Valerie Russ

Mar 3, 2025 | inquirer.com | Valerie Russ

A few months after Philadelphia ceramics artist Roberto Lugo graduated with a master’s of fine arts from Penn State, he set out to drive to Florida to visit family for Christmas. In Macon, Ga., four police cars began following him on the highway, circling around him for a while. It wasn’t long before they pulled him over and ordered him to the ground. He was told to wait until a drug-sniffing dog was called to search his van. As he lay there, Lugo was scared. It was December 2014.

Feb 21, 2025 | inquirer.com | Valerie Russ

A creative writing series for teens and college-age students named to honor Larry Neal, a Philadelphia-born writer and key figure in the Black Arts Movement, starts Saturday at the Strawberry Mansion Learning Center in North Philadelphia. This will be the first of four Saturday workshops called the Any Day Now creative writing series, geared for young people between the ages of 13 and 22.

Feb 9, 2025 | mahoningmatters.com | Valerie Russ

One year after the Civil War ended, Hagar Outlaw, a formerly enslaved woman in North Carolina, was desperate to find eight of her children who had been sold during slavery. She turned to Philadelphia's Christian Recorder and placed an "Information Wanted" ad. Published on April 7, 1866, the newspaper ad listed her children by their names: Cherry, Viny, Mills, Noah, John, Eli, Thomas, and Julia. All were last seen in Wake Forest.

Feb 9, 2025 | inquirer.com | Valerie Russ

One year after the Civil War ended, Hagar Outlaw, a formerly enslaved woman in North Carolina, was desperate to find eight of her children who had been sold during slavery. She turned to Philadelphia’s Christian Recorderand placed an “Information Wanted” ad. Published on April 7, 1866, the newspaper ad listed her children by their names: Cherry, Viny, Mills, Noah, John, Eli, Thomas, and Julia. All were last seen in Wake Forest.

Jan 28, 2025 | mahoningmatters.com | Valerie Russ

Charles Willson Peale's name on a mural panel at SEPTA's Independence Hall subway station is now spelled correctly. On Jan. 25, Philadelphia artist Tom Judd went to the 5th Street/Independence Hall station to correct the spelling of "Willson," which had previously been "Wilson," SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said on Monday. The correction happened a day after The Inquirer published an article about the misspelling.