{"id":33193,"date":"2026-07-04T16:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/philadelphia-mayor-presents-first-celebration-of-freedom-awards\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T16:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:37:40","slug":"philadelphia-mayor-presents-first-celebration-of-freedom-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/philadelphia-mayor-presents-first-celebration-of-freedom-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia mayor presents first Celebration of Freedom awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>He thanked his teachers, from Samuel B. Huey Elementary all the way to Temple University, for steering him toward acting. He also expressed gratitude for Parker. Domingo credited the city for his style and work ethic.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt starts here in Philly and we take it out into the world,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s keep on creating the world that we want to see. It starts here in Philadelphia.\u201d<br \/>\nPhiladelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker embraces actor and playwright Colman Domingo after announcing him as the recipient of the Philadelphia Freedom and One Philly Award for The American Voice. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n<p>Fard, who now co-hosts the podcast \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/million-dollaz-worth-of-game\/id1460157002\">Million Dollaz Worth Of Game<\/a>\u201d with his cousin Peeples, said they started their endeavor to give back to the community.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do it for the people that look like us \u2014 to show them that life is bigger than the 10-block radius you grew up in,\u201d Fard said.\n  <\/p>\n<p>Fard, who lost his son to gun violence, and Peeples, who spent 20 years in prison, have frequently visited the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phila.gov\/programs\/the-philadelphia-juvenile-justice-services-center-pjjsc\/\">Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center<\/a> to talk to troubled youth.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe youth, they\u2019re the owners of tomorrow,\u201d Peeples said. \u201cSo we got to hold them tight and we can\u2019t give up on them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>Hilferty called Philadelphia \u201cone of the greatest experiments in history.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the very beginning, this city brought together people from different countries, races, cultures and faiths, all carrying different traditions, languages and dreams,\u201d Hilferty said. \u201cSomehow, somehow through these differences, they built something bigger than themselves.\u201d<br \/>\nDaniel Hilferty, CEO of Comcast Spectator, accepts the Philadelphia Freedom Award for City Champion during a ceremony at the National Constitution Center. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n<h2>Parker promises statues of prominent historical figures<\/h2>\n<p>During the ceremony, Parker promised to erect statues of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, lawyer Sadie T. M. Alexander and community activist Blanche Nixon, three women in Philadelphia \u201cwho embodied the spirit of liberty and service.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a city with more than 1,000 works of public art, our public memory should tell the whole story,\u201d Parker said. \u201cIt is time for these women to stand in bronze.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>Saturday\u2019s event, part of the Wawa Welcome America programming, featured musical performances from gospel singer Yolanda Adams, vocalist Paula Holloway and the Leviticus Ensemble.\n<\/p>\n<p>Blistering temperatures forced the city to move the event from its original location outdoors at Independence Mall to inside of the National Constitution Center.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the excessive heat brought today\u2019s celebration indoors from Independence Mall to the National Constitution Center, it did not diminish its significance,\u201d said Vince Stango, interim president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. \u201cIf anything, it has revealed something important about the city of Philadelphia. Throughout this remarkable week, marking America\u2019s 250th anniversary, institutions, partners, public servants and neighbors have come together with creativity, generosity and resolve to ensure these celebrations continue.\u201d\n        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He thanked his teachers, from Samuel B. Huey Elementary all the way to Temple University, for steering him toward acting. He also expressed gratitude for Parker. Domingo credited the city for his style and work ethic. \u201cIt starts here in Philly and we take it out into the world,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s keep on creating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11573],"tags":[1090,2064,1271,7853,3688,15826,12792,2467],"class_list":["post-33193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philadelphia-breaking-news","tag-awards","tag-celebration","tag-freedom","tag-mayor","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-250","tag-philly-suburbs","tag-presents"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-04-e-lee-colman-domingo-cherelle-parker-philadelphia-national-constitution-center-freedom-awards-the-american-voice.jpeg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/category\/philadelphia-breaking-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Philadelphia Viral News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"He thanked his teachers, from Samuel B. Huey Elementary all the way to Temple University, for steering him toward acting. He also expressed gratitude for Parker. Domingo credited the city for his style and work ethic. \u201cIt starts here in Philly and we take it out into the world,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s keep on creating&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33195,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33193\/revisions\/33195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}