Germantown Quotes

“Compositions of Black joy is a "compelling story of the vitality and brilliance of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown.”
― Tieshka K Smith, Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival

“Germantown helped shape my work and practice as a visual storyteller and image maker. But if there is a word I could use to describe what Germantown means to me, I would choose the word home. It was home then, and will always continue to be home for me.”
― Tieshka K Smith, Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival

“Consider the Johnson House and the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown together as sites of joy, freedom, celebration and resilience in the face of tremendous odds and struggle. Both operate at the intersection of Black protest, Black ritual and Black pomp and circumstance. Together, they embody the legacy and ongoing project of Black liberation, and show us exactly what it looks like in a majority-Black neighborhood in Philadelphia, a northern city that is not only the birthplace of American democracy but has its own complicated history. Together, they connect to Galveston, Texas 5, the birthplace of the Juneteenth holiday and a southern city that is 1,500 miles away.”
― Tieshka K Smith, Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival