4.7.21 NPC

America’s best weekly NAACP Vaccine Clinic coming April 10

Remembering Larry Davis

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Pittsburgh Courier NEW

www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 112 No. 14

Two Sections

APRIL 7-13, 2021

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OFFICIALS DENOUNCE RACISM, HATE DIRECTED AT SOUTH SIDE BEARS Youth football organization’s home field vandalized over Easter Holiday weekend

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Maybe it’s the athletic opportunities and mentorship that have been bestowed upon the hundreds of youths over the years.

Maybe it was the Easter Egg Hunt that, by all accounts, was a resounding success on Saturday, April 3, putting smiles on the kids who partook in the event at Quarry Field on the South Side, just off S. 18th Street.

Maybe it’s the fact that the vast majority of the kids whom the South Side Bears youth football and cheerleading organization serve are African Ameri-

can, from the South Side Flats all the way to Brentwood.

No one knows the precise reason why an individual or individuals vandalized Quarry Field, spray-painting racist graffiti all over the Bears’ painted logo and the concession stand, breaking lights, spray-painting security cameras, and cutting the power lines to the scoreboard. Officials believe the vandals struck either late Easter Sunday, April 4, or in the early-morning hours of Monday, April 5.

But a unified message was clear by Tuesday, April SEE SOUTH SIDE BEARS A3

RICHARD CARRINGTON SR., center, of Voices Against Violence, stands in solidarity with South Side Bears leaders Kevin Alton, president, right, and Von Madden, vice president, left. The Bears’ home field, Quarry Field, was vandalized with racist graffiti over the Easter weekend.

(Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)

PART OF AN EVERLASTING LEGACY Local African American EMTs part of ‘Freedom House 2.0’ graduating class

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

This wasn’t just any graduation ceremony.

This was a graduation ceremony that was worthy of being held in-person, though social distancing measures and masks were worn throughout the affair.

On March 19 at the Hillman Auditorium, inside the ACH Clear Pathways

Performing Arts Center in the Hill District, eight individuals graduated from “Freedom House 2.0,” a program that trains those involved with becoming an Emergency Medical Technician. An EMT has become one of the most important professions, as their care could be the difference between a person’s life and death en route to the nearest hospital.

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But what makes this program so distinguished, so unique, is that it’s patterned after the original Freedom House Ambulances that would often transport individuals from the Hill District to the hospital in the late 1960s through 1975.

For those too young to remember, there was a time when ambulances weren’t just readily available. The police would respond to a medical emergency, and without the ability to treat the victim, would race the individual to the nearest medical center. AmbuSEE GRADUATION A6

PICTURED ARE THE “FREEDOM HOUSE 2.0” GRADUATES—Front row: Tashina Hosey, Shannon Keyes, Vanessa Reddix, Desaray Owens. Back row: Matt Eaker, Christopher Pollock, Elijah Sellers Jr., Zach DiAnderth. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

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APRIL 7-13, 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Larry E. Davis, former Pitt Dean of the School of Social Work, dies at 74

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

You could hear a pin drop when Larry E. Davis would speak.

It seemed as if the audience listened attentively to each word, each gem of information or opinion that the pioneering Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work would orate.

Dr. Davis was the founding director the Center on Race and Social Problems at the School of Social Work, something he was so proud to be housed in a school of social work.

The Center brought in race scholars from across the country to share their race-related research, and in 2010, the Center hosted the largest conference ever held on race in America.

“He was clearly a larger-than-life figure who led this school and the field in ways that brought together his personal experiences with his keen ability to think deeply and profoundly,” said Elizabeth M.Z. Farmer, Ph.D., Pitt’s current Dean of the School of Social Work.

Dr. Davis passed away on March 30 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 74. He is survived by his wife, Kim, and sons Keanu, Naeem, and Amani.

Dr. Davis was the Dean of the School of Social Work at Pitt from 2001 until 2018, when he became Dean Emeritus.

“Dean Davis’ life and work had an incredible impact on so many people,” Dr. Farmer continued, “and it is a true loss not only to his family, the University of Pittsburgh, and the School of Social Work, but to all of the scholars and community leaders whom he has inspired with his work that was dedicated to challenging racism in our society. He was a mentor to many young academics over the years, and has inspired the work of others throughout his career.”

A Michigan native, Dr.

Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Michigan State University and a dual master’s in social work and psychology from the University of Michigan. Prior to obtaining his master’s degrees, Dr. Davis was part of the Americorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program and spent three years in one of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods. But he returned to academia after the VISTA program because, “he believed that that the methodology of psychology combined with the tools of social work would enable him to bridge the gap between analysis and application,” according to a bio of Dr. Davis on Pitt’s website.

Dr. Davis was a Professor of Social Work and Psychology and the holder of the E. Desmond Lee Chair in Ethnic and Racial Diversity at Washington University in St. Louis prior to coming to Pittsburgh in 2001. Before setting his sights on the Steel City, he made history by becoming the first African American to earn a doctorate degree in social work and psychology at the University of Michigan, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary.

Dr. Davis was the authority when it came to race relations, and understanding it from an academic, analytical perspective. He often wrote editorials published in the Post-Gazette, was the author of numerous books and made countless lectures on race.

“His final book, ‘Why Are They Angry With Us? Essays On Race,’ was a very intimate examination of his own experiences with race in America,” Dr. Farmer said, “and he was always willing to share stories from his own life to help teach others. When I arrived at Pitt, he and I discussed this book and its many fascinating chapters.

It truly was a window into his perspective and under-

standings.”

The Center on Race and Social Problems was established in 2002, a year after Dr. Davis arrived at Pitt.

Its mission is to lead America further along the path to social justice by conducting race-related research, mentoring emerging scholars, and disseminating race-related research findings and scholarship. The Center focuses on race-related social problems in the following areas: Economics; Education; Health; Law; Mental Health; Older Adults; Race Relations; and Youth and Family.

Those who knew Dr. Davis could spot him a mile away with his distinguished aura, trademark bow tie, and genuine, approachable demeanor. During his speeches, Dr. Davis knew when to disseminate important information, and when to showcase his wit.

As he began his online lecture, “Will Race Always Matter?” in Sept. 2020, he said: “Coming to the University of Pittsburgh was the best decision I ever made in my life. That is, except for marrying my wife, Kim, who is watching this program.”

Dr. Davis then settled into his presentation, with a use of words that helped distinguish him from others across the country.

“The simple fact is, that race matters more today because we know more about race matters today,” Dr. Davis said. “The iPhone camera and social media has made it all but impossible for racism to go unnoticed and unreported.

Racist acts, comments and conversations are, today, more apt to become public. Technology has served to pull back the curtain on our country’s systemic racial problems, at times, showing us many things we did not know, along with things that we had resisted seeing.”

Dr. Davis discussed how the George Floyd death in Minneapolis, captured on video, was “unquestionably

LARRY E. DAVIS, PH.D.

the proverbial straw that ignited not only national outrage, but world condemnation.”

Dr. Davis called the “Black Lives Matter” movement the largest national protest in American history, but was quick to remind those watching his presentation that the fight for racial justice and equality has been an ongoing one. The call to elevate African Americans in the corporate sector, remove statues of once-heralded people who promoted racism and discrimination, etc., did not erase the hundreds of years worth of unseen, unheard injustices that Blacks always faced.

“We can only shutter to think about how many people of color must have been unjustifiably humili-

ated, beaten and murdered without consequence even during our lifetime,” Dr. Davis said.

Dr. Davis closed his presentation by stating: “I ask each of you tonight to engage in what the late Congressman John Lewis referred to as ‘good trouble.’ Challenge existing racist status quos, when and where you find them.

Push the envelope. Many of you have, during your lifetimes, accrued enormous social and political capital. I’m asking you this evening to spend some of it. Make our city into the best of American cities. In the words of the esteemed Mississippi Voting Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, let us say to the rest of America, that Pittsburgh is sick and tired of being

sick and tired of racial injustice, and we’re simply not going to take it anymore.”

(Dr. Larry Davis’ visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 7, at John A. Freyvogel Sons, 4900 Centre Avenue. Dr. Davis’ funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 8, at 10 a.m. at Freyvogel Funeral Home, same address.

The service can be accessed via the funeral home’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ johnafreyvogelsonsinc. A second memorial service will be held in the Heinz Memorial Chapel of the University of Pittsburgh at a later date, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary.

Memorial gifts can be given to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, 1 North Linden St., Duquesne.)

A message from the Western PA Black Political Assembly The Western PA Black Political Assembly (WPBPA) has prepared this Press Release considering continuing developments across our nation that impact Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and other cities in Pennsylvania.

One major development

is the ongoing assault on the Voting Rights Act. Voting is a constitutional right that should be made easier rather than more difficult as they’re doing in Pennsylvania.

Black and Latinx populations are being victimized and disenfranchised by

anti-voting measures.

A second continuing development necessitating this press conference is the trickle-down economic theory that has not trickled down into the lives of a majority of neither the citizens of Pittsburgh nor Harrisburg.

Over the past 20 years, both Pittsburgh and Har-

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risburg have experienced significant displacement of Black and Latinx due to gentrification at the expense of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

An example of this in Pittsburgh is the destruction of the Penn Plaza Apartments and the forced displacement of hundreds of its African American residents remain a stain on the City of Pittsburgh. The current Mayor, William Peduto, has turned a blind eye to the former residents of the Penn Plaza Apartments and the 7,000 Black residents’ exit from the city between 2014 and 2018, almost 8 percent of the Black population of the City of Pittsburgh.

An example of this in Harrisburg is the Midtown area and the 6th and 7th street corridors

that were once occupied by 80 percent Black and Latinx.

Finally, some of the worst city government policies in Pittsburgh resulted in the destruction of the historic Black community of the Hill District, the theft of $100 million from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars, and the shameful lack of a diverse City of Pittsburgh government workforce.

These municipal policies are an assault on the Black and Latinx communities.

Thirdly, it is unconscionable and unacceptable that a city like Pittsburgh continues to be the source of horrible studies like the 2019 Gender Equity study that found that Pittsburgh is one of the worst cities in the country for Black women.

Both Pittsburgh and Harrisburg continue to have appalling levels of child poverty as well. Pittsburgh was recently compared unfavorably to the apartheid cities of 1980s South Africa.

Our response to these continuing assaults on the Black and Latinx communities is: 1) Linking other marginalized communities like Pittsburgh and Harrisburg across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

2) Creating an aggressive robust voter outreach, education and turnout vehicle.

3) Prioritizing the use of the $14 billion in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania COVIV relief dollars to rebuild Black and Latinx communities.

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

APRIL 7-13, 2021 A3

OFFICIALS DENOUNCE RACISM, HATE DIRECTED AT SOUTH SIDE BEARS SOUTH SIDE BEARS FROM A1

6, at noon at the field— hate will not be tolerated, and the South Side Bears will not be intimidated, and will continue to call Quarry Field their home.

“Yesterday (April 5), we were met with disrespect and hatred, for what was done to this building,” said Richard Carrington Sr., founder of the organization Voices Against Violence, speaking at a press conference to address the vandalism. “But nothing was done to the essence of our soul and spirit.”

“We’re not going to stand for any type of hate, we’re not going to stop coming here, we’re going to protect the children of the South Side, and this is

still going to be a safe haven for them to come play and grow,” added Kevin Alton, president of the South Side Bears.

Alton told the New Pittsburgh Courier that there have been minor spray-paint incidents at Quarry Field in the past, but “nothing of this magnitude.”

The South Side Bears have been in existence for 12 years. Alton said the organization began playing its home football games at Quarry Field six years ago. He said it’s the only youth football organization in the vicinity, which makes it attractive to area parents who want to place their kids in a positive environment.

The organization is most

KEVIN ALTON, right, received support from numerous community members. He’s president of the South Side Bears, whose home field was vandalized over the Easter weekend.

active from May until November.

Alton said he received a phone call on Monday morning, April 5, about the vandalism at the field, and when he got to the field, “it was just mayhem,” he told the Courier exclusively.

“I was mad, because I’m like, ‘who would do this?’”

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said at the press conference that the city would pay for the costs associated with replacing the lights, power lines, etc., removing the graffiti, as well as paying the artist to repaint the Bears mural that was defaced. Mayor Peduto wanted all funds raised by the Bears to go to its programming.

“There is an entire city behind you,” the mayor said, directed to the Bears leadership. “What was done here on Easter Sunday...think about that...somebody was not at home with their family. Somebody felt an emptiness inside, and decided to take it out through words that would be so intimidating and spraypaint it onto something that was so good.”

Pittsburgh Police, as of late Tuesday afternoon, April 6, are still investigating the incident.

State Rep. Ed Gainey then spoke to the crowd, saying that “hate has no place in Pittsburgh...do you know how our children feel when they see this level of hate in our community? Do you think they don’t understand?

KEVIN ALTON, right, and Von Madden embrace each other after speaking at a press conference at Quarry Field on the South Side, April 6. They are the leaders of the South Side Bears. (Photos by Rob Taylor Jr.) But when you have powerful coaches that stand in the middle, as interceptors, and talk to them about what we do as a community to eliminate hate, then we teach them to stand up for justice.”

Pittsburgh Police officers, elected officials and community leaders alike rallied around Alton, giving him words of

encouragement at the unified press conference.

Von Madden, vice president of the South Side Bears, said that Alton continuously preaches to the youth to “do the right thing at every cost.”

Madden added about Alton: “He has fought, day in and day out, to make sure that our youth, our parents and the broader

community of the South Side has a place to send their kids, not just for football, but he also runs a summer camp, as well. ...he’s 100 percent about kids, 100 percent about the community.”

(Editor’s note: For information on donating to the South Side Bears, email Kevin Alton, president, at: thewayorganiza tion@gmail.com.)

