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taken Florida and Ohio. When Wisconsin came in for him a short time later, its 10 electoral votes put him over the 270-vote threshold.

Chief McLay steps down

Women Of Excellence 2016 Special Section

With several holding back tears, about 75 residents joined Black community leaders and police personnel from across the city at the Kingsley Center in East Liberty to say goodbye and thank you to outgoing Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay, who announced his resignation three days earlier. When he came out of retirement to take the job at Peduto’s behest in 2014—becoming the first chief ever hired from outside the bureau—McLay had three main goals: to implement data-driven, community-oriented policing; to restore public trust through creating sound accountability systems; and to improve morale by restoring the integrity of police leadership systems. He said it’s amazing that it shows how little it takes for us to develop real human relations. “All we have to do is listen each

DONALD TRUMP

Trump wins When the forces of the mighty British Empire surrendered to upstart American revolutionaries at Yorktown in 1781, the band played the song, “The World Turned Upside Down.” Democrats may want to learn that song now that political upstart Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton in the race for the U.S. Presidency. He won Pennsylvania by more than 64,000 votes, which, at the time, put him at 264 electoral votes, having already

CHIEF CAMERON McLAY

Hamlet, a one-time NFL and CFL defensive lineman, most recently served as director of accountability transformation for the Palm Beach County (Florida) School District, which with 183,000 students and almost 13,000 teachers, is the 11th largest district in the country. “I’m looking for somebody who will do good for the kids, who can turn around some schools, and someone who knows education and how to do it from Kindergarten all the way to 12th grade,” said board member Thomas Sumpter. “The fact that he’s an African American male had nothing to do with it. We didn’t even see the candidates until the final interviews. Everything was based on the information they provided and responses to our questions.” Hamlet said his priorities in Pittsburgh will be closing the achievement gap for Black students, increasing the graduation rate, investing more in early education, and lure students back to the district from private and charter schools.

other and be genuine and respectful. This community gets it; we don’t want to go back. My officers get it and they don’t want to go back either,” McLay said. Tim Stevens said he never expected to get teary-eyed over a policeman. “I was profoundly sad when I heard he had resigned because I’ve been doing this four and half decades, and we finally got someone we can trust and he has to leave us,” said Stevens.

SUPERINTENDENT ANTHONY HAMLET

City pays Jordan School board Miles $125,000 introduces new superintendent After completing an eightmonth search that cut a pool of 24 candidates from 14 states down to 12, then six, then three, the Pittsburgh Board of Education has named 46-year-old Anthony Hamlet as its new superintendent of schools. The board, joined by retiring Superintendent Linda Lane, introduced Hamlet to the city at a May 18 press conference, and formally voted him in at a special meeting that evening, extending him a fiveyear contract with a $210,000 salary. He will officially start July 1.

homicides Black lives

2016 had a slight decrease from 2015 by Ulish Carter and Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writers

With seven total homicides for the month of December, six of them Black lives, the total number of homicides in Allegheny County for the year of 2016 is 105. There were nine fewer homicides in 2016 than 2015, 105 compared to 114, and eight fewer Black lives lost, 83 compared to 91.

Rather than continue the slog through the federal appeals court system, Jordan Miles and his attorneys have accepted a $125,000 settlement offer from the City of Pittsburgh. “We have accepted the city’s offer to settle,” said attorney Joel Sansone. “It is time for Jordan to move on to the next phase of his JORDAN MILES life.” Miles, now

Even though this is a slight difference, every life matters and even eight lives lost to senseless violence is too much. The Black lives that continue to be lost are young; all six of the Black lives lost in December were age 30 or younger. Breaking them down––two were 17 years old, one was 19, two were 27 and one was 30. The lone White person killed was a 63-year-old woman. Law enforcement has already located the suspected killer. All murders are horrible, but

SEE TOP A5

SEE HOMICIDES A4

Key local figures who passed in 2016 Cathy Milton Broadcast news pioneer Cathy Milton, best known for her 27-year career as a reporter and host on WTAE-TV, died peacefully in her Monroeville home Dec. 30. Milton began her broadcasting career in 1956 with WLOA, Braddock, and WEDO, McKeesport. In 1957 she joined WMCK, McKeesport as host of the “The Date with Cathy Show”. In 1967, Cathy moved to WJAS Radio where she was a general assignment reporter until her move to WTAE-TV in 1969 where, in addition to reporting major news stories, she hosted “Black Chronicle” and co-hosted “Pittsburgh Dialogue” and “AM Pittsburgh.” Rip Nixon Musician, basketball star, NAACP planning director and born salesman Lemuel O. “Rip” Nixon, who was a pioneering Black executive with Pittsburgh Brewing and IBM died Dec. 1 after suffering a stroke. He was 83. After a tour with the U.S. Army, he returned to Pittsburgh and sold Iron City Beer for Pittsburgh Brewing until 1965 when he landed a job with IBM, where he assisted European marketing teams. In 1997, he joined Ralph Proctor, and then city council members Valerie McDonald and Sala Udin in formulating the plan that eventually led to building of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. Regis Bobonis News icon, Tuskegee Airmen champion Regis Bobonis Sr., who said he had a ‘front

Gone but not forgotten…

CATHY MILTON

RIP NIXON

REGIS BOBONIS

REV. SAMPSON COOPER

BOB PITTS

MILT WASHINGTON

BILL NUNN III

REV. JASON BARR JR.

row seat to history” while working at the Pittsburgh Courier in the 1930s and spent the last 20 years championing the recognition of local Tuskegee Airmen, passed away

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Nov. 25 of natural causes. After World War II, he become the first African American reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and later the first

Black television reporter in Pittsburgh by joining WIIC (now WPXI). He later learned, not only that five Tuskegee Airmen hailed from Sewickley, but also that eight came from within three miles, and that there were more Tuskegee Airman from Western Pennsylvania than any other state in the union. Rev. Samson M. Cooer Rev. Samson M. Cooper, who delivered his first sermon at age 5, passed away 80 years later on Nov. 8. Cooper, who pastored in AME Churches in the West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio Conferences of the Third Episcopal District, and retired as a presiding elder of the Pittsburgh District Annual Conference, passed away at the age of 85. Cooper graduated from Wilberforce University, in Ohio, and received a master’s of divinity from the university’s Payne Theological Seminary. He also participated in the 1963 civil rights March on Washington and was also involved with the NAACP and the Black Political Empowerment Project. Bob Pitts Former Wilkinsburg mayor and long time NAACP activist Bob Pitts passed Nov. 2 in Cleveland at the age of 90. Pitts was the Pittsburgh NAACP vice president during the Harvey Adams reign as president. He was also head of the noted Labor and Industry Committee that led SEE LOCAL A5

Rev. Jesse Jackson says

As Obama departs, we owe him our thanks Forum B4

INTERNATIONAL

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

This Week In Black History

FREED—In this July 30, 2015, file photo, women and children rescued by Nigerian soldiers from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in the northeast of Nigeria, arrive at the military office in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola, File)

Black billionaire to pay college tuition for freed Chibok schoolgirls African American billionaire Robert F. Smith, founder of a private equity firm, will fund the education of 24 Nigerian girls from the Chibok, including 21 recently freed from Islamic militant captivity, Forbes reports. The News Agency of Nigeria said Garba Shehu, a senior media special assistant to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, revealed Smith’s identity to journalists on Tuesday. Shehu stated that Smith will cover the cost of the girls’ tuition, room and board at the prestigious American University of Nigeria. Costs typically range from $5,000 to $11,000 per year for stu-

Boko Haram abducted 276 girls in April 2014 from a boarding school in Chibok, located in northeastern Nigeria. A handful of them have escaped captivity, and the militants released 21 others in October. Shehu said the Nigerian government is treating the recently released girls as adoptees of the federal government. Forbes estimates Smith’s net worth at $2.5 billion. The 54-year-old billionaire made his wealth as the ROBERT F. SMITH is chairman founder of Vista Equity and chief executive of Vista Eq- Partners, a private equity uity Partners. (Courtesy Photo/ firm focused on software robertfsmith.org) and technology-enabled businesses. dents at the university. SOURCE: Forbes, News Agency The insurgent group of Nigeria

Filmmaker who chronicled Chicago school dies in Africa

DR. BARBARA SIZEMORE

CHICAGO (AP)—An American filmmaker has been killed in a bus crash in East Africa, where he was screening a documentary he made about a Chicago school and working on a project about Sudanese refugees. The U.S. State Department and a Chicago school official told The Chicago Tribune (http:// trib.in/2hr9X9N ) that David J. Steiner died Monday in Uganda. He was 51. Steiner’s film, “Saving Barbara Sizemore,’’ documented the successful fight to keep Barbara A. Sizemore Academy in Chicago open after it was slated to be closed. Carol Lee is chairman of the board of directors for the charter school network that operates the school. She says Steiner’s son and two Sizemore students were on the bus with him when it was hit head-on outside Kampala, the Ugandan capital. They were not seriously injured.

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For the week of Jan. 4-10 January 4 1777—Prince Hall, founder of the first Black Masonic lodge in America, petitions the Massachusetts legislature for funds to allow free Blacks to return to Africa. The petition was rejected and Hall went on to become a major leader in Boston’s Black community, as well as develop a nationwide influence by helping develop Black Masonic temples around the country. 1901—C.L.R. James is born on the West Indian island-nation of Trinidad. James is one of those not well known figures who greatly influenced radical Black intellectual thought from the 1930s to the 1970s. He was a Marxist who traveled the world advocating socialism and influencing developments PRINCE HALL in the Caribbean, the United States and England. James died in 1989. 1920—The legendary National Negro Baseball League is organized in Kansas City, Kan., by the “father of Black baseball,” Rube Foster. It is not widely known that under the 6’4” Foster’s leadership, not only did over 4,000 Blacks get a chance to play professional baseball during the days when they were not allowed to play in the White-controlled major leagues but the Negro Baseball League became one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America. The teams represented Black communities and had major followings. They had names like the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the New York Black Yankees, the Birmingham Black Barons, the Chicago American Giants and the Atlanta Black Crackers. One of the unfortunate side effects of integration was the destruction of many Black businesses. Thus, when the White leagues broke the colRUBE FOSTER or barrier and hired Jackie Robinson in 1947, the Negro Baseball League gradually began to decline. Most of the teams were gone by 1960. January 5 1911—Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity is formed at Indiana University. It goes on to become one of the nation’s leading Black Greek-letter organizations. 1931—World famous choreographer Alvin Ailey is born in Rogers, Texas. During his life Ailey created over 70 ballets. He died in 1989. 1943—Agricultural scientist George Washington Carver dies. Carver was renowned for his ability to develop new uses from everyday products. Indeed, he developed over 300 products from the peanut and the sweet potato. He spent his professional career at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and was nicknamed the “Wizard of Tuskegee.” Carver is credited with helping to revolutionize American agriculture. January 6 1820—The first organized return of a group of U.S. Blacks to Africa takes place. Records indicate that between 85 and 90 free Blacks boarded a ship in New York Harbor on this day for return to ALVIN AILEY JR. the “Motherland.” Ironically, the ship was named the “Mayflower to Liberia.” However, the Blacks actually went to British controlled Sierra Leone and, along with former British slaves. helped to found that nation. 1968—Movie director and screenwriter John Singleton is born in Los Angeles, Calif. Singleton is perhaps 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 African American and youngest person to have ever been nominated for the award. 1993—Famed Jazz musician John Birks “Dizzy” Gilespie dies. He was an outstanding trumpeter and band director who also helped to create Bebop Jazz. 2003—Mamie Till Mobley dies at 81. She was the mothJOHN SINGLETON er of Emmet Till, whose lynching at age 14 became one of the events which gave life and angry energy to the early years of the Civil Rights Movement. Till was tortured and killed for allegedly whistling at a White woman while on a trip to Mississippi. Amazingly the men who killed Till were found not guilty by an allWhite jury, but the two would later brag to Look magazine that they had actually murdered Till. January 7 From 4th Century AD—Ethiopian Christmas— known as Ganna—is celebrated 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 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 Church in Europe. Regardless, the best scientific speculation is that Jesus was JOHN BIRKS ‘DIZZY’ GILESPIE born 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 central figures in that great African-American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. She excelled as a writer, folklorist and anthropologist. 1955—Marian Anderson debuts on this day at the New York Metropolitan Opera 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. January 8 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 played major roles in Black cultural, political and MARIAN ANDERSON entertainment life. 1961—Calvin Smith, hall of fame track and field athlete, was born in Bolton, Miss. Smith ran track at the University of Alabama and in 1983 broke the 15-year-old world record in the 100 meter race. He went on to win a Gold medal as part of the United 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. January 9 1906—Poet and novelist Paul Lawrence Dunbar dies. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Dunbar rapidly gained national recognition as a poet. Although he only lived to be 33, he was CALVIN SMITH (Right) prolific—writing short stories, novels, plays and songs. In Dayton, he was a classmate of the Wright brothers of aviation fame. In fact, the Wright brothers helped Dunbar finance his newspaper—the Dayton Tattler. 1935—Black Enterprise magazine founder and publisher Earl Graves is born on this day in Brooklyn, N.Y. 1946—Poet Countee Cullen dies at age 42 in New York City. Cullen was one of Black America’s greatest poets and novelists. One of his most controversial works was “The Black Christ & Other Poems.” He was born in 1903. But some mystery surrounds exactly where he was born with both Baltimore and New York City being given as his place of birth. Cullen also taught high school. One of his best known students was the great writer James Baldwin. 1967—The Georgia legislature finally seats Representative Julian Bond. In an amazing anti-democracy display of arrogance, COUNTEE CULLEN Georgia legislators had refused to allow Bond to take the seat he had duly won because of his opposition to the U.S. war in Vietnam. But a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court ruling declared their action unconstitutional. Bond later became chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. January 10 1924—Legendary Jazz drummer and composer Max Roach is born in New York City. He was perhaps the greatest drummer-composer of the Jazz era performing with some of America’s best known Jazz musicians and singers. He formed Debut Records in 1952 with bassist Charles Mingus. 1957—The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is founded in New Orleans, La., by a group of Black ministers led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The SCLC goes on to become one of the premier leadership organizations of the Civil Rights Movement. Among the original founders were Ralph Abernathy, Joseph Lowery, Fred Shuttlesworth and C.K. Steel. Washington, D.C., Min. Walter Fauntroy was chairman of the board of directors and one of the leading women of the Civil Rights Movement, Ella Baker, became executive director. In 2009, King’s daughter Bernice was elected to head the organization.

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Architect of African-American museum has ALS

HISTORIC OPENING—In this Saturday, Sept. 24, file photo, President Barack Obama points upward during the dedication ceremony for the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Progress and struggles seen in top race headlines of 2016 by Errin Haines Whack Associated Press Writer

women took the spotlight at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Powerhouse gymnast Simone Biles took home four medals, and swimmer Simone Manuel became the first Black woman to win an individual medal in the sport. Black women also dominated in track and field, with Michelle Carter becoming the first American woman to win gold in the shot put. Bronze medal-winner Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first Muslim-American woman to compete for the U.S. wearing a hijab. Obama’s presidency has paralleled a period of tragedy highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement: the shootings of unarmed Black men by police officers. Shootings in North Charleston, S. C., Baton Rouge and Minneapolis this year have stoked anger and frustration on both sides of the argument. In Dallas, the fatal shootings of five officers by a Black gunman seeking revenge highlighted the divide between support for Black and blue lives. Acquittals in the trials of several officers accused of giving an injured, unarmed Black man a “rough ride” in the back of a police van in Baltimore, and a mistrial in the case of Michael Slager, accused of shooting Walter Scott in the back as he fled on foot after a traffic stop in North Charleston, left open the question of whether officers will be convicted in such cases—seen as a measure of justice by some in the Black community. Many viewed as a victory a federal jury’s conviction of Dylann Roof, the White man who killed nine Black church members in Charleston after joining with them at their weekly Bible study. Roof faces a possible death penalty and is expected to be sentenced next month. The Orlando night club shootings that left 49 victims dead in June struck a devastating blow to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Many of the victims were also of Puerto Rican descent. Gunman Omar Mateen, who died in a gunbattle with police, pledged solidarity to the Islamic State group in a 911 call from the club. Native Americans scored a win after months of protesting the building of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. As many as 5,000 people camped out on the federal land in North Dakota in solidarity with two Sioux tribes suing over the pipeline, even as heavy snow and bitter cold set in. The Army has declined to let the project move forward amid objections that it would contaminate drinking water and threaten ancient burial sites. The deaths of boxer Muhammad Ali and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro transcended race in their impact. Ali’s Muslim identity resonated with people of the faith outside of the Black community, and Castro’s defiant reign was interpreted in some Latin and African countries as an important part of the struggle for independence and uplift.

Of the many events marking the closing year of Barack Obama’s time as the nation’s first Black president, none had deeper resonance than his opening of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture on the National Mall. Tracing the history of Black America from its dark beginnings in human bondage to Obama’s historic election, the museum has already welcomed more than 600,000 visitors. “It is a monument, no less than the others on this mall, to the deep and abiding love for this country, and the ideals upon which it is founded. For we, too, are America,” the president said that day in September. The opening was a watershed cultural moment for many African Americans, including some who lived through an era when they were unable to cast a ballot. And the highs and lows depicted within the museum’s walls echoed in the progress and struggles of minorities in America during the past 12 months. Many in the African American, Muslim, Latino, and the LGBT communities watched this year’s presidential election with alarm, as Republican candidate Donald Trump ascended to party nominee, then president-elect. Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail—including his reference to Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and vow to build a wall on the U.S. southern border, his call for a ban on Muslims entering the country, and ominous description of “inner cities” in his pitch to Black voters—was interpreted by some as racist and xenophobic. His rallies, attended by thousands, were sometimes tainted with racial animus, and white nationalist support of the candidate prompted his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, to deliver a speech on the danger of the so-called “altright” movement. Since the election, hundreds of racist incidents have been reported in schools and other public spaces across the country. Still, the election also saw Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto make history as the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate, and California Democrat Kamala Harris became the second Black woman elected to the Senate. For Americans looking for an escape from the divisive political climate, their usual refuge of sports was interrupted this year. In January, entertainer Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime performance—where she and her dancers wore costumes in homage to the Black Panthers—was seen by some as political and militant. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began the season by staging weekly protests against the national anthem at the start of games. C, who is Black, said his decision to kneel and not stand during the anthem was an attempt to draw attention to the issue of racial disparities in community policing. The sports world was (Errin Haines Whack covers also cause to celebrate for urban affairs for The Associated many African-Americans Press.) this summer, as Black

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)— The lead architect of the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington says he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease earlier this year. Phil Freelon told WRAL (http://bit.ly/2hntold ) the diagnoses, which came before the museum chronicling the Black experience in America opened on the National Mall in September, was a “shock and a disappointment.” But the famed Durham architect says he hopes his story can raise awareness for a disease that’s not well understood. He said he walks with a cane now and recognizes that within three to five years, he could suffer muscle loss and paralysis. The disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, attacks motor neurons, the cells that control the muscles. Scientists aren’t sure what causes it and don’t have a cure. Freelon has started a foundation called Design a World Without ALS. “It’s a way to do something other than just think about myself and my

MAKING AN IMPACT—Philip Freelon, lead architect of National Museum of African American History and Culture, speaks outside museum in Washington, May 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen) situation,” he told the TV station. “I want to be able to help others with this condition.” His foundation is trying to raise $250,000 to fund research at the Duke University ALS Clinic and support ALS patients and their families. A benefit concern is planned for April 20 at Carolina Theatre in Durham.

Freelon says he thinks of the disease as underfunded, not incurable. “There probably is a cure somewhere down the road, but ALS doesn’t have the power of fundraising behind it as, say, heart disease or cancer or even AIDS because there aren’t as many people afflicted with this,” he said. Normally fiercely inde-

pendent, Freelon said he’s adjusting to having to ask for help. “I’m not so much focused on why this, why this time, or why this particular affliction. I want to make an impact for as long as I can.” He’s currently working on a Motown museum in Detroit with music producer Berry Gordy.

