Finding Ceremony, Philadelphia
"Finding Ceremony" proposal and Update on Feb 2nd, 9 am EST public hearing at Orphan's Court
1. This morning, we published a short introduction to and contextualization of the work we propose with Finding Ceremony. It is available for free to read on Medium.com: https://intersectionist.medium.com/finding-ceremony-for-our-ancestors-held-in-penn-museums-morton-cranial-collection-c7580a98064a
2. We have made public a shortened version of the Preliminary Proposal for Finding Ceremony that we submitted to Judge Woods-Skipper of Philadelphia's Orphans' Court. You can access the PDF here.
3. We have updated the signup form to reflect the public hearing date and other developments--this remains the best way for folks to connect with and support this work: https://forms.gle/bigJi5cGWokVJKn1A
Writing to Judge Woods-Skipper
If you would like to convey to the Orphans' Court judge your perspectives, expertise, and disagreement with Penn’s plans, here are the instructions for how to submit the letters:
Write a letter that details your concerns and perspectives on this matter, and conveys who you are in connection to this issue. You do not need to be an expert on all aspects of this court case in order to share your input with the judge. If you wish to know more, however, you can find some key documents here (reply to this email if you would like further material on any aspect of this work).
Include the following at the top of your letter:
Hon. Sheila A. Woods-Skipper, Administrative Judge
Orphans’ Court Division
Court of Common Pleas, County of Philadelphia
Room 519 City Hall
Philadelphia PA 19107
Re: Morton Cranial Collection, O.C. 578 NP of 2022
Include your signature on your letter (if need be, print it out and sign the letter, then scan before sending as an email attachment).
Email your letter to the judge’s clerk, Lynda Evans: Lynda.Harry@courts.phila.gov and cc Abdul-Aliy, Lyra, and Penn’s attorney: jennifer.nevins@stevenslee.com, lyra.d.monteiro@gmail.com, aliy.muham@gmail.com
There is no fixed deadline for submitting public input of this nature, but the judge’s clerk recommends that letters be submitted prior to the hearing on February 2, so that the Judge will have time to read them and take them into consideration.
Thank you again for your continued engagement and support for this work! If you have any questions, please reply to this email.
-Lyra & Abdul-Aliy