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METRO

APRIL 7-13, 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

NAACP, Rite Aid holding vaccine clinic in Penn Hills, April 10 Make appointments now; open to first 400 qualified applicants

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Mix together the Pa. NAACP State Conference, Rite Aid, and the Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship, and you’ve got a chance to get the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, a oneshot-only dose, this Saturday, April 10, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned about the

vaccine clinic, open to the first 400 qualified individuals, as Rite Aid pharmacists will be administering the COVID vaccine at the school, 2501 Main St. Individuals 65 and over, those under 65 with pre-existing health conditions, members of law enforcement, firefighters, grocery store workers and food/ agricultural workers are eligible. Pre-registration is required, by signing up on the Pa. State NAACP’s

website, www.pastatenaacp.org.

Those without computer access can call 267-6270633 to set up an appointment.

“For those who desire to do so, this collaboration is to help ensure that diverse communities are not left behind in having the opportunity to receive the COVID 19 vaccination,” said Kenneth L. Huston, president of the Pennsylvania NAACP State Con-

KENNETH L. HUSTON, PA NAACP STATE CONFERENCE PRESIDENT ference, in a statement. “It is imperative, particularly in this health pandemic, to forge partnerships with organizations who have a heart for meeting the needs of their communities.”

The Courier has been the only media organization in Western Pennsylvania publishing the number of African Americans and Whites that have been fully vaccinated in Allegheny County, according to data from the Pa. Department of Health. As of April 2, there were 11,714 African Americans in the county fully vaccinated, while 165,904 Whites have been fully vaccinated. There have been 227,417 people fully vaccinated in Allegheny County as of April 2, according to the available data. While Blacks make up 14 percent of the county’s population, Blacks account for just 5.1 percent of

those in the county who’ve received the full vaccine.

Since the Courier’s original report in its March 3 edition, titled, “African Americans abominably underrepresented in COVID-19 vaccine,” which revealed that only 2,860 Blacks had received the full vaccine compared with more than 36,000 Whites as of Feb. 26, there has been a more concerted effort to get the vaccine to Pittsburgh’s Black communities.

The Allegheny County Health Department opened a distribution center inside Central Baptist Church in the Hill District, after weeks of distribution centers mainly in the North Hills and South Hills. Bethany Community Ministries (Homewood) partnered with UPMC to provide 600 primarily African American individuals with the vaccine at

Bethany Center, on Tioga Street, in Homewood. Allegheny Health Network announced it had completed vaccine clinics at Mount Ararat Baptist Church, on Paulson Avenue, in East Liberty, on March 27, and at Petra International Ministries (East Hills) and Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh (Hill District) on March 29. More than 2,500 people were vaccinated at the three churches.

The Courier has also learned exclusively that the East Liberty Family Health Care Center is offering the COVID-19 vaccine to those 65 and older and those under 65 with pre-existing conditions. Individuals are asked to call 412-361-8225 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The center said it would respond back to individuals within three business days.

HEALTH

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Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved.

This month’s Take Charge of Your Health topic is about the impact exercise can have on cognitive functioning. Cognitive functions are brain-based skills needed to carry out any task from the simplest to the most complex. When people have trouble remembering simple tasks, learning new things, reasoning or prob-

lem-solving, they have a cognitive impairment. This impairment can range from mild to severe and is more common as people age.

There are many ways to combat cognitive impairment. One way is through exercise. Of its many benefits, exercise increases a person’s heart rate, which pumps more oxygen and

other nutrients to the brain to keep it healthy. Another cognitive benefit of exercise is that it reduces stress, which may help people cope with life’s challenges. Now, more than ever, as we continue to deal with effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, having a strong coping mechanism is important.

COVID-19 has changed

the way we live. In terms of exercising, the pandemic has left people scrambling to find creative ways to exercise at home. There are still many things that we can do to keep our bodies and minds moving inside our homes and in our communities while we may not have access to gyms. As the weather warms up, it’s a

great time to get outside for a walk or a jog because one thing remains certain—exercising both your brain and body is one important way that you can take charge of your health today.

Esther L. Bush, President and CEO Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh

ESTHER L. BUSH

Exercise and Cognitive Function As of 2014, an estimated 5 million people age 65 and older in the United States had Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia. Though dementia mostly affects older people, it is not a normal part of aging. However, dementia has become so common that, chances are, everyone knows someone dealing with a significant decline in cognitive function. As these numbers increase, health care researchers want to know more about reducing people’s risk of developing dementia.

One area of research with potential positive effects on

cognitive function is exercise.

Many people know the healthful effects exercise has on the body and mood. But researchers are learning more about how exercise can also help brain function.

“We know that exercise is a good way of influencing the brain in a number of ways,” says Kirk Erickson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. “It influences both the production and secretion of a variety of different chemicals in the brain, including certain neurotransmitters and growth

KIRK ERICKSON, PH.D.

factors. This increased release and production enhances the functioning of neurons, the communication between different parts of the brain and the integrity of various brain regions that we know are affected in the course of aging.”

Dr. Erickson says that there is evidence-based research that the brain is not uniformly affected by aging; however, the areas that are more sensitive to aging do benefit from exercise. Researchers do not yet know the basic science processes that underlie beneficial outcomes to the human brain.

In the connection between exercise and cognitive function, Dr. Erickson is trying to elucidate how much exer-

As most people know from well-published research, exercise has numerous positive effects on the body. Among other benefits, exercise has been shown to reduce blood pressure, influence weight management and improve mood.

People just may not always think of exercise as a way to improve brain health.

“I typically refer to exercise as a ‘sledgehammer’ to the body,” says Dr. Erickson. “That sounds terrible, but exercise seems to influence many different cellular and molecular systems throughout the body.

It benefits joints, the muscular system, blood pressure, vasculature to the heart, and the brain is not outside of this

“I typically refer to exercise as a ‘sledgehammer’ to the body. That sounds terrible, but exercise seems to influence many different cellular and molecular systems throughout the body. It has a whole-body benefit.”

—Kirk Erickson, Ph.D. cise—and also how often and for how long—reaps the most benefit for the brain. His lab’s IGNITE study is designed for people 65 and older to engage them in exercise at various intensities and frequencies.

One of the project’s goals is to closely examine how much exercise is needed to have an effect on the risk of dementia or cognitive decline.

Another arm of Dr. Erickson’s research is geared toward understanding the disparities that exist in dementia between Black and Brown populations and white populations.

Dr. Erickson reports that African Americans and Latinx/ Hispanic populations are at greater risk for dementia and often experience the onset of symptoms at earlier ages—but researchers do not know why.

His REACT study, open only to African Americans, randomly places people in either a group that participates in African dance or a group that learns about the histories and cultures of Africa. The study is meant to compare and contrast the effects of physical activity and educational/instructional interventions on brain health.

realm. It has a whole-body benefit.”

In addition to advocating the whole-body benefits of exercise, Dr. Erickson says that, although it is better to start early in life, it is never too late to start exercising and experience its positive effects. Some study participants have told him that they think it is too late or that they are “destined” by genetics to develop certain health conditions.

“We still have so much to learn about how exercise helps brain health,” he says, “but we know it does. It’s never too late to think positively or be proactive about making exercise a habit for a healthier lifestyle.”

To learn more about the IGNITE study, visit https:// p i t t p l u s m e. o r g / s t u d y a r m s / publicdetails?guid=dc7edf62e4ca-4c3b-a653-a088aaf343ce or call 412-463-4588. To learn more about the REACT study, visit https://pittplusme. org/studyarms/publicdetails?Guid=3000fd7a-a578-41fd-b6b4-89d0c8be3351 or call 412-389-0998.

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RELIGION/METRO

APRIL 7-13, 2021

Praise & Worship ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH 91 Crawford Street Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141

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‘Freedom House 2.0’ graduation ceremony held, March 19, in the Hill District…

Sunday Mass 10:30 A.M. www.sbtmparishpgh.com

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 Worship Online on Facebook/YouTube www.ELPC.church Journey Worship...........8:45 a.m.

Sanctuary Worship...........11 a.m.

Taize -Wednesdays.........7 p.m.

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DESARAY OWENS, a graduate of “Freedom House 2.0” on March 19, points to a photo of her grandmother, Doris Owens, who was a member of the “Freedom House Ambulance Service” of the late 1960s to 1975. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello) GRADUATION FROM A1

lances were run mostly by private companies, and in the racially tense Pittsburgh, private ambulances wouldn’t go to the predominantly-Black Hill District.

Still, private ambulances weren’t equipped with individuals who were highly trained in medical care.

But in 1967, a group of individuals, mostly young, Black men, were recruited to study emergency medical treatment, and by the next year, the Freedom House Ambulance Service began, serving people in the Hill. As time progressed, the service and its staff members grew, while also treating people in other city neighborhoods. By 1975, the city decided to establish its own EMT service, dissolving the Free-

dom House Ambulances.

The Freedom House Ambulance Service medical personnel were, indeed, the nation’s first paramedics.

Now, almost 50 years later, the Freedom House 2.0 graduates, who were majority-Black, underwent a ten-week training session to earn their EMT or similar certifications. The program was sponsored by UPMC, Partner4Work and the Neighborhood Resilience Project. Each graduate was guaranteed a job interview with UPMC, as well.

Faculty members from Pitt’s Emergency Medicine program provided the training and instructional resources. The training focused on traditional emergency medical services and on equipping first-respond-

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year. Crew Chiefs earn a $76,714 base annual salary. Base annual salaries don’t include overtime, holiday or special event pay rates.

For graduate Elijah Sellers Jr., of Mt. Oliver, he wanted to become an EMT because it’s something “that is very much so required in the world that we live in,” he said. “There are emergencies everywhere, and the amount of people that we currently have to work on those emergencies is very minimal. I would

Freedom House 2.0’s objectives, she saw a photo of the some of the original members—and noticed her grandmother, Doris Owens.

“I heard the stories,” Desaray Owens told the Courier. “She inspired me to come in this field as a kid.”

How it all began

Dig deep into the origins of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, and you’ll find Phil Hallen, who in 1967 ran the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, a founda-

GRADUATE VANESSA REDDIX, who aspires to become a Physician Assistant.

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ers to help address critical, non-emergency psychosocial needs—such as poorly managed chronic medical and behavioral health conditions and a lack of access to resources to address them—that comprise a significant portion of 911 calls, according to a Pittwire report.

The program, which began as a way to increase diversity and jumpstart workforce development during the COVID-19 pandemic, is continuing, the New Pittsburgh Courier

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth.”

- Psalm 46:10 REV. WALKER SAYS: Worldwide Pandemic, COVID-19...Has God got our attention? Let’s praise Him for HE IS GOD. (Rev. A. Marie Walker is servant pastor of St. John Baptist Church in Wilmerding.)

has learned—a new cohort of individuals has already been selected for a future ten-week training session.

“We’re truly trying to build them a pipeline to whatever they (students) want to be in the future,” Kenneth Hickey, the program’s leader, told Pittwire.

Vanessa Reddix, of the West End, was one of the graduates on March 19, who said she had a passion for helping others. She told the Courier’s J.L. Martello that she’s had 14 surgeries, including brain surgery in September 2018, and she can relate to those individuals who have medical issues.

“That’s the whole reason why I want to do my job,” Reddix, 31, a Point Park graduate, said. By obtaining her EMT and paramedic certifications, she’ll be able to cross over into becoming a Physician Assistant. Physician Assistants, on average, earn $108,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Paramedics in Pittsburgh earn a $48,328 base annual salary in their first and second years on the job, the Courier has learned. A third-year city paramedic earns a base annual salary of $55,917, and increases up to $71,327 in the fifth

like to be part of the process of rebuilding it and helping out as much as I can, being an inspiration to the next generation of EMTs.” Graduate Desaray Owens, of Homewood, has the closest connection to the original Freedom House Ambulance Service members in the graduating class. When she opened the brochure detailing the

tion focused on bringing health care to the poor.

Hallen wanted to start a private ambulance service for the Hill District, and was soon introduced to a University of Pittsburgh physician, Dr. Peter Safar.

Dr. Safar, who worked at the well-known Presbyterian University Hospital, in Oakland (now UPMC SEE GRADUATION A7

GRADUATE ELIJAH SELLERS JR.

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...where the ‘Freedom House Ambulance Service’ originated more than 50 years ago

A PHOTO OF SOME OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS of the “Freedom House Ambulance Service,” which was created in 1968 to provide emergency medical services via ambulance to Black residents in the Hill District. The service was so highly regarded, it led to the City of Pittsburgh creating its Emergency Medical Services division in 1975. (Photo courtesy University of Pittsburgh)

GRADUATION FROM A6

Presbyterian), was on the same page with Hallen.

However, according to a 2011 Pitt report on its Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine website, Dr. Safar was “constantly halted by roadblocks when negotiating with local organizations for a grant to standardize emergency services in Allegheny County. Physicians felt only they were qualified to provide medical care. Allegheny County volunteer firemen resented having paramedics in ambulances take training and feared they would be put out of business. The mayor passed the buck, claiming emergency services were a county responsibility.”

That’s when, according to the Pitt report, the two men recruited James McCoy Jr., founder of the Hill District’s Freedom House Enterprise Corporation, and Morton Coleman, an aide to the Pittsburgh mayor and part-time social work professor at Pitt.

Within weeks, the Freedom House Ambulance Service Committee held its first meeting in April 1967, and later, the young, Black men were recruited (women later joined) for the ambulance service in the Hill.

According to the Pitt report, Freedom House Ambulance Service made 5,868 runs and transported 4,627 patients in its first year, responding to an average of 15 calls a day, with a DOA (dead on arrival) record of only 1.9 percent. “More than 50 Freedom House paramedics and dispatchers handled more than 45,000 emergency calls over their eight-year history,” the 2011 Pitt report read. “They were no longer running second-hand do-

nated police ambulances, but five mobile intensive care ambulances.”

Who knew that Hallen and Dr. Safar’s idea would turn into an entirely new profession? Who knew that the African Americans and others who were so closely instrumental in providing their medical services back then would become iconic today?

John Moon is one of those iconic figures. He was a member of the group of young, Black men who joined the Freedom House Ambulance Service. He was omnipresent at the Freedom House 2.0 graduation ceremony on March 19, in the Hill District, familiar territory for Moon.

Amera Gilchrist, who currently serves as Deputy Chief of Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services, said bluntly that “if it wasn’t for him (John Moon), I wouldn’t be here.”

Gilchrist, who is African American, has been with the city for 22 years as a paramedic.

About the graduating class, Moon told the Courier that they have “a tremendous opportunity to get into the pre-hospital arena because the foundation has already been laid.”

The graduates can lean on Gilchrist or Moon as mentors, are already on the inside track with UPMC, and will soon be able to ride with a Pittsburgh EMS unit.

Moon said that “people often think that the faster you get them to the Emergency Room, the better they’ll be. Statistics have shown, and the Freedom House Ambulance Service stats showed, that it’s not how fast you get there; it’s what’s being done for them before they get to

GRADUATE DESARAY OWENS, center, with “Freedom House Ambulance Service” member John Moon, left, and Deputy Chief of Pittsburgh EMS Amera Gilchrist. (Photo by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

the Emergency Room. This group will get an opportunity to actually see (what happens) prior to that person getting to the E.R.” Moon said he went from Freedom House Ambulance Service paramedic in 1972 to assistant crew chief of the group in one year. He remained in that position until the service dissolved in 1975. Moon retired in 2009 as assistant chief of the Pittsburgh EMS, known for his tireless efforts to diversify the EMS division in Pittsburgh.

“I definitely owe a deep debt of gratitude to Freedom House Ambulance Service and it’s my belief that the nation owes a deep debt

of gratitude to Freedom House Ambulance Service, its mere existence,” Moon told the Courier’s J.L. Martello exclusively at the March 19 event. “For what we did, what we designed, the training, every EMS system in this country is built off our foundation...a group of individuals that society said would be the least likely to succeed; unemployable; society’s throwaways...in spite of all those objections, barriers and trials that we had to go through from a political, economic and racial standpoint, we were able to leave a legacy that I hope will re- JOHN MOON points to himself in the photo of some of the members of the “Freedom House Ambulance Service.” Moon began with main in history forever.” the service in 1972 as a paramedic, later rising to assistant crew chief. (Photo by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

A8 APRIL 7-13, 2021

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The American Dream belongs to working Americans

by Ray Curry For New Pittsburgh Courier

(NNPA)—I grew up in a world that held the promise of a bright future for those who were willing to work hard. An America that said you can do better than your parents. A promise that meant job security with decent wages, health care, and benefits; a promise that meant training and education and a path to advancement for so many; a promise that made owning a home and raising a family possible; a promise that guaranteed a middle-class life and the ability to retire one day after a job well done. It was the promise that gave rise to the American Dream and one that has shaped American values and vibrancy for generations.

Where is that promise today?

Sadly, it is now a broken promise. Consider how our landscape has changed over the last 40 years as corporate friendly politicians have increasingly moved to undermine our working class, as we have continued to put corporate greed ahead of the people whose work makes corporate profits possible.

A harsh reality Consider how the terrain has toughened. Consider the damage done as we have increasingly waged war on our nation’s unions and the voice for labor they provide. Here are just a few harsh realities: Today, our country ranks at the bottom of industrialized countries relative to employee benefits like healthcare, parental leave, paid vacation and sick days, unemploy-

ment and retirement security.

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), the U.S. is the only advanced country where workers are not guaranteed vacation time. In contrast, Europeans get at least 20 days of legally mandated vacation days, and some countries require at least 30. We are the only industrialized nation that does not offer universal healthcare for its citizens. This is despite the fact that we spend more on healthcare than other high-income countries relative to the size of our economy. And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), less than 22 percent of Americans have employer-paid pensions, and only half participate in a retirement savings plan.

Rather than the leader—as we once were—we are more in line with the Czech Republic, Latvia, South Korea and Mexico as the least generous countries for workers. For reference, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland are the top nations for worker benefits.

So, how did we get here?

Union membership has been falling for decades. This lessening of worker representation has resulted in the erosion of solid employee benefits and good wages, a loss of secure, stable jobs, and diminished worker rights.

Right-to-Work laws (designed to weaken unions and the ability of workers to bargain) in many states have made it much more difficult for working people to form or join unions. These laws have predictably resulted in

OVER THE PAST 35 YEARS, the number of U.S. workers who are members of labor unions has been cut in half, according to the Pew Research Center. lower wages and diminished employer accountability.

Over the past 35 years, the number of U.S. workers who are members of labor unions has been cut in half, according to the Pew Research Center. In 1954, nearly 35 percent of all employed U.S. workers were members of unions. Now that number is about 10.5 percent despite the fact that approval of unions is at a 50-year high.

While the unionization of workers has diminished, wealth inequality has accelerated. U.S. Federal Reserve data shows that from 1989 to 2020, U.S. net worth became increasingly concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans possessing 40 percent of

the nation’s wealth. In 2019, the CEO to worker ratio for compensation was 320 to 1—a staggering gap.

It is time to close that gap again. It is time to strengthen our unions, to reach out to new groups of workers who want to unionize and pave the way for enhancing and encouraging collective bargaining, forming unions, and joining together for solid, secure, workers’ rights and benefits.

It does not have to be this way It is time to commit to our workforce. To once again be that nation that cares about the hard-working women and men in this country and is a world leader in workers’ rights

and compensation. Moreover, the economic reality is that we NEED unions. A diminished union presence forces people to work two and three jobs just to make ends meet. Many of those jobs are in the service sector, with low wages, no benefits, and little room for advancement. It is the American worker that drives our economy, not wealthy CEOs. It is time for our state and national leaders and representatives to come together to make a change. It is time to pass the $15 minimum wage, to sign the PROAct into legislation to protect workers, to keep good paying American jobs at home and to set America back on the right track.

The American Dream needs to again belong to those whose dreams defined it, and whose participation is vital to its achievement. We need to once again be a nation that champions safe working conditions, good benefits and wages, and the ability to have some say in the workplace. We need to make the PRO Act the law of the land.

We must all come together and deliver. We made a promise decades ago, one we should now be making for our children as it was made for our generation. Please let your support for the PRO Act be known. The bill has passed the House and will face tougher opposition in the Senate. Please let your representative know how you feel.

America should not and must not be a nation of broken dreams.

(Ray Curry is Secretary-Treasurer, UAW)

Zillow announces plans to hire more than 2,000 employees nationwide in 2021 SEATTLE—Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), which is transforming the way people buy, sell, rent and finance homes, today announced on March 11 its plan to hire more than 2,000 employees nationwide in 2021, increasing its total workforce by approximately 40 percent. This significant hiring goal was sparked by a year of impressive growth across the business and a historic year in the real estate industry.

The majority of the new or coming-soon roles in tech, mortgage and loans, product and software development and more are categorized as remote and hybrid positions—open to applicants across the coun-

try. New roles also include a mix of in-office and field roles. Many of these positions are now open and accepting applicants through the Zillow Careers site.

Zillow was an early leader in the future of work as one of the first companies to announce an extended work-from-home option for thousands of employees last year. Zillow has since officially launched its Distributed Workforce Model, which offers current and prospective employees roles in an office, field, remote or hybrid format. This model provides employees myriad benefits, including the flexibility to more easily balance personal and professional responsibili-

ties and to work where they are most comfortable and productive—whether that is in one of Zillow’s offices or remotely.

“While we boldly reimagine how to buy and sell homes for today’s digitally

minded customer, Zillow is seizing the opportunity to reimagine how we work,” says Dan Spaulding, chief people officer at Zillow.

“Our Distributed Workforce Model is a more inclusive, more personalized, more

flexible, more efficient way of working. We are broadening our pipelines to attract more underrepresented talent and are providing career development opportunities that may have not otherwise existed for our employees.”

Zillow’s Distributed Workforce Model also incited a transformation of traditional onboarding practices, which resulted in Zillow successfully onboarding close to 1,500 employees remotely since March 2020, roughly 28 percent of its current workforce. New practices like a “Virtual New Hire Open House” and a New Hire Slack channel are among some of the many initiatives Zillow

has put in place to support new employees. Zillow is committed to reimagining traditional recruiting and working norms and being a leader in the future of flexible work to meet its ambitious hiring goal for 2021.

Today’s hiring announcement comes on the heels of Zillow’s inclusion in two prestigious workplace indexes, the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index and the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

Both lists gave Zillow high marks for advancing policies and benefits that ensure equality for employees and their families and fostering a workplace in which all employees thrive.

Is it wise to use a credit card to generate airline miles?

“At a leadership conference this past week, someone was telling me to get a Capital One credit card for my business.

She said when you place your orders, pay with the credit card and then right after that pay your card off immediately online.

She said the Capital One card gives you credit and you can get free airline tickets.

This way I don’t have to pay for airfare for national conferences and leadership conferences. Is this a good idea or is it insane?”

Signed—woman seeking to make good financial decisions Damon Says: INSANE!! Not only is it not wise to use credit cards to generate airline miles. It’s not wise to use credit cards PERIOD! Unless you’re OK with the idea of paying double-digit interest rates, fees on top of fees, and trading airline miles, gifts and other non-essentials for DEBT! Capital One poses the question, “What’s in your wallet?” If you have a Capital One card in your wallet, there’s a high probability that you’re lacking something that should be in your wallet. Something that’s far more valuable and far more powerful— MONEY! I was recently on a television talk show and the host of the show expressed the same sentiments that this woman was asking about—using the credit card and paying it off immediately.

Here’s the truth. Everyone you meet will say that they pay off their credit card balances EVERY MONTH. However, statistics reveal that only 40 percent of Amer-

icans pay their credit card balances off every month. In other words, most people are outright lying!

Being the nerd that I am, I had to dig a little deeper. The question I had in mind was, “Why would a person have to pay off a credit card balance EVERY MONTH?” Here’s what I discovered after observing hundreds of “real-life” clients who actually pay off their credit card balances every month. The vast majority who paid off their credit cards balances EVERY MONTH did so because after paying off the credit card, there wasn’t enough money remaining from their paycheck to pay the rest of the bills, buy food, and have a life. Therefore EVERY MONTH, they were forced to use credit cards to supplement their income. The credit cards created the illusion that their income was higher than it really was. They were living above their means—a surefire plan to stress, frustration and poverty!

I’ve heard every argument under the sun to justify the necessity of a credit card.

People fail to realize that I was a “banker” before I was a “consumer advocate.” I know the tricks of the trade. Airline miles and cash-back rewards are nothing more than bait. Credit card companies are going fishing and you’re the big catch!

In most cases cash-back rewards are tired and capped. You’ll have to spend a certain amount before you’re awarded the percentage being promoted in large print.

For example: 1 percent cash-back rewards don’t kick in until you’ve spent $3,000.

Until then the reward is much smaller.

The 5 percent gas rewards are awarded after you spend $100 each month. It resets every month. For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume you get 1 percent in cash-back rewards. If you were to get a $500 cash-back reward, you’d have moved $50,000 through your credit card. Credit card companies generally offer you one air mile for every dollar spent. To get a $250 airline ticket, you’ll need 25,000 air miles.

That means you’d have to spend $25,000.

Do the math. Each cash-back reward or airline mile is worth about ONE PENNY! I’ll trade you pennies for dollars any day of the week.

Furthermore, you’re prone to spend up to 30 percent more when using credit cards as opposed to using cash. Ever wonder why department stores are offering you 10 percent discounts if you open a store credit card? You’ll spend more, you’re more loyal and they’ll make a killing in finance charges. In fact, the fastest growing division in most department stores and car

dealerships is the finance department.

McDonald’s recently did a study and discovered the average ticket sales are up 25 percent when a person uses credit cards as opposed to cash. I can imagine that McDonald is “loving it!”

American Express? Leave home without it! VISA card? They’re everywhere you shouldn’t be! Mastercard? If there’s some things that money can’t buy, I’ve yet to come across it! Discover card? If it pays to discover, why are they charging you interest and fees as opposed to sending you checks?

“But Damon, it’s ‘impossible’ to live without credit cards. You “have” to have a credit card.”

I wonder who promulgated this idea? I’ll give you a hint—institutions who are in the business of selling credit cards.

People use credit cards for three reasons—1. Convenience—get a debit card. It works just like a credit card but you don’t accrue debt. 2. Emergency—does going into debt when you’re down on your luck sound like a good plan? You should save money in the bank for emergencies. 3. Status—buy things they can’t afford in an attempt to keep up with the “Joneses.” Who are the “Joneses?” The “Joneses” are an illusionary model of success! Stop fooling yourself!

You can become a member of an airline company’s loyalty program and be awarded frequent flyer airline miles—no strings or credit card debt attached.

(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached at 412-216-1013 or www.damonmoneycoach.com)

B2 APRIL 7-13, 2021

BUSINESS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

American corporations forced to take sides in voting rights battle

by Barrington M. Salmon For New Pittsburgh Courier

(TriceEdneyWire.com) —Battlelines are being drawn across the country between those who oppose the voter suppression tactics exemplified by the Georgia legislature and voting and Civil Rights activists fighting against these draconian measures.

Last week, 72 Black executives signed an open letter challenging their corporate counterparts across the country to join the fight against a Republican-led campaign to pass a slate of laws that would restrict voting access in as many as 47 states.

Kenneth Chenault, managing director and chairman of General Catalyst, a venture capital company and former CEO of American Express, said in a CNBC interview that what he and his Black colleagues had heard from corporations was what he characterized as “general statements about their support for voting rights and against voter suppression.”

“But now we’re asking, put those words into action,” said Chenault, one of the organizers of the executive letter.

“Corporations have to stand up—there is no middle ground,” he and his colleagues said in the letter. “This is about all Americans having the right to vote. But we need to recognize the special history of the denial of a right to vote for Black Americans. And we will not be silent.”

In interviews on CNN and CNBC, Chenault went further: “Fundamentally, if you can’t oppose this legislation—that’s the lifeblood for Black Americans, the right to vote. We can’t be silent, and corporate America can’t be silent. And if they can’t speak out on this issue, what can they speak out on?” he said.

Corporations have been awakened. Last Friday, April 2, executives from about 200 companies stepped up to support the effort to protect voting, not just in Georgia but in the other states trying to suppress and manipulate the vote.

The companies released

Georgia voters. The laws restrict absentee and early voting and restricts the ability of African Americans and other people of color to vote.

