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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 113 No. 6 Two Sections
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FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022
What really happened to Peter Bernardo Spencer? Community demands answers surrounding suspicious death by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
PETER BERNARDO SPENCER was found dead in Venango County on the early morning of Dec. 12, 2021.
What is known is that Peter Bernardo Spencer, full of life on the afternoon and evening of Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, was found the next day in front of a home in Venango County, Pa., lifeless, shot multiple times. What is not known is pretty much everything else, such as, who did this to Spencer, the 29-year-old Jamaican immigrant who, according to his family, would “give you the last dollar out of his pocket” if someone was in need? There have been no arrests, and the Venango County District Attorney’s office has publicly request-
ed more time to conduct its investigation. More time was requested after the four people who were present at the time of Spencer’s death were questioned by police, then released. That development didn’t sit well with Spencer’s family, friends and supporters, who seem to be growing with every passing day, nearly two months after his death. “It appears that the persons that are in leadership in law enforcement in this county (Venango) and in this state are waiting for us to stop ringing the bell that it’s time for something to be done,” voiced Bishop Errenous McCloud Jr., of the SEE SPENCER A4
NO ANNEXATION OF WILKINSBURG — FOR NOW Councilman Burgess open to voting ‘yes’ in 2023 by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
ICILDA SPENCER-HUNTER, mother of Peter Bernardo Spencer. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
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Similar to how your parents told you they were not going to buy you a car right now...but maybe sometime down the line, that’s what Pittsburgh City Council did in its vote not to make Wilkinsburg part of Pittsburgh... for now. In a 7-2 vote, Tuesday, Feb. 8, Council voted “no” to annexing Wilkinsburg, but most councilmembers said they’re open to a monthslong probe into the pros and cons of annexation, and would probably vote “yes” to it in 2023. The vote was not unexpected. Reverend Ricky SEE WILKINSBURG A8
PITTSBURGH COUNCILMAN REV. RICKY BURGESS seems to be on board with the annexation of Wilkinsburg...in 2023. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
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Pittsburgh City League legends come to Heinz Field for HOF inductions To be honest with you, it was actually clear from the outset this one was going to be something special...Somehow different from the others... Not better, but different. And it proved to be! First, however, it is important that I do an audible here and set up from the beginning how the 7th Annual 2021 Pittsburgh City League High School All-Sports Hall of Fame inductions (held on Dec. 3, 2021) got “kicked” into gear. I want to be clear, this is not
and his “Super Bakery,” the show would not have gone on. Not just their names but the contributors that came with it allowed us to knock it out of the park. How was it different, you ask? That simply tells me you weren’t there, no offense taken. It was Heinz Field, people, with the continued glitz and glamour of the holiday season in the midst of the mystic of the home of the greatest football team the world has ever known. (Oh
Overtime
Bill Neal faint praise, but without the help and support of Mr. Frank Fuhrer III and the Frank Fuhrer Wholesale Co., Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Senator Jay Costa and Steelers Hall of Fame
please, you know Brady and Belichick and their henchmen stole 3 of their 7, just ask Troy Polamalu. But I digress...) It wasn’t until my lifelong friend and former Penn Hills, Juniata
MS. TIONNA JENNINGS...AKA PITTSBURGH BASKETBALL ROYALTY WITH SMOKIN’ JIM FRAZIER
KENNY “JUICE” BRYANT...HE WAS THE HIGH SCHOOL HEISMAN! and Super Bowl MVP & legend Franco Harris
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University and Seattle Seahawks football star planted the seed in my head to induct Robert “Cochise” Watkins that things really began to take shape. Having been a City
League legend from age 10, it wasn’t however at a City League School. So we opened a new category for the induction process. Induct those City League legends that for whatever reason gained the power and the glory
at high schools outside the City League. Thus, Karen Hall, Ashley Battle, “Fast” Eddie Drummond and “Cochise” made history, becoming the first-ever in that newly established category.
Neither time nor space at this time will allow for all the names of the 60+ inductees, but in the established categories of ‘’Legends of the Game,” “Coaching Legends,” “High School Future Stars,” “Community Leaders” and “Our Fallen Heroes,” the best of the best in the history of the nationally recognized “Pittsburgh City League” came from all over the nation—27 different states as a matter of fact came home to be recognized in what has become one of the top Hall of Fame ceremonies around. I would be remiss in not calling out some of the other stars that shined supernova that December night. Beginning with keynote speaker, the G.O.A.T., Ricky Coleman, Slippery Rock and Steelers star Chuck Sanders, the great and magnificent Robb Butler, Joe Tyson, Kenny “Juice” Bryant, Kathy Terri, Mike Ragin, Coach Louis Berry, Darelle Porter, Shawnice “Pepper” Wilson, Ace Pippins and Tionda Jennings just to name a few. All things considered, the COVID, cold weather, the cost and those who didn’t care... to care (Oh, trust me, you know and they know precisely who they are!)... The 7th consecutive sold-out
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event lit up the North Shore with representatives from all of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Western Pa. In total, the likes of former Steelers and Penn Hills legend Hubie Bryant and 11 other former NFL players, six former NBA players, three former Olympians and countless high school, college and professional champions set the stage for “Hall of Fame 8.” We, of course, want to offer special thanks to UPMC, Highmark, Councilman Anthony Coghill, attorneys William Goodrich, Jack Goodrich, Shawn Flaherty and Alexis Cobb, Dom Gambino, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Heinz Field staff (who were terrific, by the way), photographers Ken and Judy Ogilvie and Dayna Delgado, the fantastic Wilson Group, the enormous and unbelievable support of the Central Catholic football team that came from near and far to support “Robert “Cochise” Watkins, Salem’s Market and Grill, Congressman Mike Doyle, Pittsburgh Board of Education, the historic New Pittsburgh Courier, Committee President “Smokin’” Jim Frazier, Dr. Charlene Coleman, Bugumba Lowery, Kevin McDaniels, Sharon McIntosh, Laar Lee, Red Lee, the legendary Otis and, of course, the City League Hall of Fame. The jump ball has been tossed and there’s a new show in town. We will not be ignored, we will not go away and we will not be forgotten!!! Set your calendar, my sports friend, for Saturday, Dec. 4, 2022. Hoo-Rah!! (Special note: Achieving Greatness Inc., the sponsor of the City League Hall of Fame, wants to thank the fantastic residents of Pittsburgh for their ongoing support. Please be advised we are in constant need of volunteers for the committee. And we welcome the names of any potential Hall of Fame Inductees. Feel free to call the Achieving Greatness office at 412-6284856. We want everyone in... that should be in!)
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER RICKY “BLACK MAGIC” COLEMAN (PHOTOS BY KENNETH W. OGILVIE)
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Community demands answers in death of Peter Bernardo Spencer SPENCER FROM A1
Third Episcopal District of the AME Church. He and other pastors and faith leaders stood in solidarity with Spencer’s family during a news conference at Bethel AME Church in the Hill District, Feb. 2. “...We are not going away. Not today, not tomorrow, not next month or next year. This is their waiting game and our tragedy.” Spencer, who originally came to the U.S. in 2013, was invited to a weekend of hunting by a White male co-worker, according to Spencer’s fiancee, Carmela King. Other friends joined the excursion. Somehow, around 2:30 the next morning, Dec. 12, 2021, Spencer was dead from nine gunshot wounds in front of a residence in Venango County’s Rockland Township, about 75 miles from Pittsburgh to the north. “This is a HATE CRIME!,” wrote Spencer’s sister, Tehilah Spencer, on a GoFundMe page
dedicated to her brother. “Peter was MURDERED in Rockland Township, Pennsylvania in a backwater rural town where he was completely vulnerable and cut off from everything and everyone. He was slaughtered and killed in what I consider an act of MODERN DAY LYNCHING!” “Peter Bernardo Spencer made a mistake, and his mistake was going into some woods with some people who he thought were his friends,” Bishop McCloud said. “He didn’t know he was going to die. He wanted to be picked up the next morning. If we have a conscience, it’s now time for it to come forward. Nobody deserves what this man got. No person coming to America, slave or free, deserves to be shot at like an animal.” “Shooting down a man in a forest is a type of ugly that moves us to seek justice,” added Rev. Larry Pickens, executive director of the PA Coun-
PETER SPENCER’S FIANCEE, CARMELA KING, is consoled by Spencer’s mother, Icilda Spencer-Hunter, after a news conference at Bethel AME Church in the Hill District, Feb. 2. (Photo by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)
BISHOP ERRENOUS MCCLOUD JR., of the Third Episcopal District of the AME Church.
cil of Churches, at the news conference. “We understand that sometimes we need to respond and say to those in authority, we’re not going to take it anymore.” Spencer’s family said his dream was to open a restaurant to help support his mother, who had moved to the U.S. prior to Spencer. He was known to cook and feed the homeless, as well as police officers. “He was a good person, in every way,” Spencer’s mother, Icilda Spencer-Hunter, told the New Pittsburgh Courier after the Feb. 2 press conference. “Whenever you came to him for help, he never said no. He always tried to help. He read a lot, and when his friends were thinking about opening a certain business, he would do research” on it to see if it was a good invest-
ment, she said of her son. “He’s a person who always said, ‘If I want to look good, I have to work hard to look good.’ So he would work, he’d do anything, like cutting the yard if that’s what it came down to. He taught himself to be a construction worker. He was just a person who was always good with his hands.” Paul Jubas, attorney for the Spencer family, has publicly expressed his disdain for the lack of information the Venango County District Attorney’s office has provided the family, or how they’ve handled the case from the outset. “They don’t have any-
thing to say to us, unfortunately,” Jubas said at the news conference. “It’s hard to imagine any sort of justification for how this investigation has been handled so far. It really leads the entire community with no other option but to view the entirety of the investigation with tremendous skepticism.” The Venango County District Attorney’s office estimated that its investigation would be complete between mid-February and early March. Venango County DA Shawn White will then review all the information and decide if charges will be filed. “Rest assured, the Ve-
nango County District Attorney’s Office will take every measure to ensure that justice is sought wherever it may be found,” the DA office’s statement, dated Jan. 25, read, obtained by the Courier. Reverend Pickens, of the PA Council of Churches, sure hopes justice is sought. “Our voices will continue to stir and speak out until we learn what has happened to our brother,” he said at the news conference. “His blood keeps crying out to us, and because of that, we must respond.”
“It appears that the persons that are in leadership in law enforcement in this county (Venango) and in this state are waiting for us to stop ringing the bell that it’s time for something to be done...We are not going away. Not today, not tomorrow, not next month or next year. This is their waiting game and our tragedy.” BISHOP ERRENOUS MCCLOUD JR.
PETER SPENCER, with fiancee, Carmela King.
