Helen Gym

Helen Gym (/ˈɡɪm/ GHIHM;[1] born c. 1968)[2] is an American politician. She serves as a member of the Philadelphia City Council, and is the first Asian American woman to serve in the body.[3] A second-generation Korean-American, Gym is also a community organizer, journalist, former school teacher, and is on the board of Asian Americans United, a racial justice and advocacy group.

Helen Gym
Member of the Philadelphia City Council
from the At-Large district
Assumed office
January 4, 2016[1]
Preceded byJim Kenney
Personal details
Bornc. 1968 (age 52–53)[2]
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania

Early life

Gym was born in Seattle, Washington and raised in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. Her parents were born in Korea and immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. Her father was a computer engineer who worked for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.[2] Her mother worked in the food services department at the Ohio State University. Gym has a younger sister. When Gym was growing up, the family attended the Protestant Korean Church.[3]

In 1993, Gym graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in history. After leaving college, she returned to Ohio and worked for the Mansfield News Journal as a reporter. In 1994, she worked as a teacher. In 1996, Gym completed her language acquisition master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania.[4]

Career

Gym has worked as a grassroots community organizer in Philadelphia has been involved in education reform there since 2006. Around that year, she co-founded the Parents United for Public Education.[2][5] She is a member of the editorial board of Rethinking Schools and one of the founders of The Philadelphia Public School Notebook, a nonprofit, independent, free news service. She also co-founded a charter school in Chinatown called the Folk Art Cultural Treasures School.[5][6]

In 2000, Gym led a campaign called the "Stadium Out of Chinatown Coalition" against the construction of a baseball stadium north of Chinatown, due to the fear that it might result in gentrification of the area.[2][3][7]

She has also led other campaigns. In 2008, she fought against the establishment of the proposed Foxwoods Casino planned near Philadelphia's Chinatown because of the concern that unchecked development would compel longtime residents of that area to move away. She has also organized in opposition to state-sponsored, predatory gambling.[2][5]

In 2009, she worked on a successful federal civil rights case to help stop the bullying and harassment of Asian American students in South Philadelphia High School.[8][6][9] The case came about partially due to a series of assaults at the school on December 3, 2009, when as many as thirty Asian immigrant students were attacked and beaten by large groups of African-American students. In her testimony, she called for the commission to require the school and district officials bear responsibility for not addressing the problem, to differentiate bias-based harassment and generalized violence, and take a different approach for each, and to develop effective anti-harassment policies and procedures.[10] One result of the case was the 2014 creation of the AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force. ("AAPI" stands for Asian American Pacific Islanders.)[11]

In 2020, Gym made a cameo on Netflix's Queer Eye to advise a young activist featured on the show.[12][13]

Philadelphia City Council

In January 2016, Gym succeeded newly elected mayor Jim Kenney as a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council at-large district. She ran on a platform of housing reform and education. As councilperson, she has worked to ensure that Philadelphia's communities have an equal voice to wealthy entities and lobbyists.[8] She proposes a fair standard of living, especially for schoolchildren, and to combat hunger, lack of housing, and poverty.[14]

Following the aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Gym posted on Twitter, "All around the country, we're fighting to remove the monuments to slavery & racism. Philly, we have work to do. Take the Rizzo statue down", referring to a statue of former Philadelphia mayor, Frank Rizzo.[15] Her efforts to remove both the Frank Rizzo mural and Frank Rizzo statue began in 2016.

Personal life

In 1995, she married Bret Flaherty, a lawyer. They have three children.[16]

Awards and honors

References
  1. MacDonald, Tom (November 26, 2015). "Councilwoman-elect vows to work for education, 'quality life' for all Philadelphians". NewsWorks.
  2. Kerkstra, Patrick (27 December 2013). "Helen Gym: Agitator for School Reform". Philadelphia Magazine.
  3. "A national honor for Philadelphia activist Helen Gym". philly.com. 2014-04-01.(subscription required)
  4. "Councilmember Helen Gym Councilmember At-Large". Philadelphia City Council. 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  5. "Helen gym". César Chávez Champions of Change. Executive Office of the President of the United States (White House). Archived from the original on 2017-01-17.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. Zancolli, Pat (2015-10-15). "Alum Helen Gym champions housing and education reform in her run for City Council". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  7. Howard, Brian (8 April 2014). "Citizens Bank Park: A Decade in the Stadium We Didn't Want". Philadelphia Magazine.
  8. "Helen Gym, First Asian-American Woman on Philadelphia City Council, Touts Community Investment". NBC News.
  9. Hwang, Helen I. (Dec 10, 2011). "Philadelphia Story: Voices of Asian American Bullying Victims". New America Media.
  10. Gym, Helen (2011-05-13). "Briefing on Peer to Peer Violence and Bullying" (PDF). U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Retrieved 20 April 2017. (written testimony)
  11. "Strengthening the AAPI Community Through New Bullying Prevention Efforts". U.S. Department of Justice. November 18, 2014. "Courtesy of Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders"
  12. https://epgn.com/2020/06/09/queer-eye-celebrates-philadelphia/
  13. https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/queer-eye-season-5-netflix-best-moments/
  14. "This Tuesday, the Political Revolution Comes to Philadelphia". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  15. http://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/08/15/rizzo-statue-councilwoman-gym/
  16. "100k votes: Is Helen Gym now in the running for Philly mayor?". Billy Penn. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  17. "Parent activist Helen Gym receives Eddy Award". The Philadelphia Public School Notebook. 2007-11-22.
  18. "César E. Chávez Champions of Change". The White House. Archived from the original on 2016-08-15.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. Inquirer Editorial Board (8 December 2009). "Time to choose the Citizen of the Year". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA, US. Retrieved 20 April 2017. Community leader Helen Gym, who has been a tireless voice in support of improving public schools in Philadelphia, was the 2007 Citizen of the Year.
  20. "Citizen of the Year: Helen Gym". Newspapers.com. 23 December 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2017.(subscription required)
  21. "Helen Gym, First Asian-American Woman on Philadelphia City Council, Touts Community Investment". Breakfast Buzz. Philadelphia, PA, US: NBC. Jan 4, 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2017. She was also named a White House Cesar Chavez Champion of Change in 2014 and one of Philadelphia Magazine's 75 most influential people in the city.
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