Philadelphians witnessed a mix of highs and lows in 2025 with perhaps the biggest memory being the city’s professional football team, the Philadelphia Eagles winning it all in dominating fashion in Super Bowl LIX, against the Kansas City Chiefs

Residents also participated in contentious town halls around the proposed arena 76 Place in the East Market Street area of Center City and endured almost two weeks of growing trash piles due to the District Council 33 union strike.

The year also saw President Donald Trump’s action against DEI measures and Black history take aim at Philadelphia’s exhibit honoring the nine enslaved Africans held captive by former President George Washington.

As homicide numbers continue to drop, residents remain concerned about the quality of life issues related to crime, housing and education.

In The Philadelphia Tribune’s annual year-end review, we look back on some of the biggest news that had our readers’ attention across the region and globally.

1. A million Eagles fans celebrate Super Bowl victory

Philadelphians kicked off the new year in 2025 standing in the freezing cold, lifting small kids onto their shoulders along Broad Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, jamming to rap music and cheering in a sea of the Eagles green to celebrate the team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The 2025 Eagles parade could be compared only to the Eagles 2018 celebration with this year’s spotlight on quarterback Jalen Hurts, NFL Offensive Player of the Year running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver A.J. Brown as they rode down the street on floats amid streams of confetti.

2. D.C. 33 union workers’ trash strike

Frustrated over pay and working conditions, leadership of AFSCME District Council 33 walked off the job for almost two weeks, leaving trash piles across the city untouched. Rapper LL Cool J and Philadelphia native Jasmine Sullivan refused to perform in solidarity with the striking workers and bowed out shortly before the city’s annual Welcome America concert. The work stoppage represented the first all-out strike for the union in 40 years over demands for a 15% wage increase over the course of three years. Instead the workers received a 9% raise.

3. Center City 76 Place arena reverses

Thousands of Philadelphians participated in town hall meetings across the city to hear Mayor Cherelle Parker advocate with most Chinatown residents opposing the proposed 76 Place arena that was pitched to be an economic boost for the East Market Street area of Center City. The proposal shifted after the team announced that it would stay in South Philadelphia and invest in a new arena there. The change in plans brought relief to residents who feared the project would displace of a large portion of Chinatown.

4. President’s House slave exhibit targeted by Trump

Local leaders strategized to push back against President Donald Trump’s threat to shut historic exhibits such as the President’s House exhibit at 6th and Market streets, which he deemed offensive. The exhibit at the Independence National Historical Park honors the nine enslaved people who toiled for former President George Washington. They are commemorated in an outdoor exhibit titled “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,” which includes text, video stories and archaeological findings. Community leaders have vowed to continue to keep the site open to the public.

5. U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans will not seek reelection

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans has represented the 3rd Congressional District since 2016 and serves on the influential Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Social Security, Medicare and tax policy. Previously, Evans served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1981 to 2016. He announced in June that he would not seek reelection.

A number of elected officials and community leaders are vying to fill his seat. Democratic candidates include: state Sen. Sharif Street; Dr. Ala Stanford; Isiah Martin, a real-estate developer; Pablo McConnie-Saad, a former U.S. Treasury Department adviser; state Reps. Chris Rabb and Morgan Cephas; Dave Oxman, intensive care physician; Karl Morris, a Temple computer science professor; Robert Toldens, a former city employee; Cole Carter, a software engineer; Gabriel Caceres, a customer engineer for Google; Jahmiel Jackson, political consultant; and Republican Sheila Armstrong.

6. Pennsylvania last state in nation to pass a state budget

Three months passed after the June 30, 2025 budget deadline with a new budget, this year. Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a $51.5 billion budget with planned increases in funding for education and human services. However, as the deadline passed, funding for schools, mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, child welfare and homelessness were impacted.

Kada Scott’s remains were found in a shallow grave near the abandoned Ada H. Lewis Middle School after her family made an appeal and announced a reward fund of $6,000 to help bring her home safely. Suspect Keon King was arrested and charged in her death after a long and desperate search for Scott after she disappeared after meeting King at his car outside of her job at the Chestnut Hill Nursing Home. The case has brought attention to domestic violence and handling of criminal cases by the District Attorney’s Office. Mayor Cherelle Parker also announced the creation of an internship in Scott’s honor at her funeral.

8. Gov. Josh Shapiro signs CROWN Act

Pennsylvania became the 28th state to pass legislation to end hair discrimination giving people the right to wear natural hairstyles — including twists, cornrows and locs — in the workplace. House Speaker Joanna McClinton led a decade-long fight to pass the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair) Act, which was sponsored by state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes. Federal legislation to ban discrimination based upon natural Black hairstyles has also been introduced in the U.S. House, but has not yet passed the Senate.

9. Northeast Philadelphia plane crash kills six

Six people died in February when a medical jet crashed near Cottman and Bustleton avenues in Northeast Philadelphia. Twenty-four people in the area were hospitalized. A giant crater marked the site of the crash. A memorial with stuffed animals and candles was set up in honor of the 11-year-old Shriner’s Hospital patient who was on board with her mother and four crew members. Several homes were also damaged. Firefighters, police and first responders were praised by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

10. Mayor Parker proposes $2B housing initiative

The mayor’s ambitious Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E plan, calls for roughly 30,000 housing units to be built or preserved — including 13,500 new units and 16,500 preserved structures.