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

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METRO

83 of 105 homicides Black lives...2016 had a slight decrease from 2015 CONTINUED FROM A1

two 17-year-olds and a 19year-old are bringing the age lower and lower. Hopefully, with the continued efforts of the various groups, organizations and individuals to stop the violence, the number of Black homicides will continue to decrease in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The New Pittsburgh Courier publishes a homicide list every month in an effort to create awareness in the community, the city, the county, the state and the country that Black Lives do matter and that it’s all of our fight to stop the massive killings of our young people, mostly Black males, in Pittsburgh and throughout the country. December Homicides (7) Dec. 3—Giovaunne Davis, a 27-year-old Black male, was found by Wilkinsburg police in the 800 block of Rebecca Street having suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Dec. 10—Michelle Mercuri, a 27-year-old Black female, was found with a fatal shotgun wound to the head, lying in the 2900 block of Eccles Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Dec. 18—Ricardo Washington Jr., A 30 year-old Black Male, died of multiple gunshots when he, and two others, were fired at by at least two individuals as they sat on a porch in The Allegheny Dwellings public housing community on the city’s North Side. Another male was shot in the chest, and a woman, in the foot. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Dec. 19—Myanne Redman, a 17-year-old Black female, was found shot multiple times in a car in the 2200 block of Wilner Drive in the city’s East Hills neighborhood. Witnesses said a Black male with a thin build left the scene. The investigation is ongoing. Dec. 20—Rashawn Gibson, a 17-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot on the porch of a home on Glen Mawr Street in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Dec. 27—Cejay Jones, a 19-year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times in a vacant lot in the 200 block of Shetland Avenue in Larimer, just four days after his release from the Allegheny County Jail. Police have not said if his shooting is connected to his pending trial on drug charges. The investigation is ongoing. Dec. 31—Linda McGinnis, a 63-year-old White female, was found stabbed to death in her home in the 900 block of Ninth Avenue in Brackenridge. She and her SUV had been reported missing the day before. Her neighbor Justin Bartlett, a 25-yearold White male, described as a “person of interest,” was arrested in West Virginia Jan. 2 on an unrelated charge and awaits extradition. November Homicides (9) Nov. 1—Deon Traylor, a 41-yearold Black male, was fatally shot in the head in his Brookline apartment following an argument over profits from drug sales. Michael Frye, a 23-yearold Black male from Elliott, has been charged with the shooting. Nov. 1—Andre Price III, a 1-yearold Black male, was smothered to death by his mother, 21-year-old Christian Clark, who allegedly texted a video of the murder to the child’s father. The father, Andre Price Jr., 23, was later charged with felony child endangerment for failing to contact police as the homicide occurred. Clark remains in the Allegheny County Jail. Nov. 1—Charles Parker, a 58year-old White male, was beaten to death in his Brentwood apartment by his roommate Justin Vankirk, who allegedly was angered by Parker drinking all of his beer. He remains in the Allegheny County Jail. Nov. 8—Kyle Petty, a 21-year-old Black male from McKeesport, was fatally shot on B Drive in West Mifflin. Police detained an individual for questioning, but have not announced an arrest. The investigation is ongoing. Nov. 10—Lorenzo Lewis, a 22year-old Black male, was found shot near the Salvation Army building in the 1100 block of Fifth Avenue in New Kensington. He later died at Al-

legheny Valley Hospital. Police were examining multiple crime scenes to determine where Lewis was shot. No suspects have yet been identified. The investigation is ongoing. Nov. 22–The badly decomposed body of Jerry Kunes, a 46-year-old White male, was discovered in an abandoned house on Jenny Lind Street in McKeesport. Shawn Thomas, a 24-year-old Black male told police he beat and suffocated Kunes with a plastic bag after Kunes made sexual advances toward him. He remains in the Allegheny County Jail. Nov. 26–Niles Young, a 22-year-old Black male, was fatally shot as he was working on his car outside the Maplewood Apartments in East Hills. Police said multiple shooters came from the woods by the parking lot and fired at Young, wounding three others—including two children—in the process. Police still have no description of the shooters. The investigation is ongoing. Nov. 27—Trenton Campbell, a 51year-old Black male, was stabbed to death in a Third Avenue apartment in Rankin. Police detained one person for questioning, but as yet have made no arrest. The investigation is ongoing. Nov. 30—Shanique Sanders—a 23-year-old Black female from Homestead was fatally shot in broad daylight in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. Police said a group of five or six young men were seen fleeing toward Alice Street. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. October Homicides (6) Oct. 3—Ronald Carter, a 29-yearold Black male, was found by police on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of Maple Avenue in McKeesport shot multiple times. Police have charged Derrick “Snowmann” Means with homicide. He was arrested Oct. 12 and awaits trial in the Allegheny County Jail. Oct. 7—Michael West, a 27-yearold Black male, was discovered mortally wounded by police responding to reports of shots fired in the 400 block of South Avenue in Wilkinsburg. He died about an hour later at the hospital. Investigators said a thin Black man wearing dark clothing was seen fleeing from the area, police said. The investigation is ongoing. Oct. 21—Jabree Hines, an 18year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times in a vacant lot in the 400 block of Russellwood Street in Stowe Township. Police have not yet identified a suspect in the case. The investigation is ongoing. Oct. 21—John Davern, a 19-yearold Black male from Beltzhoover, was found shot multiple times in a vacant lot in the 7100 Block of Upland Street in Homewood. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. Oct. 27—Michael Mongeluzzo, a 27-year-old White male, was shot multiple times as he and his girlfriend drove along Pressley Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side. He pulled into the Giant Eagle parking lot on Cedar Avenue and died after medics transported him to Allegheny General Hospital. The investigation is ongoing. Oct. 29—Thomas Watt, a 28-yearold White male, was shot twice in the head while walking with his girlfriend in the 1300 block of Woodland Avenue on Pittsburgh’s North Side. She was also wounded in the attack. Police stopped a vehicle matching the description of the one used by the shooter near the intersection of East and Venture streets and took 34year-old Abdul Rasheed into custody. He was charged with homicide and aggravated assault, and is in the Allegheny County Jail. September Homicides (4) Sept. 9—Domenek Cabbagestalk, a 25-year-old Black male, died from gunshot wounds he received during a fight in Crafton Heights on Aug. 31. Police found Cabbagestalk on a porch on Steuben Street, bleeding from wounds to the chest and leg. They believe he ran there after an altercation on Woodlow Street. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Sept. 9—Wade Howard, a 20year-old Black male, died from gunshot wounds at UPMC Mercy after being driven there from De Raud Street in Oakland, where police say he was shot. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Sept. 12—Delon Williams, a 17year-old Black male, was gunned down shortly after being dropped off from a Community Intensive Supervision Program van. Police found him in a grassy area along Mossfield Street, in Garfield. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Sept. 17—Daija McCall, a 17year-old Black female, died in a hail of gunfire at the intersection of Belmar and Mount Vernon Streets, in Homewood. Police said ShotSpotter detected at least 11 shots. SIxteenyear-old Steven Cansler was arrested OCt. 26 and has been charged with homicide in this case. He awaits trail in the Allegheny County Jail August Homicides (10) Aug. 1—Christopher Rodriguez, a 20-year-old Hispanic male, was shot multiple times in his Allentown Apartment by his friend, Kenneth Murphy, a 20-year-old Black male who came there to purchase a gun. Murphy told police he accidentally shot Rodriguez while examining one of the guns. Murphy remains in the Allegheny County Jail. Aug. 12—Jesse Poole, a 47-yearold Black male, was found by a neighbor lying on the stoop of a home on Rose Street in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. He had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at

the scene. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Aug. 13—Raekwon Epps, a 20year-old Black male, was shot multiple times as he sat on a chair outside a Brushton Avenue building in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Aug. 15—Gordon Johnson, a 33year-old Black male, was found in a grassy area off Donson Way in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood next to a burning car he had recently purchased. He had been shot in the chest. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Aug. 19—Rico Smith, a 27-yearold Black male, was shot multiple times as he worked on a home in Wilmerding. County police said witnesses saw a Black male fleeing the scene. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Aug. 19—Chazz Bush, a 21-yearold Black male, was found in Clairton. He died later at Jefferson Hospital. But before he died, he identified 21-year-old Dyran Davenport, a Black male also of Clairton, as the shooter. Davenport is now being held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail. Aug. 22—Antonio Troutman, a 19year-old Black male, was shot near the parking lot of Wendy’s restaurant during an altercation between two groups. He ran a short distance across Peebles Street before he died. James Davis, a 29-year-old Black male from Braddock has been charged with the shooting. Aug. 22—Paris Wheatley, a 31year-old Black male, died at UPMC Presbyterian after being driven there by two females. Wheatley was shot after the women picked up an unknown Black male in Homewood. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. Aug. 27—Deven Clark, a 32-yearold Black male, is identified using DNA as the victim found in the trunk of a burning car in Penn Hills, May 27. The cause and manner of death have yet to be determined. The investigation is ongoing. Aug. 27—William Wilson, a 51year-old Black male, was found on the sidewalk by police with a gunshot wound to the head on Kincaid Street in Garfield. A home was also hit by gunfire. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. July Homicides (9) July 3—Reginald Shelton, a 56year-old Black male, drove himself to Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side after being shot in the chest. He died about three hours later. Police are still uncertain where he was shot. The investigation continues. July 4—James Swanson, a 28year-old Black male, was found fatally shot in the courtyard of a Fineview housing complex. The investigation is ongoing. July 4—Kennir Parr, a 14-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in the head when someone fired into a crowd setting off fireworks at Rankin’s Hawkins Village housing complex. No suspects have yet been identified. The investigation continues. July 8—Kai Thomas, a 19-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in broad daylight when multiple shooters approached his car and opened fire as he sat parked next to the Atmore Street playground on the North Side. A passenger was also shot but survived. The investigation is ongoing. July 10—Cheyenne Allen, a 22year-old Black male, was found fatally shot in the head and neck, laying in the middle of McMasters Street in Turtle Creek. Allegheny County police are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call 412-3501300. July 17—Isis Allen, a 6-year-old Black female, was shot in the head as she walked past a home on Zara Street in Knoxville where 19-year-old Kamau Thomas tried to shoot someone on the porch, but “lost control” of the gun. He remains in the Allegheny County Jail. July 23—Machi Brown, a 27-yearold Black male, was fatally stabbed by his 30-year-old sister Monica after allegedly attacking her during a party at her Carrick home. Monica Brown is in the Allegheny County Jail. July 28—Robert Ray, a 22-yearold Black male, was fatally shot near his Russellwood Avenue home in Stowe Township. Allegheny County police issued an arrest warrant for 27-year-old Charles Dixson, a Black male known to frequent Stowe and McKees Rocks. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911. Mark Kleist, a 49-year-old White male, from West Mifflin died in January, his death was classified a homicide in July. The investigation is ongoing. June Homicides (10) June 1—Benito Nicoletti, a 73year-old White male, was found beaten to death in his McKees Rocks home. Branden Frazier, a 25-year-old Black male has been charged in the murder. He is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial. June 3—Carlton Watson, a 24-yearold Black male, was shot to death while driving on Route 65 near the McKees Rocks Bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Police did not release a description of the shooter. The investigation is ongoing. June 3—Richard West-Gray, a 26year-old Black male, was shot to death while driving on Route 65 near the McKees Rocks Bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Police did not release a description of the shooter. The investigation is ongoing. June 3—John Connors, an 83year-old White male, was found fatally beaten and burned by police re-

sponding to a 911 call of “a man on fire.” Jawwaad Ali, a 24-year-old Black male, has been charged with Connors’ homicide. June 7—Keith Coleman, a 31-yearold Black Male, was found lying on Kennedy Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side, shot multiple times. Police believe he was driving when shot; his car hit four others before coming to a rest. Coleman was pronounced dead a short time later at Allegheny General Hospital. The investigation is ongoing. June 9—Isaiah Thomas, a 31-yearold Black male, was found in a wooded area near Lawndale Road in Penn Hills by a man looking for scrap metal. He had been shot, and his body burned. Detectives said Thomas’ death may be related to another Penn Hills homicide from two weeks earlier where the victim was found shot and burned in a car trunk. The investigation is ongoing. June 23—Brenda Johnson, a 58year-old Black female, was found stuffed in multiple trash bags in her East Pittsburgh apartment. Police say her daughter Catherine Grier, 19, stabbed her to death during an argument about a week earlier. Grier’s boyfriend, 23-year-old Keith Blackman, was also arrested for dismembering the body. Both are in the Allegheny County Jail. June 23—Jonmarquis Stepich, 8year-old Black male from Braddock, died after his mother’s fiancé 38year-old Orlando Williams slammed him to the ground for not cleaning his room. Williams has been charged with homicide and is in Allegheny County Jail. June 26—Brandon Turowski, a 27year-old White male, was fatally shot in his Oakmont house during a home invasion carried out by two unidentified White males. The investigation continues. June 28—Anthony Belland, a 51year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times at the Marion Circle housing complex in Clairton. He died a short time later at Jefferson Hospital. County police said Belland may have been playing dice prior to his death. The investigation continues. May Homicides (8) May 1—Gerald Harris, a 19-yearold Black male, was shot multiple times in a vacant house on Divinity Street in Pittsburgh’s North Side. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. May 1—Isha Tyree, a 20-year-old Black female, was shot multiple times as she sat in her car outside a vacant house on Divinity Street in Pittsburgh’s North Side. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. May 15—Darshele Johnson, a 41year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times outside a home on Graham Boulevard extension in Penn Hills. Police said he had just exited his car when someone in a white Cadillac drove up and shot him. Johnson had previously been charged in the shooting death of Christopher Moss in 2014. The investigation continues. May 25—Thomas Cheeks, a 40year-old Black male, was fatally shot during a home invasion at his Crafton Heights home. His wife and son were home at the time but were not harmed. The two gunmen also killed the family dog. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. May 26—Tamar Taylor, a 26-yearold Black male, was shot multiple times as he sat in his car on Bellanca Avenue. Police have charged 29year-old Daevon Plowden with the homicide. He is currently in the Allegheny County Jail. May 27—Dehnad Taiedi, a 78year-old Iranian, was shot once in the head at the front desk of the motel he owned on Rte. 51 in Jefferson Hills, in what police said was an apparent robbery. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. May 27—Mark Lopata, a 35-yearold White male, was found beaten and fatally shot in his Elliot apartment. Police have charged his roommate, 28-year-old Robert Hunter in the death. Hunter is in the Allegheny County jail. May 28—Delores Alviani, a 70year-old White female, was found by police fatally shot in a bedroom of her Bloomfield home along with her 79-year-old husband Louis, also deceased, in what police said was a murder-suicide. April Homicides (6) April 1—Dontae Thompson, a 27year-old Black male was shot multiple times after another vehicle pulled along side him while driving on Henderson Street in Pittsburgh’s Fineview neighborhood. Police discovered him after his car had crashed trough a fence and flipped onto its roof. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital where he died a few hours later. On April 20, Police arrested Andre Branch-Samuels for the killing after tracking him and his vehicle on surveillance video through several neighborhoods. He is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 4. April 6—Brandon Nguyen, a 29year-old Asian male, was sitting in his car in front of his home on Shadeland Avenue on Pittsburgh’s North Side when another car pulled up and a tall, thin Black male got out and shot Nguyen multiple times before speeding away. Nguyen was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrest has been made. The investigation is ongoing. April 14—Terence Jackson, a 27year-old Black male, was shot multiple times inside Red’s Bar on E. Warrington Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood. He was taken to UPMC Mercy in critical condition and died about two hours later. Another man who was wounded in

the leg during the incident said the shooting started after a scuffle. As yet, police have released no description of the shooter. The investigation is ongoing. April 15—Derek Schindler, a 30year-old White male, was fatally shot by Joshua Huber following marijuana and alcohol-fueled argument in Huber’s Etna apartment. Huber’s upstairs neighbor heard the shots and held him at gunpoint with his shotgun until police arrived. Huber is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing. April 15—Melissa Zuk, a 22-yearold White female, was fatally shot by Joshua Huber following marijuana and alcohol-fueled argument in Huber’s Etna apartment. Huber’s upstairs neighbor heard the shots and held him at gunpoint with his shotgun until police arrived. Huber is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing. April 26—Aaron Govostes, a 42year-old Black male, was shot three times in the doorway of his South Oakland home after opening his front door to intruders. His mother and two children were unharmed. Police found marijuana and cash in the house but did not reveal a motive. Govostes was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother described the intruders only as three Black males. As yet, police have no suspects. The investigation is ongoing. March Homicides (10) March 1—Tyrell Jones, a 20-yrold Black man, was discovered by police shot multiple times near a Homestead playground. No arrest has been made. The investigation is ongoing. March 5—Michael Watson, a 52year-old Black Male, was discovered by police fatally wounded in the 600 block of Chataqua Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital where he died shortly afterward. No suspects have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing. March 9—Tina Shelton, 37, Shada Mahone, 26, Chanetta Powell, 25, Brittany Powell, 27, all Black females, Baby Boy Powell, 8 months, and Jerry Shelton, a 35year-old Black male were all executed by a pair of gunmen at a during a cookout in Wilkinsburg. Despite District Attorney Steven A Zappala saying police had good leads on the shooters, no arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. March 12—Derek Price, a 26year-old Black male, was shot multiple times at the Monview Heights housing complex in West Mifflin and later died at the hospital. Hours later police arrested 22-year-old Zyaire James of Clairton and charged him with homicide. He is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial. March 13—Taevon Harris, a 15year-old Black male, was fatally shot by 19-yea-old Ryzel Barret after the two argued outside Mr. Barrett’s house in Homestead. Police said Barrett then went into the house, argued with his father, shot and wounded him shooting himself. March 14—Walli Hardy, a 23-yearold Black male, was found shot to death in a neighbor’s kitchen in Homewood. No suspects have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing. March 23—Linda Katilius, a 63year-old White female, was strangled to death by her 60-year-old husband Richard, who confessed to the crime. He is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial. March 24—Saevon Ponder, a 21year-old Black male, was fatally shot and dumped in Beltzhoover after being kidnapped over what police said was a drug debt. Mitchell Coles has been arrested and charged with the shooting, kidnapping and other charges. He is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial. March 25—Tarvus Gainer, a 28year-old Black male, was found fatally shot on Montier Street in Wilkinsburg. No arrests have been made. The investigation continues. March 27—Glenn Fischer, a 49year-old White male, was discovered strangled after a disturbance in a neighbor’s home. No charges have yet been filed. February Homicides (4) FEB. 3—Reginald Franklin, a 27year-old Black male from Homewood, was fatally shot while exiting a store in the 7200 block of Frankstown Avenue in Homewood. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian where he later died. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. On the listing provided by the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner, Franklin is identified as Reginald Frankin. Feb. 15—Calvin Turner, 56, Gerald Johnson, 68, and Darlyn Vance, 73, all Black males, died of smoke inhalation and burns after the North Lang Street house where they lived in Homewood was set on fire. Latoya Lyerly, 42, who also lived there confessed to the arson. She is in the Allegheny County Jail. FEB. 15—Keith Woodard, a 19year-old Black male from North Side, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the 100 block of Waldorf Street in the North Side. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital where he later died. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. FEB. 15—Amelia Roman, a 96year-old White female from North Braddock, was found dead in her North Braddock home, in the 700 block of Jones Avenue, by individuals conducting a welfare check. It has been reported that she had a heart attack during a home invasion in which she was left bound and gagged. No one has been charged; the investiga-

tion is ongoing. FEB. 17—Madeline Bernard, a 65year-old Black female from Brighton Heights, was found stabbed to death in her home on Verner Court in Brighton Heights. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Madeline Bernard was reportedly stabbed during a domestic altercation with her daughter, Sommer Bernard, who has been charged with criminal homicide. January Homicides JAN. 10—Damion Graham, a 39year-old Black male from the North Side, was fatally shot during a domestic altercation at a home on Forest Avenue in Bellevue. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 10—Chauncey Howard, a 25year-old Black male from the North Side, was found fatally shot inside of a vehicle that had crashed into a pole in the 3100 block of Universal Street in Sheraden. He was found by officers who were responding to a call of shots fired in the 3200 block. Howard was pronounced dead at the scene. Tremond Allston and Charles Williams have been charged with criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, carrying a firearm without a license and more. JAN. 15—Martell BentonBridgett, an 18-year-old Black male from McKees Rocks, was found at the Holiday Inn Express, in the 800 block of Greentree Road, in Greentree, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. It has been reported that he had been at a party at the hotel when he was shot. No one had been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 19—Shawn Cavender, a 39year-old Black male from Pittsburgh, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his lower extremities in a home in the 100 block of Southern Avenue in Mt. Washington. He was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital where he later died. Reportedly, he had gotten into an argument with another male who fled the scene. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 19—Raymond O’Neal, a 17year-old Black male from Penn Hills, was shot and killed at a home in the 8900 block of Upland Terrace in Penn Hills. It is believed that there was a confrontation and O’Neal was shot. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 20—Dante Dawkins, a 29year-old Black male from Clairton, was shot to death in the 400 block of Windgap Avenue, in Windgap Industrial Park, which is in the Windgap/Esplen area. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Divine Barrett was also found dead at the scene; one was found in a nearby vehicle and the other was lying in the street. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. (The Office of the Medical Examiner of Allegheny County has Dawkins’ age listed as 39, but other reports and an obituary list him as 29.) JAN. 20—Divine Barrett, a 24year-old Black male from New Jersey, was shot to death in the 400 block of Windgap Avenue, in Windgap Industrial Park, which is in the Windgap/Esplen area. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Dante Dawkins was also found dead at the scene; one was found in a nearby vehicle and the other was lying in the street. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 21—Bronson Waite, a 23year-old White male from Brighton Heights, was found shot to death in the torso at a residence in the 3900 block of Vinceton Street in Perry North. He was pronounced dead at the scene. It has been reported that a robbery and the shooting may have taken place the previous day. Daron Clark has been charged with criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacture number. JAN. 22—Janese Jackson Talton, a 29-year-old Black female from Penn Hills, was found fatally shot outside of Cliff’s Bar, located at North Lang Avenue in Homewood, by officers who were responding to a ShotSpotter notification. She was pronounced dead at the scene. According to reports, Talton was allegedly shot by Charles McKinney after rejecting his advances. McKinney is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, carrying a firearm without a license, fleeing or attempting to elude police, possession with intent to deliver, recklessly endangering another person and reckless driving. JAN. 30—Eric Johnson, a 24-yearold Black male from McKeesport, was fatally shot in the area of Fern Alley, in McKeesport, while sitting in a vehicle with another male. Johnson died at the scene; the other male was taken to a local hospital. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 31—Bruce Kelley Jr., a 37year-old Black male from Pittsburgh, was shot and killed by Port Authority Police after an altercation. According to reports, Kelley and his father were found drinking alcohol at a Wilkinsburg shelter near the East Busway when officers initially encountered them. An altercation broke out and the two got away. After finding the two again and Kelley allegedly refusing orders to put down a knife, officers Tased him. When that did not work, they released their K-9, Aren, and Kelley stabbed him. Officers then shot and killed Kelley. He died of multiple gunshot wounds to the trunk and extremities. Aren also died. The investigation is ongoing.

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24, was a senior at CAPA, when he was severely injured during an arrest by three White officers, Michael Saldutte, David Sisak and Richard Ewing on Tioga Street in Homewood in January 2010. Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto said the settlement was reached during federal mediation. The city offered $125,000 and the attorneys accepted it,” he said. In 2011, Miles turned down a $180,000 offer. The new settlement includes the $119,000 in damages awarded by a federal jury in 2014 plus attorneys’ fees. That jury made its award after finding the arresting officers had no probable cause to stop Miles in the first place, but—despite evidence including the widely publicized photos of Miles swollen face—it did not rule they used excessive force in subduing him.

BLM rally highlights Kelley Jr. shooting Though it began with

shouts of “Black Power is the solution” and “Shut it down,” at one point the 300 or so Black Lives Matter protesters who filled Liberty Avenue were silent— all but one. That one, Bekezela Mguni read the names of people killed by police in 2016, those like Philando Castile, shot by officers in Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, shot while handcuffed by Louisiana officers, and locally Bruce Kelley Jr., shot multiple times by Port Authority of Allegheny County police after he stabbed a police dog they had set on him as he tried to escape them. Kelley’s aunt, Bessie King, was among those who joined the Black Lives Matter National Day of Action rally next to the Port Authority T station at the intersection of Liberty and Wood Street. ““We cannot let them just continue to kill us without doing something about it,” she said. “If they’re going to go back to the ’60s when they were siccing dogs on us, we’re going to have to go back to pushing harder because we’re evidently not pushing hard enough right now.” Kelly’s Jan. 31 shooting is controversial because he had a history of mental health issues, and was trying to get away from police when shot 12 times by the handler of the dog he fa-

Happy New Year!

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

METRO

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE COURIER STAFF—Seated from left: Ashley Johnson, Ulish Carter, Kathleen Bradley Yocum and Camille Robinson. Standing from left: Marie Walker, Britton Cox, Allison Palm, Rod Doss, Christian Morrow, Jackie McDonald, Stephan Broadus, Brenda Hill, Aubrey Bruce and Bill Neal. (Photo by J.L. Martello) tally stabbed, Sgt. Brian O’Malley, and officer Domenic Rivotti. The controversy escalated after the dog, Aren, received a funeral procession that shut streets across Pittsburgh, while Kelley’s family had to solicit funds for his funeral.

