell became a social worker for the City; and
WHEREAS, Working as social worker,
Bell started organizing her office and was soon elected shop steward by her colleagues, as s...
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