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Vol. 110 No. 1

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JANUARY 2-8, 2019

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

$1.00

75 of 109 Black lives lost in 2018

Two December victims; one was African Amerian

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

The total number of homicides for the year in Allegheny County was nearly the same as in 2017, and once again, the majority of the victims were African Americans. It is a tragedy and an outrage—13 percent of the county population accounts for some 70 percent of its murder victims.

Other points of note out of the 109 murders in Allegheny County in 2018:

BRENNAN MARION, a Greensburg-Salem High School graduate who grew up in Homewood, spent two years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard University. He was recently named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary College. (Photo courtesy Howard University)

Brennan Marion overcame homelessness and severe injuries to become a highly-respected coach in the college ranks

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Brennan Marion, a star football player at Greensburg-Salem High School and the University of Tulsa, was recently named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary, a university in Virginia.

Sounds simple, right?

The path Marion had to take to get there was anything but.

Marion grew up in Pitts-

burgh, telling the Courier in an extensive interview in November 2018 the many schools he attended—Reizenstein, Wilson Christian Academy, Westinghouse, Penn Hills, Steel Valley, Woodland Hills, Greensburg-Salem.

He told the Courier that he wasn’t immune to the violence that was his environment growing up. His cousin was shot while he attended Westinghouse as a sophomore.

During his junior year at Steel

Valley, he was ruled academically ineligible to play football, having to deal with his grandmother’s passing.

Marion, a Homewood product, never played a full year of high school football until his senior year, in which he attended Greensburg-Salem High School in Westmoreland County. There, Marion was a standout in football, basketball and track, and he had plans to play collegiate football after graduating from Greens-

burg-Salem in 2005.

Thus, Marion left home. As in 2,600 miles from home, en route to Los Altos Hills, California, site of Foothill College, a community college. He went the “JUCO” (Junior College) route, playing there for one year, but after Marion and his head coach “didn’t see eye to eye on some things,” Marion said, he left Foothill and went to nearby De Anza College, an-

•45 of the cases were closed, either with no charges, by arrest or by death of the assailant; •The youngest victim was 3 years old, the oldest was 97; •55 victims were killed in Pittsburgh; and, •2 victims were shot by police, both were Black.

In the City of Pittsburgh, the 55 homicide victims in 2018 was a lower number than 2016 and 2017 (58 in 2017). However, these numbers are still way too many.

Even one homicide is too many.

The New Pittsburgh Courier continues to implore our community to cease from the senseless violence that’s plaguing our community.

SEE MARION A5

SEE HOMICIDES B7

Valerie McDonald-Roberts resigns as city Martell Covington— Neighborhood Empowerment director A man of many talents

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

She’s been a chemist, a school board representative, Pittsburgh’s first Black female council representative, Allegheny County’s first Black female row officer, manager of the county’s Real Estate Department, and the city’s Director of Neighborhood Empowerment—and after submitting her resignation letter to Mayor Bill Peduto, Dec. 21—in two weeks, Valerie McDonald-Roberts will officially be retired…again…maybe.

“No, I have never actually retired before,” she told the Courier as she and her husband—who is retired—prepared to fly to Dallas to spend New Year’s with family.

“There has been not one day where there’s been a break. I went from council to the county because that was an elected position. And when I came to the mayor’s office, I was essentially doing both jobs for a while. So, there really hasn’t been a break in 24 years.”

She said she started to realize it was time for a change when she and her husband moved from the Heinz Lofts on the North Side to Oakland in May.

Former CEA youth director is now legislative aide to Sen. Jay Costa VALERIE McDONALD-ROBERTS

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

“I had to take an extended leave just Martell Covington is a to move, to put the boxes away. I broke my ankle this year and was back in two multi-faceted man. Bedays. I broke my wrist and my toe too, sides being a longtime mentor, teacher and coach SEE McDONALD-ROBERTS A4 in Homewood, he is also a

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film buff and has directed a seven-part YouTube series called LWB—Living While Black.

And while he is versed in movies like Stanley Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon” and Roman Polanski’s “Chi-

Dr. E. Faye Williams on

My Top 10 Stories of 2018 Forum B6

natown,” he’s never seen Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”—but now that he has recently joined the staff of state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, as a legislative aide, he said he plans to watch it.

“I think everyone’s become more interested in politics in recent years, esSEE COVINGTON A4

A2

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

At new Museum of Black Civilizations, a call to come home

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

This Week In Black History

Week of January 2-8 January 2 1831—William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), one of the great White heroes of Black history, begins publishby Amelia Nierenberg ing the anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, in Boston.

Associated Press Writer Garrison was a fiery and strong-willed abolitionist who DAKAR, Senegal (AP) believed in the “immediate and complete” end of slavery.

—The Museum of Black Thus, he ran afoul of not only the pro-slavery crowd but Civilizations in Senegal also those anti-slavery activists who favored a gradualist opened this month amid a approach to the problem. He was so militant that he was global conversation about imprisoned for libel because of his criticism of a merthe ownership and legacy chant involved in the slave trade and at one point the of African art. The West Afstate of Georgia offered a $5,000 reward for his arrest rican nation’s culture minand conviction. According to Garrison, when it came to ister isn’t shy: He wants fighting slavery he was opposed WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON the thousands of pieces of to “timidity, injustice and absurcherished heritage taken dity.” His oft-repeated slogan as editor of The Liberator was, “I from the continent over the WELCOME—In this photo taken Dec. 6, Senegalese president am in earnest; I will not equivocate; I will not retreat a single Macky Sall, center, cuts a ribbon in the colors of the Senegalese centuries to come home. inch; and I will be heard.” flag, surrounded by foreign dignitaries in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Pho“It’s entirely logical that 1837—The first National Negro Catholic Congress is held to/Amelia Nierenberg) Africans should get back in Washington, D.C. their artworks,” Abdou 1898—Brilliant scholar Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander African thinker who fought Latif Coulibaly told The ilizations: Continuous is born. She was the first Black woman to receive a doctorate Associated Press. “These Creation of Humanity,” and against French colonialism, in economics in America. She accomplished that feat in 1921 works were taken in conthe museum’s curator take Bocoum described how at the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 23. Later she French troops fighting him ditions that were perhaps a far longer view than the earned a law degree and in 1927 became the first Black woman stripped local women of legitimate at the time but recent centuries of coloniadmitted to the Pennsylvania bar. She came from a distintheir elaborate jewelry by illegitimate today.” zation and turmoil. Curguished family of educated and accomplished Blacks. She died cutting off their ears.

Last month, a report rent works highlight the in 1989.

Contemporary works in commissioned by French continent as the “cradle of 1915—One of America’s most prominent historians, John President Emmanuel civilization” and the echoes the exhibition touch on Hope Franklin, is born. Perhaps his best known work on SADIE TANNER both triumph and tragedy.

Macron recommended that found among millions of MOSSELL ALEXANDER Black history is “From Slavery to Freedom.”

There are black-and-white French museums give back people in the diaspora 1954—Oprah Winfrey, talk show queen and Black Ameriphotographs of African works taken without contoday. ca’s first recognized billionaire, is born in Kosciusko, Miss. (There is some debate. Winsent, if African countries “Colonization? That’s just nightclubs in the 1960s frey may have been the second Black billionaire after Black shot by famous Malian request them. Macron has two centuries,” curator Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson.) Winfrey photographer Malick stressed the “undeniable Hamady Bocoum told the retired from the “Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2011 and started crimes of European coloAP, saying that proof of Af- Sidibe, and a stark mural her own network named OWN. nization,” adding that “I rican civilization is at least by Haitian artist Philippe January 3 cannot accept that a large 7,000 years old, referencing Dodard depicting African 1621—The first Black child is born in America. He was religions and the middle part of African heritage is a skull discovered in presnamed William Tucker and he was born on a plantation in passage. in France.” ent-day Chad.

Jamestown, Va. His parents were Anthony and Isabella, who Works by Yrneh Gabon The new museum in DaLike others, Bocoum is were among the first group of Black indentured servants (latBrown, based in Los Ange- er slaves) brought to the American colonies in 1619. Indenkar is the latest sign that eager to see artifacts reOPRAH WINFREY les, reference slavery and welcoming spaces across turn for good. The exhibitured servants could work off so-called contracts and become contemporary race relathe continent are being tion includes 50 pieces on free. But after 1619, all Africans brought to America were classified as slaves and only prepared. loan from France, including tions in America.

Whites were treated as indentured servants. (There is some dispute over the year of “Sometimes I feel like a The museum, with its more than a dozen from William Tucker’s birth. But it appears he was born in 1621 and Baptized in 1624.) motherless child,” Brown focus on Africa and the the Quai Branly museum 1966—One of the most tragic and senseless events of the Civil Rights Movement ocdiaspora, is curs. Sammy Younge Jr. is shot and killed in Tuskegee, Ala., by White service station decades in attendant Marvin Segrest for using the “Whites Only” restroom the makat the service station where Segrest worked. Younge was a ing. The 21-year-old Tuskegee Institute student and civil rights activist. idea was January 4 conceived 1777—Prince Hall, founder of the first Black Masonic lodge when Senin America, petitions the Massachusetts legislature for funds to egal’s first allow free Blacks to return to Africa. The petition was rejected president, and Hall went on to become a major leader in Boston’s Black internacommunity, as well as develop a nationwide influence by helptionally ing develop Black Masonic temples around the country. acclaimed 1901—C.L.R. James is born on the West Indian island-nation poet Leopof Trinidad. James is one of those not well known figures who old Sedar greatly influenced radical Black intellectual thought from the Senghor, SAMMY YOUNGE JR. 1930s to the 1970s. He was a Marxist who traveled the world hosted advocating socialism and influencing developments in the Cathe World ribbean, the United States and England. James died in 1989.

Black 1920—The legendary National Negro Baseball League is organized in Kansas Festival City, Kan., by the “father of Black baseball,” Rube Foster. It is not widely known that of Arts in under the 6’4” Foster’s leadership, not only did more than 4,000 Blacks get a chance to 1966. play professional baseball during the days when they were not allowed to play in the At the White-controlled major leagues but the Negro Baseball League became one of the largmuseum’s NEW MUSEUM—In this photo taken Dec. 20, The Museum of Black Civilizations is est Black-owned businesses in America. The teams represented Black communities seen during the inauguration in Dakar, Senegal. (AP Photo/Amelia Nierenberg) vibrant and had major followings. They had names like the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the New opening, York Black Yankees, the Birmingham Black Barons, the Chicago American Giants and told the AP. “And here, as a the Atlanta Black Crackers. One of the unfortunate side effects of integration was the in Paris. sculptors from Los AngeMore than 5,000 pieces in member of Africa’s Enles, singers from Camerdestruction of many Black businesses. Thus, when the White leagues broke the color the Quai Branly come from glish-speaking diaspora, I oon and professors from barrier and hired Jackie Robinson in 1947, the Negro Baseball am proud, reaffirmed.”

Senegal alone, Bocoum Europe and the Americas League gradually began to decline. Most of the teams were France, whose presisaid. came to celebrate, some gone by 1960. dent in recent weeks has “When we see the inin tears. “This moment January 5 pledged to return 26 pieces ventory of the Senegalese is historic,” Senegalese 1911—Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity is formed at Indiana to Benin, is just one of President Macky Sall said. objects that are found in University. It goes on to become one of the nation’s leading many countries loaning “It is part of the continuity France, we’re going to ask Black Greek-letter organizations. for certain of those objects,” works for the new museof history.”

1931—World famous choreographer Alvin Ailey is born in um’s opening exhibition.

Bocoum said. “For the Perhaps reflecting the Rogers, Texas. During his life Ailey created more than 70 balBocoum now is working moment, we have not yet tenuous hold that Afrilets. He died in 1989. with dozens of institutions started negotiations.” can nations still have on 1943—Agricultural scientist George Washington Carver around the world to plan He brushed off concerns their own legacy objects, dies. Carver was renowned for his ability to develop new uses ALVIN AILEY future exhibits. that African institutions the museum will not have from everyday products. Indeed, he developed more than 300 “This museum is celebrat- products from the peanut and the sweet potato. He spent his professional career at might be unable to care for a permanent collection. ing the resilience of Black Filling the 148,000-square- their own heritage, pointTuskegee Institute in Alabama and was nicknamed the “Wizard of Tuskegee.” Carver people,” professor Linda ing to the new museum’s foot circular structure, one is credited with helping to revolutionize American agriculture. of the largest of its kind on humidified, air-conditioned Carty, who teaches AfriJanuary 6 can American studies at the continent, is complicat- storage space.

1820—The first organized return of a group of U.S. Blacks to Africa takes place. ReThe history of some of the Syracuse University, told ed by the fact that countcords indicate that between 85 and 90 free Blacks boarded a ship in New York Harbor objects in the opening exhi- the AP at its opening. “This on this day for return to the “Motherland.” Ironically, the ship was named the “Mayless artifacts have been is a forced recognition of dispersed around the world. bition is grim. Pointing to flower to Liberia.” However, the Blacks actually went the saber of El Hadj Umar how much Black people Both the inaugural to British controlled Sierra Leone and, along with former have brought to the world.

Tall, a 19th-century West exhibition, “African CivBritish slaves. helped to found that nation.

We were first. That’s been 1968—Movie director and screenwriter John Singletaken away from us, and ton is born in Los Angeles, Calif. Singleton is perhaps we now have reclaimed it.” best known for his directing of the controversial movie “Boyz N The Hood.” For the film, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the first THE African American and youngest person to have ever been NEW PITTSBURGH nominated for the award.

JOHN SINGLETON 1993—Famed Jazz musician John Birks “Dizzy” COURIER Gilespie dies. He was an outstanding trumpeter and PUBLISHING COMPANY band director who also helped to create Bebop Jazz.

2003—Mamie Till Mobley dies at 81. She was the Publication No.: USPS 381940 mother of Emmet Till, whose lynching at age 14 became one of the events which gave life and angry energy to 315 East Carson Street the early years of the Civil Rights Movement. Till was Pittsburgh, PA 15219 tortured and killed for allegedly whistling at a White Phone: 412-481-8302 woman while on a trip to Mississippi. Amazingly the men who killed Till were found not guilty by an all-White jury, Fax: 412-481-1360 but the two would later brag to Look magazine that they had actually murdered Till.

The JOHN BIRKS ‘DIZZY’ GILESPIE January 7 New Pittsburgh Courier From 4th Century AD—Ethiopian Christmas—known as Ganna—is celebrated is published weekly on Jan. 7. Ethiopian Christianity was much closer to the Christian Coptic Church of Egypt and as a result never incorporated many of the dictates of the early Roman periodicals Catholic Church. Thus, a plausible argument can be made that Ethiopian Christianity is more pure (or less corrupted) than that which emerged from the early Christian paid at Pittsburgh, Pa. Church in Europe. Regardless, the best scientific speculation is that Jesus was born PRICE $1.00 neither on Dec. 25 nor Jan. 7. The most probable month of his birth is April.

1891—Zora Neale Hurston is born in Eatonville, Fla. She became one of the cen(Payable in advance) tral figures in that great African-American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. She excelled as a writer, folklorist and anthropologist.

6 Months.....$25 1955—Marian Anderson debuts on this day at the New York Metropolitan Opera 1 Year....$45 House as Alrica in Verdi’s operate “Mask Ball.” She was the first African-American to perform such an opera at a major opera house.

2 Years...$85 January 8 9 Month School Rate $35 1866—Fisk University is founded in Nashville, Tenn., for recently freed slaves by the American Missionary Association. The college grows to become one of the leading Black institutions of higher learning in America by graduating several figures that POSTMASTER: Send played major roles in Black cultural, political and entertainment life. address changes to: 1961—Calvin Smith, hall of fame track and field athlete, was born in Bolton, Miss. ran track at the University of Alabama and in 1983 broke the 15-year-old world New Pittsburgh Courier Smith record in the 100 meter race. He went on to win a Gold medal as part of the United 315 East Carson Street States 4 x 100 meter relay team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and a Bronze medal in the 100 meter race at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

NATIONAL

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

A3

First member of Congress calls for Trump’s resignation amid month of chaos

by Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor

On Christmas Eve, Milwaukee Congresswoman Gwen Moore became the

“Some of this money for the doggone wall, I wish they would put into places like Flint and Milwaukee,” said Rep. Moore during the interview. The Congresswoman worked to secure millions of dollars to re-

“Resigning is a dignified way for him to leave as opposed to being impeached or as opposed to being indicted or having the 25th amendment evoked. It’s really a very palliative approach to ask him to just go quietly and spare us all this pain.”

REP. GWEN MOORE

first sitting member of Congress to demand that President Donald Trump resign from the presidency.

She made her comments as the Dow dove 500 points on December 24 in worst Christmas Eve trading day ever. As of Christmas, the market was on track to suffer its worst December since the Great Depression.

move lead from America’s water infrastructure.

During an interview on the Scott Dworkin report, Rep. Moore said that President Trump “resigning is a dignified way for him to leave as opposed to being impeached or as opposed to being indicted or having the 25th amendment evoked. It’s really a very palliative approach to ask

Waters is first woman and first African American to chair House Financial Services Committee

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent

One day after saying she wants President Donald Trump’s new chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to testify before her committee about his work overhauling the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA 43)was elevated to another position where she will undoubtedly continue to hold President Trump and his administration accountable.

Waters, the fiery and outspoken California Democrat, was named by the Democratic Caucus to serve as the first woman and the first African American chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

“I am honored to have been selected by my colleagues to be the first Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee in the 116th Congress.

“Since 1995, I have served as Ranking Member or Chairwoman of every Subcommittee under the Committee’s jurisdiction, taking on important issues on behalf of consumers, investors, and vulnerable populations,” Waters said.

“As Chairwoman, I will continue to prioritize protecting consumers and investors from abusive financial practices, making sure there are strong safeguards in place to prevent another financial crisis, expanding and supporting affordable housing opportunities, tackling the homelessness crisis, encouraging responsible innovation in financial technology, promoting diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector, conducting appropriate oversight and ensuring that hardworking Americans and small businesses have fair access to the financial system and opportunities to thrive,” she said.

As such, Waters has summoned Mulvaney as a review begins of the CFPB. “I am writing to inform you that while your time running the Consumer Bureau may be over, the time for accountability for your actions is about to begin,” Waters said in a letter to Mulvaney, who is also the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Mulvaney served as the CFPB’s acting director for one year and had previously charged that the agency overreached its statutory authority under the administration of former President Barack Obama and it ignored several rules and ceased enforcement efforts.