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the way in the battle to get Blacks involved in the cable ownership coming to Pittsburgh during the 1970s. Pitts was named one of the first New Pittsburgh Courier’s 50 Men of Excellence, Trailblazers, along with Robert R. Lavelle, and Wendell Freeland. Milt Washington Called a “beacon of hope,” Businessman and philanthropist Milt Washington, who parlayed a vice presidency with the Allegheny Rehabilitation Housing Company into a business empire that included ownership of that firm, a construction company, sheet metal and roofing busi-

nesses, real estate and investment capital firms, died Oct. 22, less than a month after his 81st birthday. Though a multi-millionaire, he was remembered mostly for his charitable donations and fundraising efforts aimed at strengthening small and Black-owned businesses, and community institutions. Bill Nunn III Bill Nunn III, a veteran character actor whose credits ranged from the “SpiderMan” movie franchise to such Spike Lee films as “Do the Right Thing” and “He Got Game,” died at his home in Pittsburgh, Sept. 24. He was 63 and had been battling cancer.

Community Calendar Leadership Nominations Open Through FEB. 21—BMe Community is accepting nominees for its 2017 Bme Leader Award. Leaders are social entrepreneurs, innovators, and difference-makers who the world needs to know. They cure hopelessness, end helplessness and build community in places where the world’s leading social innovators fail to do so. BMe Community seeks remarkable, authentic, committed Black men whose works and stories speak for themselves, and who live to make a better world for us all. To tell your story or nominate someone, visit http://www.bmecommunity.or g/call-for-stories/. Top honorees receive national recognition, $10,000 to help build their communities, and a trip to Washington, D.C. for induction.

Violence Prevention Recruitment ONGOING—The Allegheny County Department of Health is recruiting 25 individuals to serve on its new Violence Prevention Community Advisory Board. The board will assist ACHD in developing public health approaches, data-driven strategies and collaborations to best serve the residents in the areas with the highest activity of gun violence. Members are being recruited from a wide range of backgrounds, including workforce development, government, media, social services as well as community residents who are committed to addressing the

issue. To learn more, visit online at http://www.achd.net/commhe alth/advisoryboard.html.

Winter Fun ONGOING—The Allegheny County Parks Department has opened the ski slopes and snow tubing areas in Boyce Park, as well as the ice skating rinks in North Park and South Park, weather and conditions permitting. For information on times, rates and rentals visit online at www.alleghenycounty.us/park s/activities/winter-sports or call 412-350-2455.

Business Education Forum JAN. 7—The Community Empowerment Association will host an MBE forum, at 12 p.m., at 7120 Kelly St. In Homewood. The forum will be led by Ruth Byrd Smith, director of the Allegheny County Minority Women Disadvantage Business Enterprise Office. Byrd-Smith will provide an overview of the steps it takes to get your business registered as a MWDBE vendor. Call 412371-3689 Ext. 44 to register for this class.

Business & Community Training Course JAN. 12—Community Empowerment Association will begin a 12-week Business Leadership & Entrepreneurship course, 6 to 8p.m. each Thursday, at 7120 Kelly St. In Homewood. Classes will cover business formation, marketing, product development and more. Space is limited. Call 412-371-3689 Ext. 44 to register.

Nunn broke through in movies in the late 1980s, first in Lee’s “School Daze,” then in the Oscar-nominated “Do the Right Thing,” as the ill-fated Radio Raheem, who dies when choked by police during a street brawl in Brooklyn. “Radio Raheem is now resting in power,” Lee wrote on Instagram, also calling Nunn “My Dear Morehouse brothers. Nunn was the grandson of Bill Nunn Sr., noted Managing Editor of the Pittsburgh Courier from 1923 to 1956, and son of noted sports writer and Steelers scout Bill Nunn Jr. Rev. Jason Barr Jr. Reverend Jason Barr Jr., pastor emeritus of Macedonia Baptist Church, in the Hill District, died Aug. 8 in his sleep due to natural causes, according to the Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh Facebook page. Barr was 61. Reverend Barr was elected pastor of Macedonia in April 1988, where he spent 24 years as the senior leader. He retired March 2012 due to health challenges that included a brain aneurism in 2007 and a car accident in 2010. Kris Kelley Pitt grad Kris Kelley radio programming veteran was found dead in her Philadelphia apartment Jan. 15. She was a program director and on-air personality who spent 15 years at Clear Channel Chicago. Her radio career began in Pittsburgh where she worked as the midday disc jockey and music director at WAMO-FM.

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RELIGION

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Praise & Worship ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH

Written testimonies by local ladies of God

Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Mass Sunday 9:00 A.M. & 12:00 P.M. Sunday (Gospel Choir Mass) 12:00 P.M. www.stbtmchurch.org

METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH 22 Sampsonia Street, Northside Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412-231-2554 FAX 412-231-6395 Rev. Lacy F. Richardson, Ph.D., Pastor Church School.................................9:30 A.M. Worship Service.................8:00 & 10:45 A.M. Bible Study/ Prayer Wednesday...................6:30/7:30 P.M. www.metropolitanbaptistchurch.com metropolitanbaptist2224@gmail.com

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

www.cathedralofhope.com

PASTOR PAULETTE V. DAVIDSON, author of “A Celebration of Life and Legacy.”

EVANGELIST VICTORIA E. HODGE, author of “For Life’s Day by Day Journey.”

Journey Worship........8:45 a.m. Sanctuary Worship........11 a.m.

New Destiny CME Church 1018 Bidwell St. Pittsburgh, PA 15233 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.

To have your church included in the Praise & Worship section contact Ashley Johnson at 412-481-8302 ext. 128 for ad rates.

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community

by Jackie McDonald

inspiring and empowering the lives of all who read their words of testimony and experience––whether through personal accounts or fictional characters. Make no mistake, these ladies, who participated in a recent book signing event, have been journalizing in sermons, prayers, plays, recitals and songs long before their books debuted and are known in the church world for their integrity and excellence in ministry. While they’re enjoying the success of their current endeavors, these stellar ladies say they are looking forward to the chapters yet to be written. These written testimonies can be found at local Christian book stores, online or by contacting their perspective churches.

For New Pittsburgh Courier

It’s a new year that, as usual, starts off cold, but introspective and full of wonderful expectation. With New Year’s resolutions of reading more and dropping temperatures, it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book, with the added attraction of the author being someone in your neighborhood. A few dynamic ladies, Rev. Dr. Lola M. Thorpe and Lady Brigette A. Ways, along with Co-Pastor Paulette V. Davidson and Evangelist Victoria E. Hodge, all with the experience of being counselors and multi-faceted ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, have decided to impart their messages of hope to a broader audience, in book form, with hopes of REV. DR. LOLA M. THORPE with her book, “When The Worse Came First.”

For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext. 128.

LADY BRIGETTE A. WAYS with her book, “The Ice Cream Fell.” (Photos by Jackie McDonald)

New gospel releases We are looking to feature our positive youth in the church communities. You can e-mail, fax or mail their bios and photo to:

New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Fax: 412-481-1360 email: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com

LIFESTYLES New Pittsburgh Courier

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Debbie Norrell

Lifestyles Report Thank you, President Obama I believe in writing thank you notes and I wish more people would go back to the old school way of sending out a thank you note when someone does something huge for you. As I was thinking about this and listening to numerous people saying that President Barack Obama has done nothing for the American people, I wanted to let him, and the people who read this column, know that I am grateful for the things that he has done. Since the list is huge and will not fit into this column, I selected a few things that I thought might be of interest to all of you. What hurts the most, is when I hear people say that he has not done anything for African Americans. Obama is not the president just for Black people, he is the president of the United States of America and the things that he has done are for all U.S. citizens. The two things that I am most happy about are the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and the Credit Card Act. Maybe you don’t pay any attention, but the reason you can now see how long it is going to take to pay off that credit card bill is due to Obama. As for HARP, many people were able to reduce their high mortgage rates and go from a 30-year fixed to a 15-year fixed one without much effort. Below, you will see some of the other things that he has accomplished. Thank you, President Obama, you will be missed. •Families with three or more children have their taxes reduced $200-$600 through the permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit. •College students can claim $2,500 towards tuition, fees and course material on their taxes after the extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit. •Veterans and their families are offered in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities in all 50 states. •United States and Cuba re-open embassies after 54year diplomatic freeze. •New Medicare formulas have changed the way doctors are reimbursed and rewards them when their patients have better health outcomes. •Large disparity in jail sentences have been reduced for crack cocaine related offenses that disproportionately affected African Americans. •Borrowers are protected from bad loans with rules and penalties requiring that lenders verify that they are able to repay the loans that they issue. •The FDIC bank deposit insurance was increased from $100,000 to $250,000. •Billions given to expand Pell grants and make it easier for students to repay outstanding loans after graduation through savings in the federal student loan program. •Billions given to laid off workers for education and career training programs in community. •People with a pre-existing conditions cannot be denied health coverage by an insurance company. •The Liquidation of General Motors and Chrysler was avoided through government mandated restructuring plans, and conditional investment and loan programs. •Homeowners’ foreclosures avoided by improved terms for loan modification and restructuring of their debt. (Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)w

EXEMPLARY SERVICE AWARD FOR BUSINESS—Kathy and Russell Bynum of Bynums Marketing & Communication, Inc.

EXEMPLARY SERVICE AWARD FOR MEDICINE—Dr. Raymond B. Wynn

EXEMPLARY SERVICE AWARD FOR EDUCATION

Iota Phi Foundation 2016 Awards Dinner by Debbie Norrell

enjoying the 2016 awards presentation. The Iota Phi Lifestyles Editor Foundation collaborates The spacious Syria Center with Omega Psi Phi Frawas once again the venue ternity’s Iota Phi Chapter for the Iota Phi Founda- in all of its community inition Annual Achievement tiatives. Each year, scholAwards Dinner. On Nov. 19, arships are awarded to five 2016, hundreds of guests deserving students. This in stunning dresses and year’s scholarship winners handsome tuxedos savored were Liza Wilson of Oakcocktails and dinner, before land Catholic High School, Chanel Curges of CAPA High School, Alexander Nichols IV of Deer Lakes High School, Caiden Cook of Beaver Falls High School and Jordan E. Scott of West Mifflin Area High School. Each student is active in their community and plans on attending a four-year university. Along with students, the Iota Phi Foundation also recognizes exceptional individuals and organizations. This year’s roster featured Bynums Marketing & Communication (ExemCITIZEN OF THE YEAR—Tracey Mc- plary Service Award Cants-Lewis, right, with John Laymon for Business); Ray-

DINNER COMMITTEE—Ron Lawrence, John Holloway and Fred Crawford mond B. Wynn, MD, FACR (Exemplary Service Award for Medicine); Jason Rivers, WE Promise leader, and a Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher (Exemplary Service Award for Education); Daniel Lavelle, Pittsburgh City Council member–Safety Committee chair (Exemplary Service Award for Com-

munity Advocacy; Tracey McCants-Lewis, assistant clinical professor (Citizen of the Year); Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Ivy Charitable Endowment (Sylvester Pace Humanitarian Award); Bro. Wilbur E. Hines (Lifetime Achievement Award); and Bro. Hassan Sharif was selected as Omega

Man of the Year. Awards were presented by Rodney Jones, Iota Phi Foundation chairman and Kenneth Minefield, Scholarship Committee chairman, while Jabari Weatherspoon, Basilus of the Iota Phi Chapter welcomed the crowd. Deejay Mac provided the soundtrack for the evening.

OMEGA MAN OF THE YEAR—Hassan Sharif, left, with Jabari Weatherspoon

SYLVESTER PACE HUMANITARIAN AWARD— Monica Lamar and Bridgette Cofield accepting the award on behalf of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Ivy Charitable Endowment.

EXEMPLARY SERVICE AWARD FOR COMMUNITY ADVOCACY—Daniel Lavelle (Photos by Debbie Norrell)

IOTA PHI SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS—Liza Wilson, Chanel Curges, LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD—Wilbur E. Hines, center, with Kenneth Minefield and John Laymon. Alexander Nichols IV, Caiden Cook and Jordan E. Scott

PEOPLE

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Generation NEXT: A student with a zeal for learning becomes an agent for change by Renee P. Aldrich For New Pittsburgh Courier

Ross Tedder, 16, a junior at Winchester Thurston School, has a very comprehensive scope of interests and accomplishments to his credit. Among other things, Tedder was the coordinator and overseer of a TEDxYouth talk in Squirrel Hill. Organizers had to form a 501(c) (3) nonprofit to secure funds for the talk. The theme for the event was “Ability”—that everyone should understand their capacity to achieve no matter their circumstance. Notable local speakers were Emmai Alaquiva, filmmaker and CEO of Ya Momz House Studios, and creator of Hip-Hop on L.O.C.K.; Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X, founder of 1Hood Media Academy; and Gregg Behr, executive director of the Grable Foundation, to name just a few. This successful effort showed qualities in Ross that garnered him the respect of his peers and instructors at Winchester Thurston. Tedder entered Winchester Thurston in ninth grade and admits that his first year was extremely difficult. With the help and support of the staff at Winchester Thurston, Tedder was able to turn it around and has been maintaining a high level of academic achievement ever since. “The leap from the McKeesport School District to the rigorous requirements of WT created quite a challenge,” he says. “Experiencing these struggles was crushing to me. I was not used to failure of any type, and the work I was doing represented failure.” The bright, confident, articulate young man shared that one of the things he enjoys about Winchester Thurston is the open and encouraging approach they have to learning. “They encourage independent thinking,

and this really works for me,” Ross says. “Even beyond academics, like if you have an idea about a club you want to start or something, they support that.” Tedder’s involvements in outside activities include organizing protests supporting Black Lives Matter, sustainability issues and participation in the school’s Black Student Union. He shares that his interest in these things may not come from his personal experience, because he’s basically had a privileged childhood, but says, “Still I get afraid, as a Black man, for myself and others. “My parents have talked to me about the proper protocol if I am ever stopped by the police. I’ve never heard my White friends speak of having to act a certain way with the police. This is troubling to me, and makes me ask the question, where is the equity in this— why do I have to be schooled about being stopped by the police and my White peers do not? This is the reason I stand with those working for change and to create that all important awareness.” Tedder’s versatility is surpassed only by his determination to be an accomplished leader. In keeping with the open environment at Winchester Thurston, he is the creator of two additional

my inner nerd, plus I’ve been able to travel. We recently went to Dallas to compete. We are broken up into two teams—Team A and Team B—I am now the captain of Team B.” Tedders’ parents share that all of his life they’ve allowed him space to embrace his interests. “He was speaking in complete sentences at 10 months old,” says his mother, Michele Tedder, program director for Health Profession Opportunity Grants at the Community College of Allegheny County. “We really knew he was going to be special when his sister went off to study in the University of Pittsburgh “Summer at Sea” program. He was only in kindergarten at the time, but asked us to get an atlas for him so he could follow the locations his sister’s ship would be.” Tedder resides in Edgewood with his mother and his father, Robert, pastor of Union Baptist Church in Swissvale. He is considering continuing his education at Harvard, Johns Hopkins or Tufts University to pursue a degree in bioengineering. “Whatever I do, I know it will be a blend of my interests that will include policy, because it is policy that changes things.”

ROSS TEDDER has many interests, including golfing, fencing, politics and theater. (Photo by Jacquelyn McDonald) clubs—“Controversy and Coffee,” a forum where professors and students come together weekly to discuss current events, and the World Affairs Club. These activities create a feel of community in the school, he says. One of the outstanding aspects of Ross’ character is that he loves to be challenged. And being a part of the Winchester Thurston Quiz Bowl is a significant highlight for him. “I love being a part of this,” Ross says. “It brings out

Each month in New Pittsburgh Courier, McAuley Ministries will sponsor an article highlighting the positive contributions of an African-American youth—male or female. We welcome community members to suggest a young person to feature in this monthly column. Criteria include: •Youth and young adults, ages 12-23 •Documented evidence of leadership or achievement in community service/ volunteerism; leadership or achievement in their classroom/school; creativity as an artist, musician, dancer or filmmaker; success as an entrepreneur; leadership in advocating for social justice and equity; and/or achievement in corporate or nonprofit arenas •A resident of Allegheny County. Readers who would like to suggest a youth for this feature should email GENNEXT@pittsburghmercy.org.

ENTERTAINER New Pittsburgh Courier

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Cover To Cover ‘My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire’

by Terri Schlichenmeyer For New Pittsburgh Courier

Your needs are very simple. Food, shelter, water. Those are the essentials, but then there are the things you need for yourself: family, good friends, a warm bed, a good book, and a place of welcome. You wouldn’t die without them, but those things spice your life. And if you were Maurice White, author of “My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire” (with Herb Powell), you’d add one more: music. Born in Memphis at a time when Jim Crow ruled the south, Maurice White was 4 years old when his mother told him that she needed to go to Chicago to find a job. She left him with a friend who became White’s “Mama,” and who raised him with strength and wisdom. He was a quiet boy, a born introvert, but Mama taught

Thank you, Denzel Washington! by Merecedes J. Howze For New Pittsburgh Courier

There are people who you automatically associate with Pittsburgh, such as Wiz Khalifa, Andy Warhol, Bill Nunn, George Benson and Mark Cuban. If you were to make a full list of notable Pittsburghers, August Wilson would undeniably be at the top of the list. The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright manifested 10 iconic plays and Denzel Washington brought one of them right to our backyard. Washington, 61, should be commended for bringing “Fences” back home. He should also be admired for directing August Wilson’s “Fences” for mainstream media. “My job was to take care of August Wilson, first,“ said Washington to a group of local cast and crewmembers who gathered in the South Side for a special screening. Set in the 1950s Pittsburgh, “Fences” is about a middle-age sanitation worker, Troy Maxson (Washington), struggling with missed opportunities and a stagnant career. DENZEL WASHINGTO AND VIOLA DAVIS KEEPS THE SPARK GOING. (Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures) Dysfunction surfaces in his family when he kills his son’s dream of playing col- aters nationwide Christ- ful on the big screen. Ana- confirming Pittsburgh’s pic- review, but in this case, there’s nothing to critique. lege football and gives his mas, is a splendid homage heim Street, which played a turesque landscape. wife, Rose (Viola Davis), to August Wilson, Pitts- significant role in my own Typically, I throw a little “Fences” is a well thoughtburgh, and the Historic childhood, is transformed, bit of shade on every film out arrangement of excelsome devastating news. lent storytelling and conWashington and Davis Hill District. Sugar Top, a viction. Thank you, Denzel were magical. They clear- section of the Upper Hill him by example to love God, ly work well together. But, District, is simply beautiWashington! Mahalia, and Ray Charles, The cast is composed of: though he was in junior high Washington, Davis, Mykelti when he fell “deep under the Williamson, Russell Hornsspell of music.” White and his by (“12 Years A Slave”), Stebest friend pulled together phen Henderson, Saniya a band then, and one of the Sidney and Jovan Adepo. members encouraged White The film has been nominatto find his spiritual core and ed by the American Film think in different ways. Institute for numerous At 18, not long before his awards, including the GoldMama died of cancer, White en Globe, Best Actor for headed for Chicago to live Washington, and Best Supwith his “Mother Dear,” his porting Actress for Davis. It birth mother, who’d remarhas already grossed more ried and was raising six chilthan $14 million. dren. She offered him a place (Ulish Carter contributed to DENZEL WASHINGTON, RIGHT, AND NEW COMER JOVEN ADEPO this story.) to stay, but he wanted to be his own man; he also wanted to emulate his stepfather and attend medical school, but music had such an allure that he told “Dad” that he’d been called to a different vocation. White became “a sponge” to soak up all he could learn about the music business. By early 1970, he knew what kind of music he wanted to play. He’d been a bandleader before, and he was eager to do it again. An astrologer had even handed him a “piece to my puzzle,” an astrological chart was filled with “‘only fire, air, and earth signs.’” Which brings us to page 77, almost the quarter-point of this memoir. That means “My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire” is one very wordy book. That’s not to say it’s bad— at least not the first half of DENZEL WASHINGTON WITH STEPHEN HENDERSON it, anyhow. The late author DENZEL WASHINGON AND VIOLA DAVIS IN SCENE FROM “FENCES.” White (with Powell) tells of Jim Crow from the point of after much practice from view of a child, of the Civil playing the same roles Rights Âovement, and what on Broadway in 2010, the it was like in the early days of chemistry made perfect Motown, Chess Records, and sense. Davis won Best Lead a new kind of rock & roll. Be- Actress in a Play at the cause White and Powell are 64th Annual Tony Awards so casual in their storytell- that same year and Washing, those memories feel like ington snagged Best Actor. The duo deserves any aca conversation with readers. At roughly the part where colades coming their way in White switches gears mu- relation to this film. “Fencsically, so does the book. es” is powerful, uplifting, There’s where we get a lot of and despite the time differdetail about the band, play- ence, hits home with every ers, gigs, and such—valuable family. To much surprise, Mykelti info if you can follow along. Williamson steals the Musical mud, if you can’t. Therefore, the audience show—his strongest perforfor this book, I think, is mance to date. His smaller with a professional musi- roles here and there have cian or a die-hard EW&F started to accumulate, but fan. Pass on it, if you’re not it is “Fences” that places —but if you are, “My Life him to the forefront of male with Earth, Wind & Fire” actors. Williamson plays Troy Maxon’s younger could be elemental. (“My Life with Earth Wind & Fire” brother, Gabriel, who sufby Maurice White with Herb Powell, fered from mental delay as c.2016, Amistad, $27.99/$34.99 a result of a war injury. MUKELTI WILLIAMSON RUSSELL HORNSBY “Fences,” which hit theCanada, 385 pages.)