Among the law’s provisions are the imposition of new limitations on ballot drop boxes that limits their widespread deployment and allows for them to be placed in voting sites; requires voters to submit their driver’s li-

KENNETH CHENAULT cense or state ID number as part of their vote-bymail application. If they have neither, they must submit a photocopy or electronic image of an acceptable form of identification such as a passport); and criminalizing the act of providing food and/or water to voters waiting in line to vote.

But the most alarming part of the law, activists and advocates say, is the provision that gives state officials the authority to override county election board officials and allow Republicans to potentially disqualify voters in Democratic-dominated areas.

Kemp and his GOP counterparts have been defiant as criticism and actions against them increases. In addition to the prospective boycotts of Home Depot, Delta and Coca Cola, comes the announcement that Major League Baseball brass is moving the All-Star game to another venue this summer. According to one tourism official, the state stands to lose as much as $100 million because of what Kemp and other Republicans call “cancel

and advancing strategies to fight back against the voter suppression measures.

Henderson said organizers in Georgia are definitely working together, testifying on the unjust nature of the legislation and participating in rallies to show the public the potential damage the law would be to the community at large and the African American community specifically.

“One thing we’re doing is leaning on corporations which made grandiose statements after George Floyd and now are quiet,” she said.

Brown and Henderson not that almost two dozen major corporations are headquartered in Georgia. They include Home Depot, UPS, Delta Airlines, AT&T, The Southern Company and the Coca Cola Company.

Other major US companies who have also funded co-sponsors of the Georgia bills to the tune of $7.4 million include Comcast, CVS, Walmart, General Motors and Publix.

Research by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization has shown that “since 2015, AT&T, Comcast, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, and other big businesses have donated a combined $50 million to state Republican lawmakers who are currently supporting voter suppression bills across the United States—generous political spending at odds with recent corporate efforts to rebrand as defenders of voting rights.”

Brown said corporations try to have a public face that is progressive, inclusive and identify with movements for justice, especially racial justice, but often stop short of supporting true racial justice.

“Corporations have a responsibility. We work there, serve on boards and are actual consumers who consume $106 billion, a part of Georgia’s economy,” she said in a television interview before the Georgia vote. “I think they have a civic responsibility. This is a prime opportunity for them to stand up, use their leverage power and push and stop deals that will push back voter access to Jim Crow times.”

“Corporations have to stand up—there is no middle ground.

This is about all Americans having the right to vote. But we need to recognize the special history of the denial of a right to vote for Black Americans. And we will not be silent.” a statement that said in part: “… our elections are not improved when lawmakers impose barriers that result in longer lines at the polls or that reduce access to secure ballot drop boxes … there are hundreds of bills threatening to make voting more difficult in dozens of states nationwide,” said the statement by ViacomCBS, Target, Saleforce, Dow, HP and Estee Lauder among others. “We call on elected leaders in every state capitol and in Congress to work across the aisle and ensure that every eligible American has the freedom to easily cast their ballot and participate fully in our democracy.”

Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law before the ink was dry on the bill sent over by the Republican members of the general assembly.

The pressure on corporations has ratcheted up since Kemp signed into law a raft of measures that has significantly increased restrictions on

culture.”

“I want to be clear, I will not be backing down from this fight,” he said at a press conference to strike back at his critics.

“We will not be intimidated, and we will not be silenced. Major League Baseball, Coca Cola and Delta may be scared of Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden and the Left but I’m not …”

Voting rights experts have described Georgia as the epicenter of voter suppression and Kemp’s signing of the bill making the Peach State the first in the country to enact these restrictions. So far, according to the Brennan Centre for Justice, 47 states have introduced 361 voter suppression bills.

As the bills from the Georgia assembly made their way through the House and the Senate early this year, voting rights activists like LaTosha Brown and Nicole Henderson, of Black Voters Matter and the New Georgia Project respectively, began formulating

Brown said many corporations like Coca Cola ran campaigns last year saying they support the Black community and Black Lives Matter around racial equity. Now, she said, this is a prime opportunity for these companies to use their power.

“We think they need to respond stronger. There have been a few comments, a couple of statements. We need to see action,” she said. “They have the political leverage, the ability to put pressure on the legislature. Coke, AFLAC, UPS and Southern have a tremendous amount of political access and power but we’re not see the (requisite) type of action and pressure. Ultimately, democracy is good for business.”

But in the wake of passage of SB202, when asked, Brown said she supports an economic boycott of these corporations and maybe the state of Georgia.

She said, “If they’re not willing to support us, why should we support them?”

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

APRIL 7-13, 2021

B3

‘Jacked’

Guest Editorial

Companies must take a stand on voter suppression In a letter to more than 90,000 parishioners, Bishop Reginald Jackson, who presides over more than 400 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia, said the state’s new Republican-backed election law is “racist and seeks to return us to the days of Jim Crow.”

Jackson is right to call for corporate leaders at companies like Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines to speak out in opposition.

“If we cannot persuade them or if they refuse to oppose this legislation then we will organize and implement a boycott of their companies,” the letter says.

A national boycott of some of Georgia’s largest businesses should be strongly considered if the leaders of these companies continue in not speaking out more forcefully against the law.

Coca-Cola said in a statement that the company has been engaged in “advocating for positive change in voting legislation.”

Delta Air Lines issued a statement touting some parts of the law, such as expanded weekend voting, but said “we understand concerns remain over other provisions in the legislation and there continues to be work ahead in this important effort.”

These statements are not enough.

We agree with the views cited in a letter signed the children of some of the nation’s most notable civil rights leaders that said that far “too many of our lawmakers failed to take a stand and corporations did not go far enough to ensure every voting citizen had fair and equitable access to the most basic of American rights.” The letter was written by Bernice A. King, the daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; Al Vivian, the son of the Rev. C.T. Vivian; and John-Miles Lewis, the son of U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the new election law last week just hours after it cleared the state legislature. The Georgia law adds a photo ID requirement for voting absentee by mail, cuts the amount of time people have to request an absentee ballot and limits where drop boxes can be placed and when they can be accessed. It also bans people from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line and allows the Republican-controlled State Election Board to remove and replace county election officials.

Republicans in Georgia argue that the law is needed to restore voters’ confidence.

Georgia is not alone. Republican controlled state legislatures across the country have backed similar election bills after former President Donald Trump made false claims about election fraud.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Instead of trying to attract voters with good candidates and ideas, Republicans are seeking to discourage voters.

The change to Georgia’s election law was made after Democrats won the presidential contest and two U.S. Senate runoffs in the once reliably red state. A lawsuit filed Sunday by organizations including the Georgia NAACP against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other members of the State Election Board, asks a judge to find that the law violates the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act and to block state officials from enforcing it.

The complaint argues that Republican “officials have resorted to attempting to suppress the vote of Black voters and other voters of color in order to maintain the tenuous hold that the Republican Party has in Georgia.”

Georgia voting-rights leader Stacey Abrams was right to denounce the corporations’ spinelessness. She recently said “there should be no silence from the business community when anyone in power is trying to strip away the right to vote from the people.”

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin correctly points out that “corporate America, which made a public show of support during Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer and has in the past boycotted states over harsh immigration laws and laws discriminating against transgender people, has at best been silent and at worst supportive of the Jim Crow-style legislation.”

What can be done? “It should not fall to just Black politicians or civic leaders to do the heavy lifting. Americans who value their democracy can and should voice their displeasure so as to inflict public embarrassment or pain on corporations that think there is no downside to cuddling up to voter suppressors,” said Rubin “Employees can protest or take collective action. Shareholders can voice their condemnation. Consumers can find another airline to fly or another soda to drink. Ordinary citizens can protest at corporate headquarters.”

The leaders of corporate America must be held accountable on this critical issue.

(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

Founded 1910

Rod Doss Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher Allison Palm

Rob Taylor Jr.

Jeff Marion

Office Manager

Managing Editor

Circulation Consultant

John. H. Sengstacke

Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—As long as I remember, generosity has been a personal value that I’ve embraced and practiced. I assume that my large number of siblings influenced that part of my character. I received great pleasure from seeing joy in the eyes of a loved one or friend when I gifted or shared. On the other hand, I staunchly and vehemently opposed anyone arbitrarily attempting to take something from me. If you wanted to see my emotional temperature rapidly rise from cool to boiling, you only had to observe someone attempting to take something from me without my permission or agreement.

Analyzing the Republican response to 2020 election results, I’ve become as incensed as if someone had broken into my home and stolen my prized possessions. For Republicans, losing the presidential election—a result that 30 percent of Trump supporters refuse to acknowledge—was only compounded by the loss of senate elections in Georgia which flipped the Senate and gave legislative control to the Democratic Party.

In response, Trump and many of his supporters attempted to “steal” the election. That theft was predicated on surreptitiously reversing the vote count in urban communities of color— Milwaukee, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. The consequence of that effort stripped any need for pretense and removed the need for subtlety.

The abjectly STUPID response of Republicans to these election results demonstrates a longstanding and on-

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary going pattern of racially and culturally inspired disrespect for millions of Americans. We must remember that racist Dixiecrats migrated to the welcoming embrace of the Republican Party after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. Arrogantly ranting about being the party of Lincoln, they imposed every political dirty trick to violate Lincoln Republicanism and restrict non-white or Democratic leaning voters from exercising their right to vote.

They demonstrate themselves to be as violent in their theft as the criminal who, using armed threat, steals a vehicle from its rightful owner in broad, open daylight. They no longer attempt to disguise their purpose with ridiculous or dishonest claims. Through “Insurrection,” they displayed the arrogance of those in complete disregard for their victims or the potential damage done to our threatened democracy.

As egregious as the Insurrection of January 6th was, it is not the only concern of those committed to democratic principles. Since November, over 250 laws have been introduced in Republican controlled state legislatures,

which by design, directly and negatively impact voters of color.

In their fear inspired quest to maintain political, socio-economic, and racial superiority, the modern Republican Party has pulled down all of the covers masking their racism and thrown out all of the stops to their power grab. Their fear of the ‘Browning’ of America has produced actions from the ridiculous to the egregious. Lying has become the foundation of their public outreach with specific emphasis on persuading you that you do not hear what your ears hear or see what your eyes see.

The tools of the “Robber Republicans” may be different in appearance, but are not unfamiliar in impact. Attacking our communities with ‘surgical accuracy,’ proposed legislation eliminates Sunday “souls to the polls,” reduces the number of early voting days, and imposes restrictive voter identification requirements. The far too common challenge of disproportionately lengthy voting times/lines in communities of color is made worse where the number of polling places have been reduced and, in Georgia, where state legislators propose making the gift of a bottle of water to a line-standing voter a criminal act.

The ‘old-folks’ used to say, “If you’ll lie, you’ll cheat. If you cheat, you’ll steal.

And, if you steal, you’ll kill.” They’ve done it all! Our physical and emotional well-being requires us to remain perpetually vigilant to threats that would render us powerless.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women.)

Georgia businesses must stand against new state law suppressing the right to vote (TriceEdneyWire.com)—In Georgia, Donald Trump’s big lie that the election was stolen has now been turned into bad law—an election law designed to make it harder for minorities and the young to vote. This is, as President Joe Biden stated, the new Jim Crow, a blatant attempt by Republicans to suppress votes so they can hold onto power.

This bad law drives a stake into democracy in Georgia. It must be reversed.

The Justice Department is considering going to court. Civil rights groups in Georgia have filed suit. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the For the People Act that would set national standards for fair elections.

Now, businesses and associations must weigh in. When apartheid South Africa suppressed the votes of Blacks, an international movement arose to make South Africa a pariah state. Athletic teams refused to travel to South Africa.

Companies disinvested. Celebrities refused to perform.

Countries enforced sanctions. Eventually, apartheid fell in a peaceful transition to democracy. Georgia’s misguided leadership must feel similar pressure.

I have called on Major League Baseball to move the All-Star game from Atlanta. Companies like CNN, Delta, UPS and others with headquarters in Georgia must make their opposition clear.

Celebrities should begin to postpone appearances in Georgia until the law is changed. The WNBA, which played a major role in standing with the Black Lives Matter mobilizations, should join with the NBA and the MLB players’ association to demand the law be reversed. This mobilization is vital because this law is a direct affront to democracy.

Let’s be clear about what is going down. Trump’s big lie was refuted by official recounts, by Georgia’s secretary

Jesse Jackson Sr.

Commentary of state and election officials, and by Trump’s own attorney general. Despite Trump’s direct intimidation, the Republican secretary of state stated the truth: There was no evidence of fraud.

The election—and later Senate run-off elections—featured a dramatic increase in turnout with the votes cast and counted fairly.

Led by the governor, state Republicans then claimed that election law changes were needed to “restore confidence,” a confidence allegedly weakened

by Trump’s big lie. They then passed a law designed to suppress the votes of those likely to vote against them.

Among other things, the law makes it a crime to give water or food to people in line to vote. It ensures that those lines will be long by slashing the availability of drop boxes, limiting early voting and imposing new ID requirements on mailin voting.

After Democrats won the runoff elections in two Senate seats, Republicans voted to reduce the time for the runoff from nine weeks to four with no clear provision for early voting, which African Americans use disproportionately. This attack on the right to vote is direct and blatant. Propelled by a massive increase in African American and young voters, Democrats flipped Georgia in 2020, winning the presidential race and taking two Senate seats, including the historic election of the first African American to a Senate seat.

In response, Republicans chose not to broaden their appeal, alter their policies to attract votes from minorities and the young. Instead, they chose to pass a law to make it harder for their opponents to vote. In addition, they punished the secretary of state who stood up to Trump, stripping the power to run Georgia elections from his office and from local counties, transferring it to a state board that will be dominated

by Republicans. Instead of celebrating the increase of participation in Georgia, Republicans are intent on suppressing it to keep control.

A former Confederate state, Georgia has a long and shameful history of repressing the Black vote. And now Georgia is just the tip of the Republican spear, with Republican legislators introducing some 253 laws in 43 states to make it harder to vote. This new Jim Crow cannot stand if America’s democracy is to survive.

