LEISURE

INSIDE
South Jersey
designer
featured
B SECTION
in HBO’s
‘Euphoria’
WWW.PHILLYTRIB.COM
2B Sunday, January 30, 2022

BLOCKSON COLLECTION
Curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection Diane Turner holds a copy of
the graphic novel BLAM! —PHOTO BY ABDUL SULAYMAN/TRIBUNE CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Cover of the graphic novel Black Lives Always Mattered (BLAM!). —-PHOTO COURTESY ERIC BATTLE.

publishes graphic novel to encourage youth

Chanel Hill
TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

High school students in the

School District of Philadelphia
will soon have access to Philadel-
phia’s rich history of local African
American heroes and trailblazers
through a graphic novel.
“Black Lives Always Mattered!”
(“BLAM!”) features profiles of 14
prominent African American Phil-
adelphians from the 20th century.
Temple Universit y Librar y’s
Charles L. Blockson Afro-Ameri-
can Collection created and pub-
lished the graphic novel, which was
made possible by a grant from the
Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.
The Blockson Collection has
donated 5,000 copies of “BLAM!” to
the School District of Philadelphia
and in time the graphic novel will
be available to the public.
“We wanted to introduce stu-
dents to African Americans in
Philadelphia who they probably
hadn’t heard of and who made
positive contributions to our city,
said Diane Turner, curator of the
Charles L. Blockson Afro-American
Collection.
“We wanted students to see
themselves in the curriculum,
especially in the public schools,”
she added. “We also wanted to
promote literacy and the impor-
tance of the arts and we felt the
graphic novel was a popular way to
do that.”
The graphic novel will be incor-
porated into the school district’s
African American history curricu-
lum and extra copies will be made
available in high school libraries.
Teachers, who participate in two
professional development opportu-
nities based around the book, will
receive class sets. Teachers will
start using the graphic novel at the
end of February.
In 2005, the District became the
first major U.S. city to require Afri-
can American History as a gradua-
tion requirement for all high school
students.
“The goal with the graphic novel
Temple University Library’s Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.
is to provide mandatory profession-
al development for teachers who
are interested in receiving a class
set,” said Ismael Jimenez, School
District of Philadelphia social stud-
ies curriculum specialist.
“They would come to the profes-
sional developments and learn how
to teach the graphic novel,” he said.
“We’re also going to be providing a
graphic novel to every teacher who
teaches African American history
regardless of them participating in
a graphic novel workshop.
“The remaining books will go
to K-8 schools around the North
Philadelphia region,” he added.
“That was a direct request from the
Blockson Collection. Dr. Turner
wanted some of the copies to end
up in the schools near Temple Uni-
versity.”
Jimenez added that school dis-
trict teachers helped with the cura-
tion of “BLAM!”
“The social studies curriculum
department was working with the
Blockson Collection about three
years ago on this project,” Jimenez
said.
—PHOTO BY ABDUL SULAYMAN/TRIBUNE CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHE
“The teachers were involved in
the actual curation of some of the
information that is included in the
graphic novel,” he added. “It came
from experience teachers that was
identified by my predecessor Yaas-
iyn Muhammad.”
The planning for “BLAM!” began
in 2016. Curator, art director and
illustrator Eric Battle selected con-
tributors who began drawing for
the novel in 2019.
The 164-page graphic novel fea-
tures work from local and non-lo-
cal comic book artists. The forward
of the graphic novel was written by
the secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, Lonnie G. Bunch III.
Some of the individuals in the
novel include opera singer and civil
rights activist Marian Anderson,
writer and educator Alain Locke,
medical practitioner and busi-
nessman Dr. Walter P. Lomax Jr,
Philadelphia Tribune Newspaper
founder Christopher J. Perry, attor-
ney and civil rights leader Cecil B.
Moore, architect Julian Abele as
well as civil engineer and contrac-
tor Frederick Messiah.
An illustration of Alain Locke in the graphic novel
BLAM! by curator, art director and illustrator Eric
Battle. —PHOTO COURTESY ERIC BATTLE.
“I selected the artists involved,”
Battle said. “We brought Dr. Sheena
Howard aboard to write the narra-
tives. All of the artists involved in
the book, I’ve known over the years
and they’re artists whose work I
always admired.”
Battle illustrated three profiles in
“BLAM!” including W.E.B. Du Bois,
Alain Locke and Cecil B. Moore.
“In illustrating those three pro-
files, I did each profile in a slightly
different manner,” Battle said. “The
W.E.B Dubois profile, I did in black
and white with gray tones.
“The Alain Locke story, I col-
ored that myself with painted
color,” he said. “Cecil B. Moore’s
illust rat ion is t he t radit ional
comic book style. I had a friend of
mine, who’s also a working color-
ist in the industry, color that par-
ticular work for me.”
“It was a big responsibility to
be able to illustrate these stories
and these particular individu-
als because they’re so iconic,” he
added. “You want to do justice to
their stories and to the legacy of
their families.”
T he Cha rles L . Block son
Afro-American Collection is one
of the nation’s leading research
facilities for the study of the histo-
ry and culture of people of African
descent. The collection has more
than 700,000 items.
In the future, Turner hopes to
make “BLAM!” into a series. She
wants the stories in the graphic
novel will get students to read and
be inspired.
“I’m hoping ‘BLAM!’ will encour-
age students to read more and
know more about their history,”
Turner said. “Reading about the
lives of African Americans who
have made contributions to various
domains helps students to develop
their critical thinking skills.
“We also want students to be
inspired by these stories,” she
added. “We want to combat the
negative stereotypes by showing
them that there are role models for
young people to follow and they
can come from your own city.”
chill@phillytrib.com.
215-893-5716
Page 2-B
Sunday, January 30, 2022
LEISURE WWW.PHILLYTRIB.COM