In her letter, Waters

accused Mulvaney of pursuing actions “harmful to consumers” and said she plans to review them.

“I consider it a privilege to hold the Chairwoman’s gavel and look forward to working with my fellow Democrats, Ranking Member McHenry and my colleagues across the aisle on commonsense solutions that benefit hardworking Americans and strengthen our economy,” said Waters, who has served as a Member of Congress and the Financial Services Committee since 1991.

Throughout her decades of public service, Waters has gained a reputation as a fearless and outspoken advocate for women, children, people of color and the poor.

In her various leadership roles on the House Financial Services Committee, she has fought for the protection of consumers, investors, small businesses and vulnerable populations.

In a news release, Waters’ camp noted that in 2010, she and her Democratic colleagues worked tirelessly to pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, landmark legislation to prevent another financial crisis, which created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency dedicated to protecting America’s consumers from financial abuses.

A central driver of the crisis was predatory mortgage lending, which intentionally targeted minority communities with toxic products and resulted in devastating foreclosures across the country and an immense loss of generational wealth.

Democrats specifically designed Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Bureau to prevent the harmful practices that caused the financial crisis.

The Bureau protects consumers from predatory and abusive financial practices in areas such as mortgage loans, private education loans, and payday loans.

Waters said despite Republican efforts to destroy the Consumer Bureau, she has fought to make sure “it is not impeded from its important work cracking down on industries that have a history of harming consumers, including debt collectors, payday lenders and consumer reporting agencies.”

While she has always been outspoken in her efforts, the era of social media has allowed for her longstanding efforts to be shared with millennials who have dubbed Waters as “Auntie Maxine.”

REP. GWEN MOORE (D-WI) (Photo: YouTube) him to just go quietly and spare us all this pain.”

December 2018 featured a turbulent series of events around the 45th President.

His Secretary of Defense, retired Marine General James Mattis, resigned.

The White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, set a time for his departure.

The federal government partly shut down as Trump

reportedly became angry with a budget bill that didn’t include billions in funding for a wall at the U.S. and Mexican border.

Two children died in U.S. custody as Trump Administration policy on immigration was led by relative policy novice, Stephen Miller.

Though many other members of Congress have been

consistently critical of the President, Moore is now the first member of Congress to actually call for him to resign. Nine members of the House have either stated on the record that President Trump should be impeached or assisted in moving articles of impeachment to the floor of the U.S. House.

The impeachment effort

against Trump has been led by Rep. Al Green of Texas. In October 2017, Rep. Green drafted an impeachment resolution and articles of impeachment and attempted to have it considered on the House floor against the wishes of Democratic leadership.

Rep. Green would be joined a year later by Reps.

Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio).

Non-CBC members Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.).

Currently President Trump’s approval rating is only 40 percent. Democrats will take control of the U.S. House on January 3rd.

(Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurkee Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http:// www.ajc.com)

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METRO

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Community Empowerment Association’s Kwanzaa Celebration 2018

McDonaldRoberts resigns as city Neighborhood Empowerment director McDONALD-ROBERTS FROM A1

THE BALAFON DANCE TROUPE, performing at Community Empowerment Association in Homewood’s Kwanzaa Celebration, Dec. 29. Courier photographer J.L. Martello captured the event in pictures.

LARRY DAVIS, far right, with sons, sharing a Kwanzaa together.

CELEBRATING KWANZAA are Miss Badgett and Professor Asad.

MAMA KADIATOU, middle, from the Balafon Dance Troupe, dancing with the young ladies.

this year,” she said. “As for coming in every day to a full-time job, I’m retired. Those eight to 10hour days are gone. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do nothing—I’m just not doing that. It ain’t happening.”

Of all her experiences in 24 years of government service, McDonald-Roberts, 63, said modernizing the Recorder of Deeds office was the most fun, most crazy, and most challenging.

“They had DOS screens on the computers. There was a lot of customer service training, but it was a great experience,” she said. “There were 60 of us there—the county is big. That was my OJT (on-the-job training) experience in office and personnel management.”

When the office transitioned to the county real estate office with an appointed rather than elected director, then-County Executive Dan Onorato asked her to stay on and she did.

And when Mayor Bill Peduto asked her to run his newly formed Neighborhood Empowerment office, she also said yes.

But now, she insists she won’t say yes to any more offers.

“Oh, I can say no. The mayor asked me to stay,” she said.

The Neighborhood Empowerment Department provides direction to the City of Pittsburgh on topics such as equity and inclusion.

“I said I would continue to be supportive of his administration and the vision he has for the city—I just won’t be employed doing it,” McDonald-Roberts said.

I’ll be engaged, but at my pace. I’m looking forward to catching up and catching my breath.”

Martell Covington—A man of many talents COVINGTON FROM A1

pecially if you’re someone who wants to make your community a better place,” Covington told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview, Dec. 28. “The senator has a lot of initiatives and there was a plan in place, so I hit the ground running when I got here in November. There was no orientation—just go. It’s an awesome opportunity and I’m enjoying it.”

Covington attended Holy Rosary School in Homewood before attending Central Catholic High School, graduating in 2005 and going on to Howard University where he graduated with a degree in business administration. After that he returned to Homewood to where it all began for him—

working at the Community Empowerment Association where he had attended youth and afterschool programs years earlier.

“I was one of the first Rites of Passage graduates.

I started there at 7 or 8, learned martial arts, and volunteered there. I’ve seen it grow from a tiny place on Fleury Way to taking over the building where I went to grade school. It was like coming full circle,” he said.

If anyone was prepared to just dive right into a brand new job that ranges from community relations, constituent connections, attending meetings and coordinating with other legislative offices, it’s Covington. Prior to joining Sen. Costa’s staff, the 2018 New Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40

honoree had spent eight years working at CEA, most recently as assistant director of youth and family services, coordinating and running a variety of programs and activities.

“That’s the way it is at nonprofits. You wear a lot of hats at the same time,” he said. “But I gained a lot of knowledge there and I think it prepared me well for what I’m doing now.”

Part of what he’s doing now is what he’s done for years—being visible and active in the community, and letting people know they have an ear to Sen. Costa’s office because he wants to hear from them, too.

“The position came through my work in the community. The senator took notice and reached

out through people I know, and I was persistent in pursuing it,” he said. “I’m still trying to mentor, being present in the community.

I think it’s cool for young people to see someone like me in a post like this—the best reactions come from the young people.”

Rashad Byrdsong, founder of CEA, said Covington is “destined for greatness.”

“He demonstrates the characteristics of taking on the responsibility of an up-and-coming leader,” said Byrdsong. “He is what heroes are made of, being that he was born and raised in Homewood, to working for the Homewood community.

We wish him well and great success working in his new capacity.”

But Covington’s commu-

nity work extends beyond Homewood, and even beyond the confines of Pennsylvania’s 43rd Senatorial District—it extends all the way to Africa.

“I’m on the board of the Cameroon Football Development program, headquartered in Pittsburgh, and they’ve been working for about six years creating youth soccer programs there,” he said. “But it’s more than just sports, it’s health and wellness, leadership; things they may not get in their schools.”

The organization has programs running at six different sites in various cities and towns throughout Cameroon, and in 2016, Covington went to see them.

“After all the board meet-

ings and fundraisers, it was fantastic to finally get to see it,” he said. “I spent two weeks there. There was a lot of good food, great music, and learning the history—not just from the officials, but people out in the villages, different perspectives from different parts of the country.”

One village, he said, was so remote it could only be reached by canoe or by “a trek through the jungle.”

“So we canoed in and walked back,” he said. “But walking down to Lake Barombi to get in the canoes, we heard some animal noises that made us quicken our pace. To this day, I don’t know what it was, but it still scares me to think of it. I can’t wait to go back.”

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THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Brennan Marion overcame homelessness and severe injuries to become a highly-respected coach in the college ranks MARION FROM A1

other junior college about 45 miles from San Francisco.

Marion is open about saying he endured some tough times back in Pittsburgh in his youth. Now barely a few years into adulthood, he was about to endure another tough stretch—homelessness.

“The coach (at De Anza) promised us a living situation, and he couldn’t make that happen,” Marion told the Courier. “There were a few of us guys from out-ofstate. We would live in the locker room at De Anza, sleep at (teammates’) houses…once we couldn’t find anywhere else to stay, I decided, we’ll stay in the press box. We slept outside a few times, we rode the bus at night, we stayed in motels…”

Marion estimated four or five days per week he was homeless during the first two months of the football season. “We used to have to steal from the grocery store to eat,” he said. “One time we slept in the hallway at the school.”

Sometimes, however, Marion and a few teammates would use a fellow teammate’s car and sleep in the car, “in the church parking lot.”

Times were bad. But then again, times were good for Marion as far as the football field was concerned.

Marion topped all receivers in every receiving category in the junior college circuit, was an All-American, and made the Dean’s List.

Marion’s outstanding play landed him a scholarship at the University of Tulsa, where he continued to shatter records. In 2007 and 2008, he caught 82 total passes for 2,356 yards and 19 touchdowns. His 31.9 yards per catch in his junior season (2007) was an NCAA record.

Now, the NFL scouts were taking notice. Taking notice of Pittsburgh, of Homewood, the man named Brennan Marion. Who would he become? The next legendary receiver, like Jerry Rice? Terrell Owens? Marvin Harrison?

The NFL scouts didn’t care about Marion’s past.

They weren’t worried about his bout with homelessness, all they cared about was that talent. Great hands, great footwork, his burst of speed, the ability to elude defenders, his explosiveness.

For Marion, the bad fortunes seemed to be in the past. It was time for the National Football League.

The bright lights. The big paychecks.

Then came Dec. 6, 2008—

the Conference USA Championship Game between the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the East Carolina Pirates. The game was played in Tulsa, on Chapman Field, where fans had become used to Marion’s incredible athletic prowess.

They watched in stunned silence, however, when he tore his left ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his knee on his team’s final offensive play of the game.

Marion’s team lost the game. NFL scouts shied away.

A possible second-round NFL draft pick in 2009 ended up going undrafted.

The Miami Dolphins eventually signed Marion in 2009, but he re-tore the same ACL in training camp.

The next year, he served as offensive coordinator for a high school in Union City, Calif., but still had that itch to play professional football.

Marion went to Canada to play for the Montreal Alouettes—except that on his second day with the team, he again tore his ACL. To make matters worse, Marion recalls, “While I was at the doctor’s office, the (Dallas) Cowboys called me to sign with them.”

Yes, those Dallas Cowboys. America’s Team.

However, this third ACL tear was it for Marion and his dreams of playing professional football vanished.

Thankfully, that year at James Logan High School in Union City revealed a new love for Marion— coaching.

“The biggest thing that got me to love coaching is I had kids from Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, rough backgrounds, and I thought my life story was rough…a lot of those kids had it worse,” Marion said about his time at James Logan in 2010. “Being able to really impact their lives, getting them to believe that there’s more out there in life, it was really great to help and serve those kids.”

In fact, Marion said the high school players saved his life. “They got my life together as far as drinking, partying, the depression of being hurt, thinking I’m going to play in the league.”

Coaching and having a daughter, Mariah, were the catalyst to launching Marion’s next journey.

In 2013 at age 25, he earned his first head coaching position at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo, Calif. He took the team with a 1-9 record the previous season to the playoffs in his first season.

Marion then came back to

Pennsylvania as the head coach of Waynesboro Area Senior High School. A team that went 0-10 the season prior to Marion’s arrival finished with a 6-4 record in the 2014 season, a feat that was lauded by many in the coaching landscape.

It was the Waynesboro Indians’ first winning season since 1992. Marion featured a no-huddle spread offense that produced more than 500 yards of offense and 36.6 points per game.

After some coaching stints at a few smaller colleges, Marion landed at Howard University in Washington, D.C., as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017.

That’s where his uptempo, hard-to-stop offense, nicknamed Go-Go, was molded.

Under Marion and Howard’s head coach, Mike London, the team pulled off a huge upset—beating UNLV, 43-40, in the 2017 season opener. The UNLV Rebels were a 45-point favorite, making Howard’s win the largest point-spread upset in college football history.

During the 2018 season, Howard’s football team scored 55 points twice, along with a 41-point performance in a win over Bethune-Cookman, Sept.

22. The team averaged 33.6 points and 470.8 yards per game with Marion calling the offensive shots.

“Coach Marion has done a great job with our offense,” London told the Courier in November 2018. “He’s done a great job with (quarterback) Caylin (Newton) and our offensive staff works well together. (Us) having a great young mind like Coach Marion has been beneficial for us. He’s going to be a head coach one day for sure.”

After Howard completed its 2018 season, it was announced that London would become the new head coach at William & Mary, another FCS (football championship subdivision) school, though it plays in the Colonial Athletic Association (Howard plays in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, which houses nine other HBCU football programs). It was a no-brainer that London would take Marion with him as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The College of William & Mary should sound familiar to Pittsburghers—it’s where Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin attended college. He was a three-time starter at wide receiver for the William & Mary Tribe between 1990-94. He had 101 career receptions for 2,046 yards and 20 touchdown receptions. Tomlin graduated in 1995.

Tomlin is regarded by his players for his leadership style, his “the-standard-isthe-standard” mantra, and his unique motivational tactics. But before Tomlin was ever a household name

BRENNAN MARION, right, with a Howard University football player. Marion spent two seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard before being named to the same position at William & Mary College in November 2018. (Photo courtesy Howard University) as an NFL head coach, he spent years coaching in the college ranks; five colleges to be exact—anywhere from graduate assistant, to wide receivers coach, to defensive backs coach.

Coaching is hard. It’s not for everyone. Not only do you have to know your Xs and Os, but you must have a genuine concern for your players. Only then will they give you their all. Marion, who’s climbing the coaching ladder, has a genuine care for his players. “I loved high school coaching because you could really develop a kid. You have so much time to mold them into great young men,” he said. “But college, you provide an opportunity for people to be successful and change their family lineage to get an education...the only way to sustain a good life is education.”

Marion earned his bachelor’s degree in organizational studies from Tulsa in 2009. Now with a second child, also named Brennan, he’s made many people in

his hometown proud, including his father, Jeff Marion.

“He kept fighting, he never gave up, he wasn’t coming back to Pittsburgh empty handed, and he didn’t,” Jeff Marion told the Courier.

Jeff Marion, also a youth football coach in Pittsburgh with the Lincoln Rams, took some of the youth football players to Howard University in November 2018. There, they saw the workings of a college football program while Brennan Marion talked with the youth about never giving up on their dreams.

He’s “giving back to some other kids that are just as talented, come from the same streets, same background, same lack of opportunity (as his), and showing them a path,” Jeff Marion said about Brennan.

And high school football players in the Pittsburgh area are aware of Brennan Marion. Hollis Mathis, the state championship-winning quarterback for the Penn Hills Indians, recently announced his intentions

to play football at William & Mary. Jeannette senior standout receiver Marcus Barnes also committed to play at William & Mary.

Brennan Marion can truly say he’s been all over this country. A kid from Homewood, whom, as his father Jeff says, overcame the odds, becoming not only a star football player, but a college graduate, a coach on the rise, and most importantly to Brennan himself, a leader of men.

“Thank God for the ball; that saved my life,” Brennan Marion told the Courier, stating that sports are oftentimes the vehicle to get kids like himself out of adverse situations.

Brennan Marion also thanked his grandmother, Charlene Marion, who passed away in 2003 and was an immense figure in his life. “As she was passing away, she asked me, ‘Can you really (try to) make something of yourself?’

That’s what turned the switch on for me, and I did everything to honor her.”

LIFESTYLES New Pittsburgh Courier

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JANUARY 2-8, 2019

www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com

Debbie Norrell

Lifestyles Report

Request for coverage Right now there are over 21,000 emails in my inbox and I’m going to delete most of them.

Email is how I communicate with those of you who want me to cover an event. I have to have one central place to receive requests. Yes this is the annual column that explains in detail how to get me to attend your event and appear on the New Pittsburgh Courier Lifestyles Page.

This year I celebrate 18 years with the New Pittsburgh Courier and I am proud to be a part of this historic newspaper.

As always I am looking for new events to cover. I like to meet new organizations and let our readers see what they are doing. Just remember there is no such thing as a “first annual” so please don’t be insulted when it doesn’t appear this way in the paper. There are so many groups that have had a first event never to be heard from again.

Just like businesses that open their doors and want a “feature” in the paper and six months after the story appears the business is closed.

In order to connect with me please send an email to debbienorrell@ aol.com with “request for coverage” in the subject line. This allows me to sort my email by that subject line verbiage. Do not put “you’re invited” or “please come”—it may fall into the cracks of the spam emails. When you know your event is really going to happen and you would like coverage that is the time to send your email. The body of the email should include the “who, what, when, where and why” of your event.

I should have a contact name and number in case I have questions and just an FYI, when you ask any media outlet to cover your event we do not buy a ticket. I would like as much notice as you can give, one month is not too much nor is two months. I beg that you do not wait until the day before or the week before.

Request for media is a part of your event planning especially if you want to share the story with the readers of the New Pittsburgh Courier. Perhaps you are honoring a group of people, giving out scholarships, celebrating a milestone anniversary of a church or a group. The purpose of the Lifestyles Page is to share the good news that includes the parties, teas, luncheons and soirees.

Please do not send requests for coverage via Facebook, Twitter or Messenger. If you see me out and about and have a flyer for your event I will take it but I will ask that you follow up via email with a “request for coverage.” I try my hardest to attend each event I am asked to attend. Last year I missed a few due to personal obligations and a brief hospital visit.

I’m looking forward to a great 2019 and looking for some new and exciting things to cover. I actually might reach out to you and ask if you would like to be on the Lifestyles page.

(Email Debbie norrell@aol.com)

at

debbie

PITTSBURGH LINKS CELEBRATE 70 YEARS—Daria Crawley, Marcia Martin, Rosemary Crawford, Lisa Washington Rushing, Rosa Miller and Linda Wilson (Photos by Dayna Delgado)

70 Years of Links Excellence

by Debbie Norrell Lifestyles Editor

The Pittsburgh chapter is the sixth chapter of The Links, Incorporated. The national organization was founded in 1946 and nine dynamic women who want-

ed to ensure that Pittsburgh was among the cities where members of the organization were providing community service to empower and inspire others founded the Pittsburgh chapter two years later in 1948.

