Philly Trash Wars! Green Man VS Mayor Cherelle Parker

“Mayor Parker: A Confederate in Freedmen’s Clothing”
© Ogbonna Hagins

Mayor Cherelle Parker seems to think she’s fooling people. Back when I proposed reinstating twice-a-week trash pickups—at least five years ago during my time as Green Man, the environmental superhero—she was a councilmember.

Now, as Mayor, she’s pushing for the same policy, but acts like she doesn’t know who I am. This, despite my having reached out to her office personally on at least three occasions.

As the President of the Philadelphia Reparations Coalition for American Freedmen, I am advocating for the expansion of the 13th Amendment under the U.S. Constitution—a fight that directly impacts our community’s future. Yet, Mayor Parker, an American Freedman herself, remains silent on this critical issue. Her lack of action and recognition is reminiscent of Confederate attitudes, no different than those of Andrew Johnson or other Southern leaders who opposed progress.

Imagine that—an American Freedman who chooses to align with Confederate-like resistance rather than stand up for the rights of her own people. She’s willing to prioritize trash collection but not the constitutional repair owed to American Freedmen. The contradiction is staggering.

Ogbonna Hagins