Designer Charles Jay’s clothes were featured in the Season 2 premiere episode of Euphoria. —SUBMITTED PHOTOS Charles Jay

SOUTH JERSEY DESIGNER FEATURED IN HBO’S ‘EUPHORIA’

Mina Llona
TRIBUNE COREESPONDENT

People react to adversity in dif-

ferent ways. For some it will get in
the way and keep a person from
moving beyond their hardships.
For others it can be a motivat-
ing factor and propel a person to
bigger and better. The latter was
the case for Fashion Designer,
Charles Jay.
Jay is a South Jersey native.
He grew up in Cedarbrook, New
Jersey and went to Winslow Town-
ship High School. At the age of
two, he developed kidney cancer.
He was told at a very young age
that he wouldn’t be able to do
things the other kids did. He had
a long road ahead of him, but this
hardship made him tough and
prepared him for a world that
would continually tell him what
he couldn’t do.
After college, Jay decided he
wanted to design fashion. While
working at various Aldo’s in South
Jersey and Philly as a store man-
ager and area manager, he stud-
ied the clothes production pro-
cess in his spare time. Through
trial and error, Jay learned how to
produce clothing pieces by deal-
ing directly with a manufacturer. Charles Jay’s clothing line, Avenue Black has a physical store in the Deptford Mall.
His brand, Urbane, launched in
2015 and is an extension of him Artists like Swizz Beatz and Wolf to be able to build these connec- the same locations where I was everyday and utilize the space we
and his cancer survivor stor y. Tyler have worn his clothing and tions and have the resources to work ing for someone else is a have, that includes a photography
Jay says, “The color block logo Urbane has had small placements be placed on different shows,” monumental feat for me,” says studio, a livestream twitch room, a
is a reference to me being in the on VH1’s Love And Hip Hop. Most says Jay. Jay. podcast studio, a makeup studio,
playroom (at CHOP) playing with recently, Urbane and Jay’s other Jay has been in remission for Both Urbane and Avenue Black and we also do workshops and
the color blocks. The 93, which is clothing brand, Avenue Black, 28 years and is still cancer-free. brands are sold at the same store. events to give other local entre-
pretty much on all the clothes, were featured on HBO’s hit show His willingness to succeed and He has big dreams for his Avenue preneurs the resources they need.
is the year I was diagnosed with Euphoria. His clothes was fea- drive to accomplish big things Black brand. Jay plans to open an Avenue Black is a small business
cancer. There’s always a cancer tured in the premiere episode of shines through all that he does. 11,000 square foot Avenue Black incubator.”
ribbon or some kind of symbol- Season 2, which garnered 2.4 mil- I n add it ion to Avenue Black location in Turnersv ille, New Jay is glad to see that his hard
ization on all the clothes that I lion viewers and is the strongest being the name of his second Jersey. This location will be more work and perseverance has paid
produce.” digital premiere performance of clothing brand, Jay also has a than a retail store. Jay explained, off. “I’ve been through the trench-
Jay’s unique brand and story any HBO episode on HBO Max physical store in the Deptford “the whole concept is a co-working es, but mentally I’ve been strong
have slowly started to build a since t he streaming ser v ice’s Mall by the same name, the same space. A retail co-working space. enough to get through the obsta-
bu z z . H is clot h i ng has been launch last May. His brand was mall where he previously worked We have multiple retail brands, all cles. No opportunities have been
featured in Essence Magazine, worn by the character “McKay,” at Aldo. Jay also previously had a local designers and local brands handed to me. I’ve had to go and
Huffington Post, and Complex played by Algee Smith. “It’s a tes- store at the Gloucester Premium that are sold within our space. get them,’’ says Charles Jay.
magazine. He’s also had a show- tament to the hard work that I’ve Outlets, where he also worked. People can pay a membership For information, visit bycharles-
ing during Philly Fashion Week. done in the last couple of years “Being able to open up stores in fee and work from our location jay.com

