Rev. LEON H. sullivan community impact center
Continuing the legacy of Rev. Sullivan
"It's not only about what he's done, but what are you going to do?"
Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr.
First Black Mayor City of Philadelphia
(See full comments made at the 100th Centennial Celebration for Rev. Sullivan here)
CONSTRUCTION HAS BEGUN
OPENS 2026
Continue to support us
"It's not only about what he's done, but what are you going to do?"
Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr.
First Black Mayor City of Philadelphia
(See full comments made at the 100th Centennial Celebration for Rev. Sullivan here)
CONSTRUCTION HAS BEGUN
OPENS 2026
Continue to support us
Located at the corner of Broad and Venango Streets in the heart of North Philadelphia, the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center will honor a visionary leader who made this neighborhood the birthplace of a movement that reached across the nation and around the world. It will extend his remarkable legacy into the 21st century to empower and uplift members of this community today.
The Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center will bring together a constellation of diverse programs dedicated to community wellbeing as determined by local residents. It will honor Rev. Sullivan’s legacy in a particularly appropriate manner—by bringing back to Broad and Venango a thriving community center like the one Rev. Sullivan founded here in the 1960s.
The Center will occupy the same building as Zion’s Educational Annex founded by Rev. Sullivan, directly across Broad Street from Zion Baptist Church.
The Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center will bring together a constellation of diverse programs dedicated to community wellbeing as determined by local residents. It will honor Rev. Sullivan’s legacy in a particularly appropriate manner—by bringing back to Broad and Venango a thriving community center like the one Rev. Sullivan founded here in the 1960s.
The Center will occupy the same building as Zion’s Educational Annex founded by Rev. Sullivan, directly across Broad Street from Zion Baptist Church.
Watch this video produced by Blurred Vision Entertainment to learn more about the
Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center.
Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center.
PROGRAMS
BriDDge Career Pathways Program
“Come for the Games, Leave with a Career”
"Bridging the Digital Divide” will tap the booming interest in Esports to attract youth from the neighborhood and beyond to the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center and into a pathway leading to college scholarships and careers. This program will be operated by the local community non-profit, Called to Serve CDC, and the skills-building activities will include broadcast communication, software development, and videography.
The BriDDge program will operate in the Esports Events and Technology Center.
“Come for the Games, Leave with a Career”
"Bridging the Digital Divide” will tap the booming interest in Esports to attract youth from the neighborhood and beyond to the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center and into a pathway leading to college scholarships and careers. This program will be operated by the local community non-profit, Called to Serve CDC, and the skills-building activities will include broadcast communication, software development, and videography.
The BriDDge program will operate in the Esports Events and Technology Center.
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Community Arts Center
Arts programming will be offered by Alice & Daisy’s Kin, LLC, an African-American, women-owned, and locally-based business. They will provide exposure to the arts through classes and clubs, work and display space for artists, art parties, and art therapy to address mental wellbeing and community healing
Arts programming will be offered by Alice & Daisy’s Kin, LLC, an African-American, women-owned, and locally-based business. They will provide exposure to the arts through classes and clubs, work and display space for artists, art parties, and art therapy to address mental wellbeing and community healing
Department of Family and Community Medicine at Temple University
The Department of Family and Community Medicine at Temple University provides comprehensive primary care to patients of all ages in a model inner-city practice. Patients receive care for both acute and chronic conditions. The practice provides pediatric care, women’s healthcare, prenatal care, adolescent care, adult medicine, and geriatric care. Every patient also receives preventive care and health screenings to promote early diagnosis, followed by help accessing and navigating specialty care when needed.
The Department of Family and Community Medicine at Temple University provides comprehensive primary care to patients of all ages in a model inner-city practice. Patients receive care for both acute and chronic conditions. The practice provides pediatric care, women’s healthcare, prenatal care, adolescent care, adult medicine, and geriatric care. Every patient also receives preventive care and health screenings to promote early diagnosis, followed by help accessing and navigating specialty care when needed.
Temple University Community Care Management
Operated by Temple University Hospital, this program helps bridge the gap between patients and the healthcare system. Community Health Workers, drawn from the local neighborhood, will help patients access health and social services.
Operated by Temple University Hospital, this program helps bridge the gap between patients and the healthcare system. Community Health Workers, drawn from the local neighborhood, will help patients access health and social services.
The Center for Urban Bioethics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
The Center for Urban Bioethics is committed to eliminating health disparities through education and research. The Center conducts interdisciplinary education to give clinicians, researchers and policy makers the tools to advance health equity. The Center fosters community-driven research to influence structural change that impacts medical care and sectors beyond it. The Center designs innovative models to address the most prevalent issues our communities face. Social justice and solidarity with our community form the unifying thread of the Center's work.