A10

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

PEOPLE

LENDING THEIR SUPPORT—From left: Public Safety Director Michael Huss, Acting Police Chief Scott Schubert, Adrienne Young and Mayor Bill Peduto keeping the beat. (Photos by Jackie McDonald)

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

SOULFUL SANTA WITH KEYARI AND JALYNN

Tree Of Hope toy drive A big success

RECORDING ARTIST LOREN KNIGHT SINGING

ARTIST “CHURCHBOI” PERFORMING

ADRIENNE YOUNG ADDRESSING THE CROWD

MINISTERS KARL & KEITH EDMONDS—Masters of Ceremonies

A ROOM FULL OF TOYS

by Jackie McDonald For New Pittsburgh Courier

The Tree of Hope Christmas Toy Drive was, again, a success for the organiTIME OF SHARING—Attorney Todd Hollis, pictured with his daughter, Gia, shared their annual holiday zation that supplies toys to children who have been cupcakes with children and others in community. directly affected by the street violence. Each year, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and other organiza-

tions, initiate a massive collection of toys and games to drop off at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Liberty, which is then distributed to area children. This is the 15th year for the annual celebration. The event, themed “Unto Us A Son Is Given” (Isaiah 9:6), and inspired by Founder and Director Adri-

enne Young, continues to grow larger in the hearts of the East End community. Young welcomed guests Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Acting Police Chief Scott Schubert, Public Safety Director Mike Huss and Pa. state Rep. Ed Gainey. All shared holiday wishes as they enthusiastically participated in the joyous program. Featured performers of the evening were recording artist Loren Knight, who gathered the children to sing, “Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer,” and Don Churchboi, who dazzled the crowd with his animated poetic rendition of a “Little Bit Of Faith.” Attorney Todd Hollis, along with daughter, Gia, gave the gift of decorated cupcakes to the families represented. During her final remarks, Young acknowledged a host of contributors: Mirth Productions, Monroeville Rotary Club, The Black Woman’s Association, Robert Wholey’s Seafoods, Allegheny Center Alliance Church and Perry’s Honeydripper. The evening would not have been complete without Douglas “Soulful Santa” Williams adding to the Children’s joy and the sounds of Spirit Filled Music Ministry. Both Overseer Karl and Pastor Keith Edmonds, aka K&K Mime, served as the masters of ceremonies.

New Pittsburgh Courier

Inside Conditions

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

When your kid is a financial train wreck Financial planners and credit counselors see plenty of examples. The grown son who lost a job, moved home and stopped looking for work. The daughter who constantly mismanaged her checking account—and turned to payday lenders when parents stopped covering her overdrafts. The father working into his 70s to support spendthrift children in their 40s and 50s. Kristi Sullivan, a certified financial planner in Denver, once worked with an elderly couple whose offspring constantly turned to them for help. “The clients couldn’t understand why their grandchildren had all the latest iPads and phones, but when a car or home repair came up, their adult children always had to ask them for money,” Sullivan said. Giving adult children money is the norm in the U.S. Six out of 10 parents with adult children said they had given those children financial help in the previous 12 months, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey . Parents usually give because it feels good. Eight out of 10 parents who help adult children—with money, child care, housework or home repairs—said doing so was rewarding, Pew found. But the toll can be steep, advisers say. Supporting able-bodied children or repeatedly bailing them out of debt creates dependency when parents should help them become self-sufficient. The unwise spending also can: •Delay or derail the parents’ retirement. •Fuel sibling resentment and family discord. •Enable dangerous behavior, including addiction or untreated mental illness. The “just say LIZ WESTON no” advice doesn’t get far with parents stuck in these patterns, advisers say. Many parents don’t understand the harm they’re doing, and the children certainly have no incentive to change, said Bruce McClary, a former credit counselor and spokesman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling in Washington, D.C. Change is possible, though, when parents set limits and communicate those limits to their kids. Here’s what planners advise: FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD Delia Fernandez , a CFP in Los Alamitos, California, uses retirement planning software to show what happens if clients continue spending on their kids at their current level. Often, the results are eye-opening. “They’ll say, ‘Why is the chart turning red?’” Fernandez says. “They thought they’d be retiring at 62, but now they’re looking at 66 or later.” If parents can’t agree on a figure, a third party such as a planner, accountant or even a therapist may be able to help. SET EXPECTATIONS Many parents who support adult kids have never talked about money with those children, planners say. Parents should be clear about when they will and won’t help. If the children aren’t trying to be self-sufficient, any help should have an expiration date. If the offspring needs basic budgeting help, credit counselors can offer advice, classes or debt-management plans. PLAN FOR ‘EMERGENCIES’ The financially irresponsible limp from crisis to crisis, so parents who set boundaries should expect to get pleas for emergency help. If possible, avoid knee-jerk responses, planners say. Parents who decide to step in should set and communicate limits, Fernandez says. For example, they can offer to pay one or two months’ rent to stave off an eviction, but tell the offspring to find affordable shelter after that. TARGET YOUR HELP Very wealthy parents may hand over annual checks as a way SEE TRAIN WRECK C2

BUSINESS

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B5

Classifieds

Region strong in business assistance providers by Diane I. Daniels For New Pittsburgh Courier

Delaware with member corporations who are committed to supplier development and want to purchase their products, services and solutions. During its recent Annual Meeting and Year End Celebration, Valarie J. Cofield, president and CEO announced that 2016 was a success and t h a t plans f o r

Back in the day, older people often would say “boy how time flies.” Entering 2017 with only three years before 2020, a new decade the phrase seems more real. As we settle into the first week of the new-year, and unsettledness lingers due to the upcoming change in the United States presidential leadership, we all realize that yes, time flies. But the real question is how should businesses, particularly small businesses, be preparing themselves for the mysteries of the future. Entrepreneurs within this region have the good fortune of having an abundance of organizations on a national and local level that provide resources, assistance and services to help start, develop and grow a business. The U.S. Small Business Administration has a strong presence in Western Pennsylvania. The SBA, an independent agency of the federal government aids, counsels, assists and protects the interests of small business concerns. It preserves free competitive enterprises and maintains and strengthens the overall economy of the nation. The SBA Pittsburgh District is headed by Kelly Hunt PhD, AIMING FOR A STRONG 2017—Valarie J. Cofield, President and CEO of the Eastern Minority Supa former entrepreneur. In plier Diversity Council outlines the strategy of EMSDC for 2017. (Photos by Diane I. Daniels) April Hunt announced that the U.S. Small Business Administra- 2017 include introducing new assess- lished. A Business Institute that serves as a tion awarded a grant to the Center for ment tools to assess corporate memWomen’s Entrepreneurship at ber needs and MBE capabilities. An national model for developing and Chatham University to staff a active programs calendar will deliver sustaining profitable minority-owned Women’s Business Center. Servicing monthly events focused on growth, enterprises; an annual candidate’s Pittsburgh, Allegheny and 11 other connection, and business develop- forum to ask candidates and elected counties the CWBC is designed to pro- ment and the Council will commission officials questions concerning minorvide services geared specifically to an economic impact study. She also ity businesses and demonstrating women and underserved populations, mentioned that their first post- how to do business by working with minority entrepreneurs and veterans merger annual report will be pub- major corporations, authorities, and organizations to advance throughout Western PA. opportunities for members According to the Centers’ to conduct business are a director Anne Flynn few programs and services Schlicht it offers aspiring offered by the African Amerand existing business ownican Chamber of Commerce ers free business counseling, of Western Pennsylvania. training programs, techniThe goal of offering such cal support and mentoring attributes to its members focused on business planand guests is to assist in ning and financing, access to their development and gaincapital, federal contracting, ing access to decision-makand business expansion ers for business growth. A through international marstaple of the organization is kets and exporting. 412-365the Power Breakfast meet1253 ing held from September The Eastern Minority through June. Supplier Diversity Council, A Chief Executive Officer using the slogan one council addresses attendees on how two locations services Pittsto do business with their burgh and Philadelphia. Its company or organization. mission is to stimulate and Doris Carson Williams, support economic developPresident and CEO of the ment with minority-owned Chamber has announced businesses that includes that County Executive Rich Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Fitzgerald will be the guest and Native Americans. The for the 7:30 a.m. January 20 group certifies and connects Power Breakfast meeting minority-owned businesses throughout Pennsylvania, THE TIME IS NOW—Juan Garrett, Executive Director of Riverside SEE REGION C2 Southern New Jersey, and Center for Innovation stresses that businesses need to market.

Fair lending to be CFPB’s top priority in 2017 (NNPA)—As a New Year approaches, fair lending will be the priority for the nation’s consumer financial cop on the beat. Mortgage and student loan servicing along with redlining and small business lending will be a triple-focus in 2017 for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “While the Bureau has taken important strides in our efforts to protect consumers from credit discrimination and broaden access to credit, we continue to identify new and emerging fair lending risks and we will monitor institutions for compliance,” said Patrice Ficklin, CFPB’s associate director for fair lending. Specifically, CFPB will evaluate whether lenders have practiced one or more of the following: Intentionally avoided lending in minority neighborhoods; Whether racial or ethnic concerns affect how loan servicers work with borrowers who are behind on either a mortgage or student loan; and Whether discriminatory practices affected access to credit for minority and womenowned businesses. For all consumers, CFPB’s 2017 priorities are an encouraging sign. But for Black, Latino and other consumers of color, heightened fair lending enforcement could signal less predatory and discriminatory lending that robs people of their hardearned livings. With heightened monitoring and related enforcement actions, lenders and creditors who violate fair lending laws will pay a price, and consumers will hold on to more of their own money.

To date, CFPB has criminatory and recovered more Charlene Crowell predatory lending. than $11 billion for Racial disparities in 27 million conearnings and income sumers who were are worsened by harmed by illegal fibusiness practices nancial ploys. These and decisions that enforcement acdeny consumers a tions have affected chance to get ahead a wide range of financially. Hence, lending areas from no one should be mortgages to student loans, auto finance surprised to learn that many consumers of and more. color struggle to attain financial stability. The cumulative clout of CFPB enforceFor example, on Dec. 28, the Department ments has also attracted united support of Justice announced a $9 million settleamong national civil rights groups. On De- ment to end a lawsuit alleging that Union cember 21, the Leadership Conference on Savings Bank and Guardian Savings Bank Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National redlined predominantly Black neighborCouncil of La Raza and the National Urban hoods in Indianapolis and three Ohio League released a joint statement in sup- cities—Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton. port of the Bureau. The two banks share ownership and man“If the 2008 financial crisis showed us agement from their joint base in Cincinanything, it’s that consumers need a strong nati. and independent regulator to look after the An opposite outcome occurred in early Deinterests of consumers. The civil rights cember when 10 lawsuits filed by a group of community stands behind Director Black businesses in Michigan were dis[Richard] Cordray as he continues to lead missed. As reported, the plaintiffs alleged the CFPB in the fourth year of his five-year that Mercantile Bank violated the Equal tenure,” wrote the leaders. Credit Opportunity Act with practices and “Any effort to weaken the agency or un- loan terms that resulted in diminished dermine its leadership would risk severe commercial lending. According to U.S. impacts on our communities—including Judge Robert Homes Bell, the charges that communities of color and low-income fami- alleged violations occurred from 2007 to lies who are most vulnerable to financial 2009 were beyond the statutory limitation. abuse,” the leaders continued. The lawsuits were filed in 2013. Unfortunately, many communities of color “Three demographic factors affect your that were hardest hit financially during the wealth: your race or ethnicity, how much Great Recession are also targeted for dis- education you have, and when you were

Commentary

born,” noted Lowell Ricketts, a senior analyst with the Center for Household Financial Stability, a program of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “Wealth is distributed unequally across all three demographic categories.” Ricketts found that between 2004 and 2013, the median wealth of Black families fell by 55 percent. In 2013, the median Black family owned 8 cents for every dollar that the median white family owned. Another analysis, this one by the Economic Policy Institute, found that in 2015, Black workers were paid 26.2 percent less than their White peers. This column has and will continue to share consumer victories that diminish these and other disparities that consumers of color continue to face. But as Vanita Gupta, the head of the U.S. Justice Department recently noted, “success stories alone cannot erase systemic injustices. They cannot eradicate profound inequities.” “But they do give me faith in America’s capacity for progress,” she continued,”—the notion that we can march forward, imperfectly but unyieldingly, to build a more inclusive, more just and more free union. And they give me hope that together we can advance the cause of justice.” Here’s hoping that in 2017 our nation’s public policies will continue the journey towards financial justice. (Charlene Crowell is the deputy communications director with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.)

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

James Clingman

Blackonomics

NAMAD, IHS Automotive Award Auto Brands focused on diversity by Stacy M. Brown

Black-owned ComproTax is one of the best in the business (NNPA)—Having written many articles on what takes place from January through April, each year, relative to our tax payments and refunds, I understand that we need reinforcement and repetition on certain issues. Just as advertisers and marketers understand the power of continuous exposure to their messages, Black folks need the same thing, especially when it comes to getting us to act on basic, sound, practical, and collective economic and business principles. So please take a little time to read my latest repetitive missive on one of this nation’s finest Black-owned businesses: ComproTax. The tax preparation industry generates between $6 billion and $9 billion annually, which indicates that there are plenty of tax returns to go around—the IRS estimates that there will be over 250 million filed by 2018 with revenues of $11 billion! Compared to our percentage of population (13 percent), Black-owned tax preparation businesses should have revenues of at least $1 billion. As far as I am concerned, ComproTax alone should be a billion-dollar business, considering it has some 220 affiliates throughout the nation. One advantage that ComproTax brings to its customers is year-round services. That’s because ComproTax is more than a tax preparation service. Most of the large chains only come into our neighborhoods for four months or so, until around April 15. ComproTax is always there, providing Tax Preparation Training, Insurance Products, Bookkeeping Services, Payroll Services, Business Mentoring, and Small Business Consulting. Additionally, ComproTax Founder, Jackie Mayfield, and his two co-founders, Yusuf Muhammad and Craig Johnson, believe in something many Black businesses only talk about: Giving back. They return some of their profits to community activities and charitable causes, and they provide sponsorships for many Black events across the country. In other words, they are “Conscientiously Conscious” business owners. Mayfield stated: “When it comes to tax preparation, you have a lot of choices. So, why choose ComproTax? ComproTax provides complete and professional tax preparation and bookkeeping services with the personal attention that you deserve. We have over 220 offices nationwide and we are steadily growing. In addition to our convenient office locations, we have hundreds of mobile affiliates that will come directly to you. Our tax preparers are committed to ongoing training to ensure that you get the best service and the best tax refund available. In short, we offer a vast network of trained professionals that are ready to serve you in tax season and out of season.” He continued: “At ComproTax we are about relationships. We work hard to get your business and develop a relationship of trust. We do this by being knowledgeable about new laws and requirements that affect your taxes, being reliable, and being confidential. That’s why our customers come back to us year after year. Don’t trust just anyone to handle your taxes and confidential books. Contact a ComproTax professional and begin a relationship with someone that you can trust.” One thing I personally love to brag about is the Compro Event Center, a full-service convention center built, owned, and operated by ComproTax a few years ago and located in Beaumont, Texas. Managed by Fred Zeno, another ComproTax stalwart and long-time business associate to Mayfield and the cofounders, the Event Center is a spacious and luxuriously appointment venue that can be used for weddings, various meetings and conventions, parties, and banquets. I am proud to say that the One Million Conscious and Conscientious Black Contributors and Voters will hold our quarterly Training and Orientation gathering there January 6-8, 2017. It would be great of other Black groups would do likewise; it is one thing to talk about supporting Black venues, but it is much better to act upon those words. ComproTax was founded in 1982 and has since created a platform for true economic empowerment via entrepreneurship, by modeling a high level of conscientious consciousness in addition to merely talking about it. As Brother Mayfield said in a speech 16 years ago at a MATAH conference in Philadelphia, “Not only should we be conscious, our consciousness must be disturbed enough for us to do what must be done to achieve real economic power.” To that I say Ase (Ashe) and Amen! We should support this and other Black owned businesses that believe in reciprocity and providing top-quality goods and services to their customers. For more information on ComproTax and to find an office near you, go to www.comprotax.net or call 1888-884-2829. In any case, however, use a competent Black-owned tax firm this year. (James Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. His latest book, “Black Dollars Matter! Teach Your Dollars How to Make More Sense,” is available on his website, Blackonomics.com.)

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

BUSINESS

For New Pittsburgh Courier

(NNPA)—A year ago, the makers of the Toyota Corolla were recognized as having the auto industry’s highest number of new vehicles registered to ethnic consumers. At this year’s second annual Diversity Volume Leadership Awards in Detroit, Toyota faces competition from Honda, Nissan and Chevrolet— among others—when winners are announced at the invitation-only event scheduled for 5 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8. The special presentation takes place during the North American International Auto Show at The Cobo Center in Detroit, Mich. “Last year went excellent and it exceeded both my expectations and [the expectations] of my awards co-creator Damon Lester,” said Marc Bland, the vice president of Diversity Inclusion for IHS Automotive, a London-based organization that’s widely considered the most trusted source for vehicle and consumer insights and registration information. Lester is the president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers . “Damon and I decided to do a fact-based diversity awards show and we looked at those brands and models and their supporting agencies who put forth a strategy of selling to ethnic consumers including women of all race and backgrounds and also millennials, because they’re the future.” Bland continued: “Instead of putting together a panel of people who based recognition on opinions or perceptions, we said why not look at facts. Our awards are based on new vehicle performance. If you sell to mostly African-Americans, to Asian-Americans, to women, then you’ll get to get on our stage and accept an award. If you don’t, you get to be recognized based on facts.” At the first awards ceremony, Toyota and its luxury brand sibling, Lexus, took home 10 of the 20 awards that were issued. Honda captured four awards while Chevrolet earned three. Buick, Mercedes-Benz and Ram each grabbed one award. Meanwhile, the top vehicle registration winners were handed out in the areas of women and ethnic millennial consumers, which were based on more than 13 million new-vehicle registrations of 2015 model year cars and light trucks between October 2014 and September 2015. This year the ethnic volume leaders, as determined by IHS Markit regions, in the Great Lakes Region are: Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Escape, and Honda Civic. In the Mideast Region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, and Honda Civic. In the New England Region: Honda Accord, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV-4. In the Plains Region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series, and Toyota RAV-4. In the Rocky Mountain Region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series, and RAM. In the Southeast Region, the ethnic volume

leaders are: Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Corolla. In the Southwest Region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series and Ram. And, in the Western Region, the ethnic volume leaders are: Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla. The nominees for volume leaders for Top Women’s Luxury Vehicle are: Buick Encore, Lexus RX, and Mercedes Benz C-Class. The volume leaders in the Top Ethnic Millennial Vehicle category are: Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Corolla. Awards will also be handed out for Top Vehicle for African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Pacific Islander. The awards are unique to the industry and Bland said more than 13 million personal new vehicle registrations have been analyzed to identify which consumer groups are winning and driving sales with top global automotive brands. “High tide raises all boats,” Bland said. “Therefore, what we do reveals who’s doing what. What Damon Lester and I are doing is putting some facts into the market place so that when publications and others publish the information, they can provide the facts to the con-

BUSINESS BUSINESS CALENDAR CALENDAR

Marketing Workshop

JAN. 6—SCORE the Service Corps of Retired Executives will host a Marketing on Facebook workshop, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Peters Township Public Library, 616 East McMurray Rd., McMurray, Pa. 15317. Participants will learn how to set up a business page and advertise effectively on Facebook. This will include automating posts, what to post, when to post and using analytics to track engagement. The workshop is free.

Open House JAN. 11—The Chatham Women’s Business Center will hold an open house, 5:30-7 p.m., at the James Laughlin Music Hall on the Chatham University Shadyside Campus. Meet staff, facilitators, and past participants while learning about all of our services for women business owners and women in business. The Center has programs for women in all stages of business development, from membership to business development classes, small business workshops, women’s leadership breakfasts, and our online community for our members.

Strategic Planning Workshop

RESEARCH REVEALED—Marc Bland, the vice president of diversity and inclusion for IHS Automotive talks about his research in the auto industry during the Diversity Volume Leadership Awards in Detroit, Mich., in January 2016. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA Newswire Service) sumers and when in the [diversity] marketplace, someone wonders what is the number one selling vehicle last year, they can see it was the Toyota Camry.” Bland continued: “This year, we will have to wait until Jan. 8 to see who is number one. We will have to wait until January 8 to see who has the top-selling luxury vehicle to Latino consumers.” Bland noted that the awards have also helped to clear up the false perception that LatinoAmericans don’t fare well financially.

JAN 12—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa. will host a Strategic Planning Workshop, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in its 9th floor boardroom at the Koppers Building, 436 Seventh Ave., Downtown. Raymond L. Vargo, director of the University of Pittsburgh Small Business Development Center will present information about the vital components that should be included in a strategic plan, what to include when applying for funding, tips for marketing, and how to use your plan to make decisions in your business. Cost: $10 for members, $20 for nonmembers. For more information call 412-392-0610.

Business & Community Training Course

JAN. 12—Community Empowerment Association will begin a 12-week Business Leadership & Entrepreneurship course, 6 to 8p.m. each Thursday, at 7120 Kelly St. In Homewood. Classes will cover business formation, marketing, product development that entrepreneurs of all backgrounds can access and more. Space is limited. Call 412-371-3689 Ext. 44 to register.

Region strong in business assistance providers CONTINUED FROM C1

held at the Rivers Club in the Oxford Center. For information call 412-392-0610. In 1992 the Riverside Center for Innovation opened its doors with the goal of fostering small business growth. Since then the nonprofit organization reports that it has generated over half a billion dollars in economic impact and supported more than 3,500 jobs. Juan Garrett, RCI executive director says, “Our programs provide services that help grow small businesses into a sustainable enterprise. Aside from providing office spaces to MWDBE and Veteran entrepreneurs we assist them in gaining access to networking opportunities, seminars, and provide a wide range of resources.” He considers the RIC a business “work tank” that incubates businesses, provides them with resources, and helps them become successful. The group also partners with many members of the community, to assure they have the connections to assist in the growth of any type of business. 412-322-3523. Urban Innovation21 classifies itself as a unique public-private partnership supporting the growth of entrepreneurship in our region’s innovation economy and connecting that growth to underserved communities and the residents that live in those communities. Its “Inclusive Innovation” approach, according to William Generett Jr., president and CEO is an economic development approach that is working to make sure that all communities are connected to the Pittsburgh Region’s Economic prosperity. Also, realizing the importance of a small amount of capital to unlock the potential of an entrepreneur Urban Innovation21 and Kiva Pittsburgh have formed a partnership that will expand access to capital for Pittsburgh start-up businesses and experienced entrepreneurs who have difficulty securing traditional funding. Kiva, an international nonprofit based in San Francisco is an innovative crowdfunding platform that democratizes small business capital so

capital to launch or grow a business. The two organizations will recruit and be promoting the availability of Kiva jointly—assisting business owners through the application process and linking them to Urban Innovation21 programs as applicable. 412-281-0102. Mark your calendar for the Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Governmental Committee 21th anniversary of the organization and 16th year of its Annual MWDBE Conference slated for March. The MWDBE Governmental Committee is comprised of city, county, state and federal governmental agency representatives. Its mission is to create effective methods that strengthen economic opportunities for MWDBEs and to provide assistance in securing contracts in the procurement, construction and professional service markets leading to profitability and growth for these businesses. 412402-2460. A neophyte in the business development arena is the Homewood-Bruston Business Association. Its mission is to foster the development and growth of the Homewood-Brushton business community, to enhance its visibility, and to preserve its history. By building a stable foundation for businesses by increasing the capacity of businesses and providing access to capital, industry information, technical assistance and business support the group’s vision is to increase the economic viability of Homewood-Brushton small business owners. 412-945-7422 “The Pittsburgh region offers many resources to assist entrepreneurs,” says Garrett. “The key is to research and find what group or groups best meets your needs. But most importantly as a small business marketing is paramount. With the U.S. Census Bureau projecting that by the end of 2016 $1.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion will have passed through the hands of Black Americans, we are in a time that we must offer strong, sustainable enterprises.”