ACTION NEWS ANCHOR EMBRACES NEW ROLE

Afea Tucker
TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT

Longtime 6-ABC news anchor

and reporter, Rick Williams, calls
it an honor and a privilege to take
over the anchor chair at 11 o’clock.
“You don’t replace an icon like
Jim Gardner who’s been doing it
for four decades, you just pick up
where he left off. And when man-
agement at 6-ABC told me I would
be that person, I felt very proud but
also humbled. It’s quite an honor,”
said Williams.
It’s a new position, but then
again, it’s not. Williams has filled
in for Gardner on several occa- Rick Williams has been with Action
sions when he was away or on News for over 30 years.
vacation and is a professional jour- —SUBMITTED PHOTO

nalist with 30 years of anchoring

experience.
“I’m delighted that Rick Wil-
liams will anchor Action News at
11 p.m. following Jim Gardner,”
said Bernie Prazenica, 6-ABC
WPVI-TV Philadelphia President
and General Manager. “Rick is
uniquely qualified by his 30 plus
years of experience in anchor-
ing Action News in the morning,
noon and evening. His knowledge
of our region and deep roots in our
community make him the perfect
choice.”
Before Williams’s elevation to
the 11 p.m. news, he co-anchored
Action News at 5 p.m. and Action
News at 10 p.m. on PHL-17. He’s also
“I’ve been ready for this chal-
From left: Action News anchor Rick Williams, Action News meteorologist Cecily Tynan and Good Morning Amer- lenge and I welcome it,” said Wil-
ica meteorologist Ginger Zee hosted the 6ABC Dunkin Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2019. — PHOTO COURTESY OF 6ABC liams.
Having anchored every news-
reported for Action News’ weekly a hands-on approach to the news- has helped,” he said. “Again, I’m cast and covered some of the
“Crimefighters” series and co-an- cast as Gardner did. not unfamiliar with this broad- biggest stories in Philadelphia
chored Action News Mornings. “I take pride in being able to cast because I have filled in many and beyond, Williams earned
“I’m surrounded by the most help determine what stories will times, and I am simply picking up the respect and trust of countless
competent people at Action News, be in that half hour and making where Jim left off, not replacing viewers.
and I know they are in my corner,” sure everything we report is fair him. You can’t replace a Jim Gard- “Thanks to social media, I have
said Williams. “That’s part of the and accurate,” Williams said. ner. And thanks to family, friends heard quite a bit from fans and
success of the 11 o’clock news as Nearly two weeks into the new and viewers, it will be a wonderful viewers and much of it, if not all
well, wonderful journalists who position, he shared that things are experience for all of us.”. of it, has been supportive and
are committed to making sure “so far so good.” As far as feeling any pressure, congratulatory.” he said. “I am
Philadelphia and the Delaware “I’ve had a few butterflies, but Williams said, “the only pressure thankful that they already know
Valley are well covered.” that’s natural,” Williams said. is to make sure I can continue the my body of work, and hopefully,
One of his current goals in his “Having a professional relation- journalistic excellence set forth by they will continue to watch Action
new position is to continue to have ship with Cecily and Ducis already Jim after 40 years.” News at 11.”
 WWW.PHILLYTRIB.COM
Mascots had character
My friend sent me a joke
email about The Pillsbury
Dough Boy, a great icon of
the mascot community, but
what I took away from this
email was the memories
of other brand and service
mascot s. W hat produc t
or service mascots do you
remember some that have
even survived the test of
t ime and resurrect fond
mascot memories from back
in the day?
When it comes to mas-
cots, it is hard to avoid an
image of the “Umbrella Girl”
with the slogan, “When It
Rains It Pours.” She was cre-
ated in 1914. You may know
that this is the mascot for
Morton Salt Company; one
of the longest running and
most recognizable brand
mascots in t he count r y.
Then there is the muscular,
smiling character that goes
by the name of Mr. Clean.
He is st ill around today
and is the mascot for the
household cleaning prod-
ucts produced by Proctor
and Gamble. Many of you
are very familiar with the