The U.S. Senate should overcome the threatened Republican filibuster and pass the For the People Act that would provide national standards for fair elections. In Georgia, a massive mobilization is needed to overcome the new obstacles and show that the emerging majority will not allow itself to be suppressed. Major League Baseball and other businesses cannot stay neutral, for that would essentially support the law, voter suppression and the new Jim Crow.

Joining a demonstration against the law, the newly elected Sen. Rafael Warnock stated the simple truth: “Today is a very sad day for the State of Georgia.

What we have witnessed today is a desperate attempt to lock out and squeeze the people out of their own democracy.”

Now it is time to stand up and make it clear that this cannot stand.

Justice is on trial in the United States

by Ben Jealous (TriceEdneyWire.com)—The murder trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has begun, ten months after George Floyd died in the street with Chauvin’s knee on his neck. Americans, especially Black Americans, are watching closely to see if justice will be done.

The beginning of the trial made me profoundly sad, but also profoundly hopeful.

It made me sad, because Floyd is gone and nothing will bring him back to his family.

It made me hopeful, because Floyd’s killing sparked a renewed movement that is challenging police killings of unarmed civilians—a multiracial and multigenerational movement.

The fact that Chauvin has been indicted and is facing trial is itself reason for hope. But my hope is tempered by history. As Black Americans know all too well, our system often fails to hold law enforcement accountable for killing Black people—even when the killing is on video.

Think about Eric Garner. Garner died in 2014 after a New York City police officer put him in a choke hold and wrestled

him to the ground.

Before he died, Garner told police officers, “I can’t breathe” 11 times. It was all on video. But a local grand jury decided not to indict the officer who killed Garner. And five years later, in 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr decided not to bring federal civil rights charges against him.

Last year, Floyd said “I can’t breathe” 27 times as he laid on the ground with Chauvin’s knee on his neck. Other officers looked on even as people begged and pleaded with them to spare Floyd’s life.

The trial testimony has been brutal.

We learned on the first day that Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes—even longer than we thought. On the second day, a teenage witness tried to hold back tears on the stand while she described watching a man die and not being able to help him.

I am convinced that the truth about what happened to George Floyd came out only because someone filmed his death. It was only after video was shared widely that the officers were fired, and charges eventually filed. And even now, rumors and disinformation being spread online blame Floyd for his own death.

A New York Times investigation published last year found that over the past decade, at least 70 people—more than half of them Black—died in law enforcement custody after saying “I can’t breathe.” Most of them were stopped or held over nonviolent infractions, 911 calls about “suspicious” behavior, or mental health issues. More than 40 of the “I can’t breathe” deaths happened after Garner was killed.

We hope and expect that the trial now under way will bring justice for George Floyd and his family. But obviously the problem in law enforcement is much bigger than individual “bad apples.”

We can save lives and prevent future deaths by reimagining public safety and demanding real, institutional change. That is the motivation for measures like the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and a wave of initiatives being proposed and considered at state and local levels.

We must finally have equal justice under the law, and it starts with a criminal justice system that holds law enforcement accountable.

(Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation.)

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The seven Generalizing—the police— last words of qualified immunity and bad faith George Floyd The commemoration of Good Friday is a solemn and holy event for Christians. We cannot get to the resurrection of Jesus Christ without traversing through the crucifixion, death, and burial of God’s only begotten son.

One of the dividing lines among Christian traditions is the context of Jesus’s Passion and death. When we separate Jesus from His worldly environment and circumstances—being persecuted as a Jewish teacher by a foreign empire and betrayed by compatriots who were threatened by His message and witness—we lose sight that Jesus, both fully God and man, was gruesomely murdered.

This year’s Good Friday is especially poignant for African Americans it comes in the middle of the trial of Derek Chauvin for the gruesome murder of George Floyd.

The 9 minutes and 29 seconds that turned the collective stomach of the world have been seared into our shared consciousness and the legacy of this watershed moment is still playing out. In the same way that we cannot allow our faith to be sanitized, we cannot allow the death of Mr. Floyd to be stripped of the circumstances of institutional racism, poverty, and White Supremacy that led to his brutal death at the hands of one who was charged to serve and protect. It is customary on Good Friday to commemorate the seven last words/sayings of Jesus Christ in solemn worship. In that spirit today, I encourage us to reflect upon the seven last words of George Floyd based upon the police bodycam transcript.

John Thomas III

Commentary 1) Mama, mama, mama!

“When George Floyd called for his mother, he was calling for all of us,” said a friend of mine who is the mother of a young Black son. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He looked to His mother, Mary commending her to John’s care. We can only imagine how Mary felt to see the life slowly leaving her son’s body. In his last moments, Mr. Floyd cried out for the woman who brought him into this world as he realized he was being ripped out of it.

2) Please, man.

When Jesus was on the cross, He appealed to His tormentors to quench His thirst. Mr. Floyd appealed to the humanity of his tormentor to save his life. He was already on the ground and restrained. He was not a threat. This plea echoes the signs of the 1960s strikes when working-class Black people asserted their dignity by simply saying, “I am a Man!” It also echoes the appeal of Sojourner Truth for persons to see and value her humanity by saying, “Ain’t I a Woman?” In the eyes of his murderer, however, Mr. Floyd was not a citizen— much less, a human being.

3) You’re going to kill me, man!

Mr. Floyd told his murderer that he was dying and pleaded with him to stop. As the trial goes on, we are hearing the damning testimony of persons who all say they know they witnessed a murder. An assassination perpetrated by White Supremacy at the hands of the police. How many times have we heard deadly force being justified because of a perceived threat or a need to stand one’s ground?

4) I can’t believe this.

Mr. Floyd’s disbelief that a transaction with an alleged counterfeit bill could cost him his life at the hands of someone who he had worked with. The shock from emergency personnel who clearly saw the signs of distress yet were not allowed to render assistance.

The horror of rookie police officers out on their training patrol witnessing a superior crushing the life out of a restrained suspect. We all cannot believe the cruel brutality of White Supremacy—yet it plays before our collective eyes daily with its deadly consequences.

5) Tell my kids, I love them.

Mr. Floyd had a life before he became a martyr, a slogan, and a t-shirt image. He was a friend, a son, and a father. Behind every victim of racism is collateral damage—grieving children, a heartbroken community, the lost potential of what could and should have been. Even though his death has become a symbol of the cost of institutional racism for Black people, Mr. Floyd was a real man with real people who mourn him and were robbed of his presence in their lives.

6) I’m dead.

Between 1920 and 1938, the New York branch of the NAACP hung a flag outside of its office emblazoned with the words, “Another man was lynched today.” In 2015, the flag was revived and updated to say, “Another man was lynched by police today.” Jesus’s death was a public lynching complete with a gambling show. The world has borne witness to Mr. Floyd’s lynching—many anguished, others cheering, and some nonchalant—in the same way that the spectators watched Jesus hang His head on Golgotha as the sun set.

7) I can’t breathe!

The most well-known phrase that embodies how White Supremacy has strangled the life out of Black people globally through the trans-Atlantic slave trade (Maafa), colonialism, apartheid, segregation, and a litany of other terms associated with White Supremacy and anti-Blackness. It was first seared into our memories when we watched Eric Garner have the life choked out of him. On May 25, 2020, over 600 years of global anti-Blackness were distilled into a single moment when a White cop literally ripped the spirit out of a Black man. We remember that Jesus committed His spirit to God as his lungs collapsed from the crucifixion.

Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, Tamir Rice, Freddy Gray, Philando Castille, Bothan Jean, Janisha Fonville, Mr. George Perry Floyd Jr., and Jesus.

Today as we commemorate one who paid the ultimate price for our eternal salvation, we must also remember those who daily pay the price of the legacy of the brutal and inveterate violence of White Supremacy. Our prayer to make it “on Earth as it is in Heaven” is only as good as the witness and daily steps we take to make sure that Jesus, George Floyd, and so many others have not died in vain. Amen.

(John Thomas III is Editor of The Christian Recorder)

During high-profile cases involving White police officers and Black men, in which the former caused the death of the latter, anger at the individual officer normally leads to condemnation of—The Police. Even though there are roughly 18,000 police departments across the United States, all with different management, personnel, and procedures, high-profile cases create a generalized reaction toward—The Police—that can be counterproductive.

In 2020, a Black man, George Floyd, was killed by a White police officer in Minneapolis. Riots broke out across the country, and the protesters shouted “defund the police.” As the civil unrest intensified there were multiple clashes between protesters and police officers in city after city.

The national media framed these clashes as “peaceful protesters” vs. The Police. Police chiefs were condemned for arresting “peaceful protesters” which resulted in the resignation of dozens of police chiefs across the country; some of these police chiefs were Black women. This counterproductive sequence of events produced the following headline in the Business Insider: Sellouts to the Black Community. Traitors to Fellow Officers. Black Police Chiefs are caught between two worlds after George Floyd’s killing.

After the civil unrest of 2020, many cities actually defunded their police departments. In 2021, recent reports by conservative outlets have stated that police departments in cities with shrunken budgets and less support have experienced upticks in murders and other violent crimes. Some liberal media outlets aren’t con-

J. Pharoah Doss

Check It Out vinced the increase in crime is due to defunding the police. These liberal media outlets believe many other factors, like the pandemic, contributed to the crime surge. However, the protesters, the local politicians and the liberal media outlets ignored the fact that the local residents of these high-crime areas never demanded or wanted their specific police departments defunded because of what happened to George Floyd.

Recently, New York’s City Council voted to end qualified immunity for their police officers. (This was the other demand made by protesters besides defund—The Police.) New York has become the first city in the United States to take this step. Qualified immunity is the practice of not being able to file a civil lawsuit against a government official performing his or her official duties unless their actions violated “clearly established” federal law or constitutional rights. This is related to the good faith defense—If the public officer can demonstrate that the actions taken were reasonable and performed in good faith within the scope of employment, then the public officer is exempt from liability.

Police Union officials denounced New York City Council’s decision.

The executive director of the Federal

Law Enforcement Officer Association stated: Qualified immunity is an essential part of the law enforcement profession. While it shields officers from erroneous and professionally damaging lawsuits, it does not erase responsibility because, at any time, qualified immunity could be removed from the officer depending on the circumstances. But the speaker of New York City’s council praised their decision and stated, qualified immunity was rooted in the nation’s systemic racism.

The generalization of—The police —paints the picture of racist White law enforcement officers who don’t deserve qualified immunity because they have historically operated with bad faith in minority communities.

However, 10 years ago WNBC-TV in New York reported, “A quiet transformation has taken place in the New York Police Department—and it’s for the good. Although not widely publicized, this change could have a significant effect on NYPD’s relationship with the Black and Latino communities and other minorities. Nearly one out of three police officers is Hispanic; another 19 percent is Black. In the past, Asian people never figured in the statistical breakdown, but now comprise 5.6 percent of the force.

Together, these three groups now add up to 52.5 percent of police officers.”

In other words, the NYPD’s patrol officers were majority minority. A decade later, this fact remains the same, so will ending qualified immunity have a disproportional impact on minority police officers?

But since the general idea is to punish—The Police—I guess the details don’t matter.

What if Chauvin is acquitted of murdering George Floyd?

Black folks have prayed, marched, sat-in, and petitioned in the attempt to stop White cops from rampantly murdering innocent and unarmed Black men, women, and children with impunity. But they keep murdering us. And they keep getting away with murder. Even when it’s on video.

So what are we gonna do if Derek Chauvin is acquitted in the murder of George Floyd, the Black man who was nonchalantly, heartlessly, and slowly strangled to death by Chauvin’s knee to the neck for nine minutes 29 seconds in broad daylight? What are we gonna do if he’s acquitted despite the fact that he murdered Floyd while Floyd was handcuffed behind his back, while he was prostrate face down in the street, while horrified witnesses conspicuously videoed the brutality and pleaded for mercy, while Floyd begged for his life as he was clearly gasping and visibly dying before their (and eventually the world’s) very eyes?

No way, you say? Way, I say! Remember that there was video of the murder of Philando Castile in 2016, but police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted in the very same state where Chauvin’s trial is taking place.

There was video of the murder of Antwon Rose in 2018, but police officer Michael Rosfeld was acquitted.

There was video of the murder of Terence Crutcher in 2016, but police officer Betty Jo Shelby was acquitted.

There was video of the murder of Alton Sterling in 2016, but police officers Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni were never even charged.

There was video of the murder of Eric Garner in 2014, but police officer Daniel Pantaleo was never even indicted.

There was video of the attempted murder beating of Rodney King in 1991, but police officers Theodore Briseno, Stacey Koon, Lawrence Powell, and Timothy Wind were all acquitted.

That’s why I pose the question, “What if Chauvin is acquitted?”

History proves that it’s clear that he could be. And it’s even clearer that there could be a mistrial resulting from a hung jury if even one of the six Whites (or any of the other people) on the jury choose to completely ignore the powerful video and the credible eyewitnesses and the imposing mountain of additional irrefutable evidence.

In a sense, Chauvin already won because the prosecutor inexplicably failed to charge first-degree murder.

In Minnesota, first-degree murder is codified in Section 609.185 as a “premeditated” criminal homicide and Section 609.18 defines “premeditated” as that which is “considered” or “determined.” Moreover, the Minnesota Supreme Court in its 1978 State v.

Marsyla decision ruled that “Premeditation may be formed at any time,

Michael Coard

Commentary moment, or instant before the killing.” That time, moment, or instant obviously includes the four minutes and 45 seconds Floyd was crying out and begging for his life plus the 53 seconds he was having seizures plus the three minutes and 51 seconds he was fatally nonresponsive, altogether equaling a combined total of nine minutes 29 seconds. That’s premeditation. That’s first-degree murder.

That’s life imprisonment.

The second-degree murder charge that’s been filed against Chauvin is insufficient for two reasons. One reason is that Section 609.19 defines it as an “intentional” criminal homicide “without premeditation” and also as an “unintentional” criminal homicide that occurs “while committing or attempting to commit a felony assault ... [e.g., strangling someone]....” The second reason is that, although it carries a potential 40-year sentence, first-time offenders in Minnesota could receive as little as 10 years.

