Arcadia University will host a panel discussion with Cornel West, a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual, and Molefi Asante, an African-American scholar, historian and philosopher. The event takes place on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m. in the Commons Great Room.

The panel discussion, “Who Is Responsible for Healing In Our Communities in Post-Modern Times?” will be moderated by Attorney Michael Coard, and includes Arthur C. Evans, the Philadelphia Commissioner for Behavioral Health, and Ama Mazama, a professor and linguist. 

Register for the event online (http://west-asante.eventbrite.com) for a discounted rate ($20) or pay at the door ($25). For additional information contact Cecil A. Hankins, The Ark of Philadelphia, (215) 843-4673, or the BMDS hotline 215-572-8510. The event is free for Arcadia University students, faculty and staff with ID.

The event is sponsored by The Ark of Philadelphia, the Molefi Kete Asante Institute, the Black Male Development Symposium and Arcadia University’s Office of Institutional Diversity and Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman held a plaque dedication recently remembering fallen hero Officer Francis “Buck” Roy of the Lower Merion Township Police.

Roy was killed in the line of duty as a result of injuries endured on July 3, 1924. As part of the Fallen Hero Program, a plaque was dedicated to Officer Roy at the Lower Merion Township Police Department in recognition of his sacrifice.  

On July 3, 1924, Officer Francis “Buck” Roy and Officer Albert Miller responded to a call about a Ku Klux Klan rally.

They arrived to a cross burning on the grounds of Haverford College and to about 200 Klan members beginning to depart.

When Roy and Miller attempted to question two men who were leaving the site, one of the men shot and struck Officer Roy in the leg and abdomen.

Miller, who was off duty at the time, was shot in the leg. Miller managed to crawl over 200 hundred yards through the woods to a local residence and call for assistance. He refused to be taken to the hospital “until you get Buck and bring him here.”  

Roy was transported from the scene to Bryn Mawr Hospital, where he lay in and out of consciousness for 2 months until he finally succumbed to his injuries on September 15, 1924.

Roy, who was considered the “pride of the Lower Merion Force” and “popular with the residence of the township” was the first Lower Merion Police officer to die in the line of duty.  

According to the July 5, 1924 edition of the Philadelphia inquirer, Chief James Donaghy issued the following order at Roll Call on July 4th: “The next time the Ku Klux Klan holds a demonstration in the confines of this township, you are to rush to the scene and shoot to kill. Shoot to kill first and ask questions afterward. I shall face the responsibility of your acts. That is all.”

A $1,000 award was offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. Five men were tried and acquitted for Roy’s murder. However, 28 months later, Moses V. Rodgers, a janitor at Haverford College, confessed to the killing. Rodgers was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 3 to 6 years in the county prison.

The Fallen Hero Program was founded in 2001 by attorney James Binns, with the purpose of honoring the men and women in Philadelphia law enforcement who have been killed or died in the line of duty.

In 2007, this program was extended to Montgomery County, and honors the 27 Montgomery County Police Officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in giving their life to protect others. Officer Francis “Buck” Roy will receive the 18th plaque dedicated in Montgomery County.

Edith Wagner was an evangelist.

She died Sept. 30, 2012, after a lengthy illness with Alzheimer’s. She was 87.

She was born Sept. 14, 1925, to James Frank and Annie Byrd Lemmon in Philadelphia. She was one of 11 children. She was baptized at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church by the Rev. D.W. Hoggard. She later joined the Vince Memorial Baptist Church under the pastorate of the late Rev. Leonard G. Carr.

She was educated in the Philadelphia public school system and graduated from Murrell Dobbins Vocational Technical High School with her cosmetology license. She attended Manna Bible Institute and graduated June 11, 1965. She was ordained as a licensed evangelist on Jan. 27, 1968.

She met Paul Bains, a fellow member of Vine Memorial, and they were married Oct. 23, 1945. She later married Carl V. Wagner on Nov. 24, 1973.

Wagner worked in corporate America for several years as a secretary.

One of her life’s passions was the safety and education of children. She was licensed June 13, 1967, as a caregiver and opened Janet’s Christian Educational Daycare Center at her home in West Philadelphia.

Deeply involved with her neighborhood and civic duties but never lost sight of her evangelistic calling. During the 1970s, she and her brother, Deacon Herbert Lemmon conducted many street corner and Carroll Park Christian meetings where they won souls for Christ.

After closing the daycare, Wagner returned to work as a secretary at Vine Memorial Baptist Church, where she worked for 35 years until her retirement. She continued her involvement in the community before moving to New Jersey to join close family members.

She is survived by her daughter, Paula J. West; son-in-law, Ronald E. West; granddaughters, Danielle Y. Scott (Patrick E.) and Holli P. McClees (Corry M.); grandson, David S. McGuire; great-grandchildren, Kristopher S. Williams, Russell J. Williams and Corry M. McClees II; great-great-grandson, Avery K. Williams; sister, Suzanne E. Morton of New York; and other relatives and friends.

Services will be held October 5 at Vine Memorial Baptist Church, 56th and Girard Avenue. Viewing will be at 10 a.m. Services will follow at 11.

Morse Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and the family of slain Officer Moses Walker Jr. will formally announce the Officer Moses Walker Jr. Scholarship Fund on Thursday, Oct. 4.

The 3:30 p.m. announcement will be made at the offices of ACHIEVEability 21 S. 61st Street in West Philadelphia. 

The Walker Scholarship will benefit single-parent ACHIEVEability program participants who are receiving at least a 3.0 GPA at an accredited Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree program.  The scholarships will help participants with expenses such as textbooks and tuition. 

ACHIEVEability is close to the Walker family as the officer spent countless hours volunteering at ACHIEVEability’s Community Center and Computer Lab. 

“I am proud to give to this great program which has given so much to my family and the West Philadelphia community.  I know my son would have wanted this,” said Wayne Lipscomb, mother of Officer Walker and former ACHIEVEability participant and employee. 

Ramsey and Lipscomb will be presenting ACHIEVEability’s CEO Marcus Allen with the first donation to the Officer MosesWalker Jr. Scholarship fund.

Mayor Michael Nutter was among those who attended the funeral service for Walker and called for an end to violence and a rededication to peace.

“I am sick of the ignorance, sick of the violence, sick of death,” Nutter said at the funeral. “Let us all rededicate our lives to peace and let Moses Walker – Moses would lead the way – show us how to live our lives in peace, in truth, in love.”

Walker, 40, had changed into street clothes after an overnight shift at the 22nd police district and was walking to a bus stop in the 2200 block of Cecil B. Moore Ave. about 6 a.m. on Aug 18 when two men approached him. According to police, Walker had time only to draw his gun before he was shot in the chest, stomach and arm. The robbery attempt was similar to several other robberies in the area in the last few months.

Police have charged two men in the slaying, Rafael Jones, 23, and Chancier McFarland, 19.

The slaying sparked criticism of the Board of Probation and Parole, which allowed Jones to leave prison and go without an electronic bracelet for more than two weeks after being charged in connection with an earlier robbery.

State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams has called on Gov. Tom Corbett’s office to lead an investigation into why Jones was on the street.