When your kid is a financial train wreck CONTINUED FROM C1 t o reduce their estates and avoid future estate taxes. But giving cash to irresponsible adult children is a bad idea. Instead, parents should direct the money toward something specific, such as paying the mechanic for a car repair or taking over certain bills, planners say. CONSIDER YOUR OTHER KIDS Money shouldn’t equal love, but it often does in the siblings’ minds when financial help is doled out unequally, says Laura Scharr-Bykowsky, a CFP in Columbia, South Carolina. Siblings also may worry they’ll have to support the parents or the financially irresponsible child someday, which adds to their resentment. Know-

ing the parents have a plan to wean that person, or some kind of “stop loss” figure where they’ll stop giving, can ease the situation. Parents may not be able to treat their children equally in life, but Scharr-Bykowsky encourages her clients to at least do so in death by dividing their estate equally—assuming, of course, that there’s anything left. Treating children unequally “is a very hurtful thing,” Scharr-Bykowski says. “And the parents don’t see it.” (This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a certified financial planner and columnist at NerdWallet. Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com Twitter: @lizweston)

Business Breakfast Meeting JAN. 13—The Chatham Women’s Business Center will host its monthly Women’s Business Leaders Breakfast Series from 8-9 p.m. at the James Laughlin Music Hall on the Chatham University Shadyside Campus. The speaker will be Eve Picker, small home developer, and head of the Small Change online real estate investment portal. Cost is $25. Register online at http://www.chatham.edu/cwe/netw orking/breakfastseries/

Training Event JAN. 19—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host First Step: Business Start-up Essentials, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Rockwell Hall Room 108, 600 Forbes Ave., Uptown. Topics include: Structure and formation; Employee issues; insurance; financing options, Taxing requirements and others. Cost is $25. For more information, call 412-396-6233.

PowerBreakfast Meeting JAN. 20—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa. will host it first PowerBreakfast meeting of the year with guest speaker County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, 7:30-9 a.m. at the Rivers Club in One Oxford Center, Downtown. Fitzgerald will address the health of our county and his vision and plans for 2017. Cost: $20 for members, $30 for non-members. For more information, call 412-392-0610.

Build your Business Workshop JAN. 21—The Chatham Women’s Business Center presents a Build Your Business Workshop,9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Mellon Building on the Chatham University Shadyside Campus The workshop is designed for women interested in starting or expanding their business. Business experts and seasoned entrepreneurs will discuss the following topics: business planning, marketing and sales, financing, legal issues and business lessons learned. Cost $20 with partial scholarships available (need-based, up to 50%). For more information, call Anne Flynn Schlicht, 412-365-1153.

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

Toy giveaways…turkey dinners

Guest Editorial

On draining the swamp Remember all the talk from Donald Trump about draining the swamp? Well forget about it. It appears that was just what Donald Trump Sr. told voters mad at government corruption to get their votes. “I’m told he now just disclaims that,” Gingrich said in an interview on National Public Radio, referring to the catchy slogan Donald Trump used in his campaign in reference to his promise to cleanse Washington of insiders and self-dealers. “He now says it was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore,” Gingrich said. “He’s in a different role now and maybe he feels that as president, as the next president of the United States, that he should be marginally more dignified than talking about alligators in swamps,” Gingrich said. So according to this outside advisor to the president-elect the phrase is being dropped because it does not sound presidential. OK, fine. But what about the goal of cleansing Washington of self-dealing? It’s hard to believe that’s occurring when you look at some of Trump’s cabinet choices and people connected to his campaign and the behavior of his adult children. When former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski announced a new consulting firm he plans to open with former Donald Trump campaign advisor Barry Bennett, he boasted about his access and proximity to Trump. Lewandowski said he turned down “multiple opportunities” within the Donald Trump administration so he can serve his clients. By the way, his firm will be located one block from the White House. Lewandowski is not the only one selling access to Donald Trump. One of the president-elect’s sons will stop directly raising money for his namesake foundation, saying he worries the donations could be perceived as buying access to his father. Eric Trump said that he would cease soliciting donations for his organization, after reports came out of his fundraising activities. Prior to that, Eric Trump tried auctioning a coffee date with his sister, Ivanka, to raise money for a children’s hospital. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are part of a venture that initially offered a private reception with their father during inauguration weekend in exchange for $1 million donations that would go to conservation charities. Some of those contributors could later go hunting or fishing with one or both of the sons, the invitation promised. Eric Trump had to cancel the coffee with Ivanka after The New York Times reported that some of the bidders were doing so to gain insight about the Trump administration. Considering the numerous potential conflicts of interests of Donald Trump’s children, associates and cabinet appointees, lawmakers should not rely on Trump’s promise to drain the swamp. Senior Democrats should move ahead with their announced plans to require Donald Trump’s picks for top jobs, including some of the wealthiest and connected Americans, to provide financial disclosure statements and meet ethical standards. (Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

Founded 1910

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

Ulish Carter

Jeff Marion

Office Manager

Managing Editor

Circulation Consultant

John. H. Sengstacke

Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

There are a lot of good and bad aspects of Christmas, but one very pleasant thing about this Christmas was all the toy giveaways. There were so many of them; I wish we had space to feature them all, and show the joy of the children and youth receiving them. A special thanks goes out to everyone who gave out toys this year, especially to the biker groups and SALT, which were featured in last week’s Courier, and the Charlie Batch Foundation, too, for the thousands of toys they collected and gave out. Speaking of football players, Cameron Haywood hooked up with JCPenney for a big toy giveaway Christmas weekend. I don’t know for sure how many, but somewhere around hundreds. My plea is to all the people who plan to hold giveaways next year, please let the Courier know at least two weeks in advance so that we can make the announcements in our event calendars. That gives the people who need the toys time to arrange transportation to and from the event. Remember, some of those who are receiving these toys travel by bus, which limits them in how much they can take with them. They may need time to contact family or friends to arrange a ride. Little things like these are taken for granted by most of us with cars, but are very important to those who do not have one. The same is true of Thanksgiving. There were so many giveaways this year, which is a good thing, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t cover them all. What surprised me was the lack of churches that served/gave out Thanksgiving dinners. If they did

Ulish Carter

Just Sayin’ give them out, they kept it a secret because we didn’t get any notice. Isn’t that what the church is all about––helping the needy? And, wouldn’t it encourage more people in the community to come and support the church in the community, if Thanksgiving dinners were served to the elderly and the poor? At one time, I was critical of Thanksgiving dinners for the poor, stating that it was only one meal and they needed more than just that one meal. But for the elderly, in facilities or at home alone, it gives them something to do and look forward to, and allows them the opportunity to see some old friends. As we get older, we are thankful during Thanksgiving and Christmas for the family and friends still left, and to either be able to still cook or have someone else cooking for us. During New Years, we can reflect back on the loved ones we lost, not only that year, but the previous years, while still enjoying those who are still with us. Many psychologists talk about how the holiday season leads to depression for many, if not most people, especially older people. Mostly because we see what we don’t have or have lost, instead of what we still have. Maybe we would all be better off if we took time to deal

with what we have lost and weigh it against what we have. We should do everything in our power to enjoy or make the most of what we have by taking a closer look at what we have control over vs. what we don’t, then probing into the possibilities of trying to change some of the bad things in our lives that we have the ability to change. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because very few people keep them. But,I will make an effort to continue to be a positive person regardless of my health, family, friends, job, people, the country or the world. I will pray for God to give me the guidance and direction to be a positive person, even when the negatives outweigh the positives in my life. Speaking of negatives vs. positives, there have been a lot of negatives in communities, the country and world, but I was very proud of the many young people from the North Side who suffered the weather conditions and made their way to Perry High School to support a charity basketball game between Perry and Oliver alumni. The gym was packed, even though many had to leave their cars and walk, or catch a bus, to the event. It was great listening to some of these young people who graduated from either Perry or Oliver, talk about their school days with such pride and being so happy to see each other again. Great job and a big shout out goes to Anthony Hall, who organized the event. I would have loved to see the crowd that would have came out if the weather had been halfway decent.

(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)

Rep. Keith Ellison throws Min. Louis Farrakhan under the bus for the DNC

by Richard B. Muhammad

least one photo distributing The Final Call while in college, condemned the minister as he sought his new place. But his cowardly and baseless repudiation is nothing new. While running for Congress a decade ago, his “I’m not with Farrakhan and he’s a hater” narrative started. But let’s go back and examine words published in the Nov. 6, 1995, edition of Insight News, a Black weekly in Minneapolis: “Third, Minister Farrakhan is a role model for Black youth; however he is not an anti-Semite. He

be tolerated are the lies, the slander and false narrative against Min. Farrakhan. These lies cannot be prov(NNPA)—Minnesota Congressman en, nor can these false charges be Keith Ellison is seeking to lead the sustained. The minister has been a Democratic National Committee as strong voice for Black self-determithe party seeks someone to bring nation, a warrior against Jewish paDemocrats into the political “promternalism and control of Black peoised land.” There is nothing wrong ple and a sledgehammer against the with Ellison’s desire to move his parwall of White supremacy and neo-coty forward or his desire to help make lonialism. None of that work would America progress. make him the favorite of a system or But he must be condemned and wicked people whose demonic rule he lambasted for trying to make his pois working to destroy. litical bones by smearing the Hon. But Ellison Min. Louis Farknows better. rakhan. The Years ago, sitMinnesota conting in my Chigressman has cago office here been attacked at The Final for a connecCall, when I tion with the was managing Nation of Iseditor, there lam years ago, was no queswhile in college, tion about Min. and for being in Farrakhan and support of the who he was. Million Man There was no March. question when The AnEllison, aka ti-Defamation Keith X ElliLeague and son, aka Keith others have Ellison-Mubranded Elhammad, came lison as unfit to Chicago for for office; they an urban peace said he is taintsummit in Oced by the antober 1993 that ti-Semitism of featured Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of RICHARD MUHAMMAD says that Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., must be condemned and lambast- Farrakhan, or Islam. Given ed for trying to make his political bones by smearing the Honorable Min. Louis Farrakhan. This a vital summit that neither photo was taken during a press conference about the “Beyond Broke” report on Capitol Hill in in Kansas City April 2014. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA) that included the Minister Min. Farranor the Nation are anti-Semitic, a man with princi- is a sincere, tireless and uncompro- khan as the major speaker and one ples and courage would have stood mising advocate of the Black com- who helped legitimize the anti-vioup on the truth, the track record and munity and other oppressed peoples lence movement in April 1993. The problem comes from a simple the history of the minister and his in America and around the world. followers. Over the past 40 years, Despite some of the most relentless place: “All of you that want national the Nation and the minister have negative propaganda anyone has and state prominence: Sometimes I not harmed, nor prohibited, any ever faced, most Black people regard am the ‘litmus test’ to see if White Jewish person from exercising their him as a role model for youth and folk can do anything good for you. rights to life, liberty and the pursuit increasingly, a central voice for our And some of you are so weak and so cowardly, that your desires mean of happiness. It was not Muslims collective aspirations. “I am sensitive to members of the more than the integrity of your bewho chanted in the 1980s, “Who do you want? Farrakhan! How do you Jewish community who have been ing. But every time I forgave my want him? Dead!” as the Jewish De- lead to believe that Min. Farrakhan brothers, and kept moving forward,” fense Organization did. It was not is anti-Jewish. I believe they should observed Min. Farrakhan in a mesthe Nation of Islam, nor the minis- do two things: engage in a dialogue sage delivered Oct. 30. The minister’s forgiveness and willter, who were involved in a 1990s with Black people who support Min. alleged death plot featuring Jewish Farrakhan (which includes Cornel ingness to suffer insults apparently federal stooge Michael Fitzpatrick. West, Jesse Jackson, Ben Chavis, has led some to think that there is no Fitzpatrick seized on the pain and Dorothy Height and many others) end to his patience and smearing him vulnerability of Quibilah Shabazz, a and urge their leadership to engage is acceptable— just come back and daughter of Malcolm X, and federal in the dialogue proposed at the Mil- apologize in the dark later. No. This man’s life’s work, his status as a viauthorities charged her with plan- lion Man March. “The White community, however, brant elder and indispensable leader ning the murder of the Minister. It was the minister whose blast of must come to the realization that in our community cannot, and must truth shook the feds as he declared there are too many Black people who not, allow that Ellison and those who the FBI has never been his friend. have been cleaned-up, taught and would misuse the minister’s name The minister declared he want- uplifted by Min. Farrakhan for us to for their personal advancement must ed nothing to happen to Malcolm let anyone gratuitously insult him be confronted, and their hypocrisy and cowardice must be condemned. X’ widow Dr. Betty Shabazz or her anymore.” That’s pretty powerful language How can Ellison speak of justice daughters, and pulled the covers off of an old enemy, while seeking rec- and a powerful argument penned for the poor, a just U.S. foreign polonciliation. His stand was so incred- by one Keith X Ellison. Yes. That’s icy, social change that improves the ible, the feds essentially dropped the the same Ellison who represents the lives of people and respect for all, and charges against Qubilah Shabazz Fifth Congressional District in Min- denigrate a man who has worked to and a rapprochement between the nesota and seeks to chair the DNC. achieve those goals for longer than Nation and Betty Shabazz start- He was also once known as Keith El- the congressman has been alive? Shame on you, Ellison, for your ed. She was featured as one of the lison-Muhammad. If Ellison once believed those things pandering and shame on us, if we speakers of the 1995 Million Man March. The prosecutors in this fias- about the minister and changed his don’t call you out for it. (Richard B. Muhammad is editor in chief co, by the way, were located in Elli- mind, that’s his business. We will leave Allah (God) to judge and han- for The Final Call Newspaper. Follow Richson’s home state of Minnesota. Ellison, who was captured in at dle the hypocrites. But what cannot ard on Twitter: @RMfinalcall.)

FORUM

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

What we can learn from the Black Panther Party today (NNPA)—Matthew “Peanut” Johnson was 16-years-old when San Francisco police officer Alvin Johnson killed him. The unarmed teen was said to have been fleeing a stolen car, and Officer Johnson claimed that he feared for his life, so he shot. The Sept. 27, 1966 slaying was too much for African Americans in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, and folks took it to the streets in protest. Through the lens of “law and order,” the uprising was so out of control that Governor “Pat” Edmund Brown called in the National Guard. Some thought that calling the National Guard was an inflammatory overreaction. As the history website FoundSF writes of the scene: “Perhaps the best indication of both the essentially passive character of the response of Black males in Hunters Point and the unreasonable magnitude of White fears is the fact that, aside from long-range brick throwing, less than a half dozen assaults by Blacks against Whites were recorded in the course of five days of rioting.” According to some reporters, the police were overaggressive. In one case, police officers opened fire on a community center full of children be-

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary cause they thought the children were armed. But when the children escaped, police reportedly entered the building looking for weapons, of which none were found. The San Francisco Sun Reporter, the premier African American newspaper in the Bay Area (full disclosure, I got my start as a column writer for them in 1980), reported on Peanut Johnson’s death with a front page headline, “Cop Kills Negro Youth; Blood Flows in SF Streets.” I had an opportunity to see a copy of the paper when I toured the Oakland Museum of California and spent a couple of hours inhaling the exhibit “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50.” In walking through the exhibit, one is struck with a sense of both progress and regress, a horrible sense of déjà vu, an ugly reminder that for all the change we have experienced, there is a rigid racism that determines the way some people treat Black people. And our community seems to be somewhat unimaginative in managing solutions. The young man who was killed on Sept. 27, 1966 was named Matthew Johnson, but he could have been named Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, or let’s just call the roll. The officer who shot him was, of course, acquitted. The killing, and the acquittal, both galvanized people around the Black Panther Party fifty years ago, just as the killing of Michael Brown galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement a couple of years ago. A review of the Black Panther Party Ten Point Platform reminds us that things like culturally sensitive education, jobs, decent housing, food, and health care are still not accessible for all Americans, and that African Americans are far less likely to have access than others. The platform is displayed prominently in the multi-media exhibit space, along with pictures of many of the Panther founders, a film featuring Bobby Seale and other Panther leaders, including Erika Huggins, music of the times, and copies of the Black Panther newspaper. More than a walk down memory lane, the exhibit was, for me, a reminder of an audacity that so many African American young people exhibited in the face of oppression. One of the Panther newspapers had the headline, “Capitalism Plus Racism Breeds Fascism.” That is, perhaps, a timely slogan for these troubling times, but few mainstream African American politicians will use the word “fascism” in a sentence. The more important part of the story of the Black Panther Party is the story of resistance to injustice, resistance despite the interference of the FBI, Herbert Hoover, and Cointelpro. If the Panthers could develop more than 40 chapters without the assistance of the electronic media, is there any limit to what we can do now? We limit ourselves. There is an unseemly caution among African American people. Too many have learned how to color within the lines; many have been rewarded for it. Insanity means doing the same thing over and over, then hoping for different results. And so too many, including leaders, have taken the “go along to get along” approach, forgetting that sometimes getting along is not enough. If you are tired and dispirited in the wake of the 2016 elections, the Power to the People exhibit at the Oakland Museum might be the energizer that you need. Perhaps you need to be reminded that a group of audacious young people, facing obstacles, and lacking substantial resources, were able to raise important issues and make some changes in the ways Black people thought about themselves. And the Black Panther Party may also have made a difference, if just a bit of one, in the way that Black people are treated. When we celebrate the Black Panther Party, we celebrate the concept of resistance. In these coming years, when resistance to oppression and unfairness will be critically necessary, celebrating the Black Panther Party is an opportunity for renewal. (Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. For more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com.)

There is none perfect, no not one

Three of my and he was daughters, a the first that I Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick granddaughter knew with that and great grandburning desire children went to free Black to Washington, people. A numD.C. during the ber of persons Christmas holifelt like Charlie, day to visit the but were not as National Museopen about exum of African pressing themAmerican History Culture. I asked selves. There were untold numbers some questions about the museum of men and women that were not and most of the answers were very totally considered to be acceptable positive. They were not able to see who drank too much, lived in runthe entire museum because of the down homes, had menial jobs, were time, but we all will be going back unemployed or unemployable. But this summer. these were the persons who filled It is understandable that no muthe ranks when we marched; yes seum has adequate space to house these were also the persons who replicas of all of the persons who would not benefit directly. The corpoare deserving of the recognition. It rations would state they would only is my absolute conviction that if we accept an application from persons could put together a list of names with a B.A. of Black men and women across This week’s column is partly the Allegheny County that have earned result of a conversation with a visitor the right to be recognized publito the museum, who stated that U.S. cally for their contributions and Supreme Court Justice Clarence sacrifices they had made to improve Thomas was not in the National our quality of life, it would be an in- Museum of African American Hiscredible number. There were a num- tory Culture. My response was why ber of persons, who during the civil not and he stated, as he understood rights movement in the 1960s and it was because Judge Thomas is an 1970s who had not graduated from Uncle Tom. I intend to write the muhigh school, were not gifted orators, seum director and ask him, because but they were active participants in if that is accurate then the judge is every demonstration and they had being held to a double standard. a deep sense of conviction. Those who make the decision I frequently write and speak about should open the bible and read, Charles Kindle, who was a post“There is none perfect no not one.” (Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a contributor to al employee but his legacy was to the New Pittsburgh Courier.) improve the quality of Black life,

To Tell The Truth

The holidays were missing the gang photo During the shooting in ChiBaltimore riots cago—The St. J. Pharoah Doss of 2015 a gang Valentine’s day photo circulated massacre. online. It feaIn 1929 Al tured rival gang Capone’s men, members with disguised as members of the police officers, Nation of Islam. gun downed Underneath the seven rival gang picture was a members. This caption that said: Unity hit eliminated Capone’s chief rival Gang apologist suggested the rivals and made Capone ruler of Chicago’s united to ensure safety and prevent underworld. But the publicity of looting, but it was just a truce to the massacre made Capone “public show solidarity with those “rebelling” enemy number one”, and two years against police brutality, making the later Capone was convicted and sent gang photo a display of the old adage: to prison for 11 years. (It was for tax The enemy of my enemy is my friend. evasion, but it satisfied the public After the riots “the enemy” retreatdemand, which was getting rid of ed and, within a month, Baltimore’s Capone.) crime rate skyrocketed. Homicides Recently, over the Christmas weekrose by 33 percent and non-fatal end, Chicago’s Police Superintendent shootings increased by 60 percent, Eddie Johnson told reporters there compared to the previous year. were 27 shooting incidents and 12 of Since this surge of violence wasn’t them were fatal. Johnson said, “The inflicted by an external enemy, it violence primarily occurred in areas wasn’t a photo op for gang unity. with historical gang conflicts… These But the Black mayor fired the Black were deliberate and planned shootpolice commissioner for not doing ings by one gang against another. his job and that photograph went They were targeted knowing fully viral. well that individuals would be at the At that point I realized there was a homes of family and friends celebratmissing gang photo. ing the holidays. In one Christmas Months later a 9-year-old boy was night incident, a man walked out of assassinated by a gang member in a an alley, opened fired on people parChicago alley because of his father’s tying on a porch…Two brothers 18 rival gang affiliation. In response I and 21 years old died and five people wrote an op-ed titled “The missing were wounded.” Ninety percent of gang photo.” I described and disthose killed had gang affiliations, but missed the Baltimore gang photo as what about the other 10 percent? fraudulent and suggested the only In 2016 Chicago had 753 homicides gang photo that has validity is a and 3,495 shooting incidents. (10 perhistoric photo depicting young men cent of those figures are how many?) making a permanent departure from Even wars have rules against killing gang culture because the assassinacivilians and those that violate them tion of a child makes gang participaare charged with crimes against tion in itself depraved. humanity. But the photo op was missed. The But Chicago’s Police Superintenfather of the boy didn’t cooperate dent complained that criminals with the police, retaliated, and ended feel empowered and emboldened by up in jail. (I describe that incident in recent criticisms of police. “When another op-ed titled “The gang photo they feel the public will speak out is still missing” and after that there’s for them and not the police officers, another op-ed about gang violence that’s giving them the power to go titled “The missing gang photo matout and do what they did.” ters”.) President Barack Obama is a Chicago’s police superintendent former Chicago community orgacalled the boy’s assassination “the nizer maybe after his presidency he most abhorrent, cowardly, unfathcan return to Chicago and become a omable crime” that he witnessed in photographer. (J. Pharoah Doss is a contributor to the New 35 years of policing. I’m suggesting Pittsburgh Courier. He blogs at jpharoahthe boy’s assassination should be doss@blogspot.com) remembered like the most infamous

Commentary

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Jesse Jackson Sr.