Quaker Oats mascot. Some
thought that this mascot
was based on the found-
ers being Quakers. Some
thought that he was mod-
eled after William Penn. But
according to several Internet
sources such as triviahappy.
com, it was randomly select-
ed after one of the co-found-
ers read about the image of
Quakers: purity, honesty,
and integrity.
I am sure you know the
mascot Smokey the Bear.
W it h t he Un ited St ates
Forest Service stymied fight-
Tony the Tiger® and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal —KELLOGG COMPANY
ing forest fires as a result of
able-bodied men being off
to war, efforts were made
to educate the public about
the danger of forest fires and
to promote fire safety. Thus,
Smokey the Bear was intro-
duced.
You mu s t g o b a c k t o
t he 1930’s for E l sie t he
Cow. Some argue that this
Borden Da i r y mascot is
the oldest of all mascots.
Some of you are old enough
to remember climbing up
on t he X-R ay Shoe-Fit-
ting Machine that was a
common fixture in children
LEISURE
shoe stores back in the fif-
t ies. A ny t houg ht about
these machines, immedi-
ately take me to the Brown
Shoe Company. If you are
in my age bracket, you will
remember Buster Brow n
who was the mascot of this
compa ny. How ma ny of
you have memories of this
mascot, h is sister Ma r y
Ja ne, a nd h is dog Tige?
Buster Brown was a ver y
well-known mascot back in
the day.
For many Black Ameri-
cans, some mascots gen-
erated considerable con-
troversy. One of the most
cont roversia l mascots
was Au nt Jem i ma. Au nt
Jemima pancake mix goes
back to 1889 and the char-
acter came from a minstrel
show. It may interest you
to know that the original
ac t ress to por t ray Au nt
Jemima was a former slave.
But w it h pressu re f rom
Black organizations, Aunt
Je m i m a’s f e a t u r e s a nd
characteristics changed.
In spite of the controver-
sy, Aunt Jemima remains
one of the most success-
ful advertising icons of all
Page 3-B
Sunday, January 30, 2022
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW
POPULAR MASCOTS?
Te s t y ou r k no w le d g e
Answers:
of mascots by play ing 1.Planters Peanuts
a ga me. I a m goi ng to 2.Sun-Maid Raisins
identify mascots and ask 3.Michelin Automobile
t hat you associate t he Tires
mascot with the appro- 4.Gerber Strained Foods
pr i at e pr o duc t . R e ad
5.Captain Morgan Rum
the name of the mascot 6.Elmer’s Glue-All
and then write down the 7.Nestle, Nesquik
product. 8.Speedy
9.the jingle “plop, plop,
1. Mr. Peanut “Fizz, Oh, what a relief it
2. Sun Maid Girl is“ should have resulted in
3. The Michelin Man identifying Speedy as the
4. The Gerber Baby mascot for Alka-Selzer,
5. Captain Morgan 10. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
6. Elmer the Bull Cereal
7. Quiky the Bunny 11. Quaker Oats Cap’n
8. Speedy Crunch cereal
9. Snap, Crackle and Pop 12. The United States Postal
10. Captain Horat io P. Service to encourage use of
Crunch ZIP codes on all mailings
11. Mr. ZIP or Zippy 13. Kool Cigarettes
12. Willie the Penguin 14. The Green Giant Com-
13. The Jolly Green Giant pany with his “Ho, ho, ho”
time. Uncle Ben that adver- t u r y. Ol iv ia Abbe i n a n
tised Uncle Ben’s Rice and on-line article, “Brief His-
L it t le Bl ac k S a mbo a re tory of Mascots” provides
other Black mascots that an easy read about mascot
generated controversy. history. As you recognize,
There are two mascots some have come and gone
t hat ca nnot be ig nored. over the years. Hopeful-
Tony the Tiger, the mascot ly, this column provided
for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes you with a glimpse of the
is k now n by most. Then world of mascots, primari-
there was the Tiger whose ly focused on products and
ta i l hu ng out of t he gas services that took you, back
tank of our automobiles as in the day.
we drove around. Yes, the
Exxon Tiger was infamous Alonzo Kittrels can be
for the commercial that said, reached at backintheday@
“Put a tiger in your tank.” phillytrib.com or The Phila-
You should know that the delphia Tribune, Back In The
Kellogg Tiger and the Exxon Day, 520 South 16th Street,
Tiger were t wo different Philadelphia, PA 19146
Tigers but they produced a The views expressed in this
trademark controversy. column are not necessarily
The use of mascots goes those of The Philadelphia
back to the early 19th cen- Tribune.