Say It Loud, You're Making Us Proud: Councilmember Kendra Brooks

This episode spotlights Councilmember Kendra Brooks and why her work matters for everyday families in Philadelphia. Ms. V frames the conversation around public service, neighborhood access, and what it looks like when elected officials deliver concrete results for children, families, and communities.The focus is on two major issues: library access and public space investment. Ms. V explains how Brooks’ lived experience shaped her advocacy, then walks through the funding wins and community benefits that followed.

Key topics

• Ms. V introduces the special series "Say It Loud, You're Making Us Proud" and its purpose: recognizing elected officials whose work strengthens Black communities.
• The episode centers on Councilmember Kendra Brooks, a mother from Nicetown who entered City Council after challenging Philadelphia’s long-standing two-party political structure.
• Ms. V uses the example of a mother walking her children to a closed library branch to show how staff shortages and underfunding limit access for working-class families.
• Brooks’ early activism is tied to that lived reality, especially the need for reliable neighborhood libraries as safe spaces, cooling centers, and places for homework and community support.
• Ms. V highlights Brooks organizing with library advocates, workers, and fellow council members to demand more staffing and funding.
• The episode notes that the city directed tens of millions of dollars toward the free library system, expanding six-day-a-week service across all 55 branches.
• Brooks also pushed beyond libraries, advocating for parks and recreation funding to return to pre-pandemic levels.
• Ms. V emphasizes that parks, recreation centers, and playing fields support trauma counseling, after-school sports, summer programming, and youth jobs.
• Brooks’ co-sponsorship of the city’s youth-powered anti-violence agenda is presented as part of a broader strategy to treat public space as essential community infrastructure.
• The episode closes by framing neighborhood investment as a right, not a handout, and thanking Brooks for her service.

Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome to Let Us Not Forget and the mission behind the show
00:31 - Why this series honors elected officials doing real community work
00:59 - Not a campaign ad - a look at public service and results
01:28 - The real cost of a closed neighborhood library for working families
01:58 - Philadelphia’s library underfunding and limited branch hours
02:27 - How one mother became a grassroots activist
02:56 - Kendra Brooks breaks Philadelphia’s two-party political pattern
03:25 - From a mile-and-a-half library walk to the City Council floor
03:54 - Why libraries matter as safe havens and community anchors
04:23 - Demanding more funding for staff and system-wide access
04:52 - Tens of millions added and six-day service restored citywide
05:21 - Expanding the focus to parks, recreation centers, and playing fields
05:48 - Youth programming, counseling, and jobs as public safety tools
06:16 - Public investment as a basic right, not a luxury
06:45 - Closing praise for Councilmember Kendra Brooks and the episode sign-off

Notable quote

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"When a neighborhood library or recreation center close, the community loses more than just a building."

Notable quote

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"Investing in our neighborhoods is not a handout. It's a fundamental right."

The podcast episode discusses the importance of after-school programs and the role of elected officials in building strong, safe, and vibrant black communities. It highlights the work of Philadelphia City Council member, Dr. Anthony Phillips, in connecting young people with positive opportunities and strengthening safety around schools.

Takeaways

• After-school programs play a crucial role in providing positive opportunities for children and connecting them with mentors and resources.
• Elected officials have a responsibility to support and invest in after-school programs and community organizations that contribute to the development and safety of children.

Chapters

• 00:00 The Importance of After-School Programs
• 03:17 The Role of Elected Officials in Community Development
• 08:27 Recognizing the Work of Council Member Dr. Anthony Phillips

The Let Us Not Forget Podcast, hosted by Miss V, the Voice of Reason, focuses on building strong, safe, and vibrant Black communities through responsible leadership and accountability. The podcast highlights the work of elected officials in serving the community and bringing resources home. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and acknowledging meaningful work while continuing to ask important questions.

