Valerie Harris is a writer and creative projects producer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since 1995, much of her work has been dedicated to assisting individuals in seeing themselves as active participants in the cultural landscape of their communities. Her most recent project is the feature-length video documentary, A Highway Runs Through It… A Community History of Darby Township, on the historic Black suburban community on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Combining vintage photographs, historic and newspaper research, interviews with longtime residents, and a compelling narrative, A Highway Runs Through It… traces the story of Darby Township’s African American community, from 18th century indentured servitude and post-civil war prosperity, through the Great Migration of the 1920s, to the redevelopment movement of the late 1950s and it’s impact on Darby Township today. A long-time artist in residence at the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance/Paul Robeson House, Valerie is the recipient of two Art and Change Awards as well as the Community Transformation Award from the Leeway Foundation, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship, and grants from the 5-County Arts Fund, the Puffin Foundation, and the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association (PIFVA). Other creative projects include book and magazine publishing (Black Parenting Today magazine) and several plays that have been produced at venues around the country.