The final charge, second-degree manslaughter, filed against him is legally laughable and inanely inapplicable because Section 609.205 defines it as an act of “negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk and ... takes chances of causing death ... to another....” What Chauvin did wasn’t negligence, meaning mere inattentiveness, carelessness, or inadvertence. It was a nearly 10-minute brutal and coldblooded execution.

And it deserves much more than this charge’s 10-year sentence that actually could be reduced to about two or three.

If you think this is a case of just one White cop murdering just one innocent Black person, you’re delusional.

It’s much more than that. It’s systemic racism throughout America’s police departments and throughout America itself. Consider this, for example: The largest organization of mostly White cops and mostly White unions, known as the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, is paying around $1 million to more than about a dozen White lawyers, led by the White one in the courtroom, to co-sign, I mean condone, I mean defend the White cop who publicly choked a defenseless Black man to death.

And don’t forget that White cop Darren Wilson received $500,000 from a (lynch) mob of White Americans through GoFundMe after he shot and

killed unarmed Black teen Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson.

Oh, by the way, the racist rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the racist rotten tree. Municipal police departments, like those in Minneapolis, Ferguson, Philadelphia, and everywhere else in the U.S., began as “slave patrols.” The first official one started in 1704 in the Colony of Carolina and they spread throughout the South until 1865. As documented by Western Michigan University history professor Dr. Sally Hadden in her book “Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas,” the laws creating those patrols deputized civilian White men to engage in the “monitoring … [of] rigid pass requirements for Blacks …, breaking up large gatherings … of Blacks, … searching slave quarters randomly, [and] inflicting impromptu punishments….” Impromptu punishments like murder by strangulation.

So what are we gonna do if Chauvin’s acquitted? Claude McKay in 1919 answered by writing, If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs Making their mock at our accursed lot If we must die, O let us nobly die So that our precious blood may not be shed in vain....

O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave And for their thousand blows deal one death blow....

Like men, we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

In 2021, I’m answering by writing, “Boycott! Boycott! Boycott!” Boycott all cities that condone murderous cops. Don’t visit those cities as a tourist. Don’t spend a penny at any business in those cities or for any non-essential governmental service in those cities. Boycott relentlessly and lawfully consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1982 NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware civil rights case that permits all boycotts that are nonviolent and thereby protected by the First Amendment rights to speech, assembly, association, and petition.

Be prepared for a possible acquittal.

And then be prepared to do something about it.

(Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Twitter, Instagram, and his YouTube Channel as well as at AvengingTheAncestors.com. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD96.1FM. And his “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCAM/Verizon Fios/Comcast.)

(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

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APPRENTICESHIP The Joint Apprenticeship Committee of the Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local #2, Pittsburgh, PA is accepting applications for consideration towards apprenticeship in the Mechanical System Insulator an d As b estos Wor ker Trade.

Applications are accepted without regard to Race, Religion, National Origin, Sex, Age or Disability.

Applicants must be a minimum of 18 years of age at the time of application; have a high school diploma or G.E.D. at the time of application; have a dependable form of transportation; and must be physically fit to perform the work of the trade. Applications must be obtained in person Monday through Saturday. April 5, through April 10, 2021 and Monday through Thursday: April 12 , t hrough A p ril 15 , 2 0 21 between the hours of 12:30pm and 3:30pm at the Insulators Training Center, 109 Pleasant Drive Suite B, A l i q u i p p a PA 15 0 01. Ph ot o identification is re uired and there is $25.00 (non-refundable) application-processing fee, to be paid by cashiers’s check or money order

ASSOCIATE OHS & TRAINING OFFICER Port Authority is seeking an Associate OHS & Training Officer to implement and provide training on SMS, occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene and other safety aspects of rail and bus operations as well as work closely with Manager to learn all aspects of OHS&T as they relate to operations at Port Authority.

Essential Functions: •Develops, coordinates and conducts effective training relating to occupational safety and health programs that include but not limited to; employee right-to-know, hazardous materials and hazardous waste awareness, respiratory protection, hearing conservation, personnel protective equipment, Automated External efibrillators (AED), bloodborne pathogens, and others as required.

•Work with operations and maintenance instruction department to ensure development of identified training programs and curriculums.

•Ensure SMS training is provided to all key employees and staff as directed by hief Safety Officer.

•Provides status reports of training activity on a quarterly basis or as requested by the Manager of OHS. •Provide respiratory protection training and conduct fit tests on employees involved in the respiratory protection program.

Train safety officers as re uired in specific O S elements.

•Provide Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Transportation training as required by the DOT. •Work with the safety officers to develop and provide automated e ternal defibrillator AE awareness training to employees.

Job requirements include: •BA/BS degree in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Safety and Health Sciences, Environmental Science/Engineering or related field.

•Minimum of two (2) years of experience in Occupational Health & Safety, Safety, Industrial Hygiene, or related area, preferable in the transit industry.

•Minimum of two (2) years’ experience delivering, and facilitating educational, informational and job/ task programs for adults.

•Effective and professional verbal and written communication skills.

•Handles multiple tasks and adheres to deadlines.

•Valid driver’s license.

•Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows, Microsoft Excel and Word.

•Availability on a 24-hour per day, 7 day per week basis.

Preferred attributes: ualified Accident and njury revention rovider as defined by Pennsylvania Worker’s Compensation Regulations.

COMPASS AMERICORPS MEMBERS NEEDED FOR 2020-21 SERVICE YEAR Compass AmeriCorps members provide full-time social services support and English language instruction to newly resettled immigrants in Allegheny County. Benefits include a living allowance, healthcare benefits, and an educational award for college. Learn new skills, meet new people, and receive professional and personal development opportunities.

The service year runs from September to July, and members serve 1700 hours over 11 months.

For details and how to apply, visit www.compassamericorps.org.

CASUAL RN STAFF POSITION The Midwife Center, a state-licensed and nationally accredited birth center, has an opening for a ualified Registered Nurse to join our team as a casual nurse. Role includes assisting our ertified Nurse Midwives in the intrapartum and postpartum period. Position is per diem with a minimum 48 hours scheduled per month. Required to rotate day and night shifts, weekends and holidays. Requirements current PA RN license, CPR, 2 years labor and delivery experience and NRP preferred.

Send cover letter and resume to Shannon Gerst BSN, RN, s.gerst@midwifecenter.org.

EOE OPERATIONS COORDINATOR The Midwife Center, a state-licensed and nationally accredited birth center, is hiring for a FT Operations Coordinator. The Operations Coordinator ensures the reliable functioning of the Center’s systems and facility by serving as point person to TMC staff and vendors for facility and technology issues as well as assists with licensure and accreditation and other regulatory requirements. Candidates should have strong computer, communication, and organizational skills and experience with administrative functions and facility management as well as a commitment to women’s health issues.

Send cover letter and CV to Christine Haas, Executive Director: c.haas@midwifecenter.org.

EOE SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking a DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT: Complete job description and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org Deadline 4:00 PM, April 9, 2021 EOE SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking a COVID COMPENSATORY SERVICES (CCS) AFTER SCHOOL TUTOR: Complete job description and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org Deadline 4:00 PM, April 9, 2021 EOE

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We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. nterested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to: Robyn Taylor Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 RTaylor@portauthority.org EOE STEEL VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS AVAILABLE. The Steel Valley School District is looking for passionate professionals who are dedicated to improvement and teamwork. District enrollment is 1,300 students. Available positions include Principal (elementary or middle school), Director/Supervisor of Pupil Services and Special Education, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator.

Principal Requirements: Principal K-12 certification, curriculum deployment expertise, and expertise in instructional methodologies.

Preferred: 5+ years of previous building management experience at either the elementary or middle school level, and demonstrable success in improving student achievement and attendance.

Director/Supervisor of Pupil Services and Special Education Requirements: Supervisor of Special Education certification and either Supervisor of Pupil Services certification or Superintendent certification. referred 5+ years of supervisory or administrative experience, and demonstrable success with important job components such as LRE, disproportionality and PBIS. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator: The successful candidate must possess a strong set of complementary skills in order to effect the changes needed for historically disadvantaged student groups. The full job description and requirements can be found on our website at: https:/steelvalleysd.org/ district/employment-postings.

Send letter of interest, resume, standard application, transcripts, current clearances and credentials to hrsupport@steelvalleysd.org.

Deadline April 18, 2021.

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FLEET VEHICLE SPECIALIST BUS Port Authority is seeking a Fleet Vehicle Specialist – Bus to provide support and assistance with bus technical issues under the general directions of the Manager of Bus Maintenance Support.

Essential Functions: •Works closely with Manager of Bus Maintenance Support and the Fleet Coordinator to develop bus maintenance Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and Standard Practice Bulletins (SPB’s) for implementation at the bus operating locations and the main shop.

•Directly coordinates and supervises support level maintenance for fare box and radio/head sign activities completed at the bus divisions and the main shop.

•Interacts with division managers of maintenance, Manchester, Central Storeroom and Material Control Specialist regarding parts and inventory issues needed for buses to return to revenue vehicle service.

Job requirements include: •Two-year technical degree or Associate degree in Business, Electronics or related field. Related experience may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis.

•Minimum of three (3) years of maintenance e perience with bus fleets and/or heavy automotive vehicles.

•Valid Commercial Driver’s License, Class B with Passenger Endorsement and Air Brake Restriction removed or must possess a valid driver’s license and acquire a Commercial Driver’s License as described above within 90 days of appointment to the position.

•Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows.

•Effective and professional communication skills.

•Customer-focused, well organized and results-oriented.

•This is a Safety-Sensitive position subject to all testing provisions under the Drug and Alcohol Policy, including random drug and alcohol testing. The person selected for this position may be required to be tested prior to being awarded the job.

Preferred attributes: •BA/BS Degree in Business, Electronic Engineering or directly related field.

•Supervisory experience.

•Experience in managing maintenance of bus fleets or other fleets of heavy automotive vehicles and equipment.

•Vocational training in mechanical/ electrical-electronic equipment and systems.

Estate of JUNE C. STEWART, Deceased of Mt. Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-21-01939, David B. Stewart, Executor, 111 Mt. Lebanon Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15228 or to Heidi A. Kaib, Executor, 2309 Romine Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15226 or to Robin L. Rarie, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue Bridgeville, PA 15017

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA APRIL 1, 2021 The Office of the County Controller of Allegheny County, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Contract Awards Room; 7th Floor; Commonwealth Keystone Building; 400 North Street; Harrisburg, PA 17120 will receive bids through ECMS or a diskette delivered to the aforementioned address until 11:00 A.M. prevailing local time, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Bids will be opened through ECMS at approximately 11:00 A.M. and can be viewed publicly in the Contract Awards Room, for the following: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS PLUM CREEK BRIDGE NO. 6 ALLEGHENY COUNTY COUNTY PROJECT NO. PM06-0311 MPMS NO.: 81710 THIS PROJECT WILL BE BID THROUGH PENNDOT ECMS As a prospective bidder, please note the following general Project data regarding: Pre Bid Information, Bidding Requirements, and Contract Conditions.

See the Project Manual and Drawings (Proposal Report) for detailed information, responsibilities and instructions.

PRE-BID INFORMATION: View the project Manual and Drawings (Proposal Report) on the PennDOT ECMS website (https://www.ecms.penndot.gov/ECMS/) or in Room , ounty Office Building, 542 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

BIDDING REQUIREMENTS: THIS PROJECT REQUIRES PREQUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS, INCLUDING SUBCONTRACTORS, AS SPECIFIED IN SECTION 102.01 OF COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SPECIFICATIONS (PUBLICATION 408/2020, CURRENT EDITION) ON THIS PROJECT. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH ECMS AND IF NEEDED ADDENDA WILL BE ISSUED ELECTRONICALLY. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE PROPOSAL REPORT WHICH CAN BE VIEWED THROUGH ECMS. SUBMIT YOUR BID USING ECMS OR MAIL A DISKETTE TO THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, CONTRACTS AWARD ROOM. CONTRACT CONDITIONS: U.S. Department of Labor minimum salaries and wages apply to this Project.

The County Manager reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

The anticipated Notice-to-Proceed for this project is July 6, 2021 and the project is to be completed by November 11, 2021.

The County of Allegheny, in accordance with the Davis Bacon Act and other Federal Labor Standards Provisions; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21 Non-discrimination in Federally-assisted programs of the County of Allegheny issued pursuant to such Act; Executive Order 11246; Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968; Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; and Executive Order 11625 (Utilization of Minority Business Enterprises), hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract pursuant to this advertisement, the County will afford disadvantaged business enterprises full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and the County will not discriminate against disadvantaged business enterprises on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. It is a condition of the bidding process/contract that responsive bidders/contractors shall follow the disadvantaged business enterprise procedures in the Bidding and Contracting Documents.

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. nterested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to: Missy Ramsey Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 MRamsey@portauthority.org EOE LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

Estate of BODEN, SR., DAVID G., Deceased, of Forward Twp, PA. Estate No. 01492 of 2021. David G. Boden, Jr., Executor, 162 Peach Tree Lane, Keyser, WV 26726.

Estate of SHERRY BOYD, Deceased of Ross, Estate No. 00642 of 2021, Lisa M. Legleitner 2417 Stark Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15226 and Melody S. Boyd Bestic, 1322 Rescue Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, Admin, or to Michael J. Saldamarco, Esq; STE. 100, 908 Perry Hwy. Pittsburgh, PA 15229 Estate of J. DENNIS RYAN, Deceased of Upper St. Clair, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-21-01648, Elizabeth E. Thomas, Executor, 2532 Lindenwood Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15241 or to Robin L. Rarie, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of LATTA BRIAN P., Deceased of West View, Estate No. 01983 of 2021, Raymond G. Latta, 3961 Windgap Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15204, Admin, or to Michael J. Saldamarco, Esq; STE. 100, 908 Perry Hwy. Pittsburgh, PA 15229

Estate of JEAN L. NOLL A/K/A JEAN S. NOLL Deceased of Upper St. Clair, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-21-01923, Mark S. Noll, 520 Sheldon Road, Valencia, PA 16059 or to PNC Bank, N.A., 300 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or to AUBREY H. GLOVER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue Bridgeville, PA 15017

LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

ARTICLE OF INCORPORATION Business Corporation

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN given that Articles of ncorporation were will be filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for a business corporation which [has been/is to be] incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988.THE NAME OF THE CORPORATION IS 412 DADS

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE CONTRACT NO. 1743 PART 1: BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT SERVICES (SUMMER) PART 2: BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT SERVICES (WINTER) Sealed Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1 7 4 3 PA R T 1 : B I O S O L I D S M A N A G E M E N T S E RV I C E S (SUMMER) / PART 2: BIOSOLIDS M A N A G E M E N T S E RV I C E S (WINTER) shall be received at the Engineering epartment office of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN), 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15233, until 11:00 a.m., Prevailing Time, Monday, May 10, 2021 and then shall be publicly opened and read. Bidders must submit Bids for both Part 1 and Part 2 of this Contract. Bidders that fail to submit bids for both Part 1 and Part 2 of this Contract will be dis ualified. A mandatory re Bid Meeting will be held via a video conference call on Friday, April 16, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., Prevailing Time.

