For The Love of Germantown: Rasheed Z. Ajamu

Born and raised in Germantown, Rasheed Z. Ajamu (all pronouns) still cannot get enough of the neighborhood. Many locals might recognize them from tabling at a block party, interviewing a small business, or smiling to passersby while walking down Germantown Ave. 

As Germantown Info Hub’s editor and reporter, Ajamu is endlessly fascinated by the neighborhood’s people, culture, small businesses, and history. “It’s a place of magic, there is a certain level of surprise almost every day,” they said. “It’s probably to me one of the most organized neighborhoods in Philadelphia.” 

Ajamu grew up across the neighborhood — first on Duval Street and later on Price Street, close to Waterview Recreation Center. She’s seen lots of changes over the past two decades, such as school closures, including Germantown High School, more expensive development, and the disappearance of many family-owned businesses rooted in the community. 

At the same time, “I do think that there is a certain level of neighborliness that I have always felt from Germantown,” Ajamu added. “When I see articles about social isolation on the rise, I specifically can’t relate because I’m in a place where there is always something happening, and people are always communicating. There is always something going on.” 

Here are a few of Ajamu’s favorite things in Germantown. 

Favorite places to get food 

Ajamu shouts out the breakfast at Newman’s Grill (Germantown Ave. between Harvey St. and W Haines St.): “Their pancakes specifically go off. They also make some really good grits, chef’s kiss.” 

They were also a fan of the now-closed Bistro on the Mall, on Maplewood Mall, where they enjoyed a hearty turkey burger with bacon on it. 

Favorite park to frequent 

While Ajamu is a fan of Vernon Park, they grew up going to Mallery Playground (100 E Johnson Street) and Waterview. 

“I remember when there was a pool at Waterview,” Ajamu said. Going there is nostalgic because “that’s where me and my siblings always played growing up.” 

Favorite seasonal activity 

It’s definitely spring and fall over summer and winter for Ajamu, the seasons when one can comfortably spend a long period of time outside of the house. They love spending time meeting their neighbors at community events. Catch them at an upcoming zine workshop or Community of Joy Festival on September 28. 

Favorite shops

Ajamu loves Perfectly Flawless Boutique (Germantown Ave. between E Penn St. and E Bringhurst St). The owner, Crystal Jackson, “has amazing energy,” he said. “Her spirit and tenacity to merge and use Black culture and Black tradition into her work–I just live for it.” 

They also love Pomelo, founded by Kaitlin Orner, a plant shop and boutique one block down that sells many Germantown-produced items. 

Ajamu’s favorite third space in Germantown to spend time in is Umoja House Bookstore, a bookstore and coffee shop featuring all Black authors. 

Favorite public transit routes within Germantown

Catch Ajamu riding the 26, 18, and 23 buses. 

Shout out to Germantown neighbors  

Ajamu has deep respect and admiration for Cassie Owens, a local Black journalist who works for Free Press and previously reported for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Billy Penn. 

She “has done a lot of work around Black cultural significance here in Philadelphia, whether it be Black proms or helping to document the legacy of ballroom,” Ajamu said. “She sees the value in Blackness, and keeping that history to pass down, whether it is orally or visually. I think her work is poignant.” 

Ajamu also shouts out LGBTQ leaders in the community: Chantell Todman, founder of Black Bird Rising, a healing community center focused on nourishing Black, Queer, and Trans people; Gary Hines and Shakira King. Read more about all of them in Germantown Info Hub’s 2024 pride special. 

“We’re just exiting pride month, and I’ve done a lot of work around folks in the neighborhood who are LGBTQIA+,” she said, “and one of the things for me as a Black, Nonbinary person, it is very important for me to acknowledge and see the history that takes place in Germantown, that is not just about racial justice, but also this gender and sexuality.” 

Favorite fun fact(s) about Germantown

Ajamu is inspired by the neighborhood’s LGBTQ history. 

“John Frier, the person who challenged homosexuality as a disorder, he lived in Germantown, I believe on Walnut Lane,” they said. “Anita Cornwell, who published, I believe, the first collection of poems by a Black lesbian, lived in Germantown.”

“I think for me as somebody who is Black, I think that importance is much more important to me because that is where my identities intersect, and so those folks to me feel like they are keeping a certain spirit alive, helping to create new traditions, and practicing memory archive preservation in ways that aren’t more singular but are expansive and more fluid,” Ajamu added. 

Another fun fact: Germantown is home to The Spot Period, the first menstrual hub and uterine wellness center in the United States. 

One addition they’d like to see in the neighborhood 

“I think that there definitely need to be more restaurants, just in general having places where you can have a nice sit-down meal,” Ajamu said. They would also love to see larger cafes and third spaces.