05/20/2026
Saturday, June 6 Join Black Girls with Green Thumbs Grow and Walk program plus author talk!
Philadelphia is globally recognized for culinary creativity and civic history. Revolutionary Peace, a new book by former Philadelphia Daily News columnist and cartoonist Vance Lehmkuhl, adds a powerful and surprising dimension to that legacy: for more than three centuries, Philadelphia-area thinkers, organizers, and entrepreneurs have shaped the development of plant-based food and the ethical conversations around it—intersecting with abolitionist history, immigrant economic innovation, public health, and community resilience.
With Mr. Lehmkuhl’s book talks—tailored to each neighborhood—as the starting point, programs feature different special guests at each site who contribute vegan cooking demonstrations, food-growing workshops, first-person storytelling, and facilitated dialogue on topics such as business ownership, wellness, ethics, and racialized food politics. Each event will also provide complimentary plant-based food so that participation is welcoming, social, and accessible.
At the Dwight Evans West Oak Lane Library the historian's focus turns to community agriculture projects that have enriched Philadelphia over the centuries.
The library's exceptional garden hosts Mr. Lehmkuhl along with community organizer Pamia Coleman— co-founder of Black Girls with Green Thumbs and a longtime library collaborator—as they joyfully bring their expertise in cooking, gardening, and wellness to the Philadelphia neighborhood nearest the spot where, 140 years (to the month!) prior, the Vegetarian Society of America was founded. With her deep roots in WOL's garden, working together with Miss Irene on projects that have shaped the space, Ms. Coleman is an ideal co-host to help bring the present and the future to Mr. Lehmkuhl's survey of the history of Philadelphia.
In the lead-up to the Declaration’s 250th anniversary, the series offers a timely opportunity to celebrate some of Philadelphia’s underrecognized contributions to world culture while strengthening neighborhood connection and civic learning in the present.
Spector/NEH Fund: “This program was made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Miriam Spector Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities."