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The University of Pittsburgh adds Juneteenth as an observed holiday The University of Pittsburgh on Feb. 8 announced its observation of Juneteenth as a holiday and its addition to the University calendar. Beginning this academic year, all University campuses will close in observation of Juneteenth. “The call to make Juneteenth an official University of Pittsburgh holiday was refined in committee and evolved under the
that the University recognize this day as a holiday and is a small — but meaningful — piece of the University’s ongoing commitment to an inclusive and welcoming campus community.” In September 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which was ratified Jan. 1, 1863. Its intent to abolish slavery, however, was
CLYDE WILSON PICKETT auspices of my senior leadership team,” Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said. “I am pleased to support this change and to support our campus community in recognizing our nation’s newest federal holiday.” Juneteenth — short for “June Nineteenth” and often referred to as Black Independence Day or Jubilee Day — commemorates the effective end of slavery in America. “Juneteenth is an incredibly significant piece of American history as it denotes a pivotal moment in the emancipation process for those individuals who were enslaved,” said Clyde Wilson Pickett, vice chancellor for the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI). “Our observance as a community provides an opportunity for reflection on the long struggle Black Americans have faced in this country. It’s important
stalled until the Confederate surrender on April 9, 1865 and the end of the Civil War. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and brought news to hundreds of thousands of enslaved people that they were freed. Emancipation Day celebrations began in 1866, and President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth, considered the longest-running African American holiday, a federal holiday in 2021. “It is energizing and affirming that we are embracing Juneteenth in a new way — as a day to observe and reflect collectively,” Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd said. “I hope that every member of the Pitt community will use this holiday to embrace the principles of equality promised to all and to think creatively and compassionately about how
we can further advance and uphold those principles in lasting and transformative ways.” The University’s adoption of the holiday followed requests to acknowledge this significant historical moment from the Black Senate, Equipoise, the Faculty Senate and other campus stakeholders. Committed to creating a broader climate of inclusion, university leaders who led the charge to adopt Juneteenth as a holiday included Gallagher, Pickett and Cudd, as well as senior staff members Dave DeJong, senior vice chancellor for Business and Operations; Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the Health Sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine; and Hari Sastry, senior vice chancellor and chief financial officer. “The observation of Juneteenth provides a wonderful opportunity for engagement and reflection, supporting our broader efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion at Pitt,” DeJong said. Monique Smith, faculty affairs manager for the Office of Faculty Diversity and Development within the Office of Provost, served on the committee that brought forth this new University holiday. “It is important to commemorate the historical legacy of Juneteenth, and my hope is that we will continue to create spaces that support open and honest dialogue,” she said. Monica McNeil, an OEDI graduate student assistant and master’s candidate in the School of Education, also noted that while “Juneteenth holds much power and weight, and it should be celebrated,” it extends beyond a celebration. “The University is educating the Pitt community and helping people understand its importance. Hopefully, this decision will be about more than having a day off and spark people to continue fighting for Black liberation,” she said. The University will be closed Monday, June 20, 2022 in observation of the holiday, which falls on a Sunday this year.
Rose Ellen Mocombe joins the Board of Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Rose Ellen Mocombe has joined the Board of Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti. FLM-Haiti is a Pittsburgh-based organization that raises fund to support work in Haiti. The organization offers education, healthcare and hope. For over 38 years, FLM has offered reading classes, Kindergarten through high school education and has, in recent years, opened a trade school, a missions residence and a health clinic. Details on FLM Haiti can be found at http://www.flmhaiti.org As a Functional Literacy Ministry board member, Mocombe hopes to utilize her administrative skills to collaborate on current and upcoming fundraising projects that will benefit the people of Haiti. Mocombe earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 from Colgate University, and her Master of Education degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2001.
ROSE ELLEN MOCOMBE
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HEALTH
FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved.
Healthy aging by Carlos T. Carter, President & CEO, Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Why is promoting healthy aging so important for our Black/African American elders? Promoting healthy aging is important because we want Black people to age gracefully and live their best lives in re-
tirement. The reality is when you are not healthy your quality of life is compromised, and your lifespan is at risk of being shortened. Unfortunately, Blacks and other marginalized communities face more health issues resulting from lack of exercise and lack of access to healthy foods. As a result, obesity is a major issue for many Americans, but it is worse for Black
Americans due to poor diet choices and high caloric intake. This underscores the importance for better access to good foods and for people to make better diet choices when there are options. Community health workers help to build trust and make achieving these changes in our lifestyle doable. What ideas do we have for increasing this kind of intervention in our Black/African American communities? Education and access are critical. We need to increase engagement
with Black communities through increased partnerships with barbershops, hair salons, churches, senior pro-
CARLOS T. CARTER
grams, individual families, and anywhere that Black people live, work and play. We need to stress the importance of healthy eating and the importance of staying mobile through walking and other exercise. I recommend that we find innovative and ongoing ways to better educate people about exactly what is healthy eating as people have different interpretations of what healthy eating is. How can we further disseminate this information about how to achieve
healthy aging? We should leverage media like television, internet and others. It’s critical to start educating younger children who will one day become the older generation. This will position Black people and other marginalized communities to have the information necessary to make better choices. It is also important for Blacks to have access to healthy foods in their communities. This will further empower them to be able to make good choices in their day-to-day lives.
Small, easy weight loss can smooth path to healthy aging by Dr. Steven M. Albert, PhD, MS Healthy aging is a goal for most of us. Unfortunately, many things get in the way of that goal. Some things are beyond our control (like genetics), but some things (like making healthy lifestyle changes) are well within our reach. Best of all, we can do these things no matter where we are on our life journey. Powerful legs and healthy aging Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Aging and Population Health (CAPH) have found that an older adult’s legs (balance, walking speed, and ability to rise from sitting) can help that person avoid hospitalization and age well at home. It turns out how well we move our legs is important for normal aging. That process includes an older person’s ability to climb stairs, for example, handle a rough sidewalk, or chase after a grandchild without injury. Weight and walking speed From other studies, we know that the more older adults weigh, the slower they walk. So, one way to increase walking or “gait”
speed is to lose a few pounds, especially if your BMI puts you in the overweight or obese categories. In the Black community, this is especially important. According to the CDC1, non-Hispanic Blacks were 1.3 times more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic Whites. That percentage increases for Black females who are 2.3 times more likely to be overweight than their White counterparts. Sadly, that extra weight means they’re more likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. These things put them at risk for heart disease and stroke — especially as they age. MOVE UP With that in mind, CAPH researchers designed a weight management intervention called MOVE UP. The study included about 300 older adults (age 60 to 75). All were overweight or obese. For a year, participants attended one-hour meetings in small groups in 26 community sites in Pittsburgh (senior centers, churches, libraries). Most participants were female, and a quarter identified as racial minorities. The group’s most common ailments were arthritis and high blood pressure.
Every participant had to have their regular doctor approve doing MOVE UP. A supportive coach One of the most important features of each MOVE UP group was its leader. In this case, it was a Community Health Worker (CHW) who was connected to the neighborhood in some way and was kind, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. CHWs helped their participants learn about healthy food and nutrition. They encouraged everyone to be a little more physically active and slowly lose about 5% of their weight (10-12 pounds). MOVE UP research staff collected data four times during the program. They measured standing balance, gait speed, and the time it took to complete five chair stands. Small changes = big results The researchers noted that tiny changes in loss of movement can affect an older adult’s independence and risk for dying early. The MOVE UP study showed that people who lost a small amount of weight walked faster. That small gain in speed gave the individual a better chance of doing everyday activities and staying out of the hospital.
DR.STEVEN M. ALBERT, PHD, MS What helped people lose weight? Weight loss methods were simple: participants were motivated to eat more mindfully and engage in low-intensity exercise. MOVE UP participants who lost 10-12 pounds did so without radical exercise or diets. Instead, with help from CHWs, participants learned about calorie control, nutrition, physical activity, exercise, and safety (see graphic). For example, participants compared info on food labels like canned soups and spaghetti sauce. They paid attention to fat, salt, protein content and calorie count. They were encouraged to eat 30% fewer calories from fat,
while getting plenty of protein. They wrote down weekly food and activity in “Lifestyle Logs.” They learned what a healthy food portion looks like, and how to recognize and stop overeating. Likewise, exercise was low-key, but consistent. The recommended time for physical activity, such as brisk walking, was initially just 10 minutes a day, five days a week, with a gradual increase to 35 minutes per day. Participants also addressed how confident they were to exercise when they’re tired, in a bad mood, alone, or in other difficult situations that make physical activity challenging. Food & exercise inequities The term “health equity” means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy. We know from health equity studies2 that in black communities, eating healthy and exercising can be a challenge compared to other communities. Easy access to fresh, seasonal foods may not exist and if they do, the items may be more expensive than processed foods (fresh green beans vs canned, for example). The same may be true
for exercise. Is there a safe place in the neighborhood to exercise outside when weather permits (do sidewalks exist and are they in good shape, for instance)? If weather is bad, is there somewhere to exercise inside, like a community center or high school gym? Owning your health One of the big takeaways from MOVE UP is that small, do-able lifestyle changes are worthwhile for all older adults. Comparing food labels and choosing the healthier option can make a difference in your health. So can spending just a small amount of time walking or doing other easy movements in your home or in your neighborhood. By choosing to work with your PCP to lose weight slowly through a low-key diet/nutrition and exercise program, your actions will help you increase your chances of staying healthy as you age — but only if you take charge. To learn more about healthy aging and take advantage of all the program and services that are available to older Pittsburghers, please reach out to us! Visit Pitt’s Center for Aging and Population Health at https://www. caph.pitt.edu/.
It’s Never Too Late to Start! Regular physical activity is an important component in healthy aging. Physical activity can improve the condition of certain diseases and, in some cases, even prevent them. Anyone at any age can do some type of activity to improve his or her health. Always check with your PCP before you start a new physical activity routine. Why Should You Be Active? • Helps you live independently — and manage stress. • Strengthens your muscles & improves endurance • Improves balance, coordination, and flexibility • Increases heart & lung strength • Boosts immune function • Reduces blood pressure • Helps you sleep • Increases your energy level Exercise Safely • Increase your activity level slowly, especially if you haven’t been active in a while.
• Warm up before and cool down after you’re physically active. • Drink plenty of fluids no matter what time of year it is. • In the winter, be active during the warmest part of the day and dress in layers. In the summer, wear light clothing and be active during the coolest times of day. An umbrella can be useful in winter as a walking stick and in summer to shade your body. Hats and sunscreen are good in all seasons. If weather quality outside is poor, be active indoors. • Wear appropriate shoes. It’s better to spend a little more on athletic shoes than to pay a doctor for foot problems. • Carry ID and a cell phone with you in case you need help when you’re exercising alone. © 2016, 2015 University of Pittsburgh. All rights reserved. Center for Aging and Population Health
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NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022
Natalie L. Green turns 100!
NATALIE L. GREEN celebrated her 100th birthday, Jan. 29, in Penn Hills. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)
NATALIE L. GREEN’s family was able to get Smuckers to print her photo on its famous 100th birthday bottles.
A FAMILY AFFAIR — Sidney Hill and Nancy J. Hill pose with Natalie L. Green.
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RELIGION/METRO
FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022
Praise & Worship
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“If any man say, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not
ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH
his brother whom he hath seen, how can
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he love God whom he hath not seen? And
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this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother
Rev. Thomas J. Burke- Pastor Rev. C. Matthew HawkinsParochial Vicar
also.”
Rev. David H. TaylorSenior Parochial Vicar. www.sbtmparishpgh.com
- 1 John 4:20-21
REV. WALKER SAYS: This scripture is so up close
East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800
and personal, if we hate our brother who we have seen. How can we say we love God in whom we hav-
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en’t seen? So get things right with our brothers.
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NO ANNEXATION OF WILKINSBURG — FOR NOW WILKINSBURG FROM A1
Burgess, one of the two Black Pittsburgh Councilmembers, stood before cameras last Wednesday, Feb. 2, and basically let the cat out of the bag. “I will not support the current annexation petition before City Council,” Rev. Burgess said. “Instead, in partnership with my City Council colleagues, I tend to participate in an investigative effort over the next six months to evaluate, document and publicize the advantages of annexation and garner public support for the annexation.” The two councilmembers who voted “yes” to the annexation petition on Feb. 8 were Anthony Coghill and Corey O’Connor. They’re already convinced annexation should take place, or at least that the voters of Wilkinsburg should have been given the chance to vote on its own future in the upcoming May primary election. But the rest of council, like council president Theresa KailSmith, held up the proverbial stop sign. “I have committed to a process,” she said. “This will be a council-led process moving forward,”
ALLEGHENY COUNTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE RICH FITZGERALD speaks during a Feb. 2 news conference. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello) battle of whether Wilkinsburg should join Pittsburgh or stay its own entity has been brewing for years. The battle has garnered new life in recent months, with the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation leading the charge under executive director Tracey Evans. The organization
Reverend Burgess said in the past that many Black Wilkinsburg residents didn’t have a chance to express their true opinions on annexation. He’s most connected to Wilkinsburg residents of any council member — his district neighbors Wilkinsburg, many of his friends live in Wilkinsburg,
burg and Pittsburgh) before the union is consummated,” Rev. Burgess said at the Feb. 2 news conference outside Council chambers. “After much research, prayer and consideration, I am now completely convinced that the annexation of the borough of Wilkinsburg will be beneficial to both Pittsburgh
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PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT THERESA KAIL-SMITH address the media during a Feb. 2 news conference. adding that when something like annexation occurs, it’s important that residents from all sides of town have a chance to give their public input. This Mike Tyson/ Evander Holyfield-style
went around the borough and garnered enough signatures for the petition to be placed with Pittsburgh City Council, and a court order mandated that Council vote on the petition by April.
and many of his Nazarene Baptist Church (in Homewood) members reside in the borough. “I believe a period of courtship or engagement is necessary and beneficial (between Wilkins-
and Wilkinsburg. Pittsburgh will benefit from increased population, land and income, while Wilkinsburg will benefit from reduced taxes, better public services and potential economic de-
velopment.” The 15,000 residents of Wilkinsburg, two-thirds of whom are African Americans, cannot vote for or against annexation until Pittsburgh City Council gives the borough the official “invite” that it wants to accept Wilkinsburg as its 91st city neighborhood. Thus, the earliest Wilkinsburg residents could vote on the proposed referendum would be May 2023. Reverend Burgess pointed out that Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh already have a “courtship” going on, as Pittsburgh is responsible for Wilkinsburg’s trash collection and fire services. And middle- and high-schoolers of Wilkinsburg attend Westinghouse Academy, in Homewood, part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools district. “It’s about coming together and improving the lives of the communities of Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg, improving economic output for the future, for the kids and the families,” said Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Evans, the WCDC director, added: “With low-income homeowners and Black residents being hit the hardest, we all want Wilkinsburg to grow to be prosperous for every resident and for every business to be successful and sustainable. Annexation by the City of Pittsburgh is the key to allowing Wilkinsburg to prosper and grow.”
New Pittsburgh Courier
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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Did racism kill Jackie Robinson? league pitcher can be traumatic and result in concussions, broken bones, severe bruising or death. And always, there were racial slurs. One of the worst incidents happened when the Philadelphia Phillies came to Ebbets Field to face the Dodgers in Brooklyn in 1947.
by Tamra Burns Loeb, University of California, Los Angeles; Alicia Morehead-Gee, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Derek Novacek, University of California, Los Angeles Baseball great Jackie Robinson was a living, breathing example of athleticism and apparent good health, playing four sports at UCLA and becoming the first Black man to play in major league baseball. And yet, the athletic hero and civil rights champion died at age 53, almost blind, from a heart attack, with underlying diabetes and associated complications. When Robinson died on Oct. 24, 1972, few researchers studied health disparities. There was little understanding that social factors and stress greatly affect health, and that racism and discrimination contribute to poor health outcomes among communities of color. Fewer people paid attention to racial and ethnic gaps in life expectancy. Since Robinson’s death, however, research has shown that enduring structural and everyday racism can have serious negative consequences for health. We are researchers who examine mental and phys-
FANS SEEK AUTOGRAPH—Adoring fans clamor for an autograph from baseball legend Jackie Robinson in 1962, but Robinson faced slurs, hatred and insults in his early years in the majors. Bettman/Getty Images ical health disparities in marginalized populations. We can’t help but wonder: Did racism kill Jackie Robinson? And might his life – and early death – help people understand the mechanisms behind how racism kills? Jackie the hero Robinson was born Jan. 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, a small town not far from the Florida-Georgia line. Robinson’s father, a sharecropper, abandoned the family when Robinson was a baby. His mother, a
housekeeper, moved her five children to Pasadena, California to be near her brother. Robinson went to Pasadena Junior College and later to UCLA, where he became the school’s first four-letter athlete. His wife, Rachel, would later say he was a “big man on campus.” Yet the big man was not destined to be a graduate; he had to drop out of college due to lack of finances. Jim Crow still had control in much of the country, but in Brooklyn, Branch Rick-
ey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, believed it was time to integrate baseball. In 1946, Rickey signed Robinson to play for the Montreal Royals, a Dodgers farm team. Robinson was a star, and Rickey called him up. In 1947, at age 28, Robinson became the first Black American to play in the majors. Robinson was Rickey’s choice not only because of Robinson’s prowess on the diamond but also because of his strength of character off the field. Yet Rickey
warned him it would not be easy. Robinson would be insulted and reviled, Rickey told him, but Robinson could not speak out. He would have to endure whatever insults came his way. They weren’t just verbal. Some players intentionally slid into his legs with their cleats. He had to have metal plates sewn into his cap to protect him from “beanballs” – pitches intentionally aimed at a batter’s head. Fastballs hurled from the arm of a major
Robinson later wrote about that day, recalling some of the insults and taunts. They were not only from fans but from Phillies players. Robinson also wrote that he considered giving up and tearing into the Phillies’ dugout. Instead, he went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1947. In 1949, he was National League MVP. He led the Dodgers to a World Series Title in 1955. Broken records, broken health Robinson’s health problems began while he was still in the major leagues. He struggled with his weight, and he experienced pain in his knees, arm and ankles. He was diagnosed with diabetes at age 37, about the time he retired. Two of his brothers also had diabetes. Robinson’s hair began to turn white. By 1969, at age 50, he had nerve and artery damage in his legs. In 1970, he suffered two mild strokes. His doctors noted that both of his legs would soon require amputation. He then lost sight in one eye and expeSEE ROBINSON A11
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Did racism kill Jackie Robinson? ROBINSON FROM A9
rienced limited vision in the other. He suffered from high blood pressure, and had three heart attacks, the third of which was fatal. However, despite these problems, Robinson kept his diabetes “in the closet,” insisting that he felt good. A not-so-grand slam of factors Those of us who study health disparities now have a better understanding how Jackie’s life experiences all likely contributed to his early death. His refusal to capitulate to the hatred he encountered on a daily basis, the magnitude of his role in the struggle to challenge Jim Crow and integrate baseball, and the extensive racial trauma all likely played a factor. In addition, the death of his eldest son, Jackie Robinson Jr., in a car crash in 1971 no doubt took its toll. It is now well established that the racism and discrimination that people of color experience has a negative effect on health. This burden was incalculably magnified by a society that refused to acknowledge, denied the existence of and justified structural racism. For instance, in 2016, the city of Philadelphia issued an official apology for the racist incidents Robinson encountered there in 1947. Yet efforts to make amends could be offered only to his widow – Jackie didn’t live long enough to receive them. Environmental conditions that influence health, referred to as the social determinants of health, are driven by structural racism. Many of the social determinants lead to poor health outcomes. These include the conditions in which people are born, live, play, work and age. Racism and poverty/socioeconomic disadvantage are two social determinants that contribute to worse health outcomes in
FUNERAL SERVICE—Pallbearers carry the body of Jackie Robinson from a New York City church on Oct. 27, 1972. Bettman/Getty Images the U.S. Robinson and his four siblings were raised by their mother after their father abandoned the family when Robinson was an infant. His mother worked long hours as a housekeeper. The Robinsons encountered racism as a Black family in a mostly white neighborhood, and they endured name-calling and taunts from neighbors, who summoned the police to their home without reason. These traumatic events, including being abandoned by a parent and enduring verbal or physical abuse from others, are known as adverse childhood experiences, or ACES. ACES and other lifetime adversities can have negative effects on one’s health as an adult, leading to higher risk of conditions like depression and heart disease. Robinson’s childhood and adolescence increased his risk for poor health later in life. Researchers have identified collective coping as as one of the key strategies Black Americans use to deal with racism-related stress. But Robinson did not have access
to collective support from other Black baseball players until MLB teams slowly began signing Black athletes months after his debut with the Dodgers. He was carrying the burden alone, except for the support of his wife and Rickey, until other Black players were hired and Dodgers began openly supporting him. Before the ballpark Though Robinson’s illnesses were diagnosed in early adulthood, they could have had their roots in childhood. Adverse social and physical conditions as well as limited access to and poor quality of health care serve as barriers to illness prevention and treatment, limiting the ability to protect one’s health. Experiences of racial trauma and discrimination like those Robinson experienced are linked to smoking, unhealthy eating habits and alcohol use, decreased trust in health care providers, increased cardiovascular risks and negative cardiovascular outcomes. Experiences of racism and discrimination are painful, sometimes daily, occurrenc-
es for many people of color. These include things like being followed in stores, receiving poor service in restaurants and being stopped by police. We know that Robinson’s experience in the majors was not his first exposure to racism and discrimination. As a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he sat next to a fellow officer’s wife on a bus at the Fort Hood, Texas base in July 1944. The woman was Black; however, her skin color was light. The bus driver was not pleased. He told Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused. Robinson was shackled, arrested and court-martialed. Robinson later was acquitted and given an honorable discharge. Over time, these repeated stressful episodes can lead to cardiovascular disease by increasing what is called allostatic load. When a person repeatedly experiences the stress of racism, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol are released in the body. Elevated cortisol can lead to high levels of blood sugar, as seen in diabetes, and high
blood pressure. Robinson had both diabetes and high blood pressure after years of enduring what was likely a high allostatic load. Some researchers believe allostatic load may be one reason why high blood pressure is more prevalent and more severe among Black Americans than White Americans. The reasons for worse health among Black individuals goes beyond physiological responses to racism – it can be racism itself. Black patients also receive less frequent and poorer-quality health care than whites, even when severity of disease, quality of insurance, occupational status and level of education are controlled for. Racism is even more likely to affect mental health than physical health, but it’s impossible to know how the racism that Robinson experienced affected his mental well-being. Racism is associated with negative impacts on mental health including depression, stress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts and
alcohol use. In fact, mental and physical health are connected. Poor mental health can negatively affect the way the body responds to stress, and increase inflammation that can increase risks for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer. A new day? How much has changed for Black baseball players since Robinson’s time? As of June 2020, approximately 8% of players and one owner in major league baseball were Black, making it difficult to challenge the very system that discriminates against them. However, contemporary players including Jason Heyward and Dominic Smith have described the pervasiveness of systemic racism in American society and their profession, and the importance of raising awareness of its pernicious effects. In 2020, more than 150 Black former and current baseball players created The Players Alliance to use their “collective voice and platform to create increased opportunities for the Black community in every aspect of our game and beyond.” It seems that what is changing is the refusal to remain quiet, to be stoic in the face of racism and discrimination, both on the field and off. As Smith noted on Twitter, “Silence kills.” Just as diabetes and hypertension kill silently, so does racism. Tamra Burns Loeb, Associate Adjunct Professor, University of California, Los Angeles; Alicia Morehead-Gee, Adjunct assistant professor, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Derek Novacek, Assistant Project Scientist, UCLA School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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BUSINESS New Pittsburgh Courier
