Young Philadelphia activists end 22-day hunger strike after budget passes, vow to continue affordability push

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With the afternoon sun beating down during a 90-degree heat advisory, Erica Brown, a member of Sunrise Movement Philadelphia, took her first bite of food in 22 days.

Brown had spent those days on a hunger strike to “make Philly affordable,” demanding Mayor Cherelle Parker spend the city’s $1.187 billion fund balance, the largest in Philadelphia history, on what the group calls its seven pillars: food, housing, schools, recreation centers, libraries, SEPTA and renewable energy.

The strike ended Thursday after City Council approved Parker’s $7 billion budget plan. The budget did not include Sunrise Movement Philadelphia’s core proposals, but Brown said the campaign had secured meetings, public commitments and other incremental victories.

‘The sickness that’s spreading … we have to heal it’

Sunrise Movement Philadelphia is a local chapter of the national Sunrise Movement, a coalition of young people fighting for climate justice. Brown’s first bite of food was a piece of bread with the words “the rich” written on it in icing, a play on the anticapitalist slogan “Eat the rich.”

“When we share with each other is when we have community,” Brown said Thursday. “To forgo food is to show the sickness that exists within human beings, within billionaires, and that sickness that’s spreading. We have to heal it. How Mayor Parker can heal it right now is using this $1 billion surplus to feed people and heal people.”

Philadelphia is the second-poorest big city in the nation, with a poverty rate of 19.7%, almost double the national poverty rate of 10.6%.

Giavanna Troilo, who went on a hunger strike for five days before stopping because of health concerns, said Sunrise Movement Philadelphia chose the hunger strike because it’s “a tactic that communicates a lot of urgency.”

“It says, ‘This thing is dire. It needs your attention now, immediately,’ and that is exactly how we feel about these demands,” Troilo said. “We don’t have time to wait around.”

Troilo said Brown’s strike represents all Philadelphians struggling with the city’s cost of living. Seeing people ignore Brown, Trolio said, had been extremely hard to watch.

“It’s really exhausting to have your friend’s life be on the line, and have a lot of people kind of just turn away from that,” Troilo said. “It’s pretty traumatic to watch that happen.”

The campaign to make Philly more affordable

Sunrise Movement Philadelphia’s affordability agenda is broken into two categories: budget demands and systemic demands.

The group’s budget demands call for $415 million, to be split among each of its seven pillars — for example, an allocation of $120 million to create the One Philly Food Assistance Program, which would improve food security for 50,000 people who receive food stamps. Its systemic demands aim to address deeper structural issues, with proposals that  include streamlining the city’s hiring process.

Sunrise Movement Philadelphia activists have experienced wins and setbacks over the past weeks. On May 21, the first day of the hunger strike, Brown and Troilo interrupted Parker’s budget address in West Philly to announce their strike and outline their demands. Brown was physically restrained and removed by three officers.

“I’m already hungry, but the city is starving,” Brown said in an Instagram video on that first day of the strike.

Brown met with Parker alongside other activists on June 2 to discuss their demands. On June 3, Brown escalated the protest by starting a thirst strike and was hospitalized the same day. In a June 6 video, Brown said that Parker and every Council member were aware of their demands and “have clearly stated that they support them.”

However, new challenges emerged. On June 10, she and a Sunrise Movement Philadelphia supporter were arrested by Philadelphia police for blocking traffic near City Hall while holding signs listing their budget demands.

“You don’t have to do this,” Brown says in an Instagram video, which shows her being pushed in a wheelchair into the back of a police vehicle. “You can make Philly affordable for everyone. We believe in you.”

When Brown was released the next day, she saw a letter from Parker in her inbox. Brown said she believes in Parker and her team, but that the letter was “pathetic.”

The letter, posted to Sunrise Movement Philadelphia’s Instagram, summarized the Parker administration’s work toward affordability but did not directly address Sunrise Movement Philadelphia’s specific financial demands.

The mayor’s office did not respond to WHYY News’ request for comment.

Brown said she feels disappointed, but “full of love.” Victories, she said, have included the meeting with Parker, commitments from Council, a written letter of support from Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore-Richardson and a commitment to create a working group on green jobs from Council President Kenyatta Johnson.

“Changing the world is about changing people,” Brown said.

Finding community, continuing the fight

Sunrise Movement Philadelphia has drawn support from young people in the city. About 20 supporters showed up at the north side of City Hall at 5 p.m. Thursday to be with Brown as she ate her first bite.

Supporter Taylor Dunston said she’d been following the group on Instagram and watched as its hunger strike progressed. She decided to show up when she saw a video in which Brown requested in-person support.

“The reality is, of course, we still have a long fight to go,” Dunston said. “The fight is not over, but I’m definitely encouraged because [of] the amount of people that’s here. It’s so many people that came out and are actually rallying with us.”

Jamir Griffin, a Philadelphia political organizer who’s supported Sunrise Movement Philadelphia in person and by amplifying its Instagram posts, said the hunger strike highlights the power of young people who have been largely “left behind” by older generations.

“I think that the hunger strike speaks to the persistence and the overall overwhelming need — not just want, but need — for more, so that we can do what’s right and take the reins of tomorrow,” Griffin said.

Brown said the end of the hunger strike is not the end of their advocacy for a more affordable Philadelphia. However, there are wins to celebrate for now.

“We won,” Brown said right before eating her bread.