Takeaways

• Responsible leadership and accountability are essential for building strong, safe, and vibrant Black communities.
• Recognizing and acknowledging meaningful work while continuing to ask important questions is crucial for community development.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction: Building Strong, Safe, and Vibrant Black Communities
• 02:12 Say It Loud, You're Making Us Proud: Recognizing Elected Officials' Work
• 03:10 City Hall to the Block: Local Impact of Elected Officials' Work
• 05:27 Bringing Washington's Resources Home: Federal Investment and Impact
• 05:57 Creating Safe Spaces for Children After School
• 07:25 Local Impact of Elected Officials' Work: Council Member Catherine Gilmore Richardson
• 10:13 Federal Investment in Philadelphia: Congressman Dwight Evans' Work
• 11:42 Accountability and Recognition: Balancing Acknowledgment and Questions
• 14:09 Conclusion: The Collective Effort in Building Strong Communities

I Have a Dream for Black America

Ms V, The Voice of Reason, shares a personal and faith-centered vision for the future of Black America. Drawing from her father’s story of building wealth, opportunity, and legacy despite limited formal education, she lays out a call for stronger families, safer neighborhoods, better schools, thriving Black businesses, and deeper community responsibility.This episode is a reflection on generational vision, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of faith in community restoration. It is both a personal testimony and a rallying cry for parents, churches, schools, and neighbors to help plant what future generations will grow.

Key topics

• Ms V explains her dream for Black America: strong, safe, vibrant Black communities with strong families, excellent schools, thriving businesses, and people returning to God.
• She tells the story of her father, who could not read or write at first but still envisioned owning a building on Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia and later owned two.
• She highlights how her parents, with limited formal education and many disadvantages, raised five children who all graduated from high school, with some going on to college.
• She emphasizes that vision matters before visible results, saying people often have to see something before they can build it.
• She argues that protecting Black children starts with the family, with parents prioritizing learning, advocacy, and presence in school life.
• She calls for quality schools, after-school programs, and safe spaces for children when the school day ends and parents are still working.
• She stresses that communities, churches, nonprofits, businesses, and schools must work together rather than expecting any one group to solve the problem alone.
• She urges parents and neighbors to show up at school meetings, school board meetings, city council meetings, PTA events, and children’s activities.
• She makes a case for community centers as more than buildings, focusing on what happens inside them: mentors, coaches, tutors, arts, recreation, and leadership development.
• She expands the dream to include entrepreneurship, trades, and career and technical education, challenging the idea that college is the only path to success.

Notable quotes

“Sometimes you have to see something before you can build it.”

“Maybe my assignment is to plant it.”

“Dreams become visions. Visions become plans. Plans become action.”

Covering our Black children means helping create a physical, mental, social, and emotional protective circle around them. However, there is another part of protecting our Black children that we cannot afford to ignore. Covering our children means acknowledging that racism is real. It means recognizing that our children may encounter racial difference, stereotypes, exclusion, unequal discipline, lowered expectations, or hurtful comments at a very young age—sometimes before they have the words to explain what happened.This may be especially important when a Black child attends a predominantly White school and is one of only a few children who look like them. That does not mean every White teacher, student, or family will mistreat our children. Many will encourage them, teach them, befriend them, and stand beside them. But loving our children requires us to prepare them for the possibility that someone may judge their skin, hair, name, culture, intelligence, or behavior unfairly. Therefore, silence does not keep children innocent. Silence may leave them unprepared. We must reach our children’s hearts before racism does. This episode can help us understand what we need to know, do , and avoid doing, when it comes to Covering our Black children.

One closed program may not determine a child’s future. But when several protections disappear together, the risks surrounding that child can grow.

We must understand something about belonging.

Every child wants to belong somewhere.

Every child wants to be noticed by someone.

Every child wants to feel good at something.

Every child wants to believe that their life matters.

The dangerous influence does not always create the need. Sometimes it takes advantage of a need that responsible adults and institutions have left unmet.

That is why our response cannot begin only after the child is suspended, arrested, injured, addicted, or lost.

We must reach our children before the crisis. When Positive doors close, who opens another one? Dare To Care.

What happens when community centers close, school programs disappear, and trusted adults and positive activities are no longer available to our children? In this episode, Ms. V examines how the loss of safe people, places, and opportunities has affected Black children and communities—and why parents, schools, churches, organizations, businesses, and elected officials must work together to rebuild the village. It is time to move beyond saying we care and begin showing it. We must Dare to C.A.R.E: Cover, Advocate, Respect, and Empower our children, before a crisis.

The episode emphasizes the importance of community participation and highlights the impact of small acts in rebuilding the village. It encourages individuals, families, businesses, and young people to adopt a school and support education as a collective responsibility.

Takeaways

• Community participation is essential
• Small acts create a big impact

Chapters

• 00:00 The Power of Community Participation