Thurgood Marshall’s Bill of Rights J. Pharoah Doss B4
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Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B5-6
FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022
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Black America deserves its fair share of the American Dream Affordable rentals shrinking, growing mortgage denials block homeownership by Charlene Crowell For New Pittsburgh Courier
(NNPA Newswire)—Regardless of locale, profession, or income, every family needs and deserves a home. But for many—especially Black Americans and other people of color —finding and maintaining affordable housing is increasingly difficult. New research documents not only escalating rental costs, but how Black American efforts to buy affordable homes are blocked by high denial rates nearly double that of white consumers. While it is encouraging that this new research documents real-life bargains and locales to access the American Dream of homeownership, mortgage lend-
ers must clearly account for their reasons to deny Black Americans owning their own piece of America. The longstanding racial homeownership gap is today only 43 percent for Black households—30 percent less that of White households at 3 percent. Further, as long as Blacks are forced to struggle with rising rental costs, these same families are denied the housing cost containment of a fixedrate mortgage, as well as family stability, and the wealth-building that accrues to home owners. Despite unprecedented federal housing assistance during the pandemic, a report by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) finds stark racial and income divides in
AS LONG AS MORTGAGE APPLICATION denial rates disproportionately impact Blacks, Black homeownership will continue to lag behind the rest of the nation. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) its analysis of the nation’s rental market. Nearly a quarter of Black renters were behind on rent in the third quarter of 2021, as well as 19 percent of Hispanic renters. By contrast, the share of White renters in arrears was half that: 9 percent. “This disparity reflects long-term discrimination in labor markets that has
consigned many households of color to low-wage jobs in the service industry,” says Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). “And this sector suffered the most drastic employment cuts over the past two years, which has only compounded existing inequalities.” The term, ‘rental afford-
ability’ is a ratio of monthly housing costs as a percentage of household income. Researchers, lawmakers and other housing stakeholder groups, consider affordable rent to cost no more than 30 percent. For homeowners, this ratio must also take factors other than the mortgage payment into consideration. Property taxes, homeown-
er’s insurance and the required private mortgage insurance for small down payment home purchases, must also be included in the calculation. But with low rental vacancy rates in most metro areas, rental increases are widespread, and ‘affordable’ rentals are in short SEE BLACK AMERICA B2
Charlie Batch named Sr. VP of Strategic Investments for CapStone Holdings CapStone Holdings, Inc., a business incubator and investment group recently announced that former 15-year NFL veteran Charlie Batch was named its Senior Vice President of Strategic Investments, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned. Batch will help CapStone grow its investment portfolio and partnerships in the emerging medical marijuana and technology-focused industries. Most known for his tenure as a quarterback for the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers; post-retirement, Batch is an investor, entrepreneur, community leader and philanthropist in the Pittsburgh area with his Best of the Batch Foundation. “We are excited to have Charlie join our team,” said Keith J. Stone, Chairman &
Founder of CapStone Holdings Inc., in a release. “In addition to an outstanding football career, Charlie’s business acumen fits CapStone’s investment philosophy wonderfully. His impact will be shown quickly and will help us continue to grow our investments and footprint in a variety of industries.” In 2020, CapStone Holdings invested in Curaleaf and Ilera Healthcare—a TerrAscend company, two leading international cannabis enterprises. In 2021, CapStone furthered its interest in the cannabis sector with an investment in The United Green, a national staffing agency with industry-specific workplace solutions for cannabis and hemp concentrated companies. CapStone will continue to focus on this industry as it relates to medical and
healthcare. Batch is a vocal advocate among former professional athletes in CBD and medicinal-use cannabis. Batch has helped lead change in professional sports around the stigma of cannabis-based pain treatment and its benefits, working with several cannabis ventures in the past years. He will lead investment strategies related to that field. CapStone Holdings, Inc. is a family office-structured holding company that maintains a balanced portfolio through investment strategies that maximize innovation and return with minimal risk. CapStone Holdings and its founders have invested across a wide range of industries for over 33 years and engage in focused philanthropic efforts.
CHARLIE BATCH
Should adult children living at home pay rent? Damon, I saw this video online about requiring adult children who work but still live at home to pay rent. It got me to thinking: Should they chip in and pay rent or a bill or two? Should they at least keep the main parts of the home clean if they’re unable to pay? Do you think it’s ok for adult children to work, live at home and not contribute? Or should you just put an ultimatum on them to move out, regardless of any contributions they offer? ~ Christina Damon says: Kids can’t wait to be grown until it’s time to start “adulting”. I define “adulting” as working, being responsible to take care of both yourself and your responsibilities, and being able to pay your own bills. When the Bank of Mom and Dad closes and your children realize how expensive the cost of daily life is—it’s that exact moment they begin to appreciate the hard work and sacrifice of mom and dad. I think it’s perfectly ok for a child to stay home while they continue to work towards becoming self-sufficient. The key point being they’re working toward becoming a better, more productive version of themselves—be it school or be it working a part-time job or entry level job until they find a job that will pay them enough to afford living on his or her own. As far as help towards bills. Every household financial predicament is different. Some parents, particularly single parent households, are struggling to get by. So the child being able to help with money and help with household expenses ease the bur-
den of the parent. Some parents are in a good financial predicament especially since they no longer have to provide for the adult child. They don’t need help from the child. The primary goal of these parents will be ensuring their adult child understands the importance of sound money management including earning a decent income, budgeting, saving, investing, and making good decisions with their money. Some parents charge the adult child rent. But when the child is ready to move, the child learns that the parents saved the rent payments for the benefit of the adult child. The parents give the money saved to the adult child to help them as they move into their new life full of new responsibilities. This money will be a huge help. Let’s not forget about that adult child who simply failed to launch. They’re not driven. They’re ok with the idea of sleeping in their parents basement. You have to enforce tough love. They should be required to get a job, pay rent and have a plan on moving out within a certain time frame. It’s up to the parents to determine that time frame. Yes! All people over the age of 5 living in the hive should be able to contribute towards keeping the house clean. ***** Are there programs out there that pay your down payment for you to purchase a
home? ~Christina Damon says: FHA—Federal Housing Administration allows you to purchase a home with as little as 3.5 percent plus closing cost. Practically all first time homebuyer programs offered are FHA Loans because of the low down payment requirement. In addition to low down payment, they’re more lenient on credit scores than Conventional Loans. You can get an FHA Loan with a credit score as low as 580. Lastly, FHA Loans also allows for higher debt to income requirements. If you’re an eligible Veteran, you can do a VA loan guaranteed by The Department of Veteran Affairs. These loans have Zero down payment requirements. As you can imagine most veterans go this route. Then there’s Conventional Loans insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under this program, you can purchase a home with down payment requirements as low as 3 percent down. Conventional Loans are more conservative when it comes to credit scores and debt to income ratios. Now here’s what’s instructive, studies have revealed, the less a person puts down on a house and the higher the debt to income ratio tolerance the higher the default rate. Both FHA Loans and VA loans have a higher default rate then Conventional Loans. Down payment assistance programs come
in many flavors. Usually you have to be in a certain income bracket to qualify. Programs are generally geared towards lower income households. Many of these programs come with a lien against your home. You’re required to stay in your home for A certain number of years. If you sell or refinance before then, you have to pay off the lien. Here’s what I recommend: Get your financial house in order first, then seek homeownership. Strive to put down 10 percent minimum. Purchase price on your home should not exceed 3X your annual gross salary. Meaning, if your annual salary is $70,000, Purchase price should not exceed $210,000. Payments on your mortgage should not exceed more than 30 percent of your take home pay. Taking on housing payments more than this will limit your ability to accomplish other financial goals. Do fix rate, 15-year mortgage. Never take on a mortgage greater than 20-years. ***** Damon, I have a few more questions because I’m currently looking to buy a house. How are early payoffs? I keep hearing about stiff penalties. I thought a 30 year would be dope if we could pay it off in 10, because it gives us the comfort of knowing our payments can be small in those tight times when business slows down. But will that inevitably be more costly in the end? Is there an upside working with a Buyer’s Agent vs just house hunting on our own? ~Christina SEE ADULT CHILDREN B2
BUSINESS
B2 FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
WQED engages Bynums Marketing & Communications, Inc.
KATHY BYNUMS
RUSSELL BYNUMS
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Bynums Marketing & Communications, Inc. has been hired by WQED to provide education to the Black community about the stations diverse programming. In its new role, Bynums Marketing & Communications, Inc. will focus on building greater community awareness about WQED programming and encouraging the community to interact with all of the station’s offering. “Education is at the core of our mission here at WQED. We have formed this new relationship with Bynums Marketing & Communications to reach the Black community in a way that is
culturally sensitive and effective in educating its various segments. Bynums’ years of trusted, reliable experience and their insight will help us communicate the many benefits of WQED,” says Deborah L. Acklin, President and Chief Executive Officer of WQED Multimedia. We feel that the vast treasure of history and knowledge that WQED has can be of great use to the African American community, and we are pleased with this opportunity to help our community learn more about WQED,” says Russell L. Bynum, President, Bynums Marketing & Communications, Inc.
The Advanced Leadership Institute announces the 2022 Cohort of the Executive Leadership Academy The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that n Friday, January 28th, The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) and Carnegie Mellon University officially kicked off the 2022 cohort of the Executive Leadership Academy. This virtual event featured Keynote Speaker Kevin Walker, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Duquesne Light Holdings and Duquesne Light Company. Mr. Walker assumed this position in June of 2021, and he made history by becoming the first African American person to hold this title at DLC. He brings with him over 30 years of leadership experience. Other noteworthy participants at the opening event included Evan Fra-
KEVIN WALKER KEYNOTE SPEAKER
EVAN FRAZIER PRESIDENT AND CEO, TALI
MARSHA JONES TALI BOARD CHAIR
program provides leadership development training and addresses the specific challenges that Black professionals face in the workplace. Cohort members are also matched with a professional coach and an executive mentor to help
Mellon Justin Denham, Director, Information Security & Business Resiliency, Gateway Health Tija Hilton-Phillips, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Highmark Inc. Yarra Howze, Principal, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Daillard Paris, Director of Supply & Trading, Sheetz, Inc. Renee’ Richardson, Senior Manager, Community Relations, Giant Eagle, Inc. Ronelle Robinson, IT Director, Human Resources Business Partner, Giant Eagle, Inc
Tenecia Ross, Director of Human Resources, Mt. Lebanon School District Frank Tunstall IV, SVP, Internal Audit Director, PNC Chaton Turner, Senior Associate Counsel/Senior Director Disabilities Services, UPMC Melissa Wade, Director of Constituent Relations, Allegheny County - Office of the County Executive Kuyba Washington, Director, Human Resources, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh Michael Watson, Vice President Legal, Compliance & Regulatory, Wabtec Karen Weiss, Senior Manager, IT Technical, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh Angela Williams, Director, Call Center Strategy, Portal Admin, UPMC
Health Plan “We are pleased to welcome the 2022 TALI Cohort as we kick off our fourth year of the Executive Leadership Academy! This year’s cohort is an impressive group of senior leaders who have tremendous potential for executive advancement.” —Evan Frazier, President and CEO of The Advanced Leadership Institute “It’s encouraging to see our corporate community investing in the careers of Black professionals. Their commitment will help TALI fulfill its vision to create a more diverse and inclusive community.”—Marsha Jones, The Advanced Leadership Institute Board Chair and Executive Vice President/ Diversity and Inclusion Executive of PNC.