Currently, The Pittsburgh Links have more than 30 active members and many other alumna members who continue to make significant contributions to their efforts. On Nov. 10, 2018, The Pittsburgh Links celebrated its 70th anniversary at the August Wilson Center with a semi-formal evening recognizing service and sisterhood. Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception and a special celebration. The Daisy Lampkin Scholarship Award was presented to Brezhiona Pierce and Zoe Vongtau.

Pittsburgh Links president Lisa Washington Rushing said the mission of the Pittsburgh Links is to promote and engage in educational, civic, charitable and intercultural activities to enrich the lives of others and our members. The evening was a celebration of service and sisterhood.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS—Brezhiona Pierce and Zoe Vongtau

STYLISH LADIES—Shelly Uku and Peggy Harris

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF PITTSBURGH LINKS

ENJOYING A GREAT EVENING—Latifa Miller, Regina Scott and Di- BEHIND THE WONDERFUL anne Hardison FOOD—Roxanne Easley

BEAUTIFUL GUESTS—Joy Evans, Marsha Wade and Tammy Miles Brown

ALL SMILES

HANDSOME GENTS—Jeff Capel, David Motley and Mike Tomlin

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF PITTSBURGH LINKS—Gazelle Freeman, Tina Washington, Patricia Patterson Lee, Kim Clark, Ann Haley and Verna Edmonds

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

RELIGION

Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

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Praise & Worship ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Mass Sunday 10:00 A.M. www.stbtmchurch.org

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206

www.cathedralofhope.com Worship on Sunday: Journey Worship........8:45 a.m.

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

Taize Prayer Service (Wed.) 7 p.m.

Curious about Quakerism?

MARY AND JOSEPH, played by Aubrey Luttrel and Oronde Sharif

Shona Sharif African Dance and Drum Ensemble Inc., presented Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, Dec. 14-22, at Charity Randall Theatre, 4301 Forbes Ave. Originally written by famed poet and playwright Langston Hughes, Black Nativity fused scenes from the classic Christmas story with exhilarating African dance and traditional Gospel music. Pittsburgh’s finest actors, vocalists and dancers took the stage as they brought the journey of Mary and Joseph to life and shared testimonies about the reason for the season.

Courier photographer J.L. Martello captured the event in pictures.

You Are Welcome at our Meetings for Worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

Pittsburgh Friends Meeting 4836 Ellsworth Avenue http://www.quaker.org/legacy/pghpamm

Seminary at the Tabernacle 43 Belvedere St., Crafton, PA 15205 Sept. 10, 2018-May 16, 2019 Sr. Pastor Tony Armstead, MDiv Christian Leadership School (CLS) a Four-year Program currently offering Four non-credited courses in four years.

Teaching includes Doctorate and Master of Divinity Teachers.

When: Fluctuates Mon. or Thurs., 6:308:30pm Cost: $75 per class, plus any required books Contact: Rev. Marjorie Davis, Ph.D. 412335-2832

New Destiny CME Church 114 North Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412-231-7882 Rev. Kornelus Neal, pastor The Rt. Rev. Marvin Thomas Sr., presiding bishop Sunday School....................................9 A.M. Morning Worship Service............11:00 A.M.

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext.

128.

NIA GOODMAN

REBAKAH ROUSE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT CHURCH EVENT! \We want to place your event in our Church Circuit weekly calendar!

Send info to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh PA 15219 Or Email us! religion@ newpittsburgh courier.com

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JANUARY 2-8, 2019

PEOPLE

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

2019—THE ‘YEAR OF RETURN’

JAY DONALDSON’S TRIP TO GHANA—Longtime Pittsburgh resident Jay Donaldson traveled to Ghana in the summer of 2018—and he’s not alone, as many African Americans are visiting Ghana, some even staying there for good. Donaldson provided the New Pittsburgh Courier the photos above and below from his Ghana trip. Theresa Scott Kwayke, in the middle photo, who was born in Georgia and also lived in Washington, D.C., has been living in Ghana for 25 years. For more on Kwayke’s thoughts about living in Ghana, visit www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com.

Ghana is leading the charge in welcoming African Americans back to Africa—for good The year 2019 is the “Year of Return,” according to Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

During a September 2018 event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., he said the “time is right” for people of African descent to make the journey back, with Ghana leading the way with its open arms.

An article posted to The Final Call’s website noted that President Akufo-Addo declared Black Americans have earned the right, “not by coincidence,” but historically by a conscious effort that validated “the struggles, strengths and links” between Africans on the continent and those who are a part of the African Diaspora.

He noted the gallery of Black intellectuals, leaders and creative professionals like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois, Maya Angelou and Stevie Wonder who have honored Ghana by their presence and have in turn been inspired by Ghana.

During the Sept. 28 event, U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) closed the “Year of Return” event by thanking President Akufo-Addo and Ghana’s first lady for spearheading such a historic initiative, according to The Final Call report.

“The country which I honor, and Ghana with its amazing history will be in the forefront of galvanizing and cementing this wonderful relationship between…the people of the United States of America and the great republic, which is the nation of Ghana,” said the Black lawmaker. “With its wonderful president and first lady who are leading us into the 21st-century, let the blessings of all be upon you. Let us be connected through our ancestry and the spirits. And let’s never forget the dark passage which will turn into a light of return in this wonderful year of 2019 commemorating our first venture (the Trans-Atlantic slave trade) CAPE COAST is the capital of the Central Region of south Ghana. Jay Donaldson took this photo of Cape Coast from his hotel room. in 1619.”

JAY DONALDSON’S TRIP TO GHANA—Longtime Pittsburgh resident Jay Donaldson traveled to Ghana in the summer of 2018, providing these photos to the New Pittsburgh Courier. Ghana’s population of roughly 28 million make it the 13th-most populous country in Africa.

PEOPLE

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF GHANA helps Black Americans get accustomed to Ghana’s way of life.

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

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W.E.B. DU BOIS was an African American writer, teacher, sociologist and activist whose work transformed the way that the lives of Black citizens were seen in American society. Born in Massachusetts, he moved to Ghana, where he passed away in the city of Accra in 1963.

‘COME BACK HOME’

Longtime Pittsburgh resident Jay Donaldson shares his experiences on his visit to Ghana in the summer of 2018.

“We only want those things that belong to the Black race. Africa is ours. To win Africa we will give up America, we will give up the claim in all other parts of the world; but we must have Africa.”

“We will give up the vain desire of having a seat in the White House in America, of having a seat in the House of the Lords in England, of being President of France, for the chance and opportunity of filling these positions in a country of our own.”—Marcus Garvey My first visit to Ghana this past summer of 2018 was filled with expected adventure, pleasures, learning. I did not know how I would be accepted. My thoughts were that I may be taken advantage of as a foreigner.

I held my guard up for what may be the unexpected. My passion/love for my Black people gave me strength; I now know that there’s a plenty we didn’t know about our past.

Coming to Ghana was like being reborn again—everything you thought you knew about Black folks, forget it. “These Blacks over

BLACK HEAT!! I loved it!

The walks got me closer to the neighborhood, where I saw a local soccer match.

On Sundays everyone’s on their way to a Sunday Sermon—you’ll hear shouts and singing from a distance, music playing, tambourines and drums, with hands clapping. It will bring joy to your heart, it’s pure soul filled with heavenly harmonies.

Getting around is a major problem if you’re without a car. I always asked the fare before I went anywhere. I got familiar with one or two drivers in the area. Of course, they will

right now, America doesn’t seem particularly safe for Black men.

If you are young and have the skills in what they are looking for, you should consider a country in Africa.

Many are predicting that it’s the next China due to its many natural resources, oil, gold, diamonds. Ghana was once called “The Gold Coast” before its independence. A great time to visit is during the Independence celebration. Also the holiday season is a good time to come. Ghanaian government has a Right to Abode for Black Americans to come back to Ghana and

JAY DONALDSON, in the white shirt, with fellow African Americans who also were visiting Ghana.

A YOUNG WOMAN IN GHANA, the photo captured by Jay Donaldson.

JAY DONALDSON, left, interviews Mama Zulu, who is originally from Gary, Indiana. She first came to Ghana in 2002. For more of Donaldson’s in-depth interviews with Black Americans in Ghana, visit www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com. here ain’t nothing like my homies.”

The Ghanaians are the humble and peaceful people. The time I spent there, over a month and a half, I saw no violence or shooting or fighting. I traveled on the road and I took taxis, I walked, I ran…I watched a lot a news and there’s just not a lot of crime and NO GUNS! I was able to do business with a few of the locals. I was treated well and was very happy with what I bought.

If you’re thinking about visiting Ghana you will first need a passport, then you must apply for a visa to get to Ghana. Must have a medical shot to fight against yellow fever infection. Get your tickets three or four months in advance, either alone or with a tour—you will save if you purchase early online.

When I arrived in the country it was the hottest time of the year. The temperature was 100 degrees every day. I was out in it most days. In the market district was the most intense heat. What do you get when you get 10,000 Blacks crowed in a small area?

jack the price when they hear your English. I took long walks and drank a lot a water. My choice of movement long-distance was the “choo-choo”—If you ever wanted to be close to somebody you have to take a choo-choo. It’s essentially a modified van which transports many passengers beyond its capacity.

So I rode in the choo-choo for many, many miles to the outskirts and rural areas. I saw plush vegetation and green valleys and hills, mountaintops filled with huge trees. I saw many different tribes at stops. A group of Fulanis were in town—they are nomads and live in the desert plains and raise cattle. They are Muslim people and make up a small percentage of the population in Ghana. I always ask what tribe they come from, but only if I am having an in-depth conversation with the person.

I know I am from one of those tribes and that is what Black people now want to know. The harsh injustices in America have convinced many that the U.S. is not the only place you can make a living and

get a citizenship and stay as long as you want. It’s a first for any country on the continent of Africa to introduce anything like it. Now if you’re worried about the money exchange you will be happy to know that the exchange is 4.7 GHS (Ghana currency) to 1 U.S. dollar. Not bad if you’re spending time there and getting a social security retirement check.

I visited Cape Coast in Ghana, which was visited by First Lady Melania Trump—I think it’s in very bad taste for the way they market the historical Slave Quarters. It’s visited by thousands. The shores of Cape Coast is where the slave trade flourished in the 1600s. The town was colonized by the British and French and the Portuguese.

There are over 3,000 Black Americans now living in Ghana.

While I was there I met many Black Americans just by walking around and going to the beaches. You can easily meet locals because they all speak good English.

I checked in with the AAAG (African American Association of Ghana), which was started by Black Americans.

THE NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER NEWSPAPER, in Ghana. There are currently 3,000 Black Americans who reside in Ghana.

They help other Blacks that come to Ghana to visit, or who choose to stay for good, in the adjustment to Ghana’s way of life.

The civil rights legend W.E.B. Du Bois came to live in Ghana in the ‘20s and they have a center named for him near the U.S. Embassy in Accra. I met two of the members of the AAAG

at their headquarters, which is very close to the U.S. Embassy.

I love to travel, and Africa as a continent has all the mystery and adventure that you could yearn for. It’s a pivotal and important time for all Black people in the U.S., but one thing we all know— Africa is where all life began and flourished before any

other way of life.

From Ethiopia, which has the Arc of the Covenant, to Kemit (Egpyt), where you’ll find the Pyramids and the Sphinx, to the gold mines in South Africa, Africa should be on every Black person’s “bucket list” to visit.

As one of my friends from Ghana would say, “Come Back Home.”

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JANUARY 2-8, 2019

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

BUSINESS New Pittsburgh Courier

Was Isis ever defeated?

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JANUARY 2-8, 2019

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What 2019 may hold for your finances

by Sarah Skidmore Sell AP Personal Finance Writer

It’s tough to know what each new year may hold. But when it comes to economic issues, there are usually enough indicators to provide a solid glimpse into what’s ahead. So we asked experts to weigh in on how they anticipate how those big drivers may impact your financial well-being in 2019.

INTEREST RATES The Federal Reserve recently announced that it is raising its key interest rate by a quarter of a point, to a range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent. That marks the fourth hike this year and lifts the benchmark rate to

its highest point since 2008. But the Fed indicated it only anticipates two hikes for the year ahead.

Greg McBride, chief analyst at Bankrate, says borrowers already felt the pinch from higher rates and will see the effect of the latest hike soon.

“They are feeling the impact, and unfortunately, whether the Fed raises rates once, twice or three times, borrowing rates are going to go up,” McBride said.

People who have variable rate debt, like credit cards, will see it first. A quarter of a point increase by the Fed could be reflected as soon as one to two statement cycles later. To avoid taking a hit, pay down your debt aggressively. If you have a variable

rate home equity line of credit or adjustable rate mortgage, see if you can move to a fixed rate.

“Your best defense is a good offense,” McBride said. “Take steps to insulate yourself from further rate hikes.”

On the flip side, if you are able to save, you can make a bit more off that money. It pays to shop around as many banks are offering around 2.4 percent on basic savings accounts these days. McBride noted that this is the first time in roughly a decade that savers can earn more on savings than the rate of inflation.

GAS PRICES Expect prices to be relatively stable compared to this year, says Tom Kloza, global

head of energy analysis for the Oil Price Information Service.

Kloza said there is a good chance that 2019 will be book-ended by a very weak start for prices and a shaky finish, with prices around $2.35 to $2.40 a gallon at each end. In between, prices will likely rise for both crude oil and gasoline.

Kloza expects the highest prices should occur in the second and third quarters.

He anticipates national averages in the $2.75 to $2.85 per gallon neighborhood, with perhaps a dozen or so high-tax states flirting with $3 a gallon or more at those times.

SEE FINANCES B2

Kenya Matthews promoted to assistant VP at PNC Improving the customer experience in retail lending

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

KENYA MATTHEWS

Retail banks are expanding their digital footprints across the market and PNC is no different. It is currently launching a national digital strategy and at the heart of that effort—making sure the customer comes first—is Kenya Matthews, who was named assistant vice president, Product Manager II—Customer Experience, Retail Lending & Strategy in late September.

“The role that I am in now is also heavily focused on the customer experience,” she told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview. “I am the owner of the end-to-end customer experience across retail lending products, to include—but not limited to—credit card, auto loans, mortgage loans, etc.”

Matthews, a New Pittsburgh Courier 2017 Woman of Excellence, grew up in the hilltop neighborhoods of Beltzhoover and Knoxville and joined PNC as a digital product manager in 2016 after earning her bachelor’s degree in Information Technology Management from Point Park University.

She earned her master’s in Organizational Leadership and Change Management from Robert Morris University while overseeing the design and development for the digital credit card applications. Though still focusing on customer satisfaction, her new role is more expansive.

“I am in the process of standing up a new Agile crew in order to create new experiences for our customers,” she said.

“The starting process of creating new experiences is ensuring you understand the current state to identify the areas of opportunity to produce efficient and effective solutions. I am not doing this alone—I am one person on a great team and I enjoy the dedication along with the collaboration we have on ensuring

we develop great products.”

But beyond developing next-generation products, Matthews continues to give her time to develop the next generation of skilled professionals, both as the incoming president of the African American Employee Business Resource group Pittsburgh Chapter, and as a board member of Gwen’s Girls.

“The culture at PNC fosters diversity and inclusion from the top down,” she said. “I am always volunteering and looking for ways to promote diversity and IT careers for women, young girls and minorities. We can’t be what we can’t see! My passion is to create exposure and areas of opportunity for women and diversity. I think the more exposure and understanding we have of the field itself, the more we will gravitate to it.”

Matthews said part of that outreach is noting how having both IT and business backgrounds allows her to act as a liaison between technical and non-technical teams.

“And it helps me in understanding holistically what it takes to bring an idea to fruition,” she said. It takes a lot of work to bring an idea to reality. I understand now how a seemingly small ask can equate to a complex programming development solution.”

And as much as she looks forward to challenges and opportunities for professional and personal growth PNC’s new digital strategy will afford her, she is determined to make sure others know they can create those opportunities, too.

“Gwen’s Girls is dear to me. I see myself in the girls and young women we serve. I’ve been there, experienced traumatic events, a young mother not sure of what my future holds,” she said.

“It is my duty as a human being to help someone else get through some of the same challenges that I have been able to overcome.”

‘Opportunity Zones’—the new Trump Executive Order for Blacks

by Roger Caldwell For New Pittsburgh Courier

After almost two years, President Trump has laid out a policy with an executive order to spend money and investments in the “distressed communities across the country.” Last week (12-1218), at an executive order signing at the White House, with a majority of African Americans in attendance, President Trump said, “this order would draw investment into neglected and underserved communities in America.”

With a sea of Black faces, starting with Billionaire Bob Johnson, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, [President Trump] has assured the mainstream media that this is one of the solutions to fix the numerous economic problems in urban America. Under the leadership and direction of Secretary Ben Carson, 13 federal agencies have already put together a list of 8,761 potential designated action zones.

“The White House’s new executive order for agencies to prioritize OZs is a positive first step to transform more communities into walkable, equitable, and thriving places and repair the mistakes of the 20th century that led to sprawl and disinvestment,” said Christopher Cotes, Director of LOCUS, a program of Small Growth America. “Most importantly, this new council must encourage great-

er transparency to ensure any federal investment in OZs achieves equitable development outcomes that are good for both residents and businesses.”

On paper, “Opportunity Zones” appears

certify Opportunity Zones within 30 days of receiving nominations.

Presently, the major question is how will the African American community benefit from Opportunity Zones?

“The White House’s new executive order for agencies to prioritize OZs is a positive first step to transform more communities into walkable, equitable, and thriving places and repair the mistakes of the 20th century that led to sprawl and disinvestment. Most importantly, this new council must encourage greater transparency to ensure any federal investment in OZs achieves equitable development outcomes that are good for both residents and businesses.”

CHRISTOPHER COTES Director of LOCUS to be an excellent concept and major corporations have an opportunity to invest in distressed communities and get a break on their taxes. These Opportunity Zones were created a year ago under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but a year later there are still no established rules to implement the program.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories are able to participate in the Opportunity Zones initiative. State governors are responsible for nominating low-income communities based on qualified census tracts, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury will

To begin, very few African Americans are aware of or have information about Opportunity Zones, and many consumer advocates warn that the investments may not reach distressed areas. Many of these projects will be a public-private-partnership, and many companies refuse to invest money in a poor community, where they don’t see them getting a return on their investment.

But, at the executive order signing, different prominent Blacks spoke in favor of the project. Pastor Donte’ Hickman of the Southern Baptist Church and in partnership with other faith-based stakeholders’

institutions, has created the East Baltimore Revitalization Plan, addressing development needs of 100 acres, approved and adapted by the City Planning Development of Baltimore.

“Our area has been federally-designated as an Opportunity Zone, and this bipartisan legislation can leverage public and private funding toward community revitalization,” says Pastor Hickman. After Pastor Hickman give his remarks, Billionaire Bob Johnson of BET spoke.

Mr. Johnson is also a big supporter of Opportunity Zones. “What this proves is the efficacy, Mr. President, of a program that allows capital to flow to places where people are seeking out opportunity. And I am convinced that this program, where the tax incentives out of the Treasury Department to business people, will cause people to invest money where before they saw risk, now they see opportunity,” says Bob Johnson of BET. It is too early to make an informed opinion on this Opportunity Zone project.

There are different numbers from different leaders to the amount of money the government is willing to invest. Some say $1.3 billion and others say $2.2 billion, but both numbers are substantial.

As everyone gets excited about the Opportunity Zones project, everyone must remember no Opportunity Zones have been identified, and the Treasury Department has yet to establish rules for the program.

B2

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

BUSINESS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

It’s time to fix Social Security’s tax burden

by Liz Weston

“forgot” inflation again when adding a second layer of taxation in 1993.

That means the proportion of recipients who have to pay federal income taxes on their benefits keeps increasing. Initially, only 1 in 10 Social Security recipients had to pay any federal tax. Now, it’s over half.

Not indexing to inflation is a sneaky way of boosting taxes. Lawmakers can count

on growing federal revenue without the politically uncomfortable act of repeatedly voting for those increases.

The taxes are based on combined income, which is a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, plus any tax-exempt interest (such as interest on mutual bonds) and half of her Social Security benefit. Based on that: •Single people with combined income

over $25,000 a year, or couples with over $32,000 a year, face taxes on up to 50 percent of Social Security benefits.

•Single retirees earning over $34,000 People on Social Security need a tax and couples earning over $44,000 may pay break. The rest of us need to make sure taxes on up to 85 percent of benefits. they get it—for everyone’s sake.

Because of the way Social Security beneWhen Congress made Social Security fits are taxed, many middle-income retirbenefits taxable in 1983, lawmakers didn’t ees face a “tax torpedo,” where their marindex the tax thresholds to inflation. They ginal tax rate can more than double. (If you’ll have retirement savings of roughly $200,000 or more, consider talking to a tax professional or financial planner about how and when to claim Social Security benefits to minimize the tax effects.)

by Ted Shaffrey In many cases, we’re punishing people who saved for retirement. That isn’t fair, Associated Press and it isn’t smart.

NEW YORK (AP)—A So we should demand Congress index training program for the Social Security taxation to inflation, right? next generation of mortiBased on the 1983 threshold numbers, cians and undertakers is that would ensure that only singles maktestament to a change that ing over about $64,000 year, and couples is slowly remaking the fumaking over $82,000 a year, would have to neral business. pay taxes on their Social Security income.

Sixty of the 75 students If only it were that simple. in the program at the State The money collected from these taxes University of New York goes to two specific places: the Social SeCanton are women, and curity and Medicare trust funds. Perhaps those numbers are no fluke. you’re starting to see the problem.

In 2017, nearly 65 percent Both trust funds are running short of of graduates from funeral cash and could be depleted in a few years. director programs in the That doesn’t mean they’ll be bankrupt. It United States were female, does mean they won’t be able to pay 100 according to the American percent of promised benefits.

Board of Funeral Service Social Security’s retirement trust fund is Education. That’s the highexpected to run dry in 2034, after which it est number ever recorded by would be able to pay only 75 percent of the the board. Women are being benefits that have been promised. Yanking drawn in record numbers to away what amounts to 4 percent of its reva profession in which, just a STUDENTS—Maeve Curran, left, and Anita Bennett start to build a life mask on fellow funeral services student Anna enue, which is what’s generated by taxing few decades ago, it was rare Deloriea at State University of New York Canton. By measuring facial dimensions and symmetry, students learn how to up to 50 percent of benefits, would just for anyone but to work. restore features lost to illness or trauma on the deceased. (Ted Shaffrey / Associated Press) hasten that day.

Women coming out of the Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund SUNY Canton program, a year to get your license, a lot Death care took place in the during residency training. is in worse shape. The fund, which pays for though, say that for all the of funeral directors stop you and home, more often than in insti“If the current generation inpatient hospital visits, skilled nursing, progress, they still encoun- they are like, ‘I wanted a man’ tutional settings, and preparing of funeral home owners don’t home health care and hospice, is forecast ter barriers. because they think a woman a body for burial was a family start taking and treating wom- to be depleted in 2026, just a few years While a majority of people can’t lift as much.” matter. en with the respect and dignity from now. The money raised from taxing looking to enter the profesDarien Frederick, 21, who gradThat began to change during that they deserve, there is going Social Security benefits makes up 8 persion are women, 74 percent uated from the SUNY Canton the Civil War, when embalming to be a time to pass on the fu- cent of the revenue going into the fund. of morticians and funeral program last year and is now a fluids allowed families to bring neral home, and there is going So fixing the stealth tax will require fixdirectors are still men, ac- funeral director at Cleveland Fu- dead soldiers home from the to be no one there to buy it,” Pe- ing Social Security and Medicare as well. cording to 2016 U.S. Census neral Home in Watertown, New battlefield. And embalming ne- nepent said.

Proposals to privatize or scrap these sysBureau data.

York, said some customers still cessitated a scientific education, Anita Bennet, a student at tems face strong political opposition. Plus, Stereotypes about women have qualms about women, too. from which women were then SUNY Canton, said she sees op- the proponents can’t guarantee that funot being strong enough to “I did have a family come in and being systematically excluded. portunity in a changing funeral ture generations would be better off. Shorlift coffins, or worries about say they did not want any female Men quickly came to dominate market in which more families ing up the current systems, by contrast, exposing pregnant workers to funeral directors running their the new death care industry, as are seeking cremation, alterna- would ensure that today’s workers get the embalming chemicals, make funeral,” Frederick said. “And did a false notion that women tive wakes and natural or non- benefits they’ve been promised. some male funeral home own- you can respect those wishes, were too squeamish or emotion- traditional burials.

That almost certainly means those of us ers reluctant to hire women. and that’s fine, and I understand al to handle death.

Women, she said, are great at who are still working will pay in one way “I feel like that’s a stagger- that’s how the older generation David Penepent, director of helping people deal with grief. or another. We could fix the problem viring issue that women face was. I’m not hurt by it, but those the funeral services program at “You can never understand how tually overnight by raising the Social Sein this industry,” said fu- stigmas are changing.”

SUNY Canton, said that while a person truly feels,” Bennett said. curity tax rate by 1.415 percent to 7.615 neral services student Anna Through the early Victorian some of those issues are fading, “But you can always let them percent and increasing the Medicare tax Deloriea, 20. “When you go era, caring for the dead was women face other barriers when know that you’re there and that if rate by 0.32 percent to 1.77 percent. (Emfor your residency, which is very much a women’s role in entering the profession, like they need someone to go through ployers would pay an equal amount, since a long-term internship for the U.S. low pay and impatient bosses it with them you’re there.” payroll taxes are split between workers and employers.)

More likely, tax increases would be phased in over time and combined with other changes, such as raising the full retirement age and lifting or eliminating the current FINANCES FROM B1 year from now.

Because the new law reduced tax rates, cap on how much of our earnings are taxed.

Western states, including some Rocky “Workers have the upper hand with some people may think they’ll see more (The current 6.2 percent Social Security Mountain states, will probably move well their employers, and that should remain cash at tax time, said Lisa Greene-Lewis, tax applies only to the first $128,700 of anabove $3 gallon, led by California, Hawaii, the case in the coming year,” he said. a CPA and tax expert at TurboTax. But for nual earnings in 2018, while the 1.45 perAlaska, Washington, Oregon and Nevada.

Glassdoor Chief Economist Andrew many, it already showed up during the year cent Medicare tax applies to all earnings.)

Gasoline demand should be relatively Chamberlain said that one of the drivers in the form of bigger paychecks. Thanks to You can experiment with possible solutions flat thanks to an aging population and for this tight job market ahead is an aging that and other changes in the law, they using the American Academy of Actuaries’ more efficient vehicles. workforce. For the first time in U.S. history, may not get the refund they are used to.

Social Security Game.

JOBS AND WAGES there will likely be more retirees in AmerAnother big change: the new law nearly Few of us are excited about paying more 2019 should be another banner year for ica than children under age 18 by 2035, doubles the standard deduction and limits taxes, but shoving the burden onto retired workers, says Mark Zandi, chief economist according to U.S. Census data. So as those a number of common itemized deductions people who’ve already paid their dues simat Moody’s Analytics. people leave their jobs, there will be a con- many people took in past years. TurboTax ply isn’t right. Making the system more Unemployment is low, and is likely to fall tinued struggle to find the right workers to estimates that nearly 90 percent of tax- fair could benefit all of us, now and in the further in the coming year, he said. There replace them. payers will now take the higher standard future. are a record number of job openings, TAXES (This column was provided to The Associated deduction, up from 70 percent last year. across nearly all industries. With such It will be the first year that taxpayers Generally speaking, the law reduced the Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. a tight job market, Zandi expects wage file returns under the sweeping new tax tax burden on the wealthiest Americans, Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified growth will continue to accelerate from laws pushed through by President Donald while making more modest tax reductions financial planner and the author of “Your Credit about 3 percent currently to 3.5 percent a Trump’s administration.

Score.”) for most others.

NerdWallet

Women make inroads in funeral industry

What 2019 may hold for your finances

Will stocks rise in 2019? Maybe, but it’ll be stressful

by Stan Choe AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—No matter which way the stock market goes in 2019—and Wall Street has ample arguments for either direction—expect it to be another gut-wrenching ride.

The market is facing a long list of challenges this upcoming year, from expectations for slower economic growth around the world to the restraining effect of rising interest rates. And the global trade war is still creating uncertainty as investors guess how much pain it will ultimately inflict.

All those risks have market strategists along Wall Street forecasting another turbulent year for stocks, and potentially one of the most difficult years for investors since the bull market began its record-setting run in 2009. That follows up on a 2018 where swings of hundreds of points within a single afternoon became fairly common for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

As 2018 showed, higher risk doesn’t always mean higher rewards. As of Friday, all major U.S. stock indexes are down more than 8 percent for the year. And many strategists are forecasting a subdued performance for stocks in 2019.

“Ironically...one would expect higher returns with higher risk, but for the past two years we’ve underscored a slightly more treacherous environment for investors: higher risk and lower returns,” Vanguard’s global chief economist Joe Davis said as he unveiled his forecasts.

He expects global stock markets to return 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent annually over the next 10 years, in dollar terms, versus the 12.6 percent they had provided annually since the market’s bottom following the 2008 financial crisis.

A quick glance at the titles of the 2019 outlook reports for various investment houses shows the increased caution. “The end of easy” was Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s title. “Navigating volatile markets” was UBS Asset Management’s, and “Lower expectations” was Barclays’.

All the cross-currents pushing and pulling markets have analysts along Wall Street recommending a contrasting array of strategies. Some suggest focusing on stocks from emerging markets, where proponents say particularly sharp drops in price have left them looking cheap. Others say high-quality bonds look like the safest bet given all the expected turbulence.

And some optimists are forecasting a big bounce-back year for U.S. stocks, which they say no longer look expensive relative to corporate earnings.

As investments of all types dropped this year, investor psychology underwent a reset. For most of the last decade, markets powered higher in a largely smooth and gradual way. That meant big rewards for investors who saw any dip as an opportunity to buy at lower prices.

The market recovered from every wobble to set records again and again, often quite quickly.

But this year has been different. The S&P 500 is down 9.6 percent and is on pace for its first down year in a decade

after including dividends. It also created a lot of heartburn getting there, with two separate drops of 10 percent over the course of the year.

“This is the brave new world for investors,” said Rich Weiss, chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies at American Century Investments. “It’s been nine years, 10 years, so it’s going to be a shock to some of the newer investors who were not around in 2008 or in prior market turns.”

Of course, no forecast is perfect. A year ago, Wall Street was broadly optimistic about stocks and was forecasting moderate gains, largely because economies around the world were growing in sync.

But the optimism fell apart as the year progressed and growth rates diverged, in part because of rising trade tensions.

Much will hinge on how resilient the U.S. economy remains in 2019. It has been accelerating since emerging from the Great Recession in 2009, and it got a big boost this past year from tax cuts, which helped corporate profits surge at their fastest rates in eight years. The current economic expansion will surpass the 1991-2001 stretch as the longest on record if the economy avoids a recession through July. In the economy’s favor are the still-strong job market and consumer confidence.

But concerns are rising that a recession may be possible in 2020 or even the latter parts of 2019. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates—it indicated two more increases may arrive in 2019 following four this year—and other central banks

are stepping off the accelerator on stimulus for their economies, which remove big supports. And if inflation spikes unexpectedly higher, it could push the Fed to get more aggressive about raising rates, which would further hinder growth.

The International Monetary Fund expects U.S. economic growth to slow to 2.5 percent next year from 2.9 percent in 2018. It’s also forecasting slower growth in the euro area, Japan and China.

Analysts are likewise forecasting a slowdown in U.S. corporate profit growth, though still positive. That’s key because stock prices tend to track with corporate earnings over the long term.

Wall Street expects S&P 500 earnings growth to drop by more than half from this year’s 20.3 percent rate, in part because companies will no longer be getting the boost of the first year of new tax rates, according to FactSet. But the expected 7.9 percent growth rate is still a good one this far into an economic expansion.

It’s this gain that has many strategists forecasting at least modest gains for stocks. Some strategists are forecasting the S&P 500 could end 2019 as high as 3,000, which would be a 24 percent leap from Friday’s close.

At UBS Asset Management, the expectation is that U.S. market could return about 4 percent as global economic growth continues. European stocks could also return about 6 percent, said Ryan Primmer, head of investment solutions. But such gains would come with that one big catch.

“With higher volatility,” he said, “it’s going to feel a lot worse.”

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Guest Commentary

America’s festering wounds of division unearthed, fueled

by Trump’s tacit tweets

by D. Kevin McNeir While the world looks from the sidelines in amazement, Americans have witnessed the free-falling impact of unbridled divisiveness, xenophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia and jingoism fueled, in part, by a supporting cast of diehard “haters of the other” and their eminent leader, Donald Trump, relentlessly issuing factually-flawed tweets, innocuous and often illogical statements to the press and the nation, a disconcerting diatribe of poorly-conceived policies and positions delivered on a global scale and most apparent, the determination to “Make America Great Again”—a not-so-secret code for rolling back the clock to a time when White (male) privilege served as the law of the land and mantra of the once-dominant society.

As the end of our president’s second year in office comes to a close, women in the #MeToo Movement have issued a collective “roar,” reasserting themselves in their demand to be treated as equal members of society, challenging the status quo with an unprecedented surge of captured opportunities as elected officials and unabashedly refusing to allow frequent occurrences of sexual abuse by men of wealth, power and prestige to go on unchecked—men like Bill Cosby who found themselves castigated by public opinion and brought to their knees in the nation’s courtrooms.

Meanwhile, the White House has suddenly become a disturbingly unfamiliar place—that once long-heralded address on Pennsylvania Avenue whose portals of entry have recently been replaced by unfamiliar revolving doors which welcome a staff more akin to temp agency workers—hired with great fanfare, soon confronted by an inevitable sea change—then shortly thereafter either fired due to their reluctance or refusal to toe the line or cajoled into a formal resignation, again accompanied by a swirling, ominous cloud of equally effusive pomp and circumstance—its postscript tantamount to a deluge of debasing commentary masterminded by one figure alone: #45.

But it hasn’t been all bad. Black America has stood on the brink of securing the governor’s mansion in Florida, Georgia and Maryland for the first time in either of the three states —including near wins by both Stacey Abrams in the Peach State and Andrew Gillum in the Sunshine State. In both cases they have promised, as was so effectively uttered by the “terminator,” “I’ll be back.” And there’s no doubt they will.

Unfortunately, Maryland’s Ben Jealous would find his first effort in politics to fall far short of his goal. But the political landscape before us begs the necessity of Generation X and Z, Xennials, millennials, even baby boomers to join the cavalcade of crusaders who have fought with great resolve in the trenches for justice and claim their own spaces, to exert their muscles and to raise their voices within the context of these “united states,” and with “justice for all.”

Yes, there have been moments worth celebrating. Blacks in the U.S. and abroad were treated to and greeted by a new source of empowerment and affirmation by a superhero named Black Panther featured in the same-titled, blockbuster film that aimed at unpacking the truth behind what it means to be Black in America, in Africa and in the world.

Its two-word salutation of sister and brotherhood, “Wakanda Forever,” has emerged as a beacon in the storm—a sorely-needed, welcome reminder of the sagacity of a sustained spirituality and the power, energy and lifeforce that the Black collective once wielded—Thebes, Timbuktu, Abyssinia and the Songhai Empire—and still bears, forever just within our grasp. That is, if, and when, we put an end to Black-on-Black crime and instead chose to lock arms, forging once-isolated communities and oft-ignored nations of color into one chain too strong to be broken—even at the points of its weakest links.

We have sung songs of lament for seasons whose numbers total far more than we can even recall. We have yielded our power, our brilliance and our resiliency in search of trinkets of silver and gold that the dominant race has led us to believe was the pathway to peace, joy and contentment. But that was not the message on which the ancestors stood—unconquerable souls like Medgar, Harriet, Martin, Frederick, Thurgood, Jackie, Arthur, Althea, Shirley and Sojourner—even fresh, new voices like those of Michelle and Barack.

There’s no reason to cry over the setbacks or newly-hoisted barriers and obstacles that Blacks have witnessed and faced in the past year. We are a people of survivors—our history proves it. And while it may look bleak from time to time, we cannot afford to stop. We have many miles to go before we sleep.

We can ill afford to take our eyes off the prize. And, if we need to rest, we must do so for only a brief respite. After all, we ain’t no ways tired—not yet.

“Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.”

(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)

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)

JANUARY 2-8, 2019 B3

Laughable 69-year-old Christmas song points out misogyny hypocrisy (BlackpressUSA)—Face the bitter truth. Recent upsurge aside, America has little respect for women.

The evidence is so conspicuous that it’s painful to document. Among other things, society allows prominent, affluent, White convicted rapists to walk away from the scene of their crimes with probation—without even being named sexual predators. The same judicial system throws women into jail who use violence to fend off sexual abuse.

The disdain for American women runs deep, but it starts at the top.

The nation made a statement when it elected a man who has two dozen unresolved cases of inappropriate sexual misconduct, who paid off a stripper and nude model to conceal adulterous affairs shortly after his wife gave birth to their only son, who proudly boasts that he grabs women sexually and continuously insults them with reckless abandon.

In that infamous rise from being a reality TV star to the Oval Office, this man brought no resume of public, community, civic or military service—only a checkered past challenging his integrity. His politics of racism, xenophobia and misogyny won, over a female candidate who previously served as Secretary of State and in the U.S. Senate.

That 2016 debacle alone would be enough to confirm women’s shameful relegation to second-class citizenship in the U.S. but there is more. So much more.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate summarily dismissed sexual assault allegations brought against a nominee for the Supreme Court by several credible females and confirmed the candidate on the recommendation of an 11-man judiciary committee.

The president beamed over his

Vernon A. Williams

Commentary

ing fruit rather than actually addressing a genuinely serious problem, the soft target choice will suffice as we soon see the entire discussion dissipate into that bottomless void commonly known as ‘yesterday’s news.’

Meanwhile, in Tennessee, 43-yearold former sex-slave Cyntoia Brown faces 51 years behind bars for a 2004 conviction in the shooting death of a Nashville man who solicited her for sex. After a troubled childhood, Ms. Brown was forced into sex.

Despite the circumstances of the tragedy, the woman—who happens to be Black—was tried as an adult. In a clemency hearing last May, the board was split on its recommendation to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who is weighing whether to show mercy and release Ms. Brown prior to his leaving office in a few weeks.

At the other end of the spectrum, White privilege reigns in the matter of sex in America.

A Texas judge accepted a plea bargain deal in the case of a former Baylor University fraternity president who was accused of raping a young woman at a party in 2016.

Instead of jail time, Jacob Anderson will get a three-year probation and fine on a lesser charge of unlawful restraint. Adding salt to the wound, the former Phi Delta Theta president won’t have to register as a sex offender.

Nothing needs to be added. If you don’t get the picture at this point, you’re just not trying and there is really nothing anyone can do to help.

In the U.S., it’s pimps and rapists UP and women DOWN. But don’t get comfortable. There is change in the air as 2019 nears. Real change.

successful nominee and subsequently apologized to the new justice for the inconvenience of having to defend his past behavior. Nobody blinked.

Yet, recently the media pretends that their concocted controversy over the song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” popularized in 1949, is a matter for critical discourse. In fact, the real conundrum, is media ignoring national sexual hypocrisy from the workplace to the White House.

The radio station that sent social media into a spin over the song has reconsidered its ridiculous ban but in the interim other stations have joined in the misguided protest of these rebels without a cause.

When the decision was made to snatch the song from the playlist, the rationale was that the lyrics implicated support for date-rape. It instantly became a “MeToo” thing.

Penned by “Guy and Dolls” writer Frank Loesser in 1944, the song’s lyrics, worst case scenario, could be seen as suggestive.

If people were serious about the threat to women, they would instead focus on innumerable rock and rap recordings that are far more graphic—and influential because of their popularity. If people were serious, R. Kelly and his mess would be center stage.

(This article originally appeared in the But because the issue is a matter of media opportunists seizing low-hang- Chicago Crusader.)

My Top 10 Stories of 2018 (TriceEdneyWire.com) – At the end of each year, people begin writing New Year’s resolutions that as they write them, they pretty much know they will not be keeping them! Yet, it’s a popular ritual. I know because I write the resolutions, too, with every intention of keeping them, but somehow, as the year goes by, I fall behind on keeping them.

Another ritual, we in our country tend to go through is “Top 10 Stories of the Year.” We don’t always agree to what those stories are. I’ve already read several lists of top stories for 2018. To make my point, I’ll use the Associated Press’ list of the top 10. On that list, not necessarily in order of importance, are: (1) Murder of Jamal Khashoggi, (2) Climate change, (3) California wildfires, (4) Kavanaugh hearings, (5) U.S. Immigration, (6) U.S. Midterm elections, (7) Mass shootings, (8) #MeToo movement, (9) Trump-Russia probe and (10) Parkland school shooting.

I agree all of the above are important stories; however, if you happen to be Black in America, you might say that all of those things concern you, and many were handled badly by the person who currently occupies the White House.

Just in case the AP’s list was in order of importance, we’d probably organize them in a different order, and have several more to add that would come pretty high on the list.

We would certainly place the

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary following as top stories of the year— some good, some bad, but worthy of our attention: (1) Voter suppression considering how votes were counted for Stacey Abrams in Georgia for Governor, Andrew Gillum in Florida for Governor, Mike Espy for Senate in Mississippi.

I’m also concerned about Beta O’Rourke’s campaign in Texas; (2) All of the women who won offices at all levels for the first time; (3) Colin Kaepernick’s continuing campaign for justice; (4) Michelle Obama’s book “Becoming” and its phenomenal sales--being named the bestselling hardcover book of the year, selling over 2 million copies in the first 15 days; (5) Democrats taking back the U.S. House of Representatives so they can block some of the craziness on the other side of the aisle; (6) Parkland School Shooting and the aftermath of the attention the students brought to gun control; (7) Proof that the current administration in charge of governing in Washington has lost all credibility

and nothing can save them; (8) Without completing it, the Mueller Investigation has shown us that #45 has nowhere to run.

Nowhere to hide. He doesn’t know when to hold them, when to fold them, when to throw down and when to walk away, but now is a good time; (9) President Barack Obama’s continuing to be a class act by bringing joy to so many—such as his recent visit to District of Columbia Children’s National Medical Center while bearing gifts; (10) The absolute unending, never before seen craziness, lying, dangerous, stupid, criminal behavior we continue to witness from the occupant in the White House—the one who promised to “clean up the swamp.”

Each day I wake up, I turn on the news to see what we’re facing for the coming day. Even staff members don’t know until they hear #45’s plans on the news! From tweets, we learn that we are in for another crazy, unpredictable day.

There were many good things that happened in 2018, but they were over shadowed by the antics of #45 who dominated the news week after week, not in a good way, but what is believed to be criminal behavior.

Many of us are left wondering when will this be over!

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is national president of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.)

Are we now all clear about climate change?

(NNPA)—In the last two months we have had two devastating hurricanes along with two devastating reports regarding climate change.

If anyone wants to further deny the reality of climate change they need to go into a corner along with those who continue to believe that the Earth is flat.

Let’s start with the hurricanes.

Florence and Michael have brought tremendous and near apocalyptic damage to the regions that they hit. Entire towns have been wiped out. Looking at pictures of the Florida panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael brought to mind pictures of areas that had been devastated by carpet bombing.

The warnings, in connection with both hurricanes, were very ominous. The strength of the hurricanes before they hit, with Florence initially off the charts and with Michael the strongest on record to hit the panhandle, should have led even the dimmest light in the room to glow brightly.

Something is definitely wrong.

Scientists explained this in the immediate aftermath of Michael: yes, they said, there is a direct connection between climate change and the increased intensity and unpredictability of hurricanes.

take from all of this is that the debate is finally over. There is clear and verifiable evidence of climate change underway and the direct relationship of human activity to this phenomenon. For those who raise the point that there has been climate change in the past and that this is natural, guess again. Yes, there has been climate change and it has taken place over hundreds There, it’s been stated. of years. There is no precedent for There were also two reports. The what we are currently experiencfirst was from the Trump admining. This is something new and it istration itself, and one, from is dangerous. And it is something what I can figure, they did not that may envelope humanity in our want the public to see. In essence current life-times, not to mention the report indicated that the the life-times of our children.

Administration expects the temIs this the end of the world? Not if perature of planet Earth to jump strong and direct methods are under6-7 degrees by the 22nd century. taken to change the way that we live, Ironically, they also conclude that the way that we work, and the things nothing can be done, therefore, that we produce. That means that there is no point in increased reg- capitalism, as we know it, has proven ulations on the greenhouse gases itself incapable of solving the planet’s that promote climate change! Did crisis. It is now up to us to construct I hear that right? an alternative.

The other report was from the Let’s get busy and make this a United Nations warning us that nacentral issue in all local, state and tions are not keeping to their agreed national elections. We must avoid targets from the Paris Climate disaster. I don’t know about you Accords and, as a result, the planet is but my daughter means too much hurtling towards a point of no return, to me to remain silent and inacwhich could arrive within the next tive.

(Bill Fletcher Jr. is the former president of 10-15 years.

TransAfrica Forum.)

The conclusion that we should

Bill Fletcher Jr.

Commentary

CLASSIFIED New Pittsburgh Courier

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JANUARY 2-8, 2019

www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Help Wanted

Meetings

Multi IT Related Positions w/ National Placement out of Allegheny County, PA. Ability to relocate to multi unanticipated sites as req’d.

Min of Bach’s degree w/5 yrs exp or in the alternate Mas’s w/1yr of IT related exp. All degrees must be in either Comps, Info Sys’s, Eng’g, Bus or T related field. A suit combo of educ, training or exp acceptable.

See below for req’d skills.

Software Developer (Java): Java, J2EE, SQL and XML. Ref# JAV– 0718 GLX. Software Developer (Mobile Apps): Objective C, Swift and iOS Mobile Application Design. Ref# MBL–0718 GLX. Software Developer (.NET): Either ASP.NET, VB.NET or .NET. Ref# NET–0718 GLX. Software Developer (SAP): SAP BASIS, HANA, CRM and PI as well as Solution Manager. Ref# SAP– 0718 GLX. All positions FT/perm 9-5, 40 hrs/ wk. Salary $99,944/yr. Use ref # & send resume to HR, Galax-Esystems Corporation, One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant Street, Suite 4300, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or hr@ galaxesystems.com. Galax-Esystems Corporation is EOE M/F/V/D

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

SUPERVISING INTERNAL AUDITOR

Port Authority is seeking a Supervising Internal Auditor to supervise the activities of Internal Audit within the framework of policies, objectives, and procedures established by the Director of Internal Audit and Chief Legal Officer.

Essential Functions: •Exercises general supervision of all subordinate auditors in order to promote productive and professional conduct.

•Determines that professional standards are met in the planning, execution, data accumulation and documentation stages of audit projects.

•Promotes reasonable adherence to established audit plans, budgets, and schedules or to assure adequate explanation for deviations.

•Plans and executes complex audit assignments, conducts portions of extensive audit assignments in accordance with recognized professional standards. Performs surveys of functions and activities in assigned areas and identifies key control points in the system under review. Determines the direction, and audit theory for audits, develops comprehensive audit programs and sampling plans and proposes staff and time requirements for performance of audit.

Job requirements include: •BA/BS degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or directly related field from an accredited school.

Minimum of five 5 years auditing experience.

•Minimum of two (2) years supervisory experience.

•Experience with planning and executing complex audit assignments, conducting portions of extensive audit assignments in accordance with recognized professional standards. Performing surveys of functions and activities in assigned areas and identifies key control points in the system under review.

Determining the direction, and audit theory for audits, develops comprehensive audit programs and sampling plans and proposes staff and time requirements for performance of audit.

•Experience directing, counseling and instructing subordinate auditors assigned to the audit and reviews their working papers for adequacy and accuracy, reviews and edits audit reports and finali es all reports.

•Must have the ability to travel to various Port Authority locations, out of town overnight travel and occasional evenings and weekends as needed to perform audits and potentially serve on Pennsylvania’s niform Certification Program (UCP) Appeals Committee as part of Port Authority’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program.

•Effective and professional communication skills.

Preferred attributes: Masters degree in a financial or business related field.

•Minimum eight (8) years Internal Auditing experience.

•Knowledge of Government Auditing Standards (GAS).

•CIA, CFE, CPA or other related professional certification program that would enhance the performance of their internal auditor duties.

•Experience using audit software.

•Experience with business process improvement (BPI).

Notice is hereby given that the 2019 annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Housing Authority will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 18, 2019 in the Authority’s Boardroom located on the 12th Floor, 625 Stanwix Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222.

The meeting will be preceded with a meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee at 9:15 a.m., followed by the Board’s review of the agenda for the annual meeting and other general matters at 9:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend these meetings.

NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETINGS Notice is hereby given of the regular monthly meetings of the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Housing Authority for calendar year 2019, all meetings to be held in the Authority’s Boardroom located on the 12th Floor, 625 Stanwix Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222. On the dates listed below, the Finance and Audit Committee will meet at 9:15 a.m., to be following by the Board’s review of the agenda and other general matters at 9:30 a.m.

The Board of Directors meeting will commence at 10:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend the committee meetings, agenda reviews and regular Board meetings.

February 15, 2019 March 15, 2019 April 18, 2019 May 17, 2019 June 21, 2019 July 19, 2019 September 20, 2019 October 18, 2019 November 15, 2019 December 20, 2019 Frank Aggazio Executive Director Allegheny County Housing Authority

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0 9 6

1 2 8

7 5 3 ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Public Notice

Public Notice

Public Notice

NOTICE CITY OF PITTSBURGH

Notice is hereby given that the following amendments are being made to the 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 budgets of the City of Pittsburgh’s Community Development Block Grant Program: ACTIVITY

SERVICE AREA

-$1,508.14

Public Service

NorthSide

$9,508.14

$1,508.14

Public Service

NorthSide

$1,500.00

$0.00

-$1,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

$2,612.99

$0.00

-$2,612.99

Public Service

NorthSide

2012

$2,000.00

$3,500.00

$1,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Sarah Heinz House

2012

$3,000.00

$2,612.99

$5,612.99

Public Service

NorthSide

Holy Wisdom Parish Food Bank

2013

$1,500.00

$0.00

-$1,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Preservation Pittsburgh/Allegheny City Historic Gallery

2013

$878.87

$0.00

-$878.87

Public Service

NorthSide

Northview Heights Tenant Council

2013

$1,000.00

$0.00

-$1,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Sarah Heinz House

2013

$2,000.00

$4,378.87

$2,378.87

Public Service

NorthSide

Allen Place Community Services

2013

$0.00

$1,000.00

$1,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Rox Performance Academy

2013

$0.00

$2,000.00

$2,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Public Notice

Northview Boroughs Sewickley MOW/Brighton Heights

2014

$1,500.00

$0.00

-$1,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Northview Boroughs Sewickley MOW/Tri Valley

2014

$2,000.00

$0.00

-$2,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Northside Leadership ConferenceAllegheny City Sanitary

2014

$3,000.00

$0.00

-$3,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

POISE Foundation-Aquaponics Northview Heights

2014

$5,000.00

$0.00

-$5,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

West Park Court

2014

$3,000.00

$0.00

-$3,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Allegheny County Housing Authority is proposing the following amendment to its 2018 Agency Plan (annual and 5-year plans), Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (“ACOP”), and Administrative Plan, that once approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will guide the ACHA in serving the needs of low-income and very low-income families during the 5-year period beginning October 1, 2018.

Under the Approved Annual PHA Plan – Form 50075-ST, Section B. Annual Plan Elements, b.2 New Activities, adding the language of proposed disposition of Allegheny County Housing Authority’s public housing developments at AMP 705 single family Scattered Sites, AMP 820 Twin Oaks Condominiums, Penn Hills Scattered Sites (part of AMP 702) and Mifflin Crossing (part of AMP 403), for the repositioning of the assets through Notice PIH 2018-04 (HA) – Demolition and/or disposition of public housing property, eligibility for tenant protection vouchers and associated requirements. The proposed disposition will allow the Allegheny County Housing Authority to evaluate and determine if disposing of the AMP to a related instrumentality or affiliate will provide economic viability to the AMP. By improving the economic conditions at the AMP, the Allegheny County Housing Authority will be able to continue its mission of providing decent, safe and quality affordable housing to its residents.

The proposed changes and all supporting documents are available for review and inspection by the public at the principal office of ACHA located at 625 Stanwix Street, 12th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222. A public hearing has been scheduled to present the changed 2018 Agency Plan, as well as the proposed changes to the 2018 ACOP and Administrative Plan, and to allow public participation:= DATE and TIME: F r i d a y, February 15, 2019, 10:15 a.m.

LOCATION: Allegheny County Housing Authority – Central Office 5 tanwi treet, 1 th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Prior to the public hearings, general public comments can be directed in writing to: Frank Aggazio Executive Director Allegheny County Housing Authority 5 tanwi treet, 1 th loor Pittsburgh, PA 15222 LEGAL ADVERTISING

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

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Estate of JAMES RICHARD BRUNETTI, Deceased of Pittsburgh, PA 15214. No. 021807305. Thomas Mylan Executor or to Louis C. Coles, Esquire, 41 Stratford Court, Carnegie, PA 15106.

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS

PROJECT

YEAR

ORIGINAL AMOUNT

NEW AMOUNT

Preservation Pittsburgh/Allegheny City Historic Gallery

2010

$1,508.14

$0.00

Sarah Heinz House

2010

$8,000.00

Holy Wisdom Parish Food Bank

2012

Preservation Pittsburgh/Allegheny City Historic Gallery

2012

Allen Place Community Services

CHANGE +/-

Sarah Heinz House

2014

$0.00

$3,500.00

$3,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Allegheny City Society

2014

$0.00

$3,000.00

$3,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Rox Performance Academy

2014

$0.00

$3,000.00

$3,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Artist Image Resources

2014

$0.00

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Northview Boroughs Sewickley MOW/Brighton Heights

2015

$2,500.00

$0.00

-$2,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Northview Boroughs Sewickley MOW/Tri Valley

2015

$2,500.00

$0.00

-$2,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Bridge Committee

2015

$0.00

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Northside Senior Center

2017

$2,500.00

$0.00

-$2,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Northside Senior Programming

2017

$6,000.00

$3,500.00

-$2,500.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Allegheny Mountain USA Boxing

2017

$0.00

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Public Service

NorthSide

Citizens Participation

2018

$180,000.00

$140,000.00

-$40,000.00

Administration

Citywide

CDBG Administration

2018

$55,000.00

$95,000.00

$40,000.00

Administration

Citywide

The City of Pittsburgh is requesting comments on its proposed use of Community Development Block Grant funds and on the City’s past CDBG performance. Comments may be sent to: David Hutchinson Assistant Director for Community Development Department of City Planning 200 Ross Street, 2nd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 It is requested that comments be sent in no later than Monday, February 4, 2019.

LEGAL ADVERTISING

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Bids/Proposals

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION BUSINESS CORPORATION

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Witherel & Associates Attoney(s), 966 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15237.

Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for a business corporation which has been incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988. The name of the corporation is Ancillary Medical Services, Inc.

NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

Witherel & Associates Attoney(s), 966 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15237.

Notice is hereby given that a Certificate of Organization was filed with the Department of State of the Comonwealth of Pennsylvania, for a limited liability company whidh has been formed under the provisions of 15 Pa. C.S. Section 8913. The name of the limited liability company is 956 Perry Highway, LLC.

To place a display ad in the New Pittsburgh Courier call 412-481-8302 ext. 128 or 129

Call for Technical Assistance Providers for Love My Neighbor!

Small Grants Program Neighborhood Allies is issuing a Request for Proposals from organizations or consultants to provide technical assistance and training to people applying for a Love My Neighbor! Love My Neighbor!, is a grant program by Neighborhood Allies that invests in resident-led projects that aim to improve neighborhoods and engage neighbors.

Complete copies of the proposal requirements can be obtained by contacting: Stephanie Chernay, Chief Operating Officer, Neighborhood Allies, (412) 471.3727 (ext.

211), stephanie@neighborhoodallies.org or visiting the following website: http://neighborhoodallies. com/resources/rfp/ Neighborhood Allies reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to waive any informalities. One original and one copy of the proposal must be received by 5 p.m. on January 25th, 2019. They can be hand delivered or mailed to the following address: Stephanie Chernay, 429 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1900, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Neighborhood Allies procurement process for this RFP follows the City of Pittsburgh’s open and fair regulations for procurement.

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

Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 140 E-mail: ads@newpittsburghcourier.com

Deadline/Closing/ Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication

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LEGAL NOTICE OPENING OF WAITING LISTS

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Effective at the start of the business day Tuesday, January 22, 2019, the Allegheny County Housing Authority will be opening the Waiting List for the following Low Income Public Housing Sites: •Carnegie Apartments (1 Bedrooms) 514 Lydia Drive, Carnegie, PA 15106 •Caldwell Station (2 Bedrooms ) 314 Commerce Street, Wilmerding, PA 15148 •Groveton Village (2, 3 & 4 Bedrooms ) 511 Groveton Drive, Coraopolis, PA 15108 •Hawkins Village (1 Bedrooms) 500 Kenmawr Avenue, Rankin, PA 15104 •Homestead B (1 Bedrooms) 481 East Eighth Avenue, Homestead, PA 15120 •Pleasant Ridge Apartments (1, 2 Bedrooms) 251 Jefferson Drive, Mckees Rocks, PA 15136 •Scattered Sites ( 2, 3, 4 Bedrooms) 511 Groveton Drive, Coraopolis, PA 15108 West Mifflin 1 Bedrooms 2400 Sharp Avenue, West Mifflin, PA 15122 (waiting list open during modernization) •Wilmerding Apartments (1 Bedrooms) 314 Commerce Street, Wilmerding, PA 15148 (waiting list open during modernization) ALL APPLICANTS INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR ALL LOW INCOME PUBLIC HOUSING SITES MAY APPLY AT: achsng. com (WebApp), at the Allegheny County Housing Authority’s Central Office (Address Listed Below), or at the individual development’s management offices.

CLOSING OF WAITING LISTS Effective Monday, January 21, 2019, the Allegheny County Housing Authority will be closing the Waiting List for the following Low Income Public Housing Sites: •Mapleview Terrace (2, 3 Bedrooms) 1014 Mapleview Drive, Braddock, PA 15104 •Prospect Terrace (1 & 2 Bedrooms) 29 Prospect Drive, East Pittsburgh, PA 15112 •Uansa Village (1, 2 Bedrooms) Helen and Robb Street, Mckees Rocks, PA 15136 No applications for these waiting lists will be accepted after the closing date. Notice will be given in this publication when the Authority determines to re-open the Waiting Lists for these sites.

Electronic Proposals will be received online at the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority. org).

Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 AM on January 23, 2019 and will be read at 11:15 AM., the same day, at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527), for the following: Electronic Proposal Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org) B181172 Overhead Catenary Line Truck B181175A HVAC On Call Services B181276 4G Replacement Modems 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 on each of the above items at 10:00am January 9, 2019 at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, PA). 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 five (5) business days of the scheduled bid 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 Equal 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 delivered unless otherwise specified. Costs for delivery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidder’s proposal pricing.

Port Authority of Allegheny County 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.

Frank Aggazio Executive Director Allegheny County Housing Authority 625 Stanwix St., 12th Fl., Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Board Approved: 12-21-18

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ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA December 21, 2018

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, January 17, 2019. 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 LITTLE DEER CREEK BRIDGE NO. 5 ALLEGHENY COUNTY COUNTY PROJECT NO. DL05-0210 MPMS NO.: 79898 THIS PROJECT WILL BE BID THROUGH PENNDOT ECMS As a prospective bidder, please note the following general Project data regarding: PreBid 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 (http://www.dot14.state.pa.us/ ECMS or in Room 504, County Office Building, 542 orbes 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 408/2016, 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 April 22, 2019 and the project is to be completed by September 25, 2019.

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 11 25 tili ation 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.

Chelsa Wagner CONTROLLER COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY Department of Facilities Management Pittsburgh, PA December 17, 2018

The Office of the Director of the Department of Facilities Management of Allegheny County will receive Letters of Interest with current SF 330s for Professional Services until 4:00 p.m. on January 18, 2019 for the following assignment: COUNTY PROJECT NO. 2019-OPEN OPEN END ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES The Allegheny County Department of Facilities Management is seeking Architectural Services on an “As Needed” basis to supplement the efforts of its’ Architectural Personnel. The consultant must staff all projects with skilled and experienced personnel who are facile in the building type and are competent for the assigned specific tasks. f your firm is interested in providing the afore-mentioned services, please submit six (6) copies of your Letter of Interest and current SF 330 to: James P. Reardon, Director Allegheny County Department of Facilities Management Room 107, County Office Building Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Place six (6) copies of your Letter of Interest with required SF 330 forms in a sealed, opaque envelope with your firm’s name and the words “Letters of Interest for the Open End Architectural Services, Project No. 2019-OPEN” on the front.

If you mail the Letter of Interest, please insert the sealed, opaque envelope containing the Letter of Interest and SF 330 form inside a separate mailing envelope.

The Director will not consider any Letter of Interest received after the set day and hour and will return it to the addressee unopened. The firm is responsible for ensuring that the Director receives the Letter of Interest by the set day and hour.

The County will use only SF 330s of firms responding with Letters of nterest to pre-qualify firms for consideration for these services.

The County encourages responses from small firms, Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE), Veteran Owned Business OB and firms that have not previously worked for the County.

The County will preselect or shortlist firms for consideration for the Project assignments on the following evaluation criteria: Experience, Record, Size, Workload, and Previous Related Work to the Building Type. The County’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) goals for this Project will be 13% of the total architectural fees for MBE participation and 2% of the total architectural fees for WBE participation. Certification of MBEs and WBEs by the County is mandatory on or before the due date. Firms submitting a Letter of Interest must have their MBE/WBE participants in place and noted in their Letter and/or SF330 form to be considered for this project.

The Director may reject any Letters of Interest and may waive any irregularity in the Submission of Letters of Interest. For further information contact Richard Oziemblowsky, Architect at 412-350-0081.

James P. Reardon, Director County of Allegheny Allegheny County Department of Facilities Management

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 February 1, 2019 and will be publicly opened and read immediately thereafter at the same address. 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. 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.

CCTV Camera Project CONTRACT NO. SYS-19-01 The Work of this Project includes, but is not limited to, the furnishing of all equipment, materials, labor and incidental items required to: - Install new CCTV cameras at approximately 33 locations, primarily consisting of high LRT platforms and PAAC garage and fleet support facilities.

- Install new CCTV head-end recording, interfacing and monitoring equipment at Pitt Tower.

- nstall a new backbone fiber optic cable between East Liberty arage and East Liberty Station via existing poles located along the East Busway.

- Install a new communications hut at East Liberty Station and associated raceways.

- Install a new Public Address (PA) system at Manchester Garage.

Bid Documents will be available for public inspection and may be obtained on or after at Authority’s offices at the following address 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 Diverse 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 (412) 566-5117 cdenner@portauthority.org 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 E-mail: 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.

Pre-Bid Conference January 15, 2019 Port Authority of Allegheny County Heinz 57 Center 5th Floor – Neal Holmes Conference Room 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 (Attendance is not mandatory but strongly recommended) Pre-Bid Site Tour immediately following Pre-Bid Conference Participants shall wear a safety vest and appropriate footwear TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED 1:30 p.m.

Bids Due February 1, 2019 Purchasing and Materials Management Department Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids

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FORUM

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

Living in America while being Black under Trump regime (NNPA)—In 2018, many Black people in America believe that it is not important or relevant to consider them Black. They see their race as human, and they have no faith in the Black or African American culture and race.

There is only one race, and that is the human race, and it is time to let go of the race card and stop thinking Black.

Many genetic experts and people around the globe believe there is no scientific basis for race, and it’s a made-up label.

“In the wake of fresh deaths at the hands of police officers in the world’s greatest nation, we the people of the Black race are once again the object of renewed worldwide attention. Questions of injustices in the United States have been duly raised and protested. And, once again, the Black cultural elites in

Roger Caldwell

Commentary America are talking about racism, discrimination, racial profiling, and hate, among other issues,” says Chigozie Obioma.

It is absurd and ridiculous to think in 2018, under the Trump administration, that race does not exist, and America is a colorless society. When our racist-in-chief makes it no secret that he is a neo-Nazis sympathizer, it is time for Black Americans to open up their eyes, unify, and work together.

It is no accident that Trump is driven by an irrational hatred of everything Obama, and there are very few African Americans in his administration. On the other hand, President Trump calls neo-Nazis good people as they carry torches and shouting about racist purity.

“Far too many people are surprised by Trump’s racism, which is as ignorant as it is blatant. Donald Trump knows a thing or two about ‘shitholes’—the label he apparently bestowed on El Salvador, Haiti, and various African nations during an Oval Office meeting about immigration,” says Richard Wolffe of the Guardian.

Black Americans in 2018 and beyond must reclaim their unity and restore the dignity of the Black race in America and around the globe. Racism is not limited to the United States, and today we hear how China, India and other nations are taking over Africa economically. The fate and survival of Black people in America is inextricably linked to Black people in Africa, the Caribbeans and around the world.

“Great men like Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Malcolm X all knew that a people are only respected when it has a nation worthy of respect. They knew that for us to reclaim power we must first reclaim dignity, and that comes through the construction of a solid Black state with a demonstrable level of development and prosperity – and which can stand as a powerful advocate for the global Black,” states Obioma.

It is time for Blacks in America to operate with respect, and work with a formative and functional Black Agenda. It is time to speak with one voice and in our community focus on: 1. Education 2. Jobs and employment 3. Criminal justice 4. Health 5. Economics 6. Politics and voting 7. Housing and environment, and 8. Family The buying power of the African American community is $1.1 trillion, but it only circulates 6 hours in our community, and the Asians keep a dollar in their community 120 times longer than African Americans. The Jewish keep the dollar in their community for 20 days, and the dollar in the White community circulates 17 days.

In 2019, the challenge for Blacks in America is to work together with a Black united front and depend on each other based on a Black Agenda. We can no longer think our government under Trump is working to save the Black Race, we must save our self.

Our dignity and respect must begin as Black people in our families, and then our community, our country, and then the world. The great W.E.B. DuBois says, “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line,” and nothing has changed in the 21st century.

Was Isis ever defeated?

The book of Proverbs They won a war. It’s a victostates: By wise guidance J. Pharaoh Doss ry worth celebrating. you can wage your war, and No, it’s not, because they in abundance of counselors didn’t win a war. there is victory.

Let’s re-examine the first Great. three bullet points.

But the book of Proverbs The first bullet point states has no pithy words about the terror group was “miliwhen to withdraw from tarily” defeated. I can only war. Maybe that’s why assume that means Isis withdrawal is such a confighters are dead, but body troversial subject. counts alone win battles not Recently, President Donald Trump announced necessarily wars. Defenders of U.S. intervention the United States will withdraw its estimated in Vietnam always claim America had no military 2,000 troops from Syria because Isis has been de- defeats in Vietnam, but admit America lost the feated. Critics of the president, like Secretary of war politically. The second bullet point said the Defense Gen. Mattis who resigned over the pull- territories that Isis captured to establish their poout, disagreed, but President Trump is not alone litical goal—The Caliphate (a sovereign Islamic in his assertion about the defeat of Isis. state) was regained by the Iraqis and the Syrians In November 2017 Business Insider ran this with U.S. assistance. headline: “Isis has been militarily defeated in Here’s where it gets confusing.

Iraq and Syria.” They listed three bullet points.

The first two bullet points sound like Isis was 1). The leaders of Iraq and Iran both declared defeated militarily and politically for good, the terrorist group Isis defeated militarily in and this may be the sole reason why President Iraq and Syria.

Trump claimed Isis was defeated. But just like 2). Iraqis and Syrians, with assistance from the Vietnam was a battle in the larger cold war, the U.S. and other regional militias, took their coun- loss of—The Caliphate—was only a battle in a tries back from the terror group that declared its larger plan of conquest for Isis. own sovereign territory in the summer of 2014.

The third bullet point warned Isis still had ter3). Isis still has territory in countries around ritories around the world. I titled this column: the world, but has been brutally disrupted by a Was Isis ever defeated? But the real question is, U.S.-backed bombing campaign. will the ideology behind Isis ever be abandoned?

In December 2017 National Review asked: Because it can’t be militarily defeated.

(J. Pharaoh Doss is a contributor to the New Pittsburgh Why was the news of Isis’ defeat greeted, in large part, with silence? They listed three ex- Courier.) planations.

1). Trump’s the first president who seems determined to distract the public from good news by creating his own bad news.

2). The public is weary of “mission accomplished” moments.

3). The public has less appetite for the positive—panic and fear make for a better story than victory and peace.

The National Review issued its own order to the public: It’s time for a change. Americans died in the fight against Isis. They restored American military victory in Iraq, persevering the gains of men and women who fought there years before. In the process, they defeated one of the most vicious and evil enemies our nation has ever faced. They helped retake cities and liberated the oppressed.

Check It Out

2018 Year In Review: The Cosby Trial

by Stacy M. Brown

(NNPA)—If it wasn’t the most read story of the year, the trial of comedian and former “America’s Dad,” Bill Cosby—along with his conviction, sentencing and appeal—likely proved the most written about.

With its coverage of the Cosby case’s unbelievably biased and mischaracterized reporting, mainstream media outlets provided clear examples of the combustible President Donald Trump’s catch phrase: “Fake News.”

When speaking with African Americans in position to potentially influence public perceptions, the Black Press found they too were misled because of heavy reliance on the coverage of mainstream.

Most Americans believe that Cosby’s civil deposition was his admission of plying women with unwanted Quaaludes and then sexually assaulting them. However, most Americans were not in the courtroom from jury selection to verdict—in both trials. And relatively few heard every bit of testimony or read Cosby’s earlier civil deposition.

When viewed in its entirety, the 87-page civil disposition document is rich with consistent denials of wrongdoing by Cosby and explanations of events that were never reported by mass media, including that he and Andrea Constand had engaged in an ongoing consensual relationship, one which Cosby desperately hid from his wife of more than a half-century.

When asked in the deposition, by Constand’s lawyer, Delores Troiani, about Quaaludes and why he received a prescription for them in the 1970s, Cosby answered: “What was happening at that time was that that was—Quaaludes—happen to be the drug that kids, young people were using to party with and there were times when I wanted to have them just in case.”

Jimmy “JJ” Walker, the former “Good Times” star who co-starred with Cosby and screen legend Sidney Poitier on the film, “Let’s Do it Again,” said “everyone was using Quaaludes in the 1970s.

Women wanted them, and men wanted them.”

Troiani next asked, “Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?” Cosby answered, “No.” With headlines and newscasts leading stories with “Cosby Admits to Drugging Women,” and “Cosby Admits he Plied women with Quaaludes for Sex,” the general public continues to inaccurately believe that the fallen star admitted to secretly and repeatedly “slipping a mickey” to women in order to engage in sex with them.

However, the deposition reveals that women he offered Quaaludes to, knew what they were taking and readily accepted the drug. One woman who testified against Cosby at trial said she’d even taken a Quaalude prior to going to Cosby’s house because she, “wanted to get in the mood.”

Constand, the only Cosby accuser whose accusations have led to criminal trial, was actually never offered Quaaludes, yet testimony to the contrary was inexplicably admitted by the judge and exploited by the district attorney.

Further, and perhaps more troubling, is what’s in the deposition but was not reported by mainstream media, are the details of the night in question between Cosby and Constand.

Cosby explains to Costand attorney Troiani, that on the night in question, he and Constand engaged in consensual foreplay. They spoke of her anxiety and trouble sleeping and he offered her Benadryl to help her to relax, not Quaaludes. Afterwards, according to Cosby’s own words in the deposition, they proceeded to “have a necking session.”

They kissed passionately, she “got on top of me, and we necked,” he said—none of which was found in the heavily redacted version that Troiani and District Attorney Kevin Steele have

spoken about and that the mainstream media reported. It was also redacted at trial and never heard by the jury.

Cosby told Troiani that Constand removed her hand from his penis and used her hand to shove Cosby’s hand further down her pants. “She was moaning,” Cosby said. “She did not stop me, and I want to go,” he said.

Following the encounter, Cosby prepared a blueberry muffin for Constand and her favorite red zinger tea which she bit a piece of the muffin and sipped the tea. “I feel a glow. I feel that Andrea has a glow about our sexual moment. She is now facing me and facing the living room,” Cosby said.

“I walk her out. She does not look angry. She does not say to me, don’t ever do that again. She doesn’t walk out with an attitude of a huff …

And, she went out the door and went to the car.

I said to Andrea, call me when you get home.”

Contrary to what’s been reported and what Constand testified at trial, she never went to sleep and was never unconscious. Further, Cosby discussed the various times he and Constand, without the use of a Benadryl tablet, had engaged in kissing and petting.

