It was a busy week! #PhillyMayorThisWeek recaps five events you might’ve missed recently.

This week, the Mayor attended the Women’s March on Philadelphia, met with local multicultural newspapers, celebrated early childhood literacy, wrote an oped defending Philadelphia’s progressive embrace of diversity and inclusion, and responded to false statements about Philadelphia made by President Trump.

1. Mayor Kenney attended and spoke at the Women’s March on Philadelphia.

An estimated 50,000 people filled the Benjamin Franklin Parkway during the Women’s March on Philadelphia on Saturday, January 27, 2017. Joining the demonstrators, the Mayor announced he would sign the Pay Equity Bill, which prohibits employers from asking prospective employees their past salary history. “Now, more than ever,” the Mayor said, “it’s important we protect the rights women have gained, while we fight for the rights women deserve.”

Women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights. #WomensMarchPhilly #WomensMarch

A photo posted by Jim Kenney (@phillymayor) on

2. The Mayor met with journalists and publishers from multicultural community newspapers.

Philadelphians are served by dozens of media outlets, including a wide array of diverse community newspapers. Many of those newspapers have bilingual editions serving Philadelphia’s immigrant population. This week, Mayor Kenney met with journalists and publishers of those outlets, listening to their concerns, discussing City initiatives, and sharing ideas.

3. Mayor Kenney thanked the Philadelphia Department of Prisons for participating in the Read by 4th campaign, bringing “book nooks” to the visitor’s lobby of several of our correctional facilities.

“Book nooks” are little libraries found in spaces you’d not expect to find them, like barbershops, nail salons, and other businesses. The idea is to make sure kids who might be in those spaces have access to books.  This week, Mayor Kenney thanked the City’s prisons system for joining the program, ensuring that children visiting our facilities would have the opportunity to read, too.

4. The Mayor penned an oped in The Philadelphia Inquirer to remind visitors and residents that Philadelphia thrives because it values equality, diversity, and inclusion.

In anticipation of President Trump’s visit to Philadelphia for the Republican congressional caucuses’ retreat, Mayor Kenney wrote an essay about the spirit of Philadelphia — and what he hoped America’s leaders observed while they visited the city. “As both the nation’s birthplace and the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection,” the Mayor said, “we must demonstrate how a place built on the foundation of equality, diversity and inclusion can thrive.”

As both the nation's birthplace and the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, we must demonstrate how a place built on the foundation of equality, diversity and inclusion can thrive.

Posted by Mayor Jim Kenney on Thursday, January 26, 2017

 

5. Mayor Kenney corrected President Trump’s false statement about crime in Philadelphia.

While in Philadelphia, President Trump claimed that “here in Philadelphia murder has been steady – I mean just terribly – increasing.” This is not true. In response, the Mayor issued a statement, saying in part, “Our police officers have worked tirelessly and with great personal sacrifice to get Philadelphia’s crime rate down to its lowest point in forty years.”

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