2022 TALI COHORT PARTICIPANTS—(From left to right) DARRYL JONES, TRACI JACKSON, YARRA HOWZE, MELISSA WADE, RONELLE ROBINSON AND CHATON TURNER zier, President & CEO, TALI; Marsha Jones, TALI Board Chair & Executive Vice President/ Diversity and Inclusion Executive, PNC; Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, Dean, Tepper School of Business; Eric Boughner, Chairman, BNY Mellon Pennsylvania; Tishekia Williams, Director, Regulatory Legal, Duquesne Light Company; and Shelly Hammond, VP, Programs, TALI. Each year, experienced Black leaders are selected to participate in the Executive Leadership Academy, a 7-month, world-class executive education program through TALI and Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. The
them build relationships and maximize their experience. There are 25 distinguished participants in this year’s cohort who represent a diversity of corporate, government, and nonprofit organizations throughout the City of Pittsburgh. Here is this year’s line-up of participants: Alaine Allen, Associate Dean, DE&I, CMU Caren Caldwell, AVP/ General Manager Government Products, UPMC Health Plan Holly Cundieff, Vice President Marketing & Communications, ARMADA Clark Delanois, Head of Credit Risk, Private Banking Division, BNY
Traci Jackson, Director, Contact Center, Duquesne Light Darryl Jones, Chief, Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, City of Pittsburgh Cynthia Lester-Moody, Director, Operations Delivery, Highmark, United Concordia Dental Lee Lewis, Jr., Director, Supplier Diversity & Inclusion, Highmark Health Ida Luchey-Ballard, Plant Manager, Koppers IncKoppers Performance Chemical Group Badel Mbanga, SVP, Data Science Group Manager, Digital & Innovation, PNC Tammi McMillan, Faculty, Early Childhood Apprenticeship Director, Carlow University
Should adult children living at home pay rent ADULT CHILDREN FROM B1
Damon says: Prepayment Penalties meaning if you pay loan off in first 3-years you pay an extra fee, it was big in the subprime mortgage market. That market collapsed. There are few loans if any that has a prepayment penalty on them today Very few people who take out 30-year loans make the
extra payments to pay off the mortgage sooner than 30-years. They make the minimum payment. Interest on mortgages are front loaded - meaning in the first 15-years on a 30-year mortgage, 90 percent of your payment goes to interest. This is why I recommend 15 or 20-year terms. Shorter terms allow you to build up equity faster. Real Estate Agents have
access to the Multi Listing Database. They’re generally more than likely able to find a house of your liking faster than you. Lastly, the Seller pays the fee for both Selling Agent and Buyers agent. Buyer’s Agent is essentially free service to the buyer.
(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached at 412-216-1013 or visit his website at www.damonmoneycoach.com)
Black America deserves its fair share of the American Dream BLACK AMERICA FROM B1
supply. The number of units renting for less than $600 fell by 3.9 million between 2011 and 2019, the JCHS report found. Additionally, 17.6 million rentals—40 percent of the nation’s supply—are located in areas with at least moderate risk from threats caused by climate change. And the 7.2 million renter households headed by a person age 65 and over is expected to continue rising over the next two decades. “Given that people of color are more likely to have lower incomes and to rent rather than own their homes, the geographic concentration of rental housing helps
to perpetuate patterns of racial and socioeconomic segregation,” noted Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a JCHS Research Associate and lead author of the new report. A transition to homeownership can be key to containing family housing costs. Other recent research documents how affordable homeownership is still possible for moderate-income families. In its 2022 Rental Affordability Report, ATTOM, curator of a national property database, found that paying a monthly mortgage on a median-priced home is more affordable than the average rent on a three-bedroom property in 666, or 58
percent, of the 1,154 U.S. counties analyzed for the report. “[H]ome ownership still remains the more affordable option for average workers in a majority of the country because it still takes up a smaller portion of their pay,” said Todd Teta chief product officer with ATTOM. “For now, though, rising wages and interest rates around 3 percent are enough to offset recent price run ups and keep ownership on the plus side of the affordability ledger compared to renting.” In general, according to ATTOM, homeownership is the most affordable in the Midwest and in the South. Moreover, many of these
areas are already home to large numbers of Blacks and other people of color. The most affordable homeownership among counties with a population of at least 1 million are Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), PA; Bexar County (San Antonio), TX; Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), OH; Harris County (Houston), TX; Hillsborough County (Tampa); Philadelphia County, PA and Wayne County (Detroit), MI. Homeownership is also a viable option in smaller locales with populations of 500,000 or less including: Lake County (Gary), IN; Seminole County, FL (outside Orlando); Knox County (Knoxville), TN; East Ba-
ton Rouge Parish (Baton Rouge), LA, and Jefferson Parish, LA (outside New Orleans). But as long as mortgage application denial rates disproportionately impact Blacks, Black homeownership will continue to lag behind the rest of the nation. Now, while interest rates remain low, Blacks are being locked out of cost-savings enjoyed by others and the resulting wealth growth. The Urban Institute’s new analysis of the annual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act compares the race and ethnicity of those denied mortgages in 2020 for purchase loans as well as home improvement and refinance loans. In each of these loan
types, the largest gaps in denial occurred between Blacks and Whites. In home improvement loans, 63 percent of Blacks were denied compared to only 39 percent for Whites. Similarly, nearly a quarter – 24.5 percent of Blacks were denied home purchase loans, while the corresponding number for Whites was 13.4 percent. Instead of being locked out, it is time to bring the benefits of home equity and wealth-building to more families. Black America must have its fair share of the American Dream.
(Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.)
OPINION
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
FEBRUARY 9-15, 2022
B3
What’s in a name?
Guest Commentary
Commonwealth Court decision on Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law must be challenged A statewide court said last Friday that Pennsylvania’s two-year-old mail-in voting law is unconstitutional, agreeing with challenges by Republicans. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is right to swiftly appeal to the state Supreme Court, immediately putting the party-line decision by a panel of three Republican and two Democratic judges on hold and stopping it from overturning the law. Still, the Commonwealth Court decision unfortunately throws Pennsylvania’s voting laws into doubt as voters prepare to elect a new governor and a new U.S. senator in 2022. The decision by Common Court must be challenged. The court’s decision comes after a politically motivated turnabout by state Republicans who switched their views on mail-in voting after former President Donald Trump began baselessly attacking it as rife with fraud in his 2020 reelection campaign. The Republican-controlled Legislature authorized no-excuse mail-in voting for all voters in 2019. The law expands upon a provision in the state constitution that requires the state to provide the option for voters in specific circumstances. Those circumstances include being out of town on business, illness, physical disability, Election Day duties or religious observance. Every Republican lawmaker, except one, voted for the legislation in a deal with Wolf, who had sought the mail-in voting provision. In exchange, Wolf agreed to get rid of the straight-ticket voting ballot option that Republicans had sought as a way to protect their suburban candidates from an anti-Trump wave in 2020’s election. The constitution does not explicitly say that the Legislature cannot extend absentee voting to others. Wolf’s office said its appeal means the lower court ruling has no immediate effect, and criticized Republicans as trying to kill the law “in the service of the ‘big lie’” of Trump’s baseless election fraud claims. “We need leaders to support removing more barriers to voting, not trying to silence the people,” Wolf’s office said. Mail-in-voting worked. Just over 2.5 million people voted under the law’s expansion of mail-in voting in 2020’s presidential election, most of them Democrats, out of 6.9 million total votes cast. An Associated Press investigation into potential cases of voter fraud in Pennsylvania and the five other battleground states where Trump disputed his loss to President Joe Biden in 2020 found a minuscule number of cases. Election officials in 11 of the state’s 67 counties identified a total of 26 possible cases of voter fraud, representing 0.03 percent of Biden’s margin of victory. He defeated Trump in Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes. Despite the repeated lies pushed by Trump and his supporters there has been no evidence of any widespread voter fraud in Pennsylvania or any other state. There is no basis for removing the mail-in-voting in Pennsylvania. (Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
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Rod Doss Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher Allison Palm
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John. H. Sengstacke
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(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Answering the question “What’s in a name?” is more than a rhetorical exercise. Like all words, names evoke feelings and create emotions on the strength of what they represent or symbolize. Two decades ago, the late civil rights activist Dick Gregory and I began “Change the Name,” a campaign to remove the Richard Russell designation from the original Senate Office Building. What followed was a disappointment. To quote a 2009 U.S. Senate Historical Office publication entitled Russell Senate Office Building: The First Century: In 2003 a group called “Change the Name” made a case for removing Senator Russell’s name and statue from the Senate Office Building because of his leadership in favor of racial segregation during his long Senate career, but the Senate had named the building for reasons other than the policies he advocated. Recognizing him as a man of his times, representing the prevailing sentiments of his state, they honored him for his strength of character as a “senator’s senator”. The claim that “… the Senate had named the building for reasons other than the policies he advocated,” is political double-talk. “Advocating policies” is central to the duties of a United States Senator. Russell’s personal and public policies were so intertwined as to be inseparable. When this statement was issued, the racism imbued in Russell’s policies was as well-known on Capitol
Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
Commentary Hill as it was throughout the nation. In 2003, Dick Gregory, Janet Langhart Cohen and I walked the halls of the Senate with a report that chronicled Russell’s Senate career. The over-200 page report is summarized in two sentences: (1) Russell was an unrepentant, White supremacist who blocked every House-passed anti-lynching bill that came before the Senate, and (2) he either opposed, weakened, or delayed passage of every civil rights measure for his entire Senate career. Unlike many senators from southern states who eventually reversed their opposition to civil rights, Russell never did. The Senate Office Building is one of the most historic structures in America. As important as it is, its Russell name belies any hope of African Americans expecting fair treatment from policy-makers. The contemporary defense of Russell’s career calls into question how objectively the Senate can represent the nation. Unlike Russell, Clementa Pinckney was a unifier. He represented the best of being an American. As a state Senator from South Carolina and Pastor of
historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, he dedicated his legislative career and ministry to supporting basic human rights. He lost his life to racist violence in defense of his deeply held American principles. Although Senator Pinckney never served as a United States Senator, that, arguably, is only because his life was cut short. It is speculated that had he lived, “he would have become known— and celebrated—for his leadership.” I completely agree! Since our renaming defeat nearly 20 years ago, names of former Senators have been offered for consideration for a renaming. These include Edward Kennedy, Robert Dole, Margaret Chase Smith and, most recently, John McCain. None, apparently, has received majority acceptance of the Senate’s membership. While there is agreement that the Russell name must change, Senators cannot agree on a designee from their own ranks. For that reason, I offer a name change from a Southern Democrat to a GREAT Southern Democrat. Renaming the building for Senator Clementa Pinkney will affirm most American’s belief that racial justice isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a political issue. Like the late Dick Gregory, everything that Senator Pinkney stood for came from a place of light, and that is what is needed today, now more than ever. (Dr. E. Faye Williams is National Co-President of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.)
How history will be made again (TriceEdneyWire.com)—February is Black history month. The news we are making and witnessing right now reflects all the contradictions of our history—American history. The history of Black people in this country is a story not just of oppression—but of overcoming. It is a story of both savage inequality and hard-won progress. It is a story of discrimination and spectacular accomplishment. Let’s start with accomplishment. President Joe Biden will soon nominate the first Black woman to serve as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court—if he hasn’t already by the time you read this. She will be brilliant and accomplished and committed to the constitutional principles of equality under the law and justice for all. I can say that confidently without knowing who the president will nominate. That’s because the president has already nominated a record number of such Black women as federal district court and appeals court judges. There is a deep bench of impressive, highly qualified Black women judges, lawyers, scholars, and activists. I cannot wait to celebrate the confirmation of one of them as a Supreme Court justice. It won’t be an easy time to be a justice committed to achieving justice for all. The court is now dominated by justices who are committed to a very different view of the Constitution. The Roberts court is the most pro-corporate court in history, ruling consistently to undermine protections for workers and
Ben Jealous
Commentary the ability of the federal government to regulate and punish corporate wrongdoing. The court’s majority has repeatedly weakened the Voting Rights Act. And that has allowed unprincipled politicians to target Black voters—and weaken our democracy. The same destructive forces are at work outside the legal arena, too. Allies of former President Donald Trump are putting new voting restrictions in place all across the country. And they are inciting anger among Trump’s followers by repeating the Big Lie that he won the election. Trump’s allies are also trying to build political power by stoking fear and anger and racial resentment among conservative White parents. They are passing laws that will make it nearly impossible for public school teachers to teach honestly about racism in U.S. history and society—or even engage students in conversations about controversial topics. They’re taking over local school boards and purging libraries of books that explore the experiences of Black people, Native Americans, and LGBTQ people.
One school district in Tennessee has even banned an award-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust and others are already looking to them as a model. Dealing with racism on an individual level, and watching it play out in our political system, can be painful and discouraging. We can also allow it to motivate us to action. When we act, when we fight, we can win. After all, we as Black people and we as Americans have overcome far worse than what we are facing today. This year, and in every election year, we have another chance to make history. We made history in 2020 when we turned out in record numbers to vote. We elected President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black person and first woman vice president. We elected Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate. And that has allowed President Biden to appoint the most personally and professionally diverse set of judges in history, making our courts look more like our country. In this Black History Month, we will take another step forward with the nomination of our next Supreme Court justice. Later this year we will celebrate her confirmation. And history will be made again.
(Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches leadership.)
Biden’s Federal Reserve nominees most diverse in institution’s history By Marc H. Morial (TriceEdneyWire.com)—“The Federal Reserve is our country’s most powerful economic policy institution. Twelve Fed leaders meet every six weeks to make decisions that include how many people should be unemployed and whether wages should be going up. Most of those leaders are White men who come from Wall Street … we want the leadership of the Fed at all levels to be more diverse so it looks and thinks like the working people it is supposed to represent, not Wall Street.”—The Fed Up Campaign The Federal Reserve Board is one of the most powerful yet least-understood institutions in the American economy. It sets monetary policy to promote maximum employment and stable prices, monitors the safety and soundness of financial institutions and their impact on the financial system, and helps ensure a healthy economy for U.S. households, communities, and businesses. Given its enormous influence on every aspect of the economy, representation should look like the nation because the impact of its work touches every American. President Biden’s three nominees, which include two women and two people of color, represent an enormous step forward in achieving this goal Michigan State University economist Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black women to serve on the Board, is an internationally-renowned expert in economic growth and development, innovation, financial institutions and markets, and economic history. Her groundbreaking research on economic disparities related to gender and race brings a sorely-needed new perspective to the Fed’s efforts to
curb inflation and support full employment. Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Deputy Treasury Secretary and Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, was instrumental in pursuing innovative solutions to enhance American’s shared prosperity, the resilience of our country’s critical financial infrastructure, the defense of consumer safeguards in the financial marketplace. Philip N. Jefferson, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty and the Paul B. Freeland Professor of Economics at Davidson College, would be the fourth Black man to serve on the Board of Governors. He previously served as chair of the Economics Department at Swarthmore College, where he was the Centennial Professor of Economics. He was also an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A diverse perspective on the Fed’s Board of Governors is critical to reducing racial gaps in wealth and income. Consider the fact that the Board’s decisions are based on maintaining a certain level of unemployment—generally around 5 percent— but until recently it only ever considered the overall unemployment rate, ignoring the racial disparities that widen during recessions. “Through the entire financial crisis and recovery from the Great Recession, we never put a chart in front of the Board of Governors with the Black-White unemployment rate—never,” economics Claudia Sahm, who worked at the Federal Reserve from 2007 to 2019, told Next City. “You kinda know certain groups are always hit harder in a recession, but it’s different when you stare at a line. We didn’t do that, they never saw that, they only ever saw the national employment rate.”
Last week, the Senate Banking Committee held its first hearing to consider these. As expected, all three candidates illustrated what we’ve long known—that their impressive credentials, experience, keen intellect, and deep understanding of macroeconomic policy would be an asset to our nation’s central bank should they be confirmed by the United States Senate. Unfortunately, President Biden’s efforts to elevate highly-qualified nominees who reflect the nation’s diversity have sparked an ugly, racially-tinged backlash. Renowned for her research on the ways racial inequality and violence have stifled economic growth, Cook represents a dire threat to the conservative crusade to stifle all debate about systemic and historic racism. The American Accountability Foundation, organized last year to dig up dirt on President Biden’s nominees and scuttle his agenda, tried to link Cook with the perceived (but largely fictional) violence of racial justice protests. The group even suggested that merely acknowledging systemic racism is a disqualification for serving on the Fed. Former Donald Trump advisor Peter Navarro sunk even lower, calling Cook “more qualified to coach an NFL team” than to set economic policy. These conservatives don’t oppose these diverse nominations because they think they’re not qualified to shape economic policies that create opportunity for all Americans, but because they know they are. A Federal Reserve Board of Governors that reflects the nation’s diversity is a positive step not just for marginalized communities, but for the nation as a whole. It’s also long-overdue.
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Black History Month: Enjoy it while it lasts (TriceEdneyWire.com)—In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month by encouraging the nation to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Since then, every American president has designated February as Black History Month along with a specific theme. While the theme of Black History Month 2022 is “Black Health and Wellness,” other historical topics are now seeing the threat of becoming censored. It is not uncommon to have lectures and seminars conducted on subjects related to Black history during this time of year. In Florida, history professor J. Michael Butler was scheduled to give a lecture called “The Long Civil Rights Movement.” It intended to educate teachers from the Osceola County School District on civil rights history before and after Martin Luther King Jr.’s life. The school district abruptly canceled the event, citing concerns over “critical race theory,” or CRT, despite the lecture having nothing to do with the topic. “The victims of this censorship are history and truth,” Butler said afterward. “The end game is they’re going to make teaching civil rights into “critical race theory,” and it’s not.” We are seeing the true meaning of CRT being transformed and redefined right before our very eyes. Rather than accept the facts and reality from educators and historians, elected officials are being allowed to reshape the CRT definition for political gain. By unofficially changing the meaning of CRT and
David W. Marshall
Commentary then banning it by law based on the new “definition,” elected officials have successfully created a climate of fear and anger by tapping into deep-seated bigotry. They have created a problem where there is no problem, thereby personally presenting themselves and the whitewashing of Black history as the solution. It is a strategy that moves from one state to another, especially with governors who hold presidential aspirations. It is no surprise that days after the inauguration of the newly elected governor in Virginia, CRT was banned in yet another state where there is no evidence that it is being taught in K-12 schools. Just as we saw with the abortion issue decades earlier, we are witnessing how the political landscape can be strategically refocused—driven by passions surrounding a single hot button issue. The emotions of a passionate electorate can easily be exploited. For example, decades ago, it was not unusual for Democratic lawmakers to support restrictions on abortion and for Republicans to defend abortion rights. In the 1970s, Republicans voted against abortion at about the same rate as Democrats. Then came Richard Nixon and the 1972 presidential campaign. The moral beliefs that devout Catholics and evangelicals have when it comes to the topic of pro-life were exploited to get conservative grassroots voters to the polls and support Republican candidates. On the hot-button issue of abortion, Republican strategists were politically motivated when taking advantage of anti-abortion passions. Tapping into these emotions helped Nixon win the majority of Catholic voters and win the presidency. Appealing to the Catholic vote was critical to Nixon because he previously lost the 1960 presidential election to Democrat John Kennedy, making him the first U.S. president of Catholic faith. When Republicans saw how the abortion strategy succeeded in the 1972 presidential campaign, they began using the same tactics in congressional races. When it comes to the conservative agenda, the issue of pro-life has two fronts: the moral side and the political side. While many Christians are sincere while standing on moral grounds, politicians like Richard Nixon are only driven by power and winning elections. Mix the two, and you have produced one-issue voters. A one issue-voter is so fixed on that one topic (say, abortion) that they become blind to everything else or any other issue. A candidate or elected official can literally break the law and get away with it. As long as their problem is being addressed, any unethical behavior by elected officials doesn’t matter with one-issue voters. CRT has the potential of getting the base riled up and becoming a key campaign issue, thereby producing one-issue voters who are focused and willing to mobilize. Parents’ frustration and anger over the redefined version of CRT has the potential of long-lasting damage. School board elections have a renewed interest by groups such as “Moms for Liberty.” As one-issue voters, they have declared 2022 as the year of the parent at the ballot box. But the idea of the one-issue voter doesn’t have to be negative. In this case, the frustration and anger of White parents need to be countered by Black parents and their votes. It never crossed my mind that we could have a future where there is Black History Month in name only. At this rate, we could be left with a watered-down version of Black History Month and not know how it happened. (David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization TRB: The Reconciled Body and author of the book “God Bless Our Divided America.” He can be reached at www.davidwmarshallauthor.com.)
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Thurgood Marshall’s Bill of Rights Thurgood Marshall is mentioned for two milestones during Black History Month, winning the 1954 Brown v. Board school desegregation case and becoming the first Black Supreme Court Justice in 1967. But Marshall was extremely proud of his participation in another historic event his biographers rarely highlight. Found inside Marshall’s Supreme Court office after his death in 1991 was a monkey skin cloak. The cloak was given to him after he was made an honorary tribal chief in Kenya. Marshall’s law clerks said it was Marshall’s most cherished possession. When Marshall won the desegregation case, he became an international hero. The Civil Rights Movement that ensued took place alongside movements to end colonial rule in Africa. Between 1957 and 1965 the majority of British and French colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa became independent countries. Kenya’s independence from the British was difficult due to recent turmoil. From 1952 to 1960 the British colony was under a state of emergency due to the Mau Mau revolt. The Mau Mau launched a guerrilla war against White settlers, who they lost land to in previous decades, the British Army, and pro-British Africans. This was the British Army’s bloodiest post-World War II conflict. In Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War and the End of Empire, David Anderson stated the conflict was a tale of atrocity and excess on both sides from which no one emerged with much pride and certainly no glory. By 1960 the British government was prepared for Kenya to govern itself. That same year Marshall was invited by members of Kenya’s independence movement to be an advisor at the landmark
J. Pharoah Doss
Check It Out Conference on the Kenya Constitution in London. Here the British government accepted the idea of majority rule, but this became problematic. Kenya had a substantial minority population consisting of Europeans and Asians. These groups were concerned about their status under the new government, will they be equals or second-class citizens? The constitutional conference couldn’t move forward until this issue was addressed. Marshall told reporters if the conference failed, there could be a new revolt in Kenya that nobody could control. At this point, Marshall was called upon to draft a bill of rights to rectify the problem. Marshall spent his entire career protecting minorities from the tyranny of the majority. What difference did it make if the minorities were Whites and Asians in Kenya or Black Americans in Mississippi? Marshall understood that demonstrating a commitment to the rule of law transforms societies, not violent revolutions or civil wars. As much as Marshall claimed the American constitution was the best he encountered in his extensive legal studies, he deviated from the American emphasis on liberty to promote equality. In his preamble, Marshall wrote, all persons are equal before the law and entitled to
equal protection under the law, with no distinction of any kind such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political affiliation, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Marshall protected freedom of religion, speech, and association. These clauses were modeled after the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Marshall’s text went further in detail than the American first amendment. Marshall added everyone had the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This also included the right to change religious beliefs. Marshall also included the right to privacy. (The US constitution does not contain any explicit right to privacy, but privacy rights are implied in certain amendments.) Marshall protected “personal security” rights. This included the right to life, liberty, and the right against slavery. Marshall knew the US Constitution protected individuals against government misconduct, but it didn’t require “affirmative” government assistance. Therefore, Marshall guaranteed rights to education, health, welfare, and protected the right to work. The most important item Marshall protected for Kenya’s minorities was property. Marshall declared no property shall be taken without just compensation. The constitutional conference continued, and Kenya became an independent nation in 1963. Marshall will always be praised for dismantling Jim Crow in America, but when he put on his most cherished possession, the monkey skin cloak, he praised himself for being a founding father of an African nation.
At Black History Month 2022, the work of Dr. King is still not done (TriceEdneyWire.com)—As we begin our celebration of Black History Month, we have just completed an extraordinary national tribute to a leader who did not amass a fortune, nor command an army, nor hold elective office, and yet transformed America. In the U.S., we too often love martyrs and not marches. We honor those who sacrifice—after they are dead. Yet, Dr. King’s example when he was alive holds lessons for us today. I spent Dr. King’s last birthday with him. While he took time to let us celebrate his birthday, he spent the day working, meeting with allies to talk about how to end the war in Vietnam and how to build a poor people’s campaign at home. Dr. King saw how the war in Vietnam had sapped energy and resources from the war on poverty at home. With millions in poverty—more Whites than Black or brown people—in the richest nation in the world, he understood that we needed a “revolution in values,” a radical redistribution of economic and political power. As he wrote in a report to his SCLC in 1967, “We must see that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together—you really can’t get rid of one without getting rid of both.” Today, Dr. King would warn that a country where there is bipartisan support to spend over $7 trillion on the military over the next decade while bitter partisan division blocks lifting children out of poverty is condemned to grow weaker, not stronger. And surely, a country plunging into increasing tensions with both Russia and China will find it hard to rebuild at home. Dr. King helped lead the drive to pass the Voting Rights Act, understanding that the right to vote was fundamental to a democracy. Today that right is being systemati-
Jesse Jackson Sr.
Commentary cally attacked by a right-wing movement that understands it represents a minority, and thus is intent on making it harder for the majority to vote. The use of the filibuster by Republicans in the Senate, the very instrument used by Southern senators to defend segregation, is both revealing and repugnant. Southern senators used the filibuster to try to block the original Voting Rights Act. Dr. King denounced the “minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from voting. They will not let the majority of senators vote. And certainly, they will not want the majority people to vote because they know that they do not represent the majority of the American people.” Dr. King would urge President Biden to push hard to overcome those who stand in the way of democracy reform and of economic decency. Yet he also understood that citizen movements— citizens mobilized and demanding change —are essential if fundamental reform is to take place. He understood that it was Selma that moved the Voting Rights Act in Washington. So while he would call on the president to push, he would organize to force senators to face their own constituents. Joe Manchin, the senator from West
Virginia, who has torpedoed the Build Back Better legislation, is a wealthy man, enjoying life on a yacht in Washington D.C., profiting from fossil fuel investments, hanging out with the deep-pocket interests that finance his campaigns. He needs to face the West Virginians who need the child tax credit to help feed their children. The students who could attend college if community colleges were tuition-free. The seniors who can’t afford the medicines they need. The young graduates who can’t afford a family because they did the right thing and took out student loans to pay for college. The workers who have no future without targeted investments that provide alternatives to the coal industry that is rapidly dying. Let Joe Manchin tell them why he stands in the way. Kyrsten Sinema, the senator for Arizona, who now violates the promises she ran on and chooses to defend the filibuster over voting rights, needs to hear from Arizonans—Black, brown, Native American, seniors, the disabled, the students—all of whom are victims of voter suppression efforts of the minority. That she already has a serious Democratic primary challenger can only help concentrate her mind. America is once more at a turning point. The need for change is apparent, though there are entrenched interests mobilized to stop it. It is only if citizens of conscience mobilize and work and demonstrate and organize that these interests can be overcome. Dr. King’s triumphs came from understanding that essential truth—and by devoting his life to building that movement. We can celebrate his example and Black History Month by answering the call to action and by realizing that the work is not yet done.
Build Back Better: Real dollars for media, not tax credits By When the Build Back Better Act passed the House of Representatives last year, there was some excitement about a provision which included a payroll tax credit for local news organizations. It was stated that this Act, if passed by the Senate and becomes law, would provide $1.7 billion for local media outlets. Researchers at the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism found that there are at least 200 counties in the U.S. that lack a local newspaper and the Pew Research Center reported a decline of 71,000 journalism positions in 2008 to 31,000 in 2020, a 57 percent drop. While the decline in local papers is real and disturbing, those pushing for a payroll tax credit for journalists miss the point. The legislation and the discussion misses a very important point concerning small community newspapers, in general, and Black newspapers, now in their 195th year, in particular. Businesses operating at a loss do not need a tax credit. Businesses operating at a loss have a hard time making payrolls and as a result, most small newspapers
John E. Warren
Commentary hire journalists as independent contractors because they can’t afford payroll taxes and benefits. The issue is not a tax credit for the journalist, its sufficient revenues for the newspapers as a business that will allow them to hire journalists either on payroll or as independent contractors If the President and the Congress really want to help small newspapers, which appear to have declined from 5,000 community newspapers a few decades ago to less than 2,000 today, there is a means of addressing this issue as a win/win for all those concerned. The solution is for the President to issue an Executive Order requiring that all bids for government con-
tracts under Build Back Better must not only adhere to Title V of the U.S. Code’s Administrative Procedures Act that requires the publication of “Notice” under due process, but also that such notices be inclusively published in local newspapers as a mandate for local opportunity in the solicitation of responses to Request for Proposals {RFP). The publication of such notices in local newspapers would bring both notice and dollars to the communities of Main Street. Those dollars would help local newspapers hire journalists in a way far more meaningful than tax credits to people who can’t afford payrolls. The President could make such an Executive Order so inclusive that the benefit would be far reaching and felt immediately. Perhaps the Vice President, who is from California and familiar with the Black Press in particular, and Mr. Sedgwick Richmond, a Domestic Policy Advisor to the President from New Orleans, might be helpful in making the case for such an Executive Order.
(Dr. John E. Warren is Publisher, The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint)
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ATTEND THE ECS VIRTUAL CAREER FAIR: MARCH 19 The Environmental Charter School (ECS) is hosting a Virtual Career Fair on Saturday, March 19 from 9-10:30 a.m. for potential applicants to meet the staff and learn about the school culture. ECS is seeking innovative and highly motivated individuals for a variety of positions for the 2022-2023 school year as the district grows to a K-11 public charter school. RSVP by March 17 at 11:59 p.m. at ecspgh.org/careers to guarantee your spot at the ECS Career Fair.
SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST Port Authority is seeking a Senior Environmental Specialist to be responsible for managing completion of capital projects within scope, schedule, and budget as well as interfacing with consultants, contractors, and external stakeholder representatives. Responsible to manage, develop, coordinate, and oversee all functions related to Port Authority’s environmental policies, procedures, and programs, including implementation and maintenance of the Authority’s environmental state of good repair program and compliance with governmental environmental regulations. Essential Functions: •Manages the implementation and maintenance of the Authority’s environmental state of good repair p ro g ra m a n d i s accountabl e/ responsible for the Program. Identifies significant environmental aspects and sets forth objectives, targets, and programs to mitigate impacts. Develops environmental policies and procedures to achieve Program objectives. Develops and coordinates environmental training and awareness programs to educate Port Authority employees on its environmental state of good repair program. Coordinates and facilitates meetings with facility maintenance managers and trainers and reports Program status and activity to Senior Management. •In support of the environmental state of good repair program, identifies all needs for inclusion on the Authority’s capital plan and performs all project management functions necessary to implement the design, construction ,and closeout of funded capital projects in adherence to established scope, schedule, budget, and quality metrics. Provides guidance and assistance to Port Authority personnel on environmental issues and activities pertaining to all capital projects. Job requirements include: •BS Degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science or equivalent from an accredited school. •M i n i m u m o f s even (7) years detailed environmental experience. •Professional and effective communication skills. •Valid PA driver’s license. •Availability on a twenty-four hour per day, seven-day week basis. •Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows. Preferred attributes: •Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science or equivalent from an accredited school. •Experience in project/program management •Completed 40-hour OSHA hazardous waste training. •Hold an environmental professional certification through a nationally recognized registration entity. •Demonstrated ability in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
BIKEPGH a nonprofit bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization, is seeking a skilled storyteller invested in our mission to create written and visual content to help generate community support and awareness for the organization, campaigns, and events. The ideal candidate will have established professional writing/ editing experience, and confidence in communicating bicycle and p edes t r ian is s ues t o a b ro a d audience. Visit bikepgh.org/jobs to learn more and apply.” ADVANITY TECHNOLOGIES LLC has multiple openings at multiple levels for the following positions: Bachelor’s+2yrs exp/equiv.: CRM Developer (ACD21): CRM, JavaScript, C#, .Net, HTML, CSS, SQL, Azure DevOps. Master ’s only/equiv.: Network Engineer (ANE21): Install, configure, and support an organization’s local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN). Master’s+6 months exp/equiv.: QA Analyst (AQA21): Oracle, UNIX, Splunk, Toad, SQL Scripts. Master’s+1yr exp/equiv.: Software Engineer (ASE21): SQL, UNIX, Java, Shell Scripts, Service Now and TOAD. Master’s +2yrs/Bachelor’s+5yrs exp/equiv.: Database Administrator (ADA21): SQL Database, ZEKE, COBOL, JCL, DB2. Mail resume with job ID # to HR: 201 Penn Center Blvd., Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA 15235. Unanticipated work site locations throughout U.S. Foreign equiv. accepted. SOFTWARE ENGINEER Aurora Innovation, Inc. seeks positions in Pittsburgh, PA. Software Engineer to research/develop/improve performance of autonomy perception system (REF# 00142). Software Engineer II to develop/ implement state estimation/control solutions in real-time embedded systems for safety-critical operation (REF#00111). Email resumes to Mary Ellen Mahoney at memahoney@aurora.tech and include REF#. LEAD TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATOR HM Health Solutions Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, has work-at-home Lead Technology Administrator position (w/ability to telecommute w/approp. telecommuting sys.) responsible for providing sys. admin. services for multiple knowledge mgmt platforms for enterprise environment. Apply at https://careers.highmarkhealth.org, using keyword J197684. SENIOR BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST HM Health Solutions Inc. seeks Senior Business Systems Analyst in Pittsburgh, PA to collaborate w/ bus. owners & stakeholders to understand & analyze bus. needs, project specs & bus. case dvlpmnt. Will translate bus.needs into clearly defined quality req’ts, designs, & sys. supplemental specs for new appls. Apply at https://careers.highmarkhealth.org, using keyword J177052. SENIOR CLIENT PROJECT MANAGER HM Health Solutions Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, has work-athome Senior Client Project Manager position (w/ability to telecommute w/approp. telecommuting sys.) to drive customer value thru client-facing advisory & delivery services in support of HMHS’ product offerings. Responsibilities incl.: gathering data; & analyzing, identifying, & problem solving from info. sets. Must be willing & able to travel domest’ly to client locations up to 25%. Apply at https://careers.highmarkhealth.org, using keyword J197682.
We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Interested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to: Chase Morack Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 CMorack@portauthority.org EOE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE POSITION OF POLICE OFFICER ALTOONA POLICE DEPARTMENT Applications for Police Officer with the City of Altoona can be obtained from the Human Resources Department of City Hall Monday through Friday between 8:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. For additional information or an application, please visit the “Employment Opportunities” Quick Link on the City’s website at www.altoonapa.gov. Completed applications must be received in the Human Resources Department no later than Noon on Friday, March 18, 2022. Human Resources Department 1301 12th Street, Suite 400 Altoona, PA 16601 The City of Altoona is an Equal Opportunity Employer
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MT. LEBANON, PA POLICE OFFICER TESTING MT. LEBANON POLICE DEPARTMENT will be conducting a physical agility and written exam for POLICE OFFICER on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Starting at $71,790 annually. Must be a U.S. citizen; 21 years of age at hire; bachelor’s degree from accredited college/university at hire; pass physical, written, oral exams plus a comprehensive background investigation. Full test requirements, description and application may be obtained at https://mtlebanon.bamboohr. com/jobs/view.php?id=99. Deadline ending no later than 4:00 pm, March 11, 2022.
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR PROJECT BASED VOUCHERS 2022 PHASE 1 RFP #125-01-22 The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s):
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR RENT REASONABLENESS SOFTWARE REBID RFP #400-42-21-REBID The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s):
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Mt. Lebanon provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment based on competence, merit, performance, and business needs. We are committed to valuing the diversity of all individuals without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other classification protected by law. Reasonable accommodations for the needs of otherwise qualified applicants with disabilities will be made upon request to the Human Resource Office at 412-343-3625 or bcross@mtlebanon.org.
CITY EDITOR The New Pittsburgh Courier is seeking a highly motivated individual with a sense of urgency in developing engaging general news and feature content to be our City Editor. The successful candidate must be an engaging storyteller with strong reporting, writing, and editing skills and the ability to work within a fast-paced production and marketing environment while maintaining high ethical standards and meeting deadlines. Our ideal candidate should also be able to produce quality photographs to supplement their stories and have graphic layout skills. Duties will include: working with editorial leadership to determine priorities for daily news coverage and reporting geared towards the Black community for both digital and print publication; and daily collaboration across a close-knit team, assisting leadership in the planning and managing of day-to-day operations, proofreading and editing copy for compliance with policies, style, and tone; and attending events, panels and speaking engagements on behalf of the publication. This is a full-time position offering compensation commensurate to experience. Excellent benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), PTO, and more. Please send a letter of interest and resume to jobs@newpittsburghcourier.com LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices
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The documents will be available no later than February 7, 2022 and signed, sealed proposals for Phase 1 will be accepted until 9:00 A.M. on March 31, 2022. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 9:00 AM on March 31, 2022 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Proposals may be uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the RFP. Sealed proposals may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquires should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on March 16, 2022 at 09:00 A.M. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 961 7512 3594 Passcode: 535490 +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACP’s has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/ RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.
Estate of LINDA M. PERSIANI, a/k/a LINDA PERSIANI, Deceased of Mt. Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, No. 02-22-00425, Elizabeth Halvorsen, Executor, 292 Fern Palm Road Boca Raton, FL 33432 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of MS. FLORENCE MAE POTTER, Deceased of 1500 Fernhurst Avenue, Moon Township, PA 15108, Estate No. 02-21-09382, Mr. Marc A. Potter, Executor, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Teen Programming. Due Date: 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 2. For more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty.us/Human -S er vices/R esour ces/D oing -Business/Solicitations-(RFP/ RFQ/RFI).aspx. Erin Dalton Director
To place a display ad in the New Pittsburgh Courier call 412-481-8302 ext. 128 or 129
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Out-of-School Time Capacity Building. Due Date: 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 2. For more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty.us/Human -Services/Resources/Doing -Business/Solicitations-(RFP/RFQ/ RFI).aspx. Erin Dalton Director REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Out-of-School Time Programs. Due Date: 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 2. For more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty.us/Human -Services/Resources/Doing -Business/Solicitations-(RFP/RFQ/ RFI).aspx. Erin Dalton Director
The documents will be available no later than February 7, 2022 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 9:00 AM on March 1, 2022. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 9:00 AM on March 1, 2022 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Proposals may be uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the RFP. Sealed proposals may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquiries should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on February 17, 2022 at 9:00 AM. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 918 2683 2453 Passcode: 606498 +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACP’s has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/ RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.
PORT OF PITTSBURGH COMMISSION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS GOVERNMENT LIAISON The Port of Pittsburgh Commission requests proposals from qualified parties to act as a state government liaison and to counsel the Commission on its program of governmental and public affairs. Please submit a statement of qualifications and experience, including an hourly rate schedule and other cost considerations in a separate, labeled envelope within the submission, to be received by 3:00 PM, February 28, 2022 at: Government Liaison Port of Pittsburgh Commission 4955 Steubenville Pike, Suite 245A Pittsburgh, PA 15205 Questions should be directed to Mary Ann Bucci, Executive Director at mary-ann@portpitt.com
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DOCUMENT 00030-AA ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The Allegheny County Airport Authority will be receiving scanned PDF proposals through Submittable, and a submission link will be sent to each registered plan holder. Submissions are to be submitted via Submittable by 1:00 p.m. prevailing local time on March 30, 2022, and bids will be opened by the Airport Authority and results will be emailed by end of business day of bid opening for the following project: ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY PROJECT NUMBER 36G1-21 (GENERAL) PROJECT NUMBER 36G1A-21 (BUILDING GENERAL) PROJECT NUMBER 36M1-21 (MECHANICAL) PROJECT NUMBER 36E1-21 (ELECTRICAL) PROJECT NUMBER 36P1-21 (PLUMBING) PROJECT NUMBER 36PF1-21 (FIRE PROTECTION) CARGO BUILDING 4 INTERMODAL FREIGHT TRANSFER FACILITIES DEVELOPMENT AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT A pre-bid conference will be held at 10:00 a.m., on February 17, 2022. This meeting will be a GoTo Meeting. To join the meeting from your computer the following link can be used https://meet.goto.com/279932949. To call in using your phone call 1-866-899-4679 United States (Toll Free) access code: 279-932-949. Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages, as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, must be paid on these projects. Proposals must be made on the Authority’s form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’. The non-refundable charge of $150.00 for the Bid Documents and the Plans, and Specifications through the bidding platform Submittable at https://acaacapitalprograms.submittable.com. Please note that Submittable does not support Internet Explorer 11. Submittable recommends the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari. This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP). Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: https://paucp.dbesystem.com/ The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh.com – ACAA Corporate – Business Opportunities or call 412-472-3677 or 412-472-3852.
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Pace, Jones honored as Spirit of King Honorees
ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed bids will be received in the Bellefield Avenue Lobby, Administration Building, 341 South Bellefield Avenue until 11:00 A.M. prevailing time February 22, 2022 and will be opened at the same hour in the administration building cafeteria: KN95 MASKS General Information regarding bids may be obtained at the Purchasing Office, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, RM 349 Pittsburgh, PA 15213. The bid documents are available on the School District’s Purchasing web site at: www.pghschools.org C l i ck on O ur Com m u n i ty ; Bi d Opportunities; Purchasing - under Quick Links. The Board of Public Education reserves the right to reject any and all bids, or select a single item from any bid.
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ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE CONTRACT NO. 1759 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE FACILITY Sealed Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1759–Environmental Compliance Facility shall be received at the Engineering Department office of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15233, until 11:00 A.M., Prevailing Time, Thursday April 28, 2022 and then shall be p u b l i c l y o p e ned and read. A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held via a video conference call on Friday, February 25, 2022 at 10:00 A.M., Prevailing Time. A link will be required to access this meeting. If interested in obtaining a link to the Pre-Bid Meeting, contact Michael Raig via email at mraig@gstephensinc.com. ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities and women to submit bids on Authority Contracts or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to successful Bidders. Successful Bidders are to use minority and women’s businesses to the fullest extent possible. Contract Documents may be examined and obtained at the Engineering office of the Authority. A non-refundable fee of One hundred dollars ($100) (no cash or credit cards will be accepted) will be charged for each set of Contract Documents received. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Certified Check or Bid Bond in the amount of 10% of the Bid Price. Contract documents must be purchased directly from ALCOSAN to qualify as an eligible bidder. Any questions regarding the Technical Aspects of the Project should be d i re c te d to M ichael R aig, G. S t e p h e n s I n c . , via em ail to mraig@gstephensinc.com Any questions regarding the Purchase of Contract Documents should be directed to Kathleen P. Uniatowski, ALCOSAN, via email to Contract.clerks@alcosan.org. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informality in any bid and to accept any bid should it be deemed in the interest of the Authority to do so. ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Kimberly Kennedy, P.E Director of Engineering and Construction
HONORED POSTHUMOUSLY—Dr. Sylvester Pace, Bernard H. Jones Sr.
The 2022 Spirit of King Honorees, presented by the Port Authority, were Dr. Sylvester Pace and Bernard H. Jones Sr. The virtual ceremony was held on Jan. 13. Dr. Pace was the longtime executive director of NEED, the Negro Educational Emergency Drive, who tirelessly worked to better Black Pittsburgh youth through college scholarships and other programs. Jones was the driving force behind the creation of
the local POISE Foundation. “We must build our institutions for our children’s children,” is a phrase he would always echo, as POISE grew from an initial capitalization of $164,000 to a present value in excess of $11 million. Dr. Pace passed away in 2012. Jones passed away in 2001. The New Pittsburgh Courier is a sponsor of the annual Spirit of King award.
PICTURED IN THE LEFT PHOTO is Rhonda Pace. In the right photo, it’s Rev. Cornell Jones and Toya Jones. The family members accepted the awards on behalf of Dr. Pace and Jones.
City League legends... America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
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LEGENDS OF THE GAME. HUBIE “THE RABBIT” BRYANT AND DAVID “QUICKDRAW” STROTHERS. They were all part of the City League Hall of Fame Inductions, Dec. 3, 2021. To see the story and more photos, see Page A2.