Commentary

As Obama departs, we owe him our thanks (NNPA)—The final days of the Obama presidency are upon us. His popularity is rising with the economy, and with the increasingly stark contrasts to his successor. It is worth being clear about the legacy that he leaves behind. Obama came to office facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The global financial system teetered on collapse; the auto industry faced bankruptcy; the economy was shedding 400,000 jobs a day. He also inherited the catastrophe George Bush had created with the debacle in Iraq and government misrule dramatized by the shame of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, La. Now, eight years later, the economy nears full employment, with more than 15 million jobs created and private sector job growth at a record 81 consecutive months and counting. Wages are beginning to rise, after long years of stagnation or worse. The auto industry has enjoyed some of its most prosperous years. This isn’t an accident. Obama helped rescue the economy by passing the largest stimulus in history, the most ambitious financial reform since the 1930s, and daring and direct intervention to save the auto industry. Economic growth helped lower the annual budget deficit to less than half the level he inherited. Obama also passed the largest health care reforms in six decades, providing health insurance for 20 million Americans. His reforms saved those with pre-existing conditions, provided the young with protection under their parents’ programs and, although most Americans don’t realize it, slowed the rise of health care costs dramatically. Running for re-election in 2012, Obama recognized that income inequality had become “the defining issue of our time.” With his progressive tax reforms both in his health care plan and in the partial repeal of the top-end Bush tax cuts, and with expanded tax credits for low-income workers and families with children, Obama made a significant beginning in addressing that inequality. Abroad, Obama struggled against great opposition to reduce America’s exposure in the wars without end in the Middle East. His nuclear agreement with Iran, not only dismantled its nuclear weapons capable facilities, it also provided the most comprehensive and aggressive verification mechanisms in the history of arms control. In opening relations with Cuba, he helped reduce America’s isolation in our own hemisphere and made the historic turn from a policy of embargo that had failed for five decades. His most historic contribution was to understand the clear and present danger of catastrophic climate change. The agreement with China and subsequent Paris Accord cemented a global consensus on the need for bolder action on global warming. On his watch, America began to reduce its reliance on coal and its greenhouse gas emissions. Obama won a majority of the votes in both his election and re-election, something neither his predecessor nor successor achieved. He governed with grace and dignity, despite grotesque and too often racist provocations. His family provided a model for all Americans, with Michelle winning hearts across the country. He and his administration were remarkably free of scandal. His administration demonstrated once more that competence could be valued in Washington. He did all of this while facing unprecedented, unrelenting partisan obstruction, with the Republican leader of the Senate opposing him at every turn, intent on making him a one-term president. In part because of that opposition, much remained undone. The stimulus would have been larger and the recovery stronger except for Republican opposition. The national minimum wage would have been raised. A national infrastructure project to rebuild America would have been launched. Progress on making America the leader of the green revolution, the next global industrial revolution, would have been greater. Guantanamo, the shameful prison in Cuba, would have been closed. The Voting Rights Act would have been revived, and much more. For most Americans, the recovery was slow; for many it was invisible. Donald Trump won election promising working people a better deal. He appealed to our weariness with war, suggesting a less interventionist policy. He played upon divisions, rousing fears about immigrants and Muslims. He pledged to “Make America Great Again,” in part by undoing everything Obama. So it is worth marking what Trump will inherit, as we head into what is already a rocky and tempestuous presidency. Unemployment under 5 percent. Eighty-one months of jobs growth and counting. Average wages rising at 2.4 percent over the last year. Growth at 3.5 percent over the last full quarter. Inflation at 2 percent. 20 million more Americans with health insurance. America, one of the global leaders in the green industrial revolution. A president respected at home and abroad, known for his thoughtfulness and his great eloquence. Let us hope that Trump can build on that legacy, and not lead us into a far deeper hole. (Keep up with Rev. Jackson and the work of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org.)

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The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) is accepting Letters of Interest and Statements of Qualifications from Professional Engineering Firms who wish to be considered for the following: PRELIMINARY PLANNING CAPITAL PROJECT S-432 PROJECT DESCRIPTION This project will advance the Regional Conveyance components of the ALCOSAN Wet Weather Plan in accordance with the requirements of the Consent Decree and with the long term objective of improving water quality while maximizing the use of source reduction strategies. Interested firms shall submit twelve (12) bound paper copies and one electronic copy on a CD in a sealed envelope plainly marked: Statement of Qualifications for PRELIMINARY PLANNING CAPITAL PROJECT S-432 Allegheny County Sanitary Authority 3300 Preble Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Attention: Suzanne Thomas An informational meeting will be held at 10:00 AM, January 13, 2017 at the ALCOSAN Auditorium at 3300 Preble Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233 to clarify the goals and purpose of the Request for Qualifications. All submittals must be received no later than 2:00 PM on February 3, 2017 at the offices of ALCOSAN. Late submittals will not be considered and will be returned unopened. Additional information and instructions may be obtained by visiting http://www.alcosan.org/Business Opportunities/RFQsRFPs/ tabid/182/Default.aspx. All questions should be submitted, in writing, to Suzanne Thomas, at suzanne. thomas@alcosan.org. ALCOSAN encourages third party certified businesses owned and operated by minorities, disadvantaged, women and service-disabled veteran small business enterprises to submit qualification statements or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to the selected Firm(s). The Firm(s) selected shall be required to utilize minority, disadvantaged, women, and service-disabled veteran-owned small business enterprises to the fullest extent possible. The goals of the ALCOSAN’s Supplier Diversity Policy are listed on the ALCOSAN website at www. alcosan.org. Jan Oliver Director, Regional Conveyance LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

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Effective at the start of the business day on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, the Allegheny County Housing Authority will close the Waiting Lists for the following Low Income Public Housing Sites. Hays Manor – 1 & 2 BR Sharps Terrace – 3 BR Caldwell Station – 2 BR 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. OPENING OF WAITING LISTS Effective Tuesday, January 17, 2017, the Allegheny County Housing Authority will be opening the Waiting List and accepting applications for the following Low Income Public Housing Sites. Groveton Village – 1, 2, & 4 BR Scattered Sites – 2, 3, & 4 BR Carnegie Apartments – 1 BR Ohioview Towers – Efficiency & 1 BR Pleasant Ridge – 1 & 2 BR Uansa Village – 1, 2, 3, & 4 BR Blawnox Apartments – 1 BR Corbett Court Apartments – 1 BR Sheldon Park – 3 BR Homestead Building B – 1 BR Homestead Building C – 1 BR Brackenridge – 1 BR Golden Towers – Efficiency & 1 BR Mapleview Terrace – 2 & 3 BR All interested applicants can apply online at achsng.com (Webappl), apply at the management offices, or apply at the central office. Frank Aggazio, Executive Director Allegheny County Housing Authority 625 Stanwix St., 12th Fl., Pittsburgh., PA 15222

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To place a Letters Testamentary on the estate of GEORGE DALEY, Court Term No. 021606703, late of Verona, Allegheny County, deceased, having been granted to the undersigned by the Director of Dept. of Court Records, Wills/Orphans Court Division of Allegheny County, notice is hereby given to all persons indebted to said estate to make immediate payment, and to those having claims against the same to present them to the undersigned, duly authenticated for settlement. Elaine Daley, Executrix, 7930 Orlan Pl, Verona, PA 15147

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Dolphins first obstacle in Steelers Super Bowl bid by Ulish Carter Courier Staff Writer

The NFL playoffs are finally set with the Steelers right in the middle of it all. With an 11-5 season Pittsburgh won the AFC North Division title as they finished the season red hot with a 7 game winning streak. This positioned the third seed Steelers to face the sixth seed Miami Dolphins, who they lost to earlier in the season 30-15. The Dolphins, 10-6, were on their way to a very successful season and possibly challenging the New England Patriots for the AFC East title until Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was injured and will miss the playoffs completely. Tannehill’s replacement Matt Moore is a good backup but he’s not Tannehill who led the Dolphins to a 30-15 win over the Steelers earlier in the season. But just like the Dolphins are not the same team facing Pittsburgh, the Steelers are not the same team. Ben Roethlisberger was injured in the first game, Le’Veon Bell was playing in his first game after the suspension, and the young defense had not jelled. The Dolphins will give the Steelers a hard fought game but there’s not enough talent to beat Pittsburgh. Along with Moore on offense is Jay Ajayi, who gained over 200 yards in leading Miami to that first victory. He has had a solid year gaining 1272 yards on 260 carries for an outstanding 4.9 yards per carry average and 8 touchdowns. Through the air the three main threats are: Jarvis Landry, 94 catches for 1136 yards; DeVante Parker, 56 catches for 744 yards, and Kenny Stills, 42 catches for 726 yards and an impressive 9 touchdowns. As a team, on offense they rank 17th in points per game, 24th in total yards, 26th in passing yards, and 9th in rushing yards.

by Aubrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh Courier

The final game of the 2016 regular season for the Pittsburgh Steelers pitted the Black and Gold against the recently winless Cleveland Browns. The Steelers won a squeaker 27-24 when Back up QB Landry Jones tossed a touchdown pass to 3rd string wide out Cobi Hamilton. The first post-Christmas gift that the Pittsburgh second stringers should be passing out is to the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers gifted the Browns with their first and only regular season win by the score of 2017, via a missed field goal attempt by Chargers placekicker Josh Lambo on Christmas Eve 2016 at AUBREY BRUCE Cleveland. That solitary win put a little less pressure on the Browns to, “win one for the Gipper.” One would have erroneously surmised that with the Browns residing at the bottom of the NFL barrel, they would have stopped flailing their arms around, quieted down and waited to glean the residue of ineptitude and instability that losers in the National Football League get to

JAMES HARRISON—The Old Man still terrorizing quarterbvacks. On the defensive side of the ball they rank 18th in points allowed, 29th in total yards allowed, 15the in passing yards and 30th in rushing yards. The Steelers on the other hand have improved as the season progressed. With one of the best quarterbacks in the game in Ben Roethlisberger, 328 completions in 509 attempts, 29 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, for a 95.4 quarterback rating; the best running back in Bell, who had 261 carries for 1268 yards and 7 touchdowns to go with 75 catches for 616 yards and 3 touchdowns; and the best receiver in the NFL Antonio Brown, 106 catches for 1284 yards and 12 touchdowns behind one of the best offensive lines in the game, which is composed of Maurkice Pouncey at center, David DeCastro and Ramon Foster at guards, and Marcus Gilbert and Alejandro Villanueva at tackles

have allowed the team to be able to win while waiting for the defense, loaded with youth, to mature. And mature they have. They moved from the low 20s in defense to the top 6 in most categories. The defensive line, even though it is missing its best player in Cameron Haywood, is still a major force with rookie Javon Hargrave stepping in at noise tackle with an outstanding season. Ricardo Mathews and Stephon Tuitt are the defensive ends. The linebackers, who have always been a Steelers strength, continues to be this year is composed of Bud Dupree, All Pro Ryne Shazier, Lawrence Timmons, who leads the team in tackles; and James Harrison who beat out young stud future star Jarvis Jones. The secondary has been a Steelers problem for the past few years but not any-

more. Rookies Artie Burns at cornerback and Sean Davis at safety have been bright lights for the defense, with Davis being named as the Steelers Rookie of the Year. The other corner is Ross Cockrell moving veteran Willie Gay to the bench, with Mike Mitchell across from Davis. Robert Golden is the backup safety. The Steelers are still searching for a consistent third receiver to take some of the pressure off Bell and Brown. There’s a lot of talent in Eli Rogers, Sammie Coates, Jesse James and Demarcus Ayers but no one has stepped up in consecutive games so far. The Steelers have the overall talent to go all the way this season but they will have to do it as a team, and as impressive as Bell has looked the offense has to go through Roethlisberger who will have to become more consistent with fewer stupid turnovers on his part. The game will be Sunday, January 8 at Heinz Field at 1:05 p.m. In other action, the Houston Texans (97) AFC South, host the Oakland Raiders (12-4) in the AFC Wild Card game. The New England Patriots (14-2) and the Kansas City Chiefs (12-4), get bye weeks because of their records. The winners of the Wild Card games will play the Patriots or the Chiefs. If the Steelers win they will play the Chiefs. If they lose, they go home. In the NFC the Dallas Cowboys (13-3) NFC East, and the Atlanta Falcons (11-5) NFC South get bye weeks with the best records. The Green Bay Packers, NFC North host the New York Giants, and the Seattle Seahawks, NFC West, host the Detroit Lions. Predictions: Steelers over the Dolphins, Raiders over the Texans, the Packers over the Giants, and the Seahawks over the Lions.

Inside Conditions…2nd fiddle enjoy. If the Browns were coming into Pittsburgh 0-15, you can rest assured that Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson and his coaching staff would have been digging into archived footage and defensive concepts of the late great Paul Brown as well as paying homage as they embarked on a pilgrimage to the NFL legends gravesite to be spiritually motivated by the history of his greatness. Meanwhile back at the ranch, en-

ter Pittsburgh Steelers 2nd string QB Landry Jones, who by most accounts may be slightly deficient and inexperienced as a backup NFL signal caller. As most of you already know, after the Steelers clinched the AFC North crown, Steelers Head Coach made the prudent and correct decision to give a little “woodburn” the “rump roasts” of the big five, starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, running Le’Veon Bell,

COBI HAMILTON SCORES (Photo by Thomas Sabol)

linebacker James Harrison and center Maurkice Pouncey as well as limiting the appearances of a few others on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The first half of the game looked as though the Steelers offense, specifically QB Landry Jones, had changed training camp from July to January and the camp had been moved from Latrobe to Heinz Field. Now one would’ve thought just the opposite because Jones would be working with the majority of 2nd and 3rd stringers that he would typically be working and running with on the scout team and would at least have developed limited chemistry with. Now it should be understood that practice can never be adequately simulated as game experience, but at the end of the first half, Landry Jones had only attempted 13 passes with 7 completions for a paltry 62 yards with the longest completion being 14 yards. When Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown exit the tunnel before the game even begins, you can pencil in a 20-yard completion. However, it was good to see many of Pittsburgh’s 2nd stringers compete and win a game considering the number of the Browns 1st stringers who were competing not just for credibility but for their very jobs. With the slew of skilled player injuries happening in the NFL in the past month or so. One thing must be made very clear to alternate players earning a paycheck. If they don’t successfully perform when they become the next man up, they may very well be the next man gone. (Aubrey Bruce is the Senior Sports Columnist for the New Pittsburgh Courier, he can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-5836741. Follow him on Twitter@ultrascribe.)

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Awards Luncheon Friday, January 6, 2017 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh 600 Commonwealth Place Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222 Award Sponsors

with the extensive Call them the list of submisClass of 2016 as they join the sions that serve list of previous as a testament to honorees that the outstanding have left their array of lumiindelible mark nous and gifted of accomplishpersonalities throughout our ment, sacrifice area. The Women and service on of Excellence the community. now appear on They, too, are the pages of the resplendent in ROD DOSS special tribute deed, unselfish publication. in valor, commitment and Each is a living example of dedicated purpose. Their how hard work, integrity and individual acts have lifted this determination leads to succity and its people to new heights. Such are the women cess. We hope they inspire we honor today. others to pursue excellence in It is with great pleasure that their own field of endeavor. we present the New Pittsburgh We thank our sponsors and Courier’s 2016 list of Women advertisers for their generof Excellence. One cannot ous support in helping make speak of the greatness of our this publication and awards city without including the disluncheon possible. This pubtinctive contributions of African lication serves as a record of accomplishment, an historical American women—who they landmark and an indelible are, and the impact each has mark in the fabric of our comhad on Pittsburgh and the munity. We encourage you to region this past year. share it with both the young To assist us in the selection process, our readers submitted and the old. Congratulations to the Class nominations of women who of 2016, Women of Excelmet the established criteria. We continue to be pleased lence!

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CANDI CASTLEBERRY SINGLETON Celebrity Host

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Class of 2016 Honorees DIANE NEELY BATES TYIAN BATTLE MARIA LEWIS BETHEL TAMMY SPENCER BEY DINA ‘FREE’ BLACKWELL REV. MAUREEN F. CROSS BOLDEN SONYA R. CHAMBERS LORRAINE CROSS DIANE I. DANIELS TAMMY L. DAVIS TENEL DORSEY AMY LYN ELLIOTT KATHI R. ELLIOTT JACQUE FIELDER RHONDA L. FLEMING RENEE GALLOWAY, PhD CAROL LYNN GREER RONELL GUY ERICA COCHRAN HAMEEN, PhD NICOLA HENRY-TAYLOR, ESQ. KIM HOOTS LINDA J. IVERSON, PhD CHARMELLE JACKSON LORIE JOHNSON-OSHO, EdD MARCELLA L. LEE BISHOP CYNTHIA MOORE-KOIKOI REV. NICHELLE NELSON TORY N. PARRISH ERIN PERRY TAMARE P. PIERSAINT, PhD ERIN E. POTTER DARLENE L. POWELL LUCILLE PRATER-HOLLIDAY REV. DR. JOAN PRENTICE THERAINE A. RANSOME YOLANDA ROBERTS RENA A.S. ROBINSON REV. APRIL D. ROEBUCK JESSICA RUFFIN TAMARA SANDERS-WOODS, EdD ROXANNE NORMAN SEWELL DANIELLE M. SMITH MATHILDA SPENCER, PhD ARZELLA STEWART-MCCAULEY, PhD CHRISTEL N. TEMPLE, PhD RENEE D. THOMAS TE’ONA M. WILLIAMS BOFTA YIMAM

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

ENTREPRENEUR

ENTREPRENEUR/ARTS

DIANE NEELY BATES

TYIAN BATTLE

The first of seven to attend college, Diane Neely Bates, the more than 25-year owner of Multiplistic Services, a nonprofit service center that is a one-stop referral service for travel, women’s conferences, leadership training, weddings and funerals, is no stranger to hard work and always strives for excellence. Prior to owning her own business, Bates was an executive assistant at Mellon Bank, the Center for Excellence’s Healthcare Development for Families at Winston-Salem State University, in North Carolina, and for UPMC’S chief of cardiac surgery. It was during her time at UPMC that she saw how Black families were underserved, and being treated and represented, which made her mad and caused her to take action. She began taking classes for small business owners at the University of Pittsburgh to gain knowledge on how she could use her administrative skills, and love of family and people to learn how to be a blessing for others as well as how to obtain funding for nonprofits. That’s when she began Multiplistic Services for underserved seniors, single parent families and abused women. In addition to her company, Bates has also authored the book, “Breaking the Ties that Bind,” which she used monies from, until she gained nonprofit status, to celebrate and provide bagged lunches for seniors on a monthly basis, develop a Hallelujah Night at the Urban League Family Center, and organize a Thanksgiving Drive that has provided more than 50 baskets to needy families, just to name a few. Bates, who holds an associate’s degree in secretarial science, said it’s with the support of other excellent women that she is able to do what she does.

In an era that has seen reduced funding for arts programs throughout the nation’s school districts, as the the founder and executive director of ACH Clear Pathways, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing creative outlets to underserved youth throughout Pittsburgh, Tyian Battle is committed to bucking that trend. Battle developed her program after years of seeing what artistic outlets can mean for the poor and underserved—with the YWCA as an eligibility coordinator, and with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit as an administrative assistant in the speech and language department. Since being designated a contribution agency by the United Way of Allegheny County in 2010, ACH Clear Pathways has partnered with more than 20 agencies, businesses, churches, media outlets and educational institutions to further its goal of enriching the lives of children and youth in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Some of those partners include UPMC, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Hill House Association, Duquesne Light, Highmark, PNC, Massaro Corporation, the Community Empowerment Association, Savoy and Wesley AMEZ Church. Battle holds an associate degree from Duff’s Business Institutes and a bachelor’s degree from Point Park University. She has previously been honored for her work by the Baden Academy Charter School and Youthworks. Moving forward, she hopes to expand the program to other city neighborhoods and to build an arts learning center to service youth, adults and senior citizens with community art programming.

Owner Multiplistic Services

Founder/Executive Director ACH Clear Pathways

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

Class of 2008 Honorees CHERYL ALLEN DONNA BAXTER TINA WILLIAMS BREWER MARILYN BROOKS JEAN BRYANT ESTHER BUSH RUTH BYRD-SMITH CANDI CASTLEBERRY SINGLETON DARIETH CHISOLM KIM BERKELY CLARK YVONNE COOK VERNA CRICHLOW PAULA DAVIS JACKIE DIXON ELAINE EFFORT HELEN FAISON LILLIA MICHELLE FERGUSON SYLVIA HILL FIELDS KAREN GARLAND JUDITH GRIGGS ERNESTINE HARRIS PEGGY HARRIS ELSIE HENDERSON KATHY HUMPHREY RHONDA MOORE JOHNSON PHYLLIS JONES MARGARET LARKINS-PETTIGREW VERNELL LILLIE LOIS MUFUKA MARTIN JOYCE MEGGERSON-MOORE VELMA MONTEIRO-TRIBBLE M. GAYLE MOSS SHIRLEY MUHAMMAD MARY SMITH PETERS VALERIE MCDONALD ROBERTS ALICE SCALES TONI Y. SILVA BEV SMITH JEANNETTE SOUTH-PAUL CECILE SPRINGER CELESTE TAYLOR WINIFRED TORBERT NANCY WASHINGTON BRENDA WATERS DORIS CARSON WILLIAMS LEAH WILLIAMS-DUNCAN JANIS BURLEY WILSON JOY MAXBERRY WOODRUFF JULIE ZEIGLER

PUBLIC SERVICE

Class of 2009 Honorees

MARIA LEWIS BETHEL

Disruptive Properties Coordinator City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety Maria Lewis Bethel is all about making Pittsburgh safe, not only for the community at large, but for her three children, ages 20, 17 and 14. And as the Disruptive Properties Coordinator in Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Safety, she can— and does. She is the creator of the Promised Beginnings Parent Workshop Initiative, which offers guidance and assistance to families aimed at preventing child abuse, violence and other crimes, and promoting early childhood education. She is also a facilitator for the Adults and Children Together Raising Safe Kids Program, a court appointed child advo-

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cate for Allegheny County, and is beginning her sixth year as a Be Middle School Mentor. Prior to her eight years in the public safety department, Bethel worked in the City Planning Office for two years. She is currently a graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Masters Public Policy and Management Program, and holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration. Bethel said she lives by two things her grandmother told her: “Where there is a will, there is a way” and “things will change when you change.”