Local Honorable Mentions:

Philadelphia City Council honors The Philadelphia Tribune

City Council members recognized the company with a citation marking the newspaper’s 140th anniversary last year. The nation’s oldest, continuously published African American newspaper,  headed by publisher and CEO, Robert W. Bogle, was honored for its contributions to society and excellence in journalism. The citation was awarded during City Council’s African American History Month in February 2025 with Mayor Cherelle Parker.

Fatal shooting at Lincoln University’s homecoming

One person, Jujuan Jeffers, 25, was fatally shot in the head and six others were wounded during homecoming festivities at Lincoln University in October. Suspect Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, who was not associated with the university and is believed to be part of a Delaware-area gang, was arrested.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. convenes in Philadelphia

About 7,000 members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. gathered in Philadelphia in July for its general convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Members dressed in the fraternity’s classic colors of black and gold and traveled from around the globe under the theme, “Reimaging Alpha Phi Alpha For the Future.”

DeSean Jackson named HBCU Coach of the Year

Former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson was named HBCU Coach of the Year less than a year after signing on to lead the program at Delaware State University. Jackson led the school to an 8-4 record.

Election for Philadelphia District Attorney

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner was reelected in November to a third term, defeating Republican candidate Judge Patrick Dugan. Krasner cited a historic drop in city’s homicide rate compared with the pandemic years and a decline in property crime, crediting investments in violence prevention, improved forensics, additional cameras across the city and technology that helps investigators unlock cellphones to gather evidence.

Top 10 national and international stories

1. Federal workers lose jobs

When newly elected President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies fire workers who were not considered essential, thousands were let go. Trump then slashed the federal workforce and threatened sweeping changes at agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State and Treasury Departments, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the IRS. He also eliminated programs focused on diversity and inclusion.

2. National boycott of Target

Following a call by President Donald Trump to eliminate diversity and inclusion programs within the federal government, several companies — including Target, Walmart, Nestlé, Amazon, PepsiCo and Google — announced they would scale down their diversity initiatives. Target leaders said they would abandon their $2 billion commitment to supplier diversity, a pledge made after the police murder of George Floyd to sell products made by people of color. African American faith leaders, like the Rev. Jamal Bryant, responded by calling for a 40-day boycott of Target stores. During the “economic blackout,” Target aisles were described as ghost towns in some areas, and the company’s stock price hit a 52-week low, falling 35% to nearly $50 per share.

Though Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, the rapper was convicted in October 2025 of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced Oct. 3, 2025, to 50 months in prison and fined $500,000. During the trial, testimony detailed extreme sexual activity at Combs’ parties.

4. Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” into law July 4, 2025. It includes cuts to health care and food programs and extends the 2017 tax cuts. Critics said lower-income people would suffer because of cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.

With no new federal budget in sight in November, millions of Pennsylvania families were worried that they could go without food provided from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown. In Philadelphia, just under a half-million residents receive SNAP, according to the Center for American Progress. A Trump administration official warned state agencies in early October that there would be “insufficient funds” to pay full November benefits for some 42 million people nationwide. Gov. Josh Shapiro joined other governors in pressuring the administration to fully fund SNAP during government budget talks.

6. Dismantling of Department of Education

President Donald Trump announced a major decision to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, established by former President Jimmy Carter in 1979. More than 49.5 million public schoolchildren were affected as division overseeing elementary, secondary and post-secondary education were slated to move to the Labor Department.

7. Pope Leo XIV, becomes first pontiff from the U.S.

Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, became the first U.S.-born pontiff, this year. He was born in Chicago, has African American lineage in Louisiana and holds a degree in mathematics from Villanova University.

8. Trump order on excellence for HBCUs

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April 2025, to promote excellence and innovation at historically Black colleges and universities, sparking an increase in donations — including to area schools Cheyney University, Delaware State University and Lincoln University. The initiative aims to expand private-sector involvement and enhance HBCUs’ capabilities.

9. FAA crashes raise concerns at airports

In January, a fatal midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people. In February, 18 people were injured when a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis crashed in Toronto, Canada, and another plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia. President Donald Trump later announced the firing of 400 of FAA’s 45,000 employees including safety specialists, maintenance mechanics and navigation experts.

10. College student dies from hazing incident

Student Caleb Wilson, 20, died during a hazing incident while seeking membership in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. on Feb. 27, 2025. Wilson attended Southern University, an HBCU in Baton Rouge, La. Five students were indicted on hazing and obstruction of justice charges.

National Honorable Mentions:

Coco Gauff wins first French Title

Tennis star Coco Gauff earned her first French Open title this year. The Florida native was the youngest to qualify for Wimbledon and was also a flag bearer for the U.S. Open team in the recent Olympics. She donated $100,000 to the UNCF for student scholarships.

‘No Kings’ protests across the U.S.

Massive “No Kings” protests were held nationwide, with speakers criticizing President Donald Trump’s sweeping and controversial policies enacted through more than 250 executive orders so far this year.

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