Petition

Petition Summary: The One Africa! One Nation! Uhuru Flea Market has been a critical African economic development incubator  in West Philadelphia for almost 20 years.

Monthly, the marketplace provides a space for over 80 vendors to practice collective economics and make resources for themselves. The Fairmount Park Commission has allowed unregistered vendors to set up in Park A to directly contend with the OAON Marketplace, causing many of our vendors to lose significant income and close business.

The OAON Market has historically fought for the right to be in Clark Park working with, but often struggling against the demands of the City of Philadelphia and Friends of Clark Park that attempted to minimize the growth of the Marketplace. Fairmount Park Commission, in their latest attempt to undermine the markets, have allowed unlicensed vendors to set up weekly without having met the restrictions that we are made to comply with. This has resulted in a contending market that pulls income away from our regular vendors.

Our issue is not with the unregistered vendors in Park A. In fact, we call on them to join this campaign and sign this petition. This struggle is specifically against the State, in the form of the Fairmount Park Commission, and their latest attempt to destroy the efforts of the One Africa! One Nation! Marketplace by allowing this situation to continue.

We demand reparations be paid to OAON market vendors and the market itself for significant income lost during these last two market seasons.

We demand that the city be held accountable to supporting small black owned businesses and the OAON Market as a business incubator by providing more resources, programming and grants.