FINANCE TAMMY SPENCER BEY

V.P./Senior Consultant in the Finance Project Management Office PNC Financial Services Hard work and dedication are two traits Tammy Spencer Bey is not unfamiliar with, just four years after being recruited to PNC Financial Services as a business analyst, she was promoted to vice president and senior consultant in the Finance Project Management Office, the position she holds today. Prior to that, she had a successful career as a lead technical business analyst at Highmark. It was while at Highmark that Bey, a Bethel Park native and Bethel Park High School graduate, earned her associate’s degree. She later went on to further her education at Point Park University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in management and a Masters of Business Administration. Along with being dedicated to her career, Bey is passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and being active; it was no surprise that her passion would lead her to playing professional women’s football with the Pittsburgh Passion, a team who is a member of the Women’s Football Alliance. Now retired, Bey spent six years as a wide receiver and assisted the team in winning several division championships. Following her retirement, Bey immediately joined the Passion’s coaching staff and became an active part of their business team through the Passion for Life Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to connect the team with nonprofit and community agencies throughout Allegheny County. Through these partnerships, the team continues to spread its mission of teaching life lessons through sports by coordinating current and past players to speak with youth from Allegheny County, and beyond, about staying healthy and living their dreams. Bey has a true passion for her community and making a difference, as well as giving back to others; she feels it is a calling from the Lord. It is that passion that allows her to enjoy mentoring young adults and being an active member of her church, Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh, located in the Hill District. Previously, Bey has served on the board of directors for FamilyLinks, Inc.; Macedonia FACE (Family and Community Enrichment Center); The City of Pittsburgh Youth Commission Council; and Highmark’s Wellness Committee for the African American Business Resource Group. She was also an active associate board member for the Sarah Heinz House. Bey is a devoted wife to Barata Bey, and mother to her three daughters, Ayanna, Hope and Taylor. Her favorite pastimes are staying healthy and fit, spending time with family, and playing softball.

CLAUDIA L. ALLEN TIMYKA ARTIST MARILYN BARNETT JO-ANNE BATES DEMEATRIA GIBSON BOCCELLA YVONNE BURNS KATHY BYNUM SHEILA CARTER-JONES DINA CLARK MICHELE RONE-COOPER PHYLLIS COMER ETTA COX ROSEMARY C. CRAWFORD DARIA CRAWLEY LUCILLE DABNEY HELEN DAVIS TOI DERRICOTTE VALERIE DIXON TRACY L. EDMUNDS GAIL D. EDWARDS YVONNE ENGLISH-ROEBUCK KIVA FISHER-GREEN DARRYL FORD-WILLIAMS MONA GENERETT KAREN HALL MARVA H. HARRIS GERRI HOLDEN KARRIS JACKSON OLA R. JACKSON DENISE JONES RHONDA CARSON LEACH CLAUDETTE R. LEWIS EVANGELIST BARBARA MANN LYZONA MARSHALL MARCIA A. MARTIN INEZ K. MILES ARLINDA MORIARTY AUDREY J. MURRELL JANE PRESSLEY NICHOLSON CARMELLE NICKENS PHILLIPS GREER REED-JONES DIANE RICHARD ELISA SANDERS CHARENA SWANN DAWN R. WEBB TURNER CURTISTINE WALKER OLGA WELCH KAREN FARMER WHITE CAMEIL D. WILLIAMS MARY A. WINSTON

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

COMMUNITY SERVICE

RELIGION

DINA ‘FREE’ BLACKWELL

REV. MAUREEN CROSS BOLDEN, B.A., M.S.O.L.

Dina “Free” Blackwell has always had a concern and love for people. For the past two years, Blackwell has served as CEO and president of the Homewood Renaissance Association (HRA), an organization she founded with her husband, the late Rev. Eugene Blackwell. Through her efforts, she has worked with community residents to train and create jobs, placing more than 60 people in consistent employment, and received a 12,000 sq.-ft. retail community space as well as purchased and rented out space at the Idlewild House, which houses organizations such as Youth Places, House of Manna Faith Community, the Living in Liberty women’s safe house and the city’s Artist Residency Program. Prior to working with the HRA, Blackwell served as the mental health coordinator for A-Step, the director of the Pittsburgh Presbytery’s Resource Center, and a permanency planning specialist and caseworker for A Second Chance, Inc. Blackwell holds Bachelors of Science in rehabilitation science, with a concentration in mental health counseling, from Clarion University, and has more than 20 years experience in team management, organizational development, grant writing, one-on-one and group counseling, community development and casework. She also serves as the mission, justice and peace team leader for House of Manna Faith Community, where she is lead strategist and developer of its efforts to serve disenfranchised communities in the Pittsburgh area. Her labor and commitment has allowed her to serve as a member of the City of Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission and convener for the Homewood Community Development Collaborative.

An ordained minister, trained counselor, public speaker and child of the King, Rev. Maureen Cross Bolden, serves as an associate minister at St. James AME Church where she assists in tending to the church’s congregation and members of surrounding communities. Currently, she is the founder and vice chair of the St. James Impact Community Center. Reverend Bolden holds a bachelor’s degree, majoring in sociology, and minoring in psychology and education; a Master of Science in organizational leadership; and has 29 doctoral credits in psychology from Geneva College. Previously, she pastored Israel AME Church in West Middletown, Pa., and worked for Gimbels and the VA Regional Office in Pittsburgh, both from which she has been retired for 20 years. In addition to her spiritual work, Rev. Bolden works tirelessly with numerous community organizations. She is a life member and president of the University of Pittsburgh’s African American Alumni Council as well as chairperson of the African Heritage Classroom Committee, which is part of the University’s Nationality Program. She is also a life member and the founding president of Alleghenians LTD., Inc.; a life member of the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP where she serves as the executive board community coordinator chairperson; as well as a member of the Black Political Empowerment Project Planning Council and the Coalition Against Violence. She also works actively with the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club Inc., the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and many, many more. Reverend Bolden is the mother of four: James, Thomas, Sylvia and Valerie; grandmother of seven; and great-grandmother of 15, celebrating four generations.

CEO/President Homewood Renaissance Association

Associate Minister St. James AME Church

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

Class of 2010Honorees MIYOSHI ANDERSON GAYLE LIGHTFOOT BALL KIMBERLY WADDELL BARR LINDA ?IMANI? BARRETT SHEILA BEASLEY DR. WILMA SMITH BEAUFORD JEANETTE BLACKSTON, EdD GLORIA MCGHEE BROWN PATRICE KING BROWN JOANNE COBB BURLEY, PhD OPHELIA COLEMAN TENE CROOM AMARGIE DAVIS DR. CAROLYN GEE DAVIS ELIZABETH NIECY DENNIS ORLANA DARKINS-DREWERY JOYCE ELLIS ALMA SPEED FOX ALBERTHA GRAHAM-ELLISON, PhD REV. BARBARA GUNN HOLLY HATCHER-FRAZIER PASTOR CHARLAYNE HENRY MARLENE GARY HOGAN DEBORAH HOLLAND LISA HALEY HUFF MARGUERITA V. JOHNSON PATRICE WADE JOHNSON AMELIA MICHELE JOINER, ESQ. GERALDINE M. JONES, PROVOST MARSHA ELLIS JONES LINDA S. LANE, EdD ALLISON LEE-MANN DR. EMMA LUCAS-DARBY DARCEL MADKINS TARA MARKS LA’TASHA D. MAYES LAUREL RAGLAND DR. BEVERLY ROBERTS-ATWATER FLORENCE ROUZIER CECILE SHELLMAN JOY STARZL BRENDA TATE EMMA THORNTON KATHY MAYLE TOWNS CHATON T. TURNER, ESQ. MARGARET SMITH WASHINGTON SHEILA A. WASHINGTON REV. B. De NEICE WELCH VALERIE WHEATLEY ELISE ROBY YANDERS

COMMUNITY SERVICE SONYA R. CHAMBERS Family Advocate Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3

As a resident of Duquesne, a community that saw its high school close in 2007, Sonya R. Chambers remains a staunch advocate for education in the community—to the point of following the progress of Duquesne students well beyond graduation, and seeing both her sons, Diallo and DiAngelo Mitchell, attend college. Chambers has worked for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for 15 years and is also a three-term school board director who has reestablished the Duquesne City Schools’ PTA, which regularly holds essay contests and fundraisers to benefit district students and their families. In addition to organizing and facilitating community trainings for ACT Against Violence and Moms & Cops anti-violence programs, Chambers also serves as a family advocate for the district’s Head Start Program and has enrolled more than 150 preschoolers in early education programs over the past five years. She is a proud member of Payne AME Church., where she serves as a stewardess and president of the gospel chorus.

CIVIL SERVICE LORRAINE CROSS

Supervisor of Distribution Operations United States Postal Service Whether at work as a distribution operations supervisor at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Bulk Mail Center on Pittsburgh’s North Side, or reciting poetry and performing slave narratives, Lorraine Cross is always working to foster inclusion, fairness, and community and self empowerment. During her more than 40 years with the USPS, Cross has received multiple accolades for her work with fostering an environment where employees treat each other with dignity and respect, including the Federal Executive Board Excellence in Government and Woman of the Year awards. She also serves as chair of the Federal Executive Board African American Heritage Committee, diversity coordinator for the Minority Business Opportunities Commission, and is also the District 5 Management Division

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Class of 2011 Honorees ATIYA ABDELMALIK-JOHNSON, RN, BSN RENEE P. ALDRICH MARIA D. ANDERSON THE HON. CYNTHIA A. BALDWIN ROBIN D. BECKHAM JACKIE BLAKEY-TATE CYNTHIA BRADLEY-KING, PhD TAMMY MILES BROWN, PhD CARLOTTA K. BURGESS KARLA THREADGILL BYRD PAULA B. CASTLEBERRY VALIRE CARR COPELAND, PhD, MPH MAGALI CURIEL SHARON DANIELS KAREN EADY-LOCKETT GLADYS E. EDMUNDS REV. BRENDA J. GREGG LINDA CAWTHON GRIFFIN MELANIE HARRINGTON LYNNE HAYES-FREELAND ANNA E. HOLLIS LAVERNE BAKER HOTEP KIM L. JEFFERSON CECELIA JENKINS PATRICIA PRATTIS JENNINGS RHONDA JONES-FITCH KIM LAMPKINS CARMEN J. LEE Chairperson for the National Alliance for Postal and Federal Employees, which encompasses Pennsylvania, New Jersey DEBRA L. MASON and Delaware. Cross SHARON L. MCDANIEL, PhD is also the civic engagement coordinator COLLEEN MCMULLEN for the Black Political LISA E. MINOR Empowerment Project KIMBERLY MOSES, ESQ. and has trained volunteers working at more DARLENE GAMBILL MOTLEY, PhD than 250 polling places MAELENE J. MYERS throughout Allegheny CHARLENE NEWKIRK, JD County. She also serves on the boards of the AlCONNIE PORTIS leghenians, St. James GRACE ROBINSON, LUTC, MBA Impact Center, NAACP, LATONYA SALLEY-SHARIF Order of Eastern Stars, Langston Hughes PoMARY HAITH SAVAGE etry Society, National JENNIFER BRUCE SCOTT, Alliance of Postal and RN, BSN Federal Employees, National Association of ROBIN HORSTON SPENCER,MHS,MS,MBA Postal Supervisors and EVANGELIST LOLA M. THORPE was the vice president SHELLEY FANT UKU of the NAACP Wilkinsburg Branch. CRYSTAL McCORMICK WARE Cross has performed CHRISTINA L. WILDS, PhD her slave narratives ANDREA M. WILLIAMS and poetry throughout western Pennsylvania, JACQUELINE WILSON West Virginia and as far SYLVIA WILSON south as Chattanooga, KIMBERLY L. WOOD Tenn.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

ENTREPRENEUR DIANE I. DANIELS Owner/ Operator DID & Associates

For more than three decades, Diane I. Daniels has been reaching out to small business owners and nonprofit organizations as a consultant, mentor and advocate. Her business, DID & Associates, is a multiphase public relations firm that offers promotional services, business development training and motivational speakers. Its mission is to serve as a liaison between the community, business, media, political and private sectors, and to liberate people from limited thinking by strengthening their belief in self. Daniels understands the importance of marketing for small businesses and nonprofit agencies; her motto is to promote, publicize and popularize while providing media relations services and specialized training, and business development services. She packages, develops, manages, and promotes artistic talent and motivational speakers, as well as assists businesses, organizations, communities and individuals in promoting themselves and their events. Daniels has been responsible for obtaining television and radio exposure for entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations throughout the Eastern and Midwest regions. Along with managing and promoting, Daniels finds delight in writing business articles for several publications in Pittsburgh and beyond, including the New Pittsburgh Courier, a historic African American-owned newspaper that covers the region, and the quarterly magazine and informational website Soul Pitt Media, where she serves as a business writer. She also writes for the Harrisburg, Pa.-based publication Urban Connection Newspaper and OWN Magazine. A strong community advocate, Daniels, a Wilberforce University graduate and president of its Pittsburgh Alumni Chapter, is also the president of one of the six Pittsburgh Public Safety Councils; co-founder and president of the East Hills Consensus Group; the marketing director of the Pittsburgh affiliate of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and its Black Women’s Roundtable; a member of the Healthy Start, Inc. Community Action Network; and serves as a mentor for the Urban League of Pittsburgh’s African American Achievement Trust Mentoring Program. Daniels has been the recipient of countless awards and honors. She has been listed in the Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh inaugural edition; named the Onyx Woman Network’s Top Woman in Media, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Minority Advocate of the Year and Healthy Start’s Community Star; and has received awards from the Keystone State Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, the Western Pennsylvania Minority Supplier Diversity Council, Pittsburgh Black Media Federation and the National Association of Women Business Owners–Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, just to name a few.

CORPORATE TAMMY L. DAVIS

CEO/ Chief Relationship Officer Nexlevel Consulting Services, LLC Tammy L. Davis is about building relationships. So, even though she is the CEO of a successful consulting firm, she prefers the title chief relationship officer—because building business requires building relationships. As the head of of Nexlevel Consulting Services, LLC, a certified minority, women and small business enterprise (MBE/ WBE/WOSB), Davis has directed system implementation, training and organizational change management services for a variety of clients, such as Alcoa, the U.S. Department of Defense, Amway Global, Allscripts, the City of Philadelphia and the U.S. Government Publishing Office. In 2015, Nexlevel Consulting Services received the Class 1 Supplier of the Year Award by the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC). And in 2016, Nexlevel launched its latest initiative, the Virtual Training Academy. Davis said the idea grew from her desire to discover new opportunities, educate and support people in the IT field. The goal of this program is to effectively train participants on how to learn and use Oracle technology as a tool, understand project business concepts, and support them becoming either a functional consultant or Oracle Information Technology trainer.

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

Class of 2012 Honorees DARA WARE ALLEN, PhD JERRY ANN ALLEN ELAYNE ARRINGTON, PhD JARENE BARNES TiANDA BLOUNT NANCY TRAVIS BOLDEN JEAN BRYANT JEANNE V. CRICHLOW JUDITH M. DAVENPORT, DMD LYNETTE DRAWN-WILLIAMSON BARBARA EVANS, EdD CHERYL SQUIRE FLINT KAREN FLORENCE LISA M. FORD, MSW, LSW LOVETTA FORD, MSW LISA MICHELLE GARLAND, MBA CHERYL HALL-RUSSELL ELAINE HARRIS-FULTON GINA R. HICKMAN DIANE R. HUGHLEY MICHELLE JACKSON SHIRLEY A. JOHNSON OLIVIA JONES TONI S. KENDRICK MARGARET L. LANIER LISA M. MCBRIDE, PhD ROBIN M. MUNGO DENISE L. NORRIS ROCHELLE OAKS, PhD CASSANDRA ODEN JOELYNN H. PARHAM GEORGETTE D. POWELL CHARLEEDA REDMAN, RN, MSN, ACM MELISSA RICE MICHELE RICE FELICIA LANE SAVAGE MARY L. SHIELDS MARCIA M. STURDIVANT, PhD SARAH L. SUMPTER LYNNETTE TAYLOR-CRIEGO LENALL THOMAS, PhD, MSW DR. CATHERINE UDEKWU CHLOE VELASQUEZ DEBORAH L. WALKER LARA WASHINGTON GWENDOLYN L. WATKINS REV. LAURAN B. WEBB BRENDA B. WELLS REV. ELEANOR WILLIAMS LATASHA WILSON-BATCH

ENTREPRENEUR

Class of 2013 Honorees

TENEL DORSEY Owner/Operator Dreamz Hair Salon

Tenel Dorsey is one of the lucky few who has taken a childhood talent, and with drive, commitment, and a theatrical passion, turned it into a thriving business—Dreamz Hair Salon and Barbershop, in Homestead. Though she began styling hair at the age of 9, while living in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood, she said it wasn’t until she attended Rogers Creative and Performing Arts School, where she was exposed to music and theater, that she really blossomed. At just 22, she started her own business, Divas Hair Salon and Ms. Divas’ Supplies, on the city’s North Side. Two years later, in 2003, she relocated her budding empire to Homestead, where she had previously attended Steel Valley High School. Thirteen years later, Dreamz is still going strong, and Dorsey gives a lot of the credit for her continued success to the community. “Homestead has always welcomed me, my crafts and ideas with open arms, and to

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this day, Dreamz Hair Salon and Barbershop is thriving and its because of this community,” she said. But Dorsey said her business isn’t just about hair—it’s about giving back to the community that has given to her. She built her whole team to not only master the art of delivering the newest innovative styles and techniques, but to also build self-esteem from behind their chairs, and empower women and individuals in their communities. In 2014, she was featured on the front cover of Soul Pitt Magazine for women in business for more then a decade. That same year, she was given a community love award from the 2014 Bella Awards. In 2009 she won the Stylist/Salon of the Year Award at the Flashing Lights hair show and was also presented an award by Mayor Bill Peduto on behalf of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh for her outstanding work in our communities.

ADMINISTRATION/ARTS AMY LYN ELLIOTT Finance Administrator University of Pittsburgh

Amy Lyn Elliott, finance administrator at the University of Pittsburgh’s Health Sciences Core Research Facilities, has acquired an extensive professional background, making her an excellent example for young people, especially women, coming behind her. In her role, Elliott is responsible for maintaining and reporting financial records; a very essential role in any industry. Prior to joining the Health Sciences Core Research Facilities, Elliott, who holds an associate’s degree in business administration from Missouri’s Lincoln University and, more recently, a B.S. in business administration from Walden University, has held the positions of office coordinator for the Office of Advancement & External Relations at the School of Nursing and the Outreach & Awareness coordinator for the Lupus Center of Excellence, both at Pitt; executive assistant at the Missouri Department of Economic Development; and legislative office manager for the Missouri House of Representatives. In addition to her stellar administrative background, Elliott is also a model, actress and voiceover artist with Talent Group, in Pittsburgh. From runway to television, she has more than a decade of experience in the model and talent industry. A few of her appearances include movies, such as “The Elephant in the Room,” “The Last Witch Hunter,” “Concussion,” “Southpaw” and had a post production role in Denzel Washington’s latest success, “Fences”; television shows, such as “Mindhunters,” “Outsiders,” and “Beginnings”; and commercials for UPMC, Highmark, Gateway Health, Xarelto and PA Women Work. The Vandergrift resident is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. A mother and wife, Elliott is described as a consummate professional who enjoys new challenges, and working with new people and ideas.

CAROL L. ADAMS MARLA D. BRADFORD CHARLOTTE BROWN, PhD VICTORIA E. BRYANT FRANCINE B. CAMERON MESSENGER ANNETTE CARSWELL RENEE SMITH CLARK, PhD TRACY L. CLARK LUTITIA A. CLIPPER PhD MARY L. COFFEY PAMELA COLLIER DR. ESA MATIUS DAVIS MPH STEPHANIE DURRETT MONICA EARLY KIM EL ROBYN E. FRANCIS OLGA T. GEORGE RONITA S. GILES ROBYN GREER TERINA JETT HICKS IMOGENE MILES HINES RUTH J. HOWZE SHANICKA L. KENNEDY, ESQ. MONICA D. LAMAR DESIREE S. LEE KILOLO LUCKETT A. KELLY MCCORMICK MONIQUE MCINTOSH, MEd DONNA MICHEAUX, PhD CYNTHIA MOORE TRACEY NASH CAROL AWKARD NEYLAND CONSTANCE PARKER STAYCEE R. PEARL EBONY RENEE PUGH MINETTE SEATE BEV SMITH––2013 LEGACY HONOREE DEBRA VALENTINE-GRAY ALLEGRA WAKEFIELD ANITA B. WALKER CAROL A. WASHINGTON CHRISTINE B. WHITE-TAYLOR EdD GAIL L. WHITEHEAD TAMARA L. WHITING LISA A. WILDS ARLETTA SCOTT WILLIAMS DETECTIVE CHRISTINE WILLIAMS DENISE L. WILLIAMS ERROLINE WILLIAMS EdD GAYLE M. YOUNG

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

SOCIAL SERVICE/HEALTH

RELIGION/CIVIC SERVICE

KATHI R. ELLIOTT, DNP, MSW, PMHNP-BC, RN

JACQUE FIELDER

Advocacy and giving back to others in need is a value that was instilled in Kathi R. Elliott, DNP, MSW, PMHNPBC, RN, executive director of Gwen’s Girls, by her mother and founder of Gwen’s Girls, the late police commander Gwen Elliott. It is those same values that led Elliott to accumulate more than 20 years of experience in social service, community and individual mental health treatment. Earning dual master’s degrees in nursing and social work from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008, and, later, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Chatham University in August 2014, Elliott’s career began as a victim advocate at the Center for Victims, mostly working within the juvenile justice system. In August 2015, Elliott continued her mother’s legacy, when she accepted the position of executive director of Gwen’s Girls, whose mission is to empower girls and young women to have productive lives through exposure to holistic gender-specific programs, education and experiences. Elliott believes it’s her purpose to lead the organization into becoming a well-recognized forerunner in the integration of evidence-based clinical prevention and intervention policies, and practices that enhance the child and social welfare system. She says it’s her life experiences that will assist her in continuing the legacy of providing a comprehensive approach to addressing the issues that impact the well-being of girls, women and families. In addition to leading Gwen’s Girls, Elliott, also a psychiatric nurse practitioner, provides psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and clinical consultation service and treatment through her private practice, Comprehensive Behavioral Health Services, LLC., and is employed at the VA Pittsburgh Outpatient Mental Health Clinic.