In describing the relationship, Cosby told Constand’s attorney how her client wanted “to do something about her—I say behind—but she says, butt. She wanted to tighten up her butt and have a great butt…we were able to talk about exercises and things like that.”

When asked whether he thought Constand had “grandfatherly feelings” toward him, Cosby said no.

When Troiani asked why not, Cosby responded: “She didn’t ask for a quarter or to sit on my lap. I have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t grab your grandfather’s penis and massage it.”

Bob Law of the National Black Leadership Alliance appealed to African Americans not to be hood-winked by Cosby’s conviction.

“Before you rush to judgment on Bill Cosby be aware of the American Standard of Justice that is rooted in White supremacy and White privilege. The news accounts that he confessed were fake. Actually, according to spectators in the court room, there were so many contradictions, suppressed testimony as well as breach of process in jury selection, including the prohibited opening of a sealed deposition; that in reality there was no trial,” Law said in a letter signed and endorsed by the alliance and other civil rights activists.

“Bill Cosby was tried and convicted without any actual evidence that his ‘crimes’ had ever been committed, no police reports, no medical records, no collaborating witnesses, just the accusations of White women recalling events that occurred 30 years in the past. And that is in opposition to the legal principle that the accuser cannot bring the action and also be the witness without any collaborating evidence,” Law said.

Since the conviction and subsequent sentencing in September, Cosby’s wife Camille has written two op-eds for BlackPressUSA.com, one calling on African Americans to get to vote in the midterm election and the other about racism, hate groups and voting rights.

In each, she condemned her husband’s prosecutors and the judge.

“Our ancestors fought for the right to [vote].

They were jailed, were beaten, were killed for fighting for our right to vote. Yet, too often, we do not exercise that most important right. We overlook the mid-term elections because we forget how greatly they can impact our lives,” Camille Cosby said.

“But, as I learned from [Montgomery County District Attorney] Kevin Steele’s election in 2015, a corrupt politician at any level is a danger to the American people, and even more so when that politician has promised to act in service of his own toxic ambitions and racial hatred,” she said.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Jesse Jackson Sr.

Commentary

Trump’s border wall demand is dressed up with more lies (TriceEdneyWire.com)—“Yes, if we don’t get what we want, one way or the other…I will shut down the government,” said President Trump to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, referring to his demand for $5 billion to build his border wall.

If Trump insists, a good portion of the government will be shut down on Friday over his wall.

Trump festooned his demand with his customary lies, claiming that much of the wall has already been built (it hasn’t), that immigrants are spreading disease (they aren’t), that border agents recently detained “10 terrorists in a short period of time” (they didn’t). In reality, illegal immigration has been declining, not rising.

This isn’t a crisis; it’s a political ploy designed to fan fear and division. The Bible teaches us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” We will be judged by how we treat the least of these. In Luke, chapter 10, Jesus tells the story of the stranger on the Jericho Road, who was robbed, stripped and beaten by a band of thieves. He is ignored by a priest and a religious official. He is saved by a Samaritan—a people who were widely despised at the time—who binds his wounds, takes him to an inn and pays his fare.

“Go and do likewise,” Jesus instructs. In contrast, Trump slanders the strangers. His administration has ripped babies from their parents, shackled pregnant women, locked up thousands indefinitely. He has constricted legal immigration, even as employers seek new workers as the baby boomers age and retire. And now he threatens to shut down a good part of our own government unless he can waste billions on the wall that Mexico won’t pay for.

In the midterm elections, Trump, worried about mobilizing his base, descended into hysteria, threatening to revoke the citizenship of those born here—a direct violation of the Constitution—rousing fears about a supposed invading army of migrants, eventually dispatching 7,000 troops to the border, an insult to our military and to our border patrols.

He succeeded in raising the importance of the issue, but he lost the argument. Democrats swept to a majority in the House. Polls showed most Americans still believe that immigrants benefit this nation, as opposed to costing it. The percentage of Americans supporting lower levels of immigration has fallen from a high of nearly two thirds in the mid-1990s to an all-time low of less than 30 percent in June.

Representative Pramila Jayapal, who immigrated from India at 16 and is the first Indian-American woman elected to the House of Representatives and one of 12 naturalized citizens, notes that a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill exists—one that once got 68 votes in the U.S. Senate. It paid for more border security, while providing a clear road map to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented, including the Dreamers, and fixed many of the problems of our system: outdated family visa caps, cruel immigration backlogs, and a failure to address pressing needs of employers. Trump, however, doesn’t seek a solution; he seeks the preservation of an issue—one that he believes can help him divide and conquer. What’s needed instead, as Rep. Jayapal wrote, is a moral imagination about immigration.

This is not about “open borders,” as Trump slanders Democrats. It is about creating a humane, sensible, smart system to deal with legal immigration, cut down on illegal entry and address those desperately seeking asylum. We would also be wise to seek to assist rather than destabilize our neighbors so that their economies thrive. People don’t want to leave their homes. Only desperation for their families leads them to venture into the unknown.

As we head into this holiday season, it is a good time for each of us to look into our hearts, to see our neighbors without blinders. They aren’t seeking to invade America.

They aren’t longing to leave their families, their homes, their communities. They are struggling to survive. They are strangers on the Jericho Road. We should meet them with an open heart, not a closed mind.

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

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75 of 109 Black lives lost in 2019...Two December victims; one was Black HOMICIDES FROM A1

December’s victims were: DEC. 10—Thomas Garner, a 48-year-old White male, died at a local hospital after being stabbed multiple times in his home on McKinney Drive in Moon Township. When officers responded to his 911 call, he told them he had fired his gun at his attacker. About 20 minutes later, Allegheny County police arrested Timothy Pauley, 34, also of Moon, outside the CVS in Carnegie. Pauley claimed he’d been shot in the arm during a robbery, but Lt. Andrew Schurman with the county police said he was shot by Garner. Pauley was placed in the county jail after his release from the hospital.

DEC. 23—Shanon Williams, a 23-year-old Black male from McKeesport, was found with multiple gunshot wounds by Pittsburgh police and paramedics responding to a ShotSpotter alert at North Lang Avenue and Felicia Way in Homewood. He died at the scene. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information may call city homicide detectives anonymously at 412-323-7161.

November Homicides (8) NOV. 1—Daniel Johnson, a 33-year-old Black male, was fatally shot by a homeowner in Mt. Oliver during an attempted armed burglary.

Police said Johnson, armed with a rifle, climbed to a back porch to gain entry through a window. The homeowner heard breaking glass, grabbed his gun, encountered Johnson and shot him. He then called 911. The homeowner has not been charged.

NOV. 3—James Loughlin, a 23-year-old White male, was fatally shot in the parking lot of the Uni Mart in the 700 block of Brownsville Road in Knoxville. According to Pittsburgh police, Loughlin was standing next to a vehicle when his assailant came from the side of the building and shot him. On Nov. 16, homicide detectives arrested Tarue Davis, an 18-yearold Black male from Mt. Oliver and charged him with homicide. He is now in the Allegheny County Jail.

NOV. 6—Calvin Anderson, a 21-year-old Black male, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in a car along Alcoma Drive in Penn Hills. Police have not yet identified a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tip Line at 1-833-255-8477.

NOV. 12—Brian Kelly Dalton, a 26-year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times lying in a drainage ditch along Beechford Road near Blackadore Street in Penn Hills. A car was seen fleeing the scene toward Blackadore Street, but police said there is no description. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tip Line at 1-833-255-8477.

NOV. 17—Miranda Grimm-Gilarski, a 19-year-old White female, was found dead at the scene by police in a Munhall home. She had been shot 17 times. Darion Abel, a 20 year-old Black male and the victim’s ex-boyfriend, walked into the police station shortly afterwards and confessed to the murder. Police said he was angry about appearing in court due to a PFA the victim filed. He is now in the county jail.

NOV. 27—Michael Lahoff, a 66-year-old White male, died from injuries he sustained when he was shot and paralyzed during a robbery in the Smithfield-Liberty parking garage in 2003. Marty Allen Armstrong confessed to the shooting and was sentenced to a maximum 30 years for attempted homicide. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has now filed homicide charges against Armstrong and his accomplice, Lamont Fulton. Fulton turned himself in Nov. 29.

NOV. 27—Chammire Smith, a 15-year-old Black male, died from injuries he sustained when Taymar Smith, not related, also 15, shot him in the head at a home on Cliff Street, Nov. 18.

Taymar Smith told police it was an accident, that he was “messing around” with a .22-caliber rifle and when he pointed it at Chammire, it went off. He is currently in the county jail and has been charged as an adult.

NOV. 30—John Benedek, a 41-year-old White male, was shot multiple times in the parking lot of J&M Automotive in the 2600 block of Fifth Avenue in McKeesport, which he coowned, after an argument with a customer over work done on a car. That customer, Eben Brown, a 46-year-old Black male, turned himself in at the McKeesport police station shortly thereafter and said he shot Benedek.

He is now in the Allegheny County Jail.

October Homicides (13) OCT. 1—Andrew Jefferson, a 26-year-old Black male, was found dead in the 1800 block of Forte Alley in McKeesport by officers responding to a shots-fired call. Allegheny County Homicide Lt. Andrew Schurman said he had been shot in the head four times. No suspect has yet been identified. Anyone with information is asked to call the county tipline at 833255-8477.

OCT. 3—Eric Turner, a 40-yearold Black male, was killed in the 500 block of Mullberry Alley in Clairton when a man he’d already shot twice took the gun from him and shot him in the head. Allegheny County Homicide Lt. Andrew Schurman said Turner and a 42-year-old male were in a heated

argument when Turner pulled a pistol and shot the other man in the arm and leg. A fight ensued during which Turner was shot. Schurman said witnesses corroborated the surviving victim’s account. The district attorney will determine if charges will be filed.

OCT. 13—Abdulganiyu Sanusi, a 56-year-old Black male, was fatally shot while delivering pizzas for Domino’s on North St. Clair Street in East Liberty. Pittsburgh police Spokesman Chris Togneri said a witness hear someone shout, “Give me your money” twice, then a gunshot. D’Ambrosse Garland, 18, and Timothy Walls, 17, were arrested five days later and have been charged with homicide. Both are in the Allegheny County Jail.

OCT. 27—Joyce Fienberg, a 75-year-old White female; Richard Gottfried, a 65-year-old White Male; Rose Mallinger, a 97-year-old White female; Jerry Rabinowitz, a 66-yearold White male; Cecil Rosenthal, a 59-year-old White male; David Rosenthal, a 54-year-old White male; Bernice Simon, an 84-year-old White female; Sylvan Simon, an 86-year-old White male; Daniel Stein, a 71-yearold White male; Melvin Wax, an 87-year-old White male, and Irving Younger, a 69-year-old White male, were all shot and killed at the Tree of Life synagogue on Wilkins Avenue in Squirrel Hill during an ethnically-motivated killing spree allegedly carried out by 46-year-old Robert Bowers. He faces the death penalty on 35 state charges including homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. He also faces the death penalty for some of the 29 federal charges he also faces related to the massacre. For reason they declined to disclose, federal authorities have moved Bowers to the Butler County prison where he will await trial.

September Homicides (6) SEPT. 3—Brashaun Green, a 21-year-old Black male from McKeesport, was found by police in a hallway at the Mifflin Estates housing complex in West Mifflin with multiple gunshot wounds. Allegheny County detectives are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

SEPT. 4—John Faulk, a 45-yearold Black male, was fatally shot multiple times outside Lady Di’s bar in East Hills. One of the bullets went into the bar and struck a woman in the leg.

She is recovering. Pittsburgh police arrested 37-year-old Timothy Noel Jr. at his Wilkinsburg home, Sept. 7. He is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial on homicide and gun-related charges.

SEPT. 10—Khalil Andrew Logan, an 18-year-old Black male, was found

by Wilkinsburg police fatally shot in an abandoned building at 1679 Laketon Road. Patrol officers had seen an individual leaving the building just before the department received a 911 call about shots fired at that location.

Penn Hills officers detained 18-yearold Deshere Davenport of Hazelwood not far from the scene. According to Allegheny County police, Davenport claimed he thought Logan was going to shoot him, so he shot first. He is now in the county jail awaiting trial on homicide and gun-related charges.

SEPT. 17—Loxley Johns, a 65-yearold White male, died as a result of injuries he sustained when he was beaten and bound during a Sept. 5 home invasion robbery in Penn Hills. Charles Pershing, 35, who had already faced multiple charges related to the attack, has now been charged with homicide.

He remains in the county jail.

SEPT. 18—Emannuel Boneza, a 32-year-old Black male, was shot multiple times near the intersection of South Star and West avenues in Bellevue. County police charged 20-yearold Musa Muya with the killing. His accomplice, Salimu Salim, also 20, was charged with gun violations and evidence tampering.

SEPT. 22—Bronson Szallar, a 22-year-old White male, was found by police with a gunshot wound to the head in a car in the 1100 block of Grant Avenue in Duquesne. Police said witnesses saw two men running from the scene toward a nearby baseball field.

The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

August Homicides (9) AUG. 1—Richard Price, a 27-year-old Black male, was fatally shot during a brawl at the Hays Manor housing complex in McKees Rocks. Donta Nicotero, 17, was arrested, Aug. 24, and has been charged as an adult with the shooting. He is currently awaiting trial in the Allegheny County Jail.

AUG. 5—Robert Barnett, a 28-year-old Black male, died from a gunshot wound he received during a July 28 fight when Aamina Renee Woods, 36, and three friends went to Barnett’s Stowe Township home to retrieve a relative’s car. Woods was arrested fleeing the scene that evening and charged with attempted murder and assault. She is now charged with homicide and is in the county Jail.

AUG. 6—Lanny Hutson, a 57-year-old Black male, was shot 17 times by his grandson, 22-year-old Jhalil Rakwon Brown, at his Abraham Street home in McKeesport.

Hutson was pronounced dead at the scene. Police arrested Brown, who was standing outside the home when they arrived. He is now awaiting trial in the county jail.

AUG. 8—Tamon Hatchin, a 24-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in broad daylight near the intersection of Brownsville Road and Marland Street in Knoxville after an altercation with 32-yearold Earl Jackson. His car was spotted in Elliott later, and after a two-hour standoff, SWAT team officers brought him out of the

Steuben Street rowhouse where he’d been hiding in a basement garbage can. He is now awaiting trial in the county jail.

AUG. 12—Elaine Pearson, a 63-year-old Black female, was found fatally shot as she sat in a silver SUV in the 1500 block of Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln-Lemington. Police have not yet identified a suspect and ask anyone with information to call city homicide detectives at 412-323-7800.

AUG. 13—Donnell Demery, a 54-year-old Black male, was fatally shot after an argument with another patron inside the 1313 Bar in Duquesne. Carl Jones, 27, left and returned to the bar with a gun and shot Demery multiple times. After a week-long manhunt, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Jones at a home on Dinwiddie Street in the Hill District after a K-9 found him hiding inside. He is awaiting trial in the county jail.

AUG. 16—Antwon Jones, a 36-year-old Black male from Atlanta, died a day after a foot-patrol officer witnessed 40-year-old Lamont Pendleton shoot him in the 2400 Block of Bedford Avenue in the Hill District. The officer called for Pendleton to drop the gun, but he ran. After a brief chase, Pendleton was taken into custody, but by then had tossed the weapon. He is awaiting trial in the county jail.

AUG. 19—Dulane Cameron Jr., a 24-year-old Black male, was fatally stabbed in the neck on the North Shore. According to police and witnesses, a shirtless Joden Rocco—apparently motivated by his dislike for Blacks, confronted Cameron and a friend as they left a bar. Rocco then allegedly assaulted Cameron, stabbing him during the attack. Rocco is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial for homicide.

AUG. 31—Daniel Ling, an 18-year-old Asian male, was fatally shot during what Pittsburgh police said was an attempted home invasion on Monastery Avenue on the South Side Slopes. Police said Ling, who was armed, apparently entered the house intent on robbery but was met by the resident. During the ensuing struggle, the resident gained control of Ling’s gun and shot him.

No charges have been filed.

July Homicides (5) JULY 7—Ricardo Tobia, a 71-yearold White male, was found dead in his Carrick home having suffered multiple stab wounds and a gunshot wound to the head. His dog had also been shot in the head and had its throat cut. On July 10, police charged his longtime companion, Joseph Martin, 35, with the killing. Martin had been committed to the psychiatric ward at Jefferson Hospital, but is now in the county jail.

JULY 8—Zack Moore, a 28-yearold Black male, was shot in the head and dumped from a rented car along East Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard between Dixon and Port Perry avenues. The car, rented by Darrell Hardy, 29 of North Versailles, was found on fire about 40 minutes after police discovered Moore’s body. Hardy has been charged with Moore’s death and is in the county jail.

JULY 16—Tyrelle Bowyer, a 15-year-old Black male, was found shot in the back of the head by Wilkinsburg police on a heavily wooded part of North Dell Way near Penn Avenue. One week later, police arrested 17-year-old Brandon McFarland for the shooting. He is currently awaiting arraignment in the county jail and will be tried as an adult.

JULY 28—Vera Williams Butler, a 54-year-old Black Female, was found by police in the 200 Block of Luray Street on the North Side having been shot multiple times. She died at the scene. Police have not yet identified a suspect and are asking anyone with information to call the homicide squad at 412-323-7161.

JULY 28—Jassin Al-Maleky, an 18-year-old Black male, was fatally wounded while he and several other onlookers watched a fistfight between two people in Kennedy Township. At some point one onlooker pulled a gun and fired into the crowd, striking Al-Maleky.

He was treated at the scene and transported to Ohio Valley Hospital where he died of his wounds. The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call the Allegheny County Police tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

June Homicides (10) JUNE 1—Kevin R. Thompson, a 46-year-old White male, was allegedly beaten, stabbed multiple times, then dismembered by 42-year-old John Robert Dickson, who had been staying in Thompson’s Carrick home.

Pittsburgh police said Dickson admitted the killing to two witnesses and also wrote a confession in a notebook.

Dickson is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial.

JUNE 2—Mujahid Hanif, a 28-yearold Black male, was allegedly shot three times by 29-year-old James Glenn following a dispute over a dirt bike, according to Pittsburgh Police who found Hanif’s body stuffed under the rear steps to his home in the 600 block of Hillsboro Street in Sheraden.

Police said Glenn admitted to the killing during questioning and is now in the Allegheny County Jail.

