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Renaming the 6600 Block of Germantown Avenue "J. Whyatt Mondesire Way" to recognize, honor, and celebrate the life and legacy of J. Whyatt "Jerry" Mondesire for his dedication to social justice and political empowerment of black and brown communities in the City of Philadelphia.
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WHEREAS, J. Whyatt "Jerry" Mondesire was born in Harlem, New York City on October 14, 1949 to mother Winnifred Taylor and father Jerome Alexis Mondesire. He was the youngest of four children. From his father, a follower of Marcus Garvey, Jerry learned about politics and activism. He learned the ethics of hard work at an early age often describing how his mother worked as a domestic worker and held a job as a seamstress to make ends meet. Sadly, she died when Jerry was very young, making his life unstable. He moved around to live with many different relatives and friends as he finished junior high and high school; and
WHEREAS, Jerry went on to attend the City College of New York where he studied journalism and also where he took on major role as one of the organizers of the college's historic takeover in 1969. He was also instrumental in establishing and publishing what became officially known as "The Paper" that is still in circulation today. As it was noted during a celebration of the 33rd Anniversary, "the diversity and opportunity enjoyed by current City College students is a direct result of these revolutionary actions"; and
WHEREAS, After college Jerry became a reporter at the Baltimore Sun where he covered the infamous Black October killings of a Maryland State Senator in 1973. His distinguished work caught the attention of many newspapers around the country and in 1974 he accepted a staff position at the Philadelphia Inquirer where he covered politics. He became the assistant city desk editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the first African American to hold that position, but in 1977 Jerry decided to enter politics fulltime. He left the newspaper and joined th...
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