⚖️ What’s up with all these lawyer billboards?

🚢 SOS: Save Our Ship

Preservationists from New York are asking President Donald Trump to save the SS United States. The ship’s planned departure from South Philly – in order to be sunk off the coast of Florida and turned into an artificial reef – has been delayed several times. The group of preservationists is concerned about the ship’s potential ecological impact and wants it to be relocated to Brooklyn to become a “floating ecosystem” and coworking space. [Axios]

🎶 Philly Music History Isn’t Being Protected

This city known for America’s founding has also laid the groundwork for music both nationally and globally, from jazz to pop rock. But while some have fought to protect the homes of musicians like Marian Anderson and John Coltrane, other homes and venues are being lost to time. [Hidden City]

🫂 Finding Community Beyond Football

With the parade wrapping up our Super Bowl celebrations, the Eagles season is officially over. The win brought the city together in a time we needed it most and demonstrated the power of community. If you’re looking to extend that sense of togetherness, don’t wait until the new season starts. Join something! Whether it’s improv, a running club, or a volunteer group, the city has many ways to bring people together. [Philadelphia Citizen]

🎥 Philly Keeps Winning: Filmmakers Take Home Sundance Awards

Philly-based filmmakers Jess Devaney and Jess X. Snow took home top prizes at the Sundance Film Festival for their documentaries. Devaney is executive producer of Life After, which focuses on a disabled Californian who sparked debate in the 1980s over the “right to die.” And Snow is cinematographer of We Were the Scenery, about two Vietnamese refugees cast in a Martin Scorsese film. [cinéSpeak]

February is halfway over, which means we’re already partially through Black History Month. The city’s population is 43% Black, and there have been many Black Philadelphians who have made an impact locally and beyond. While we can’t fit them all in one list, here are five Black Philadelphians you should know about.

Sadie T. M. Alexander

Sadie T.M. Alexander accomplished many firsts. She was one of the first three Black women to obtain a Ph.D in the United States. She was the first Black woman to graduate from Penn’s Law school, and the first Black woman to be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar.

Alexander also served as Philadelphia's assistant city solicitor at a time when few women held official positions in local government.

A statue of Alexander is planned for the front of the Municipal Services Building in Center City. It will be the second public statue of a Black person in Philadelphia after the Octavius V. Catto statue was erected on the south apron of City Hall.

Guion Bluford

Philadelphians aren’t just making an impact on Earth. You may have heard of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, but have you heard the name Guion Bluford Jr.? Bluford was the first African American to go to space.

A graduate of Overbrook High School, he studied aerospace engineering at Penn State and became a NASA astronaut in 1979. In August 1983, his ST-8 mission sent him into space for the first time. Retiring in 1993, he spent more than 28 days in space over the course of four missions.