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WURD Radio LLC is commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by recognizing 250 black Philadelphians who have made a historic impact through a yearlong initiative called “Freedom Journeys.”

“This is our effort to really amplify the black contributions to Philadelphia,” said Sara Lomax, president and CEO of WURD Radio.

Lomax said this project takes a focused look at historical and contemporary black trailblazers who have significantly contributed to the foundation of the city and country from 1776 to 2026.

The project began as the brainchild of Renee Chenault-Fattah, the executive director of the city’s Commission on Human Relations. She created a list of various individuals, reaching out to Lomax and WURD to be involved as a media partner.

When Chenault-Fattah started her role with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration in 2025, she gave full production control to WURD to bring the idea to life. WURD then partnered with Love Now Media to take point for the video and audio production elements for the project.

The ever-building list of prominent Philadelphians began from Chenault-Fattah’s initial list of roughly 100 to 150 people. Building on that, WURD and Love Now Media continued to research, searching for the impactful individuals, while also involving the community.

Through their website, people are welcome to nominate people who they believe qualify for being featured in the project. WURD also established an advisory committee for the project to maintain the integrity of the subjects.

Freedom Journeys has featured many prominent Black figures: