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Philadelphia native\u00a0 recognized following historic 3,000-mile cross-country walk to support and expand opportunities for Philadelphia youth\u00a0<\/p>\n
PHILADELPHIA \u2014\u00a0Mayor Cherelle L. Parker\u00a0today presented the Key to the City of Philadelphia to\u00a0Isaiah \u201cHMBL\u00a0Zayy\u201d Thomas, recognizing the Nicetown native for his historic 3,000-mile journey across the country and his commitment to creating new pathways to opportunity for Philadelphia\u2019s young people.<\/p>\n
Thomas returned home to Philadelphia after completing a 124-day cross-country walk from Philadelphia to California on July 26. The journey raised more than $181,000 toward his $200,000 goal to support the creation of\u00a0HMBL University, a Philadelphia-based trade school envisioned to provide young people with hands-on career training and skills to build successful futures.<\/p>\n
The Key to the City is presented as a symbol of civic recognition and Philadelphia\u2019s appreciation for individuals whose achievements, service and influence have made a meaningful\u00a0impact on the city and its people.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Key to the City is symbolic, but today, I want this key to represent something very real: the doors Isaiah is opening for the next generation of Philadelphians,\u201d said\u00a0Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. \u201cIsaiah\u00a0\u2014 HMBL\u00a0Zayy\u00a0\u2014 walked 3,000 miles because he believes our young people deserve pathways to family-sustaining careers, financial\u00a0independence\u00a0and the opportunity to build wealth right here in Philadelphia. He has shown our city and our country what can happen when an audacious vision is matched by purpose,\u00a0resilience\u00a0and an absolute determination to see it through.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in Nicetown, I learned early that where you start does not have to determine where you finish,\u201d said\u00a0Isaiah \u201cHMBL\u00a0Zayy\u201d Thomas. \u201cThis walk was never\u00a0just about me\u00a0making it across the country. It was about showing our young people what is possible when you believe in something and refuse to give up on it. To come back home and receive the Key to the City from Mayor Parker is an incredible honor, and I hope this moment opens even more doors for the young people coming behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsaiah\u2019s story is a powerful example of what can happen when someone takes the challenges they have experienced and turns them into purpose,\u201d said\u00a0Anton Moore, Executive Director of Neighborhood and Community Engagement for the City of Philadelphia. \u201cFor young people across Philadelphia, especially those growing up in neighborhoods where opportunity can sometimes feel out of reach, seeing someone from Nicetown think this big and go this far matters. Isaiah is showing them that where you come from does not\u00a0determine\u00a0where you can go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Key to the City was presented during a ceremony at City Hall on Monday, August 17,\u00a0where Mayor Parker was joined by Managing Director Carlton Williams, Chief of Staff Tiffany Thurman, and a host of other Parker Administration officials in honoring HMBL\u00a0Zayy,\u00a0whose family attended the ceremony with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsaiah, thank you for showing Philly, and showing America, that our circumstances do not define our potential,\u201d Mayor Parker said during the ceremony. \u201cFor your historic 124-day journey, your unbreakable spirit and your dedication to our underserved youth, it is my highest privilege to present you with the Key to the City.\u201d<\/p>\n