Sonny Driver Day is this Saturday, August 20th!

Here’s some wonderful news to share. The annual Sonny Driver Day is coming up. The date is this Saturday, August 20th. Save that date on your calendar.
For anyone who doesn’t know who Sonny Driver was–let me give you a brief overview. To be correct, he liked to be known as R. Sonny Driver–and he was the original owner and Publisher of the SCOOP USA Newspaper. He was an outstanding, amazing man who enjoyed life, loved his family, and loved his city, Philadelphia. He was a daring and bold businessman who had the vision to start a community newspaper, and spoke his vision into reality.
I think I would have to say there were at least six things Sonny was very passionate about.
He was passionate about his love for his family.
He was passionate, for many years, about being a successful music and entertainment promoter. Think about it, in Sonny Driver’s heyday, he was living in a time when Black entertainers were shunned from playing large, popular, white-owned venues. It was promoters like Sonny Driver that hustled and did their thing to get outstanding Black artists on stage in Black-owned venues across the east coast.
He was passionate about becoming the Publisher and owner of the SCOOP USA Newspaper.
He was passionate about telling stories of the African American community that might perhaps otherwise have been totally overlooked by mainstream, white media.
He was passionate about giving young, up-and-coming writers, journalists, photographers, salespeople, and wanna-be graphic layout artists a chance in the newspaper business when no one else opened a door for them.
Sonny Driver was also 100% passionate about getting West River Drive in Philadelphia renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, which was no easy task. But guess who got it done? Sonny Driver did.
For all those things and more–indeed, Sonny Driver is deserving of his own day, and that he shall have on August 20th, thanks to his mentee and adopted daughter, Sherri Darden, the current owner and Publisher of the SCOOP Newspaper.
On Saturday, August 20th, starting at Noon and going until 6 pm, the place to celebrate the memory and legacy of Sonny Driver will be on Watts Street, at Girard Avenue in North Philadelphia, which was renamed Sonny Driver Drive.
Sherri Darden shared, “The good thing about Sonny Driver Day is it’s a dedication to his life’s work and investment in doing good for the community. And also paying homage to Sonny Driver by sharing his dedication and love for our communities and recognizing people who, like Sonny Driver, have dedicated their lives to lifting up the community.”
On Sonny Driver Day, we will honor 21 individuals who are dedicated to improving our communities. The awards presentation part of our day will start at 3 pm.
We will present the Sonny Driver Lifetime Achievement award to 16—Community Leaders who were a part of the original group of “Freedom Fighters.” The Freedom Fighters marched around Girard College in the 1960s when Black students were not allowed to attend school there. They will receive recognition for how they stood up for Black children during the height of the tumultuous civil rights movement of the 1960s and dedicated their lives to working for Freedom and Equality in our communities. There were more than sixteen Freedom Fighters–however, some have made transition. We will be proud to honor the surviving members of that proud and daring group of people from our community.
We also will honor five other individuals for being faithful, staunch community leaders–the likes of Sonny Driver.
They are North Philadelphia community activist Ms. Denise Ripley;
Terrell Harrell, who created the “No Gun Zone” social media page on Instagram–which is extremely popular and very informative about what’s happening on the streets of Philadelphia, particularly in the Black community;
Zarinnah Lomax, founder of an annual fashion show called the Epologues Fashion Show;
West Philadelphia community activist, Kirsten Britt; and
Chester Community Leader Ms. Rosetta Carter
Each awardee will all receive the ScoopUSA Community Service Award. “For all who can join us at the event, we will be thrilled to celebrate and honor them publicly. We will be doing this every year, recognizing someone, or more than one person, who has dedicated their lives to reaching back and lifting-up others.”
During the event this Saturday, expect a family-friendly atmosphere, with two moon bounces for the little ones to enjoy; a school backpack giveaway on a first-come, first serve basis; a game truck will be on site from 12 noon – 2 pm, which is always popular with the little ones; and there will be at least twenty vendor and information tables set up.
Randall Jefferson, friend and supporter of the SCOOP Newspaper, as well as sometimes co-host of the SCOOP radio talk program on WWDB/FM, is coming out to turn up the barbeque grill, offering free hot dogs, hamburgers, and juice for attendees while supplies last. There will be festive music, great networking, and some surprises you’ll only get to experience if you come out and join the SCOOP USA Media Family on August 20th. Sonny Driver Day is an event you don’t want to miss.
Sherri Darden added that she has now added a nonprofit arm to the work of the SCOOP legacy. The official Grand Opening of the ScoopUSA Community Education Program (SUMCEP) will also occur on Sonny Driver Day. SUMCEP will also be located at the headquarters of SCOOP Media, 1354 West Girard Avenue (Broad and Girard Ave.), 2nd floor. Guests who attend the Sonny Driver day event will be able to visit the SCOOP community room and see how that space will be utilized to help give voice to our community. Every Wednesday evening, starting in September, between 6 pm and 8 pm community rap sessions will take place in the SCOOP community room. These sessions are open to the public. Each month, at least one session will focus on information about Covid until further notice. Sherri Darden welcomes community leaders to reach out to her and schedule sessions they feel are critical to discuss.
Sonny Driver passed away on December 28, 2017. After having worked for Driver for over twenty years and having learned all the tricks of the print media newspaper trade from Sonny Driver, Darden was set to take the Black-owned newspaper from being just a once-a-week publication into what it is today, SCOOP USA Media. Today, Sherri Darden has grown the paper from a once-a-week publication to an online publication–that is freshly updated twice per week Tuesday and Friday and a once-a-month stand-alone publication called ScoopVIZION which is all about and for Black business owners large and small. There’s the SCOOP Radio program initiated by Sherri Darden, which is broadcast on WWDB/FM once a week called “The Inside SCOOP,” plus there’s a SCOOP YouTube channel for viewers and SCOOP supporters to enjoy.
We also have the SCOOP App that you can put on your Smart Phones for a small fee and the SCOOP website–which shares some of what SCOOP USA Media has to offer. From video clips of great interviews our staff has conducted, to back issues of the weekly printed SCOOP Newspaper, to bios on all our key staff members, to information about how to advertise in the SCOOP, etc.
All of this has happened since Sonny Driver turned the reins and ownership of the SCOOP over to Sherri Darden shortly before his passing. I’ll leave you with this. Sonny Driver and Sherri Darden. Look at the initials. S.D. Things don’t happen by “accident.” They happen for a reason. Sherri Darden was supposed to be the next Publisher and owner of the SCOOP. And so it is.
Come out and celebrate Sonny Driver’s legacy on August 20th and support the work that Sherri Darden and her team are doing to keep the legacy of the SCOOP Newspaper living for many years to come.
Most of all, put your money where your mouth is and support the SCOOP by purchasing advertising space in the paper or purchasing a subscription to the SCOOP so it can be delivered to your home weekly.To inquire about placing ads in the SCOOP, you can email Advertisements@scoopusamedia.com. Call the SCOOP at 215-309-3139, or log onto our website at www.SCOOPUSAMEDIA.com. The SCOOP headquarters is located at 1354 West Girard Avenue, 2nd floor.