A few weeks ago, Black employees at the Free Library of Philadelphia pointed to what they called racism in the workplace, and demanded change. Their letter was one of two documents complaining about conditions at the library.  The other was a petition from a group of unionized employees, expressing “no confidence” in library leadership. The complaints made it to prominent authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, who canceled speaking engagements at the library.

Why did current events reveal deep mistrust at the Free Library of Philadelphia? TyLisa Johnson of  Public Source and WHYY’s Miles Bryan break down the history of the complaints and how the petitions are playing out.