Noon in the City: The Odunde Festival and the Shaping of South Philadelphia

Gerald Early, Rosalind Early, Naomi Richardson and Tina Morton

“Noon in the City: The Odunde Festival and the Shaping of South Philadelphia” focuses on the gentrification of South Philadelphia’s historically black 7th and 30th wards. These wards were where blacks settled during the Great Migration, and it was in this part of the city that sociologist W. E. B. DuBois conducted his famous study that resulted in The Philadelphia Negro, published in 1899.

“Noon in the City: The Odunde Festival and the Shaping of South Philadelphia” includes both a book (of the same name) and a 15-minute film project. Both focus on the cultural struggle against the gentrification of South Philadelphia’s historical wards. The project centers on South Philadelphia residents Lois Fernandez and her daughter Oshunbumi Fernandez and their effort to establish the Yoruba festival of Odunde as a cultural marker of black identity in Philadelphia, in order to stake a claim against gentrification.

The book project was developed by Gerald Early and Rosalind Early in collaboration with Lois Fernandez, the Odunde festival founder, and Oshunbumi Fernandez, current Odunde Festival organizer. Lois and Oshunbumi also worked with activists and filmmakers Tina Morton and Naomi Richardson to develop the documentary.

The book will focus on the cultural roots of the festival, which is based on the Nigerian Osun Festival in Osogbo, and is one of the most important cultural festivals for Nigeria’s Yoruba population. Rosalind Early and Gerald Early traveled to Nigeria in the summer to witness the festival and research Yoruba culture.

The two will also write about on the translation of the Osun festival into Philadelphia’s Odunde Festival and the community there. In the spring of 2016, Rosalind Early and Gerald Early traveled to Philadelphia to visit the architectural archives at the University of Pennsylvania and examine the papers of Edmund Bacon, Philadelphia’s chief city planner from 1949-1970. The goal is to gain insight into how urban planning shaped the city and how African-Americans responded to that planning historically.

In the meantime, Morton and Richardson have been working on a 15-minute film about Lois Fernandez and her activism in South Philadelphia. When Rosalind and Gerald visit Philadelphia, they will present a panel with Richardson and Morton, reading passages from their book, screening the film, and answering audience questions about where black life belongs in Philadelphia.

Gerald Early is the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in Arts & Sciences at Washington University.
Rosalind Early is the associate editor for periodicals at Washington University.
Naomi Richardson is a documentarian and adjunct professor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cynthia Morton is an award-winning video media activist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.