Contact Kathleen P. Uniatowski for Invitation to Pre-Bid & Bid Opening Teams Meeting at Kathleen.Uniatowski@ALCOSAN.org ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities and women to submit bids on ALCOSAN 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 ALCOSAN. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the bid two (2) ertified hecks or Bid Bonds, each in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), one (1) for Part 1 and one (1) for Part 2 of the Contract. Contract documents must be obtained directly from ALCOSAN to qualify as an eligible bidder. Email your request for Contract Documents to Robert Martire, Residuals Program Manager at Robert.Martire@alcosan.org.

Any questions regarding the Technical Aspects of the Project should be directed to Robert Martire, Residuals Program Manager at Robert.Martire@alcosan.org or by phone, (412) 734-8742.

ALCOSAN 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 ALCOSAN to do so.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Michelle Buys, P.E. Director of Environmental Compliance

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!

Chelsa Wagner CONTROLLER COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS

CLASSIFIEDS

B6 APRIL 7-13, 2021

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY ADVERTISEMENT Separate sealed Bids for the Work as listed hereinafter will be received at the Purchasing and Materials Management Department of Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) Heinz 57 Center, 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222-2527 until 1:30 p.m. on May 7, 2021 (Please call Cindy Denner at (412) 566-5117 prior to arriving at this location all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals) and will be opened and read at 2:00 p.m. via teleconference at: (toll free phone number: 1-855-453-6957 and conference ID #4485786). Each Bidder shall be solely responsible for assuring that its Bid is both received and time stamped by a representative of the Purchasing and Materials Management Department at or before the advertised time for submission of Bids. Bidders submitting bids via FedEx, UPS, USPS or other carrier must immediately provide tracking information to the assigned contract specialist via email. Upon delivery, bidder will notify the assigned contract specialist with an e-mailed receipt. Bids received or time stamped in the Purchasing and Materials Management Department after the advertised time for the submission of Bids shall be non-responsive and therefore ineligible for Award.

EAST LIBERTY AND MANCHESTER EQUIPMENT IMPROVEMENTS CONTRACT NO. SYS-21-06 G CONTRACT NO. SYS-21-06 H CONTRACT NO. SYS-21-06 P CONTRACT NO. SYS-21-06 E The Work of this Project includes, but is not limited to, the furnishing of all labor and materials for HVAC equipment replacement, vehicle exhaust system replacement, lubrication system replacement, and bridge crane hoist replacement at Manchester Garage, as well as vehicle exhaust system replacement at East Liberty Garage.

Bid Documents will be available for public inspection and may be obtained on or after April 7, 2021 at Authority’s offices at the following address (If you are picking up bid documents, please call Cindy Denner at (412) 566-5117 prior to arriving at this location - all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals): Port Authority of Allegheny County Purchasing and Materials Management Department Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527 Bid Documents are available for purchase as follows: Bid Documents are available in an electronic form on compact disk upon payment of $15.00 per CD. Payment shall be by check or money order (NO CASH), payable to “Port Authority of Allegheny County.” No refunds of payment will be made. Upon request, Bid Documents can be mailed upon receipt of payment in full. Should the purchaser wish to have the Bid Documents delivered via special delivery, such as UPS or Federal Express, the purchaser shall provide its appropriate account numbers for such special delivery methods.

This Project may be funded, in part, by, and subject to certain requirements of, the County of Allegheny and/or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Authority, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, require that certified iverse Businesses (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts for this Project.

In this regard, all Bidders shall make good faith efforts in accordance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, to ensure that DBs have the maximum opportunity to compete for and perform contracts. Bidders shall also not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, national origin, sexual origin, gender identity or status as a parent in the award and performance of contracts for this Project. If aid is required to involve DBs in the Work, Bidders are to contact Authority’s Director of Employee Relations and OEO at (412) 566-5262.

The Bidder’s attention is directed to the following contacts for Bidder’s questions: Procedural Questions Regarding Bidding: Cynthia Denner – Authority cdenner@portauthority.org (412) 566-5117 All other questions relating to the Bid Documents must be submitted by mail or email to: Port Authority of Allegheny County Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 Attn: Cynthia Denner cdenner@portauthority.org In addition, the Bidder’s attention is directed to the following schedule of activities for preparation of its Bid: 9:00 a.m.

April 20, 2021

Pre-Bid Conference will be conducted via teleconference at: Toll free phone number: 1-855-453-6957 Conference ID #4485786 (Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.)

9:00 a.m.

April 21, 2021

Pre-Bid Site Tour Contractors to initially meet at: Manchester Main Shop 2235 Beaver Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Followed by:

East Liberty Garage 6831 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (East Liberty site tour immediately follows Manchester site tour.)

All participants must provide and wear safety vests and appropriate footwear; all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals. Tours will be conducted in limited group sizes and in the order of which bidders sign-in at the site. (Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.)

1:30 p.m.

May 7, 2021

Bids Due Purchasing and Materials Management Department Please call Cindy Denner at (412) 566-5117 prior to arriving at the Heinz 57 location - all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals.

Bids submitted via Fed Ex, UPS, USPS or other carrier are subject to the notification re uirements indicated above.

Bid Opening will be conducted @ 2:00 p.m. via teleconference at: Toll free phone number: 1-855-453-6957 Conference ID #4485786

Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids Bids will be publicly opened and announced at the advertised time and place set for such Bid opening.

The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

SONNY BOY

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA APRIL 1, 2021 The Office of the County Controller of Allegheny County, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Contract Awards Room; 7th Floor; Commonwealth Keystone Building; 400 North Street; Harrisburg, PA 17120 will receive bids through ECMS or a diskette delivered to the aforementioned address until 11:00 A.M. prevailing local time, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Bids will be opened through ECMS at approximately 11:00 A.M. and can be viewed publicly in the Contract Awards Room, for the following: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS SPRING RUN BRIDGE NO. 2 ALLEGHENY COUNTY COUNTY PROJECT NO. SN02-0611 MPMS NO.: 27770 THIS PROJECT WILL BE BID THROUGH PENNDOT ECMS As a prospective bidder, please note the following general Project data regarding: Pre Bid Information, Bidding Requirements, and Contract Conditions. See the Project Manual and Drawings (Proposal Report) for detailed information, responsibilities and instructions.

PRE-BID INFORMATION: View the project Manual and Drawings (Proposal Report) on the PennDOT ECMS website (https://www.ecms.penndot.gov/ECMS/) or in Room , ounty Office Building, 542 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

BIDDING REQUIREMENTS: THIS PROJECT REQUIRES PREQUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS, INCLUDING SUBCONTRACTORS, AS SPECIFIED IN SECTION 102.01 OF COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SPECIFICATIONS (PUBLICATION 408/2020, CURRENT EDITION) ON THIS PROJECT. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH ECMS AND IF NEEDED ADDENDA WILL BE ISSUED ELECTRONICALLY. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE PROPOSAL REPORT WHICH CAN BE VIEWED THROUGH ECMS. SUBMIT YOUR BID USING ECMS OR MAIL A DISKETTE TO THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, CONTRACTS AWARD ROOM. CONTRACT CONDITIONS: U.S. Department of Labor minimum salaries and wages apply to this Project.

The County Manager reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

The anticipated Notice-to-Proceed for this project is July 6, 2021 and the project is to be completed by November 12, 2021.

The County of Allegheny, in accordance with the Davis Bacon Act and other Federal Labor Standards Provisions; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, art Non-discrimination in Federally-assisted programs of the County of Allegheny issued pursuant to such Act; Executive Order 11246; Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968; Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; and Executive Order 11625 (Utilization of Minority Business Enterprises), hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract pursuant to this advertisement, the County will afford disadvantaged business enterprises full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and the County will not discriminate against disadvantaged business enterprises on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. It is a condition of the bidding process/contract that responsive bidders/contractors shall follow the disadvantaged business enterprise procedures in the Bidding and Contracting Documents.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE FY 2021 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE CDBG, HOME, ESG, AND HOPWA PROGRAMS Notice is hereby given by the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA that it will hold a virtual public hearing on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 1:00 p.m., prevailing time.

The location of the virtual public hearing will be posted at https://pittsburghpa.gov/omb/ omb-public-notices.

Please check the City’s website at https://pittsburghpa.gov/omb/cd for more information. If special arrangements need to be made to accommodate residents in order for them to participate in the virtual public hearing, please email community.development@pittsburghpa.gov,

by Friday, April 30, 2021.

The City of Pittsburgh has prepared its draft FY 2021 Annual Action Plan. The City intends to submit its FY 2021 Annual Action Plan in the amount of $14,055,782 for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds; $2,301,686 in HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds; $1,214,418 in Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds; and $1,202,295 in Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) funds. The FY 2021 Annual Action Plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on or before May 14, 2021.

In order to obtain the views of citizens, public agencies and other interested parties, the City of Pittsburgh will place its draft FY 2021 Annual Action Plan online from April 9, 2021 through May 10, 2021, at the City of Pittsburgh’s website (http://pittsburghpa.gov/omb/ community-development-documents).

The City of Pittsburgh’s proposed activities for funding under the FY 2021 Annual Action Plan, are on display or maybe viewed on the City of Pittsburgh’s website (http://pittsburghpa.gov/council/ capital-budgets). The entire FY 2021 Capital Budget for the City of Pittsburgh is also listed.

Information will be available for review for a period of 30 days. Written or verbal public comments on the draft FY 2021 Annual Action Plan will be received until 4:00 P.M. on Monday, May 10, 2021. To provide comments, please email community.development@pittsburghpa.gov.

If the City would undertake an activity that would result in the displacement of families or individuals, then the City would utilize its policy for minimizing such displacement.

Furthermore, the City is responsible for replacing all low- and moderate-income housing units that may be demolished or converted as a result of the use of CDBG Funds.

All interested persons, groups, and organizations are encouraged to attend this virtual public hearing and will be given the opportunity to present oral or written testimony concerning the proposed plan and use of FY 2021 Federal funds. To provide comments, please email community.development@pittsburghpa.gov.

Written comments may be addressed to the City of Pittsburgh’s Office of anagement and Budget (OMB), Community Development Division, attention Mr. Whitney Finnstrom, Senior Manager, Office of Management and Budget, Community Development (OMB-CD), 414 Grant Street, Room 501, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

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 May 5, 2021, 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 7G3-21 (GENERAL) PROJECT NUMBER 40G2-21 (GENERAL) ACCESSIBLE PARKING SIGNAGE AND MARKING IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT A pre-bid conference will be held at 1:00 p.m., on April 21, 2021. This meeting will be a Microsoft Teams Meeting. To join the meeting the following number can be called +1 773-917-3504 United States, (Chicago), Conference ID: 267 590 449# or you may call the phone numbers included in this ad for the link to the virtual meeting.

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 lans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’.

The non-refundable charge of $150.00 for the Bid Documents and the lans, and Specifications through the bidding platform Submittable at w w w. a c a a c a p i t a l p r o g r a m s . submittable.com . Documents will be available on April 7, 2021.

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: h t t p s : / / w w w. d o t s b e . p a . g o v / PAUCPWeb/paucp/viewHome.do 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 412-472-3543.

Mr. Whitney Finnstrom, Senior Manager Community Development Division, OMB

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS… THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

CHELSA WAGNER CONTROLLER COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Classifieds 412-481-8302

E-mail: ads@newpittsburghcourier.com Deadline/Closing/ Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication

CLASSIFIEDS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

APRIL 7-13, 2021

B7

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR ROLL-OFF CONTAINER SERVICES AUTHORITY-WIDE REBID IFB#300-05-21-REBID The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby re uests bids from ualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Roll-Off Container Services Authority Wide Rebid IFB#300-05-21-REBID The documents will be available no later than March 29, 2021 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 10:00 AM on April 20, 2021 The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 10:00 AM on April 20, 2021 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Bids may be uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the IFB. Sealed bids may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at Ross Street nd loor, 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 nd loor, Suite Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on April 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 942 2970 8350 Passcode: 299776 +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 login, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation.

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR FIRE ALARM SENSITIVITY AND EMERGENCY LIGHTING TESTING IFB #300-18-21 The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby re uests bids from ualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Fire Alarm Sensitivity and Emergency Lighting Testing IFB #300-18-21 The documents will be available no later than April 5, 2021 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 9:00 AM on April 27, 2021.

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 9:00 AM on April 27, 2021 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Bids may be uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the IFB. Sealed bids may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at Ross Street nd loor, 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 nd loor, Suite Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on April 19, 2021 at 11:00AM. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 933 9725 4035 Passcode: 344213 +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.

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR FIRE HOSE INSPECTIONS AUTHORITY WIDE IFB #300-16-21 The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby re uests bids from ualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Fire Hose Inspections Authority Wide IFB #300-16-21 The documents will be available no later than April 5, 2021 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 10:00 AM on April 27, 2021. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 10:00 AM on April 27, 2021 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Bids may be uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the IFB. Sealed bids may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street nd loor, Suite , ittsburgh, A 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 nd loor, Suite Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on April 19, 2021 at 10:00AM. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 957 9292 9814 Passcode: 399756 +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.