The Center for Urban Bioethics is committed to eliminating health disparities through education and research. The Center conducts interdisciplinary education to give clinicians, researchers and policy makers the tools to advance health equity. The Center fosters community-driven research to influence structural change that impacts medical care and sectors beyond it. The Center designs innovative models to address the most prevalent issues our communities face. Social justice and solidarity with our community form the unifying thread of the Center's work.
Café/Bookstore
We are seeking a mission aligned Café operator to offer coffee and light fare and ideally feature the work of Philadelphia authors.
We are seeking a mission aligned Café operator to offer coffee and light fare and ideally feature the work of Philadelphia authors.
A MODEL OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
The Center’s design philosophy will be a living testimony to one of the Sullivan Principles, which were introduced by Rev. Sullivan in 1977 and are credited with ending apartheid in South Africa: “Provide a safe and healthy workplace; protect human health and the environment; and promote sustainable development.”
Key features that will support the Center’s role in sustainability and community health:
The Center’s design philosophy will be a living testimony to one of the Sullivan Principles, which were introduced by Rev. Sullivan in 1977 and are credited with ending apartheid in South Africa: “Provide a safe and healthy workplace; protect human health and the environment; and promote sustainable development.”
Key features that will support the Center’s role in sustainability and community health:
- Public transit/transit-oriented development
- Adaptive reuse of an historic building
- Energy-efficient building systems
- Green building technical, operations and maintenance training and education opportunities
- Use of low VOC materials
- Potential for future use as a Resiliency hub
- Planned for LEED Certification
ABOUT REVEREND LEON H. SULLIVAN
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The Spirt of the Lion
The Rev. Leon H. Sullivan was a giant of a man—in physical stature and in vision. He used the pulpit of Zion Baptist Church, where he presided as pastor for 38 years, as a launch point for history-making global campaigns on behalf of human rights, civil rights, and economic justice. It was here that Rev. Sullivan advocated for Selective Patronage—a boycott in which Black Philadelphians refused to buy the products of companies that denied them employment. It was also from here that he founded Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC) of America, a job-training program active in 30 states that has served 2 million people to date. Later, Rev. Sullivan would emerge as a leading voice against apartheid in South Africa. He would serve on the board of General Motors, the first African American to do so. And he would continue the fight for economic opportunity. When he cut the ribbon on Philadelphia’s Progress Plaza, the nation’s first Black-owned shopping center, the future president of the United States and 10,000 well-wishers attended. Rev. Sullivan’s courage and power as a leader inspired his nickname, the Lion of Zion still invoked today. The Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center will honor the spirit of the Lion. |
ABOUT ZION'S EDUCATIONAL ANNEX
A Sacred Place, A Civic Space
When the former Zion Education Annex was at its height, it was home to more than a dozen active programs, from a childcare center and after-school program to a church member-operated library and a college and career guidance counseling office with social events on the weekends.
Rev. Michael Major (a native of the community) participated in the day camp and recalls the college tours offered by the college program in the mid-1970s. Like many, he remembers the vital role the Annex played in the life of the community. Today, Major, the founder and board chair of Called to Serve Community Development Corporation, along with Victor Young, Esq., president of the Leon Sullivan CDC, leads the work behind the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center. They have secured funding from the William Penn Foundation for planning and pre-construction activities.
The building at the center of their plans closed in 2014 and has sat vacant since. Though still beautiful, historic, and structurally sound, it will need a new roof and building systems, accessibility and sustainability upgrades, and interior spaces re-envisioned for new purposes – scheduled to reopen in 2024. Planning has been underway for several years, led by Zion’s community partners - Called to Serve, Sullivan CDC, and other key stakeholders:
When the former Zion Education Annex was at its height, it was home to more than a dozen active programs, from a childcare center and after-school program to a church member-operated library and a college and career guidance counseling office with social events on the weekends.
Rev. Michael Major (a native of the community) participated in the day camp and recalls the college tours offered by the college program in the mid-1970s. Like many, he remembers the vital role the Annex played in the life of the community. Today, Major, the founder and board chair of Called to Serve Community Development Corporation, along with Victor Young, Esq., president of the Leon Sullivan CDC, leads the work behind the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center. They have secured funding from the William Penn Foundation for planning and pre-construction activities.
The building at the center of their plans closed in 2014 and has sat vacant since. Though still beautiful, historic, and structurally sound, it will need a new roof and building systems, accessibility and sustainability upgrades, and interior spaces re-envisioned for new purposes – scheduled to reopen in 2024. Planning has been underway for several years, led by Zion’s community partners - Called to Serve, Sullivan CDC, and other key stakeholders: