The Narrative

Directors Statement

Growing up in generational poverty in North Philadelphia, I wanted living conditions to improve for my community, somehow. Over time, however, I noticed the rapid expansion of Temple University, where I currently study, into my home of origin, forcing out long-term residents through gentrification. I want this documentary to shine a light on how institutional gentrification, driven by universities, negatively affects African American urban neighborhoods in Philadelphia and beyond.

This issue has affected me on a very personal level, as I have witnessed families in my neighborhood of origin struggle to pay for rent or afford meals, while Temple builds luxury apartments for international students. In 2016, my neighbors and I—African and Caribbean immigrants, undocumented workers, disabled people, and some low-income African-American families—were illegally pushed out of our apartments in University City during my freshman year at Temple. I was given less than a month’s notice, and my deposit was never returned. The building was bought and rapidly renovated, and the rent almost tripled, and then marketed to University of Pennsylvania and University of the Sciences students. For these reasons, I feel that I am the right person to shoot and bring this documentary to life.

My decision to make T.E.M.P.L.E.was greatly inspired by My Brooklyn, a documentary about Kelly Anderson, a white gentrifier who moved into Brooklyn in 1988, and witnessed the forcing out of the majority of her African-American neighbors in the name of luxury housing and chain store development. I was also greatly influenced by City Rising, a documentary that explores the effects of rapid gentrification on the city of Los Angeles, and follows various activists and nonprofits as they advocate for responsible development. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of these filmmakers and illuminate the story and struggle of my home of origin.

I initially discovered in post-production that the story of T.E.M.P.L.E.was not visually and narratively cohesive enough to really communicate the urgency of my message. So my team and I retooled it to focus on the visual architecture of the community that is being erased: local faces, notable buildings, and murals of black power and prominence. We also combined that with key interviews with local activists and community organizers that overlap with Temple University in some way. These interviews were able to provide a nuanced perspective on Temple’s ongoing, troubled relationship with the community of North Philadelphia.

I hope that other young African-Americans growing up in urban environments will feel empowered to keep speaking truth to power, as they navigate various educational institutions that were historically designed to erase them. I also hope to raise the awareness of other viewers who may not have been impacted by this kind of power struggle as directly as I have.