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR BATHTUB REFINISHING AT VARIOUS HACP LOCATIONS REBID IFB#300-08-21-REBID The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby re uests bids from ualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): athtub efinishing at arious HACP Locations Rebid The documents will be available no later than March 29, 2021 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 9:00 A.M. on April 20, 2021.

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 9:00 AM on April 20, 2021 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Bids may be uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the IFB. Sealed bids may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd loor, Suite , ittsburgh, A 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 nd loor, Suite Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on April 12, 2021 at 9:00 A.M. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 918 2070 1075 Passcode: 538457 +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 login, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation.

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR AUDIO-VIDEO TRAINING AND PRODUCTION PROGRAM REBID RFP#800-07-21-REBID The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby re uest proposals from ualified irms or ndividuals capable of providing the following service(s): Audio-Video Training and Production Program Rebid RFP #800-07-21-REBID The documents will be available no later than March 29, 2021 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until: 10:00 A.M. on April 20, 2021. 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 10:00 AM on April 20, 2021 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 Ross Street nd loor, 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 nd loor, Suite Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on April 12, 2021 at 11:00 A.M. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 919 7756 1264 Passcode: 264820 +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 login, 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 , the air 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.

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 , the air 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 AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY Electronic roposals will be received online at the ort Authority of Allegheny ounty’s Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org).

Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 a.m. on April 20, 2021 and will be read at 11:15 a.m., the same day, at Port Authority’s Heinz location (Please contact the respective Contract Specialist for Tele-Conference dial-in information for the Bid Opening), for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org) 1 2 3 4 5

Bid Number B210311 B210312A B210313A B210314A B210315

Bid Name Automatic Passenger Count (APC) System LRV Wheel Tire Kits Rug Rental & Laundering Service LRV HVAC Micro Control Cards Vehicle Air & Surface Purification Devices

Paper Proposal - Documents are available for the following item at ort Authority s ain Offices 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15222-2527

Bid Number B201193A B210318A

Bid Name Fastener Supply Service Printing of Public Timetables

No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held via tele-conference on each of the above items at 10:00 a.m. on April 6, 2021. Please contact the respective Contract Specialist for Tele-Conference dial-in information. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the Port Authority within fi e business ays of the sche ule bi opening These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable E ual Employment Opportunity laws and regulations.

Contractor is responsible for expenses related to acquiring a performance bond and insurance where applicable. All items are to be FOB eli ere unless other ise specifie Costs for eli ery, bon , an insurance shall be included in bidder’s proposal pricing. ort Authority of Allegheny ounty hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprise will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

The Board of Port Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

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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 , the air 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.

LEGAL AD REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATONS REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Re uest for ualifications (RFQ) for Design, Content and Digital Strategy.

Due Date: 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, April 30, 2021. or more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty.us/ Human-Services/Resources/ Doing-Business/Solicitations-(RFP/ RFQ/RFI).aspx.

Erin Dalton Director OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance obby, South Bellefield Avenue, ittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on April 27, 2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Sterrett 6-8 Replace PA Sound System Electrical Prime Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on Monday, April 5, 2021 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable.

Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

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 , the air 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.

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 , the air 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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings

ALLEGHENY REGIONAL ASSET DISTRICT QUARTERLY VIRTUAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Board of the Allegheny Regional Asset District will hold a public meeting on May 25, 2021 at 3:00 PM. The meeting will be held virtually and telephonically through the Zoom platform due to COVID 19 and social distancing requirements authorized by Act 15 of 2020. Go to www.RADworkshere.org for more information on how to join the meeting including instructions on the public comment portion of the agenda.

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America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

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E-mail: ads@newpittsburghcourier.com Deadline/Closing/ Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication

B8

NATIONAL

APRIL 7-13, 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

‘Jim Crow in the 21st Century’ Republican lawmakers working to turn back the clock on voting

by Barrington M. Salmon For New Pittsburgh Courier (TriceEdneyWire.com)— Donald Trump no longer occupies the White House, but he continues to cast a long shadow over one crucial aspect of politics: access to free and fair elections in the United States.

After election results last November showed that he and Vice President Mike Pence were soundly beaten

by Biden/Harris ticket to the tune of seven million votes, Trump proclaimed loudly and often that the election had been stolen.

And on the basis of what the media and pundits have dubbed, “The Big Lie,” Republican-dominated legislatures across the nation have been busy this legislative session proposing, introducing and passing a flurry of bills they say is aimed at maintaining “voter integrity.” Voting rights and Civil Rights activists contend, however, that the bills are a way to choke off free and fair elections at a time when record numbers of voters—primarily Black, Latino, Native American and Asians—cast ballots in the November 2020 and January 5, 2021 elections contests.

President Bident has called it “Jim Crow in the 21st Century.”

According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, Republican legislators have filed more than seven times the number of restrictive bills as roughly compared to this time last year. These bills primarily seek to limit mail voting and impose stricter voter ID requirements, Brennan staff said.

“At least 253 bills with provisions restricting voting access have been introduced, pre-filed, or carried over in 43 states, mostly by Republicans, according to analysis by the Brennan Center, dwarfing the number of similar bills filed at this point in

2020. The report says many of the measures are in response to a “rash of baseless and racist allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities” that former President Trump and his Republican allies promoted for months without any evidence.”

Eliza Sweren-Becker, Voting Rights & Elections counsel at the Brennan Center, said the strategy these legislatures are employing is deeply concerning.

“I have seen bills in a handful of states like Pennsylvania and Texas that were introduced or are a precursor of

cians take away their ability to vote.”

Danielle Root, director of the Voting Rights and Access to Justice program at the Center for American Progress, said she worries about the impact on the public psyche the lies and assorted efforts Republicans have used to undermine voting by mail and other elements of the voting process have had.

“My biggest concern is the lies and misleading comments made by Trump and certain members of his party,” she said. “This sows confusion and damages public

U.S. SEN. RAPHAEL WORNOCK bills to introduce a rollback,” she said in an interview before legislative sessions began around the country. “A lot of politicians see voter suppression as a protection plan, a way to stay in office, maintain power. Legislatures have the right to weigh how voting and federal elections are to be operated but they don’t have a right to deny people access to vote.”

Sweren-Becker continues, “We’re starting to see a legislative backlash developing.

It’s a one-two punch to blunt Americans’ ability to vote.

What we saw in November 2020 and in Georgia is that Americans are resilient.

They do not like when politi-

faith in elections … I have seen so much voter suppression by Republicans. I can only assume the worst. We have to push back against the people spreading this false narrative. It is a brazen attack on the process. It’s nefarious, really damaging and makes people not want to vote. Every time you think progress is being made, we end up going backwards. I don’t have a good answer as to why they are allowed to do this.”

In Iowa, the governor recently signed a bill that cuts the time allowed for absentee and in-person voting and also prevents local elections officials from setting up ad-

Chief says Chauvin’s actions a ‘gross violation’ of policy

by Roz Edward For New Pittsburgh Courier The trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin continued for a sixth day on Monday, April 5, with witness after witness seemingly sealing the fate of the disgraced officer and accused murderer. Testimony from three witnesses, including Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and Dr. Bradford Wankhede Langenfeld, an emergency medicine physician at Hennepin County Medical Center, tried debunking the defense’s attempts at making George Floyd responsible for his own death.

Chief Arradondo, after lengthy discussion regarding his credentials, detailed Chauvin’s violations of MPD protocols during the arrest of Floyd last May as contrary to department policy. “Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped,” Arradondo testified.

The chief said Chauvin’s kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds is not an acceptable or trained tactic and was a gross violation of the policies around reasonable

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO use of force and rendering aid. In his testimony, Chief Arradondo described the department’s training programs and the core value of treating everyone with “dignity and respect.” He said that officers are required to be familiar with policies, including de-escalation and use of force.

Last year, Chief Arradondo fired Chauvin and three other officers involved in Floyd’s death, which he said was “murder.”

Dr. Langenfeld said he treated a non-responsive Floyd in the Hennepin County Medical Center emergency room for about 30 minutes following

Chauvin’s brutality as he and hospital staff unsuccessfully tried to restart his heart. Dr. Langenfeld said the “more likely possibility” of Floyd’s cardiac arrest was hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, while defense attorneys attempted to get the doctor to say that hypoxia, in Floyd’s case, was caused by drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine or a combination of both. While the doctor admitted substance abuse could cause hypoxia, he stuck to his guns explaining—at times in graphic detail—that Chauvin’s kneeling was the cause of Floyd’s death.

Minneapolis Police Inspector Katie Blackwell, who recently served as commander of the department’s training division, said officers are trained in their medical unit about the dangers of positional asphyxia and the need to get someone on their side or sit up to recover. Officers are also taught to provide medical help to suspects.

Looking at a photo of Chauvin on Floyd’s neck, Blackwell testified that it was not in line with department training. They train using a one-arm or two-arm neck restraint. “I don’t know what kind of improvised position that is,” she said. “It’s not what we train.”

ditional locations to ease the early voting process. Meanwhile, in Texas, Republican legislators have proposed policies that range from restrictions on voter registration; tightening eligibility on absentee voting; prohibit jurisdictions from expanding voting hours; limiting the ability of election workers to protect voters from the illegal disruption and harassment of poll watchers; require voters with disabilities to provide documentation in order to qualify to vote by mail; and allowing poll watchers to video or record voters.

MARC MORIAL States including Florida, Arizona, Texas and Wisconsin are moving forward with efforts to restrict voting in states. But the state voting and civil rights advocates and activists say has become the epicenter, ground zero for voter suppression is Georgia.

On March 25, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law SB 202 which will impose new ID requirements on people seeking to vote by mail; limits the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots; shorten the time for runoff races; and criminalizes anyone who gives food or water to prospective voters standing in line to vote.

Marc Morial told the Trice Edney News Wire that this

STACEY ABRAMS law and other proposals in Republican-dominated legislatures is motivated by a desire to suppress the votes of Black and brown communities nationally.

“This is an assault on democracy that has as its motivation the toxic mix of race, power and the sour grapes of losing the election,” said Morial, National Urban League president and CEO. “They’re mad because they lost and because Black people turned out in large numbers. It will be resisted. It makes some of the things that happened during Jim Crow seem like a picnic. It’s undemocratic and un-American.... It has to be stopped. It has no legitimacy, and it isn’t a case of election integrity which is a big, fat lie. They are sowing fear and division which has to be resisted. This is nothing new.

This is just voter suppression on steroids. The Voting Rights Act stopped much of what was happening in the South.”

Voting rights activists such as LaTosha Brown, of Black Votes Matter, national voting rights superstar Stacy Abrams of Georgia and a raft of other activists are fighting back. They say the GOP has declared war on Black people.

Nicole Henderson, director of communication for the New Georgia Project Action Fund, her colleagues at the New GeorgiaProject, and others like LaTosha Brown said they are determined to fight as they have for the past several years to defeat the Republican forces who’re determined, some critics contend, to make America a nation governed by permanent White minority rule.

In order to counter the Republican efforts, activists and advocates said there are a number of tools that opponents are prepared to use, including putting intense pressure on lawmakers and on corporations to get off the fence and then offer support and put pressure on those in Congress to pass H.R. 1 and H.R. 4.

H.R. 1 was the first bill passed by the then-newly Democratically controlled House of Representatives in 2018. Called the “For the People Act,” it is a sweeping legislative measure that seeks “to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants and for other purposes.” H.R. 4 “establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices in these areas may take effect.”

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock appears anxious that new Democratically led issues, such as the Biden Administration’s focus on the infrastructure could over shadow voting rights.

Warnock told reporters on CNN’s State of the Union, “We have got to work on the infrastructure of our country, our roads and our bridges, and we have got to work on the infrastructure of our democracy...After all, the only reason we’re able to get anything done, have the prospects of getting more done this Congress, is because people were able to show up and express their voices in their democracy.”

CBC weighs in on Biden judicial nominations

WASHINGTON, D.C. —President Biden recently announced a slate of ten nominees to serve as Federal Circuit and District Court judges and one nominee to serve as a Superior Court Judge for the District of Columbia. If confirmed by the Senate, the selected White House nominees will represent an unprecedented level of diversity, including three Black women, the first Muslim-American woman, and the first AAPI woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of D.C. “As the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) continues to highlight and address the lack of diversity and inclusion in the judiciary, we must acknowledge that we have much work to do,” said CBC Chairwoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03). “Judges make critically important decisions that affect all Americans every day. As we have seen over the past several years, it is imperative that these jurists reflect the rich diversity of the American people. The lack of diversity in our Judicial Branch can be seen as attributing to the gross disparities that we know exist within our court system, especially when we talk about the ways Black

people and other communities of color are treated.

Appointing diverse judges is an important step in addressing these disparities.”

The CBC has taken a leadership role in advocating for diverse appointments by the Biden Administration, with a special emphasis on addressing glaring deficiencies in the American judicial system. Currently, on the Seventh Circuit in the heart of the Midwest, there are no Black judges, and on the Eighth Circuit, there is only one woman out of fifteen active judges. Strikingly, there has never been an Indigenous judge on any court of appeals in the United States. Additionally, the Courts are bereft of legal aid, consumer plaintiffs, public defenders, and civil rights lawyers, all of whom would help diversify the judgment and experience essential to ensuring that each person has their day in court.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee offered the following statement: “Unlike the previous Administration, which systematically excluded people of color and women from judicial positions, President Biden has put forth legally excellent and qualified judicial nominees who reflect the full diversity of the American people. I ful-

ly support these groundbreaking selections, each of whom has worked tirelessly to pursue equal justice before the law and with a high degree of legal prowess. We look forward to helping move their confirmations along!”

Congressman G.K. Butterfield, former CBC Chair and a former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, offered the following statement: “President Biden’s announcement that he intends to nominate eleven federal judges, nine of which are women, is nothing less than unprecedented. Included in the list of federal judge nominees are four African American women to serve as judges. Three of the African American women, if confirmed, will serve on various Circuit Courts of Appeal which, are the highest courts in the country for most appellate cases. I am confident that the President will continue his determined efforts to make the federal judiciary look like America.”

The Congressional Black Caucus will continue to work closely with the Biden Administration’s judicial nomination process and looks forward to continuing the fight for diversity and inclusion in our federal judiciary.