Donna Receives Barristers' Association's William F. Hall Award

I'm beyond grateful to receive this year's honorable William F. Hall Award on the day we celebrate Dr King's leadership, and recommit ourselves to continue the fight for justice and equality. As a lawyer and a member of the Philadelphia's Black legal community, this award is very near and dear to me. I am grateful to each and every one of the leadership of the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia Inc.'s.

To the other honorees and then someone who many of us admire, but I am deeply humbled to be able to follow as a member of the Board of City Trust, our former chair, Bernie Smalley, I am heartened by the showing of love from friends and colleagues who join us here today, including members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, Temple Law School, Community Legal Services, the Board of City Trust and the Project HOME community. 

I'm joined by board members of Project HOME, Joyce Wilkerson, Marcelle Pratt, and others. But I am especially grateful to my husband Otis, whom I met in law school, and with whom I share a life of service with our two sons, Malcolm and Xavier, I could not do this without them by my side. 

Judge Hall embodies Dr. King’s legacy of advocating for equality in the application and interpretation of law, while defending the legal rights of our most vulnerable populations with diligence and integrity.  

At Project HOME, we also seek fairness for Philadelphia's most vulnerable populations — including people facing homelessness and those suffering from disabilities and substance use disorders. For 35 years, our co-founders Sister Mary Scullion and Joan Dawson McConnon had a vision to help everyone find their way home. With their leadership we built over 1,000 units of affordable housing and key program sites including Hub of Hope, a homeless engagement center under City Hall, the Stephen Klein Wellness Center, and Honickman Learning Center Comcast Technology Labs.  

Rooted in the words of Fannie Lou Hammer, and Dr. King himself — that none of us are free, until all of us are free, Project HOME’s maxim is that none of us are home until all of us are home — meaning that what impacts one of us, impacts us all. Judge Hall understood how important basic human needs are for all of us. He played a significant role in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to build public housing in predominately white neighborhoods with the intent of serving mostly black tenants in Philadelphia.

This effort was met with opposition and pushback from white neighbors in South Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it failed after years of protests and lawsuits – despite Judge Hall being a lawyer on the case. Project HOME has also faced a lot of resistance, particularly in the 1990’s when we tried to open a supportive housing residence in the heart of the city’s Fairmount area.  After four years of litigation, we sued the city and won the right to provide permanent, affordable housing at our recently renamed, Christoper J. Seward Residence. This landmark legal decision impacted fair housing throughout the country.  

Although we’ve made great strides, the work is far from over. We’re still seeing our neighbors struggling to keep a roof over their heads, with a debilitating poverty rate in Philadelphia, coupled with a lack of affordable housing and the opioid crisis, many individuals and families are falling through the cracks.  If we say no to affordable housing in our backyard, we will have homelessness in our front yard.  

What we know to be true, is that homelessness is solvable — and that can happen in our lifetime. I want you to imagine that with me.  Project HOME’s model addresses multiple factors to support each person’s journey home. HOME stands for H-Housing, O-opportunities for employment, M-Medical care and E-Education. The end of homelessness for an individual begins with a home, and we know that with these additional services, the cycle of homelessness can be broken for individuals, families, and whole communities.  

Judge Hall, Dr. King, and many civil rights leaders before us fought for fairness and we owe it to them to continue the fight. I offer my deepest gratitude to the Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia for honoring me with this incredible award and for the opportunity to be alongside individuals who share the same core values we have at Project HOME.

Thank you so much.