JUNE 14—Major Troutman, a 3-year-old Black male who died at UPMC Children’s Hospital in February, was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, according to the county medical examiner. Jamal Williams, 21, who had been in jail on unrelated charges since Feb.22, has been charged with homicide.

JUNE 14—De’von Dozier, a 23-yearold Black male, was found with a gunshot wound to the leg at a home on Woodlow Street in Crafton Heights. He

was hospitalized but died of his injury.

Rashem Littleberry, 28, of Chartiers City was arrested and charged in the shooting, June 20.

JUNE 16—Daevion Raines, a 15-year-old Black male, was fatally shot when the stolen car he was driving was riddled with bullets near the intersection of Smoker and Newford alleys in Duquesne. A second, 17-year-old teen, who had been in the car and was wounded, was found nearby. Allegheny County detectives said the car was hit more than 15 times. The investigation is ongoing.

Police urge anyone with information to call the police tipline at 833-255-8477.

JUNE 18—Travon Smart, a 21-year-old Black male who went by the stage name Jimmy Wopo, was shot multiple times in a daylight, driveby shooting on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District. Another passenger in the car was also hit but survived. No arrest has been made. Pittsburgh Police ask anyone with information to contact them at 412-323-7800.

JUNE 19—Antwon Rose II, a 17-year-old Black male, was shot three times as he fled from a traffic stop in East Pittsburgh. East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld has been charged with criminal homicide in the case. Despite objections, Officer Rosfeld was granted bail and is under house arrest. Allegheny County Common Pleas Senior Judge Jeffrey Manning has been asked by multiple political and community members to revoke the bail.

JUNE 19—Deandre Bratcher, a 28-year-old Black male, was found suffering from a fatal gunshot wound in the passenger seat of a vehicle near the intersection of Hunter Street and Glenn Avenue in Wilkinsburg.

He died later at the hospital. County police are looking for a silver SUV in connection with the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call the police tipline at 833-255-8477.

JUNE 20—Leryal Matthews, a 21-year-old Black male, was found by police in a Braddock apartment in the 500 block of Talbot Street suffering from multiple fatal gunshot wounds. No arrests have been made. The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call the police tipline at 833255-8477.

JUNE 22—Jazmere Brianna Custis, a 19-year-old Black female, was killed in a drive-by shooting as she and three friends sat in a car in the 1300 block of Margaret Street in Munhall. Police say Custis had pulled over to drop off one of the passengers when another car pulled up and gunfire erupted. County police are asking anyone with information to call the police tipline at 833-255-8477.

May Homicides (7) MAY 2—Dwayne Lamar Tolbert-McGhee, a 29-year-old Black male, was fatally wounded outside the Muhammad Mosque 22 in Wilkinsburg and died about three hours later at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital—but not before he and a witness who heard the shooting while in the mosque identified the shooter. Delvante Thompson, 30, of Penn Hills was arrested May 26 and charged with homicide. He awaits trial in the Allegheny County jail.

MAY 5—Stephen Drake Jr., a 47-year-old Black male, was fatally shot as he was driving his motorcycle on Fifth Avenue in Shadyside. Drake was a veteran anti-violence advocate, working with Richard Garland at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health’s Violence Prevention Initiative. The investigation into his death continues. Anyone with information is urged to call Pittsburgh Homicide detectives at 412-323-7800.

MAY 7—Chad Rock, a 34-year-old White male, was fatally shot during a home invasion at his house on Terrace Drive in McKees Rocks. Allegheny County detectives said they are looking for three Black males who bound Rock’s two children and a female with zip ties and demanded money and drugs. A second male occupant was also shot in the robbery.

Detectives hope Rock’s surveillance cameras will help identify the killers.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Allegheny County tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

MAY 9—Taeshaun Caldwell, an 18-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot lying between two homes in the 500 block of Lowell Street near Shetland Avenue in Larimer. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to call 412-323-7800.

MAY 9—Lawrence Brown, a 26-year-old Black male, was gunned down in an apparent drive-by shooting on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District that left several cars riddled with bullet holes. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing. Police are asking anyone with information to call 412-323-7800.

MAY 25—Matthew Anthony Zinnermon, a 32-year-old Black male from Chesapeake, Va., was shot multiple times on Park Hill Drive in East Hills. Police have arrested and charged 24-year-old Leonard Bernard Hill of Sheraden with the shooting. He awaits trial in the Allegheny County Jail.

MAY 27—Darrell Williams, a 48-year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times inside his home in the 500 Block of Farnsworth Avenue in Clairton. He died later at Jefferson Memorial Hospital. Police have no motive and are asking anyone with information to call the county tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

April Homicides (7) APRIL 1—Meliek Rashad Hemmingway, a 22-year-old Black male, was found by Pittsburgh police lying in Conemaugh in East Hills Easter morning with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have since released surveillance video of a man riding a bicycle away from the scene and are

asking for help identify the individual, who they are calling a person of interest. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 412323-7800.

APRIL 4—James Clayton Westover, a 56-year-old White male, was fatally shot in the driveway of his home by one-time friend, 62-year-old Lex Miller. Ohio Township police responding to call of shots fired, encountered Miller at the scene. After a brief exchange of gunfire, Miller shot himself in the head. The Allegheny County Coroner has ruled it a murder-suicide.

APRIL 7—Aaron David James, a 29-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot in an alley behind the 1300 block of Franklin Street in Wilkinsburg. As yet, police have not identified a suspect or motive. Anyone with information is asked to all county detectives at 1-833-255-8477.

APRIL 11—Dolores Williams, a 39-year-old Black female, was found fatally shot in the head in her Stowe Township home. Her teen daughter was also shot but was stabilized at a local hospital. Police immediately began searching for 42-year-old Jamar Allen, who was also wanted for the home-invasion assault of a minor in March. He was found later the same day in his car in Homewood, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.

APRIL 11—The skeletal remains of Zackery Sheets, a 20-year-old White male missing for more than a year, were found by a hiker walking through the woods off Milltown Road in Penn Hills. The coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide based on information gleaned from the investigation into his disappearance, but it has not released an official cause of death. Anyone with information about Sheets’ death or disappearance is asked to call 1-833-255-8477.

APRIL 14—Shawn William Dillard, a 27-year-old Black male from Erie, was fatally shot in the head in the Hill District. City police found him in the 1800 block of Cliff Street. He was taken to Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police have yet to identify a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call 412-323-7800.

APRIL 26—Phillip Daniel Pryor, a 27-yeqr-old Black male, was gunned down after leaving his girlfriend’s house in Homestead en route to his grandmother’s house. Police said, as yet, they have no motive or suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-833-255-8477.

March Homicides (6) MARCH 11—Brenda Kay Zelenski, a 59-year-old White female, died in a Pittsburgh hospital as the result of knife wounds she received during an altercation with her husband, also dead, in Indiana County, March 3.

MARCH 16—Juan Green, a 31-year-old Black male, was fatally shot after getting into an argument outside Becker’s Café on Olivia Street in the McKees Rocks Bottoms. Police arrested 33-year-old Tyree Davis less than a day later at a home in Sheraden. Davis is awaiting trial in the Allegheny County Jail.

MARCH 18—Tyrone Noaks, a 28-year-old Black male, died as a result of wounds he received when he was shot in McKees Rocks, Feb. 3.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Allegheny County Homicide Detectives at 412-473-1300.

MARCH 19—Shawn Brandon, a 22-year-old White male, was fatally shot at the corner of Eccles Street and Marengo Street on the South Side Slopes. Witnesses said he was leaning into the driver’s side window of a car when he was shot. He identified his killer as 21-year-old Amasa Camp. Police arrested Camp three days later. He is awaiting trial in the Allegheny County Jail.

MARCH 24—Walter Smith, an 83-year-old White male, died after a tenant he was trying to evict from his West Homestead property struck him in the head and shoved him down a flight of stairs. Dominic Anicola, 57, was arrested and awaits trial in the Allegheny County Jail.

MARCH 26—Hasan Ishmael Abdul-Rabb, a 24-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in the 3200 block of Ward Street in Oakland in an apparent drug deal turned robbery. Shayne Craighead, 22, and Velmon Dowling, 21, were arrested after leading police on a chase in the victim’s rented car.

Both are in the Allegheny County Jail.

February Homicides (8) FEB. 4—Joseph Secora, a 39-yearold White male who allegedly had mental health issues, was fatally shot while trying to break into his sister’s house in Springdale. The victim’s nephew, 21-year-old James Cain, shot Secora once. He fled across Butler Road and collapsed between some houses. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No charges will be filed.

FEB. 7—Lewis Dunning, a 64-year-old Black male from Uniontown, was found by Pittsburgh police lying in the middle of Paulsen Street in Lincoln-Larimer. He had been shot once in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. A second individual, who police have not identified, was also found at the scene suffering multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital and last listed in stable condition. The investigation continues. Police are asking anyone with information to call 412-323-7800.

Callers may remain anonymous.

FEB. 10—Denard A. Burton, a 29-year-old Black male, was discovered by Pittsburgh police lying on the snow-covered sidewalk of the 7200 block of Stranahan Street in Homewood shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Police are asking anyone with information to call 412-323-7800. Callers may remain anonymous.

FEB. 11—Mark Daniels, a 39-yearold Black male, was fatally shot by Pittsburgh police Gino A. Macioce and an unnamed recruit during a foot chase in which the officers said he fired at them twice. Allegheny County police said a .40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene and is being tested. Daniels’ family said he didn’t own or carry a gun. They have called for the release of surveillance video and Shotspotter records that police said shows some of the pursuit.

Neither officer was wearing a body camera.

FEB. 16—Andre Lee, a 20-yearold Black male, was found by McKees Rocks police after they received a call about a shooting on Ella Street. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died from multiple gunshot wounds. Allegheny County police are investigating. Anyone with information may anonymously call the toll-free Police Tipline at 833-255-8477.

FEB. 22—Keiauna Lynette Davis, a 27-year-old Black female, was fatally shot while walking home along Laketon Road in Wilkinsburg when a co-worker and two accomplices robbed her for her tax refund. Dane James Taylor and Laya Alana Whitley, both 21, and Kaijin Xavier Scott, 23, are in custody awaiting trial.

FEB. 26—Steven Pariser, a 71-yearold White male, and John Robert Van Dyke, a 54-year-old White male, were both allegedly killed by 58-year-old Vincent Smith after an argument over marijuana led to a fight. Smith then set fire to the Swissvale building where the killings took place. He was rescued by firefighters and arrested. He awaits trial in the Allegheny County jail.

FEB. 28—Mia Green, a 27-year-old Black female, was found by Pittsburgh police behind a home in the 7300 block of Hamilton Avenue in Homewood shot multiple times. She was pronounced dead at UPMC Presbyterian a short time later. Green had no children and no criminal record. Police are asking anyone with information to call 412-323-7800. Callers may remain anonymous.

January Homicides (11) JAN. 9—Diron Lamonn Hopwood, a 25-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot by police after they received multiple 911 calls, lying in the 1400 block of N. Murtland Street in Homewood. He had been struck several times. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation continues.

JAN. 12—Shevall Davidson, a 24-year-old Black male, was fatally shot multiple times shortly after he left the J & S Food Mart on Seventh Street in Duquesne. Pittsburgh Crime Stoppers has offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. Callers may remain anonymous, 412-255-8477.

JAN. 17—Louise Lewis, a 73-yearold White female, was found fatally shot on the porch of her Clairton home in what Allegheny County detectives said was a murder-suicide.

Her 72-year-old husband Robert was found inside the home with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

JAN. 17—Tiffany Korbelic, a 36-year-old White female, was found fatally shot in a home in on West Elizabeth Street in Hazelwood along with 55-year-old Raymond Furlong, in what county detective also said was also a murder-suicide. Furlong, they said shot her then turned the gun on himself.

JAN. 18—Anthony Bullock-Fields, a 29-year-old Black male, was shot and then run over at the intersection of Jucunda and Amanda Streets in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. Pittsburgh police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation continues.

JAN. 20—Albert Boxley, a 30-yearold Black male, was found shot multiple times at the intersection of Mullins and Dickson Streets on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The shooting was captured on surveillance video, and with the help of an eye-witness, police arrested and charged 27-year-old Louis Campbell with the killing. He is currently in the Allegheny County Jail.

JAN. 22—Shayne Henderson, a 21-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot in the basement of an apartment building on Everton Street in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood. Henderson’s was the third fatal shooting on Everton in as many months. Police have not named a suspect. The investigation continues JAN. 28—Craig Rhodes-Mitchell, a 24-year-old Black male, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a home in the 1300 block of Centennial Street in McKeesport. County detectives have yet to identify a suspect and are asking anyone with information to call the toll-free county Tipline at 833-255-8477.

JAN. 28—Robert Monti, a 42-yearold White male, was found by police shot multiple in the 1200 block of Broadway Avenue in Stowe Township.

He died a short time later at Ohio Valley Hospital. County detectives have yet to identify a suspect and are asking anyone with information to call the toll-free county Tipline at 833-2558477.

JAN. 28—Devlen Prosdocimo, a 24-year-old White male, was shot multiple times, after being lured into a drug deal robbery on Wilner Drive in East Hills. Video shows, 17-year-old Malik “Lil Chief Keif” Johnson shooting Prosdocimo several times after he attempted to flee the robbery. Johnson is in the Allegheny County Jail.

JAN. 29—Tyqueon Goins, a 20-year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times in a car on Meadows Street in Larimer. Though Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Alicia George said initial reports indicated the shooting “may be gang related.” police have not yet identified a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 412-323-7800.

B8

JANUARY 2-8, 2019

SPORTS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Stargell’s ‘Fam-I-lee’ still a big hit!

LEON FORD, community advocate, entrepreneur and City Council 2018 HONOREES—Dr. Kathi Elliott—CEO, Gwen’s Girls, Erin Walker, Sensation Model/Actress, Azeeza Reed—Pres., World Financial Group, Barnett Harris Sr.—Connie Hawkins League Hall of Fame, Mark Pinnix—Connie Hawkins League Hall of Fame, Diane Daniels— candidate, with “Eri. U.” Writer, New Pittsburgh Courier, Carl Marbury—Pres., Majors Mobile Detail, Alby Oxenreiter—WPXI Sports Director, Leon Ford—Candidate for Pittsburgh City Council District 9. salute those people who

by Bill Neal help make Pittsburgh a For New Pittsburgh Courier special place and one of The 44th Annual Willie the nation’s most livable Pop’s Stargell Pittsburgh cities with the continued MVP Awards knocked it support of Pirate Chariout of the park once again ties, Frank Fuhrer Wholeas some of Pittsburgh’s sale Co., Highmark, the celebrated leaders were New Pittsburgh Courier, recently recognized and UPMC, Blue Diamond honored at the Walnut Vodka, and Super Bakery.

Grill. As was Mr. Stargell’s The event continues to request to Achieving showcase Pittsburgh’s finGreatness Inc., CEO Bill est and keep alive the creNeal, to recognize and do that we are Fam-I-Lee!

CHAMPIONS ROW—left to right; Warren Wilson—Former Pro Basketball Player and Connie Hawkins League HOF, Barnett Harris Sr.— Duquesne University great and Connie Hawkins League HOF Inductee, Bill Neal—Connie Hawkins League Founder, Achieving Greatness Inc., CEO, Bobby Franklin—Keynote Speaker, Point Park University Basketball All-American and Connie Hawkins League HOF Inductee, Kevin “Freight Train” Parker—Olympic Gold Medalist and Former Fastest Blind Man In The World, Mark Pinnix—Westminster College Basketball great and Connie Hawkins League HOF Inductee, Vince Lackner—Yale University Basketball, European Professional Basketball Legue and Connie Hawkins League Hall of Fame.

Tomlin still shouldn’t be blamed for Steelers’ lack of production HONOREES Erin Walker, right, with Alby Oxenreiter

by Aubrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh Courier

The Pittsburgh Steelers went into their final regular season game on “playoff hopes” life support, having to depend on the Cleveland Browns to help usher them into the 2018 NFL postseason.

It was a simple equation.

The Steelers were required to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals and the Browns had to beat the Baltimore Ravens and all that “Dorothy” had to do was click her ruby heels together and Pittsburgh would return to their anointed, appointed and usual place in the postseason.

The Steelers held up their end by beating the Bengals by the score of 16-13.

The Browns almost sent the Ravens packing but eventually lost to them by the score of 26-24.

There was a long-distance scenario that if later on that night, the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts would have to play to a tie, in order for the Steelers to sneak in the back door of the playoffs. But alas, as my father used to say: “If you depend on another man to provide food for you, don’t expect filet mignon, and shrimp scampi to be prominent on the menu.”

The Steelers did what they were supposed to do, they won.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin summed up the 2018 season this way. “I am appreciative of the efforts. We were able to control the things that were

says it is.”

The media was unsuccessful finding a chink in the Steelers’ armor with that question so they posed the same question to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger with a slightly different spin asking him to explain, “how do you have so much talent and miss the postseason?” Roethlisberger responded; “I don’t know. I would say thanks for calling us talented on this roster.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers ownership and fans have nothing to hang their AUBREY BRUCE heads about. The team played hard and with within our control today. heart. They were far from We got our fourth AFC flawless and far from North win, I am appreheartless. On certain game ciative of that. Can’t say enough about the efforts of days they were the frog that received a kiss from the guys particularly like Matt (McCrane) coming in, the “princess of victory.”

On other days of compegetting on a moving train and kicking the way he did tition, they were exposed for the entire world to see, today. We accept the outcome, obviously we had 17 warts and all.

Now hear this…I am weeks to state a case for ourselves. We stand by our going to state this until I am blue in the face, work, you have to in this again. The haters are now business. It is what it is.. it’s tough, the end result of trying a new devious and underhanded approach to it all, as it always is.”

Instead of offering heart- decapitate the coaching tenure of one Mike Tomlin. felt congratulations to a They are all now saying coach and team for an exciting and competitive sea- that “wholesale changes son, the two-headed media need to be made from the top down.” See, they again had their daggers know that the ownership polished and ready to go.

Asking such asinine ques- of the team is not going to change, so the head coach tions as: “Did this team underachieve this season?” gotta go. Obviously, they don’t realize that when Mike Tomlin did not even you change clothing, you indirectly take the bait. must take a shower first, Tomlin responded saying, “I am not getting into that. or the stench will still remain.

We are what our record

Inside Conditions