Whether through activism, politics or her ministry, Jacqueline “Jacque” Fielder continues a family tradition of service to her community. The daughter of long-time East End Ward Chair Dock Fielder, Fielder is chair of Pittsburgh’s 12th Ward Democratic Committee, and senior pastor emeritus and executive director of Nabhi Christian Ministries Inc., a nonprofit organization, in Larimer, dedicated to enhancing impoverished communities by reducing havoc and creating healthy environments that mentor, train and develop quality citizens of all ages. Beginning at the age of 16, she formed the Greater Pittsburgh Youth Organization with the mission of reducing youth violence through mentoring and positive role modeling. She has continued such work over the years, supporting young people and raising awareness of socio-economic issues in African American communities. She founded the nonprofit Concerned Citizens of Greater Pittsburgh and boldly took an active role to resolve conflict between rival gangs in Pittsburgh, helping to mediate a 1996 peace truce. She also taught faith-based conflict resolution skills to young people at the East Liberty Family Health Care Center. And the head of Nabhi Christian Ministries Inc., she organizes award programs to recognize the good works of others in the community; annual toy and coat drives for needy children; and a Christmas Reunion and Gingerbread House Contest. Fielder holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, Ga.

Executive Director Gwen’s Girls

COMMUNITY SERVICE RHONDA FLEMING

Education/MENS Program Director Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh Since her employment in 1990, Rhonda Fleming has served in various prevention positions at one of the country’s oldest shelters for women and children, the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh (WC&S), which provides safety, shelter, support and guidance to all victims of domestic violence. As the director of education, Fleming has co-authored and supervised the award-winning curriculum Hands Are Not for Hurting, which she has helped implement in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Michigan and South Carolina. The curriculum is used to address teen dating violence prevention and intervention services. She has also trained teachers, counselors, advocates and other professionals in Moscow, Russia, on teen dating violence prevention, where they, too, have replicated Hands Are Not for Hurting. In addition to being the director of education, Fleming supervises the Men Embracing Non-violence & Safety (MENS) batterer intervention program. In this role, she manages the program’s overall daily operations and facilitates weekly groups about the effects of battering and abuse with men, many of whom have been court ordered to attend by the Allegheny County District Courts. She has also made numerous television and radio appearances, locally and nationally. She was interviewed by pop artist Christina Aguilera for a political campaign that aired on MTV. Fleming holds a Bachelor of Arts in administration of justice from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Science in organizational leadership at Geneva College. She serves on the board of directors for Macedonia Family and Community Enrichment, The Father’s Touch Ministry, and Women Against Abusive Relationships. When she is not working, she enjoys relaxing, traveling, reading and meeting new people.

Senior Pastor Emeritus/Executive Director Nabhi Christian Ministries

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

Class of 2014 Honorees MURIEL FOX ALIM ANGELA ALLIE CARMEN ANDERSON TERRI L. BALTIMORE CHARLENE FOGGIE BARNETT RASHALL M. BRACKNEY ANDREA D. BROWN TERRY L. BURDEN LASHAWN BURTON-FAULK BRIDGETTE N. COFIELD, JD, SPHR KAREN COLBERT ALIYA D. DURHAM MAXINE ENGRAM SHARON FLAKE ALMA SPEED FOX—LEGACY HONOREE LISA B. FREELAND MINISTER DEBRA GERMANY VALIDIA M. GIDDENS AMERA GILCHRIST MICHELE GOODMAN-JONES DEANNE HAMILTON VERA HEFFLIN-EDWARDS BIBIANA HILL REGINA B. HOLLEY, PHD FRANCES TAGGERT HOLLY ELIZABETH L. HUGHES, ESQ. ERIN ISSAC, DMD KIMBERLY M. JACKSON NATALIE D. JACKSON DIANA JAMES LORETTA JETER KATIE EVERETTE JOHNSON— LEGACY HONOREE PAMELA JOHNSON REV. MARIE KELLY CHARLESE MCKINNEY VELVET V. MICKENS SHAUNDA MILES MARIMBA MILLIONES CAROL W. MOHAMED REV. DR. JUDITH C. MOORE CHRISTINA PRESTON SHEILA L. RAWLINGS LA DAWN ROBINSON CHERYL RUFFIN, MDIV CARYL J. SHEFFIELD DIANNE BILLIE SWAN SONYA M. TOLER ERICA L. UPSHAW-GIVNER LISA STROTHER UPSHER, MS TISHEKIA E. WILLIAMS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

ENTREPRENEUR

ADMINISTRATION

RENEE GALLOWAY, PhD

CAROL LYNN GREER

As an academic innovator, consultant, life coach, author and entrepreneur, Renée Galloway, PhD, demonstrates there is more than one way to bake a cake. Galloway is not only the co-founder of the University of Pittsburgh’s Alliance of Urban Scholars, which provides educational support for doctoral students within the School of Education, she is also the author of “Done! Prioritize, Plan and Perform to Accomplish Your Goals,” and a Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain professional, who serves on the board of the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council, and as co-chair of the certification committee and membership director for the Institute for Supply Management-Pittsburgh. Then there’s that cake—Galloway also owns Sweet Inspirations, LLC. which offers an assortment of sweets and baked goods, including her signature pound cake. Through all her endeavors, she is ardent about assisting individuals and groups to achieve and maintain solid, personal and professional growth. Through her training and development programs, she endeavors to empower others to pursue their goals and dreams while embracing tools and principles to make positive change a way of life. Galloway holds an undergraduate degree from Robert Morris University, a master’s degree from Point Park University and a doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Carol Lynn Greer takes pride in her career as a human resources professional, and she should. Not only did she rise from the position of Human Resource (HR) manager to director at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, she also did so at the Allegheny County Housing Authority, and now directs all the HR functions for both agencies. In addition to the Housing Authority and Zoo, Greer has managed HR duties for various nonprofits and companies in the manufacturing and healthcare fields over the course of her 30-year career. She is also active in professional organizations, including the Pittsburgh chapter of the International Society for Human Resources Management and the Pittsburgh Association for Human Resources Professionals. Greer earned her bachelor’s degree at Clarion State University and her master’s degree from St. Francis University. Though her position requires her to supervise all areas of HR, including recruitment, hiring and benefits, Greer says employee and labor relations are the specialties she enjoys most because working through issues and coming up with solutions that work to the benefit of the organization and employees are especially gratifying. She also gets gratification as a league bowler and Texas hold ‘em poker player—having once made a tournament final table. When she can, she hones her poker skills by vacationing with her husband, Charles, in Aruba and Las Vegas. Greer is the proud mother of William McGhee and Brittany McGhee, and stepmother to Charles, Ashley and Olivia, and a member of Pilgrim Baptist Church.

Owner Sweet Inspirations, LLC.

COMMUNITY SERVICE RONELL GUY

Executive Director Northside Coalition for Fair Housing Anyone looking to learn about Black community activism and affordable housing advocacy in Pittsburgh need look no further than Ronell Guy. Before she teamed with the Service Employees International Union and Unite Here Union to create Pittsburgh United, and began the battle to keep North Side renters in their homes as executive director of the Northside Coalition for Fair Housing, Guy served families and communities as a social worker. With Pittsburgh United she helped secure the first community benefits agreement in Pittsburgh and successfully aided in having prevailing wage legislation passed in the city. In 1998, she started what would later be called the Northside Coalition for Fair Housing with an all-volunteer staff. Today, the Coalition counts assets of more than $10 million and has a staff of 10. In addition to her tireless work on behalf of low-income individuals, families and communities, Guy is also deeply involved in the fight to end violence in the Black community. In 2000, she organized the first Women’s Walk For Peace, which has grown every year and included more than 5,000 walkers from across the city and beyond. She hopes to leave a legacy of creating equitable communities where everyone is encouraged to participate and prosper. Guy and her husband, Ronnie, live in Perry Hilltop and are the proud parents of two children and one grandchild.

Director of Human Resources Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

EDUCATION ERICA COCHRAN HAMEEN, PhD Assistant Professor/ Director of UDREAM Carnegie Mellon University With architectural experience that includes more than 50 educational, media and broadcast, residential, community, and transportation facilities, Erica Cochran Hameen, PhD, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, serves as an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture and the director of their UDREAM Program, which provides recent graduates a deeper understanding of urban design through research projects and internships. In her role, Hameen is instrumental in coordinating research projects that focus on developing solutions to create sustainable, health and energy efficient schools, office buildings, cities and public spaces. As a professor, Hameen instructs multiple graduate and undergraduate courses, which includes a new one she recently developed that focuses on energy efficient and healthy retrofits. Prior to joining CMU, Hameen worked as an architectural designer, manager and leader for companies, such as WASA/Studio A in New York, Cannon Design, Kostow Greenwood Architects LLP and TAMS Consultants in Standford, Conn. Hameen holds a Bach-

LAW Nicola Henry-Taylor Counsel Myers Law Group, LLC.

Nicola Henry-Taylor, counsel with the Myers Law Group, LLC., focuses her practice on criminal and family law, and is heavily involved in many facets of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA), where she is a founding member and past chair of the Diversity Collaborative Committee, has served as a governor on the ACBA Board of Governors and is a former chair of the Women in the Law Division (WLD). As a member of WLD, Henry-Taylor, a 1996 graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law and who holds an undergraduate degree from Slippery Rock University, has chaired three subcommittees–-diversity collaborative, program development and professional development–– where she has coordinated numerous successful ACBA programs, including the WLD Roundtable Series; served as chair and vice chair of the ACBA Judiciary Committee; and is a member of the Women in the Law Division, Homer S. Brown Division, Sole and Small Firm Practitioners Section, Family Law Section, By-Laws Committee, Diversity Collaborative Committee and Judicial Excellence Committee. She has also been appointed to serve on the ACBA Nominating Committee and the ACBA Board of Governors ad-hoc Diversity Directory Committee;

and is active in the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, serving as an ACBF Fellow. Outside of the ACBA, Henry-Taylor is also involved in a number of other legal and community organizations. She has been an active participant of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Bar Committee, and has participated in other community and professional activities such as Genesis of Pittsburgh, Neighborhood Legal Services Association Pro Bono PFA Project, Auberle Mentoring Program and the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. She has been named to a second three-year term as a Hearing Committee Member serving the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and is a board member of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. She also serves as a commissioner on the Allegheny County Human Relations Commission. Henry-Taylor has been a recipient of many awards, including the 2010 Slippery Rock University Outstanding Young Alumni Award, the Duquesne University Women’s Law Association Woman of the Year Award for 2014, the Women’s Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania’s Susan B. Anthony Award, and was recognized as a Rising Star for the PBA Minority Bar Committee.

elors of Architecture from Virginia Tech, a Masters of Science in sustainable design from CMU, and a doctorate in building performance & diagnostics. Her doctoral research investigated the impact of school building and neighborhood, physical and environmental, characteristics on student and teacher health and performance. She is also a contributing researcher for a sustainable engineering textbook and served as one of the principal investigators for the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI), formally the EEB Hub, established by the U.S. Department of Energy as an Energy-Regional Innovation Cluster. In addition to being an active member of several community service and non-profit organizations, Hameen has received numerous honors for her research and architectural design project participation, including awards from the AIA, NY Landmarks Conservancy and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; several faculty and graduate student awards; and, most recently, Best Proposal in a DOE Competition presented at the White House Conference Room.

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

LAW

ADMINISTRATION

HONORABLE KIM M. HOOTS

CHARMELLE JACKSON

Judge Kim M. Hoots, a well-known magisterial district judge of the Fifth Judicial District Court, which serves the boroughs of Wilkinsburg and Edgewood, presides over criminal, landlord and tenant, civil, traffic and non-traffic court actions. She was elected to her first term in 2006 and is currently serving her second term. She will be running for her third term in 2017 and says she hopes to continue her journey as a magisterial district judge for a community she loves and a job she loves. To date, Hoots has presided over and adjudicated approximately 6,600 criminal, traffic and non-traffic cases in her career. Prior to being elected, Hoots, a 1979 graduate of Wilkinsburg High School who furthered her education by attending the Sawyer School of Business where she earned a high honors certificate, began her career as a court clerk, and was later promoted to court secretary and office manager where she served under former Magisterial District Judge Alberta V. Thompson until 2005. Hoots is a proud member of many organizations, including, but not limited to, Food for the Poor as well as the Wounded Warrior Project, Susan G. Komen organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; and prides herself on her volunteer work, and involvement in her community and church, Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, where she has been a member for 17 years, serving as an usher for three. Those works include participating annually in the Kelly Elementary Dr. Seuss Day, where she reads to the children, and volunteering monthly at Saint James of Wilkinsburg’s food bank. She has also participated on a number of panels. Over the years, Hoots has been recognized for her many years of service by numerous organizations, such as Classic Events!, the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., Bon Ami Temple #49, and the borough of Wilkinsburg, just to name a few. Hoots is a proud mother of two children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

As the Human Resources (HR) manager for the Pittsburgh Foundation, Charmelle Jackson is always looking forward. Not only does she work with senior management to develop, and implement policies and practices that enhance the Foundation’s positive workplace culture, she is constantly seeking to improve existing systems to further foster continuous improvement, high performance, problem-solving, professional development and goal attainment for the good of the community and the staff. While managing a myriad of HR functions ranging from improving employee benefits, such as maternity/paternity leave and gym memberships to employee parking and transportation, her proactive approach now has her overseeing the implementation of improved online systems for managing the Foundation’s HR records. Looking even further ahead, Jackson is currently researching systems for enhancing the Foundation’s annual performance review process and leading the recruitment and ongoing development of a superior workforce. She also designs and implements benefit and compensation plans that enable the Foundation to attract and retain top talent, while keeping costs in check. Before joining the Foundation in 2015, Jackson was payroll manager for AAA East Central, where she led the company’s payroll processes and systems, instituting best practices and new policies and procedures. Prior to AAA, she was human resources generalist with the Northside law firm of Burns White, LLC. Jackson holds bachelor and master’s degrees from American InterContinental University, is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Pittsburgh Human Resources Association, Delta Mu Delta International Business Honor Society and the National Society of Professional Women. She is married and the proud mother of five children.

Magisterial District Judge Fifth Judicial District Court

Human Resources Manager Pittsburgh Foundation

EDUCATION LINDA J. IVERSON, PhD Superintendent Wilkinsburg School District

With more than three decades of experience in academia in urban school districts, Linda J. Iverson, PhD, now has the opportunity to use her knowledge and experience in her current position as superintendent of Wilkinsburg School District, which she was appointed to in August of this year to better the district, its students and the community. She has served as a teacher for 10 years and an administrator at the elementary, middle and high school levels for the others. Iverson earned her bachelor’s degree in English, and her master’s degree in secondary school administration and supervision from Bowie University in Maryland, followed by her doctoral degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Throughout her career, Iverson has worked as an assistant principal at Shaw High School in Ohio, where her duties included being charged with the curriculum development, and supervision of the comprehensive academic and vocational curriculum; principal of East Hartford Middle School and Governor William Pitkin Elementary School, both in Connecticut; and director of literacy, followed by executive director of principal support and accountability, for Baltimore City Public Schools, where she led more than 200 schools as well as developed, evaluated, supervised, coached and provided professional development for school leaders. Now, she is excited to have the opportunity to work with and lead the outstanding leaders, faculty and staff of the Wilkinsburg District.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

EDUCATION

RELIGION

LORIE JOHNSON-OSHO, EdD

BISHOP CYNTHIA MOORE-KOIKOI

Director of Multicultural Recruiting and Retention/Assistant Professor of Education Grove City College Most energized by being a change agent, building bridges and helping people identify common grounds Lorie Johnson-Osho, EdD, the director of Multicultural Recruiting and Retention and an assistant professor of education at Grove City College, has been recognized for her ability to lead and take part in highly sensitive and difficult conversations around race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and other areas within the diversity spectrum. Under her leadership, Grove City has experienced growth in the areas of multicultural student enrollment, which increased from 4 percent to 8 percent in six years. She was also instrumental in the opening of the first multicultural office on campus. Earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Duquesne University and a Doctorate of Education from Roosevelt University, with a concentration in organizational leadership and change, prior to joining Grove City, Johnson-Osho spent 10 years as an assistant dean and academic integrity officer in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh where she served as a coach to graduate students, assisted in the launch of the Hot Metal Bridge Scholarship for minority students and organized the very popular Students’ of Color Dinner Series in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University. She’s also held retention, recruitment and academic support positions at Duquesne University, Chatham University and Roosevelt University in Chicago. Additionally, Johnson-Osho serves on the Greater Pittsburgh Higher Education Diversity Consortium, Pennsylvania Black Conference

Bishop United Methodist Church

on Higher Education, National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and the National Association for College Admission Counseling, as well as the board of directors for the Adonai Center for Black Males and Nu Self Image, just to name a few. She is also an active member of Bible Center Church where she is involved in several church ministries. In her limited spare time, she enjoys thrift shopping, traveling and meeting with her book club.

COMMUNITY SERVICE MARCELLA L. LEE Retired Supervisor Verizon Wireless

Marcella L. Lee, a natural born leader who lives by the quote, “Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy here on earth,” is no stranger to hard work. Most recently, she retired from Verizon Wireless after 13 years, where she held the positions of Customer Service trainer, Transition Department coordinator and Transition Department manager. Prior to Verizon, Lee worked for Cigna Insurance Company as a Customer Service representative and office manager; Price Waterhouse & Company as an administrative assistant and office manager; Equitable Life Assurance Company as an insurance claims adjuster; and the Braddock Free Press

newspaper where she worked her way up from a secretary to the office manager. She is a graduate of East Pittsburgh High School and has attended business school and the Community College of Allegheny County where she worked toward obtaining an associate’s degree in business management. Being the natural leader she is, Lee has not only used her skills professionally, but she has done so civically to help with the betterment of the community and its people. She is currently a life member of the NAACP, where she has served in various positions, locally and nationally, for approximately 25 years. Locally, she has served as the second vice president; president of Women in NAACP (WIN); and chairperson of the Freedom Fund, the Human Rights Dinner, where she says she organized the largest attended dinner in the history of the Pittsburgh branch, and the annual Freedom Sunday, which she said was her creation. Nationally, Lee has served as chairperson of the Nomination Committee, the Constitution Revision Committee, Pennsylvania state WIN and the Convention Planning Committee, just to name a few. Lee has also served on the Centre Avenue YMCA Board of Directors; used her organizational skills to coordinate the One Nation Working Together rally in Washington, D.C., where she partnered with the United Steelworkers to take locals to the Capital to protest for jobs; and is a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church of Rankin, where she has served tirelessly in various capacities. A lover of fashion, Lee has founded Models Unlimited, produced fashion shows and, in 2014, opened

Girlfriends, an upscale designer consignment boutique that helps women afford designer clothes at a fraction of the cost. She is the wife of the late William Ivory Lee and has one daughter, Shelda Renee; two granddaughters, Shae Dawn and Summer Lynn; a great-granddaughter, Shaina Ivory Lee; and a great-grandson, Cameron Lee Thomas.

Though only having come to the Pittsburgh area four months ago, as the bishop of United Methodists in Western Pennsylvania, Cynthia Moore-Koikoi exerts a lot of influence, and she is doing so to further her vision of a of a diverse church that embraces justice and the life-saving love of Christ. A native Marylander, Bishop Moore-Koikoi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Loyola College, in Maryland, in 1988, and a Masters of Arts and advanced certification in school psychology from the University of Maryland in 1992. She worked as a school psychologist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools for 17 years, serving in leadership roles as a layperson before answering her call to the ordained ministry. Attending Wesley Seminary, she was appointed as a student pastor to “a small congregation with a proud EUB heritage in a section of East Baltimore that was experiencing change.” The congregation had to learn how to navigate that change. Later, she was appointed associate pastor at Calvary UMC, a large congregation in Annapolis. She later served as district superintendent for the Greater Washington Area, and, most recently, as superintendent of the Baltimore Metropolitan District. In that role, she played a key spiritual role in the city in 2015 during the unrest after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. She helped to organize United Methodist churches to open their doors and minister to children and families whose schools were closed, and to meet other basic needs. Bishop Moore-Koikoi said she sees herself as a bridge-builder, clear and confident about what she believes, while respecting others who might not believe the same way.

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

ADMINISTRATION/RELIGION

MEDIA

REV. NICHELLE NELSON

TORY N. PARRISH

Chief Programming Officer Fund for Advancement of Minorities Through Education (FAME) Reverend Nichelle Nelson has always been dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and their communities. To that end, after earning dual graduate degrees in psychology and divinity from the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, she instantly began her nonprofit career as a fundraiser and development officer with KidsVoice. She then took a position as program coordinator with the Fund for Advancement of Minorities Through Education (FAME). Within two years, she was promoted to program and operations manager. She was recently promoted again, and is now the agency’s chief programming officer. In this executive capacity, Rev. Nelson directs her efforts toward closing the education gap in the Pittsburgh community and helping FAME scholars realize their full potential—and she hopes her dedication and drive will serve as an example. To that end, Rev. Nelson is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University as a Doctor of Ministry Candidate with a concentration in preaching and church transformation. In addition to her work with FAME, she is also an ordained minister at Mount Ararat Baptist Church and serves the larger church community as a part of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Preaching Association. She is also an adjunct instructor with the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s

Reporter, president Trib Total Media, Pittsburgh Black Media Federation

Metro Urban Institute, a teacher and workshop pre- Tory N. Parrish, a Woodbridge, Va., native, has senter for the Mount Ararat Theological Academy, spent approximately 15 years as a journalist covering and a workshop and class instructor for churches in local and national news, with six of them as a reportDelaware and Pennsylvania. er for Trib Total Media, owner of the Tribune-Review newspaper. Parrish, who holds a bachelor’s degree in communication, with a concentration in print journalism, from George Mason University in Virginia, started her career as an education reporter for the Manassas Journal Messenger/Potomac News in Virginia. She later moved onto the Observer-Dispatch, in Utica, N.Y., where she worked as a business reporter and, later, a copy editor for five years, before moving to Pittsburgh, and joining Trib Total Media. Along with reporting, Parrish is serving her second two-year term as president of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, a nonprofit media organization that advocates for diversity in newsrooms and fair media coverage of communities of color, hosts programs that recognize excellent media coverage of minority communities, and trains young people to enter the media industry. Under her leadership, PBMF, which was named the 2015 federation chapter of the year by the National Association of Black Journalists, has boosted its membership tenfold by putting forth new initiatives to retain and attract members, and offering more member benefits, including a professional development series and a monthly PBMF newsletter; increased its visibility by establishing a Community Service Subcommittee which has organized social events and built partnerships with other communi-

ARTS/EDUCATION

ENTREPRENEUR

ERIN PERRY

TAMARE P. PIERSAINT, PhD

As the executive director of the Legacy Arts Project, Inc., an arts organization whose mission is to preserve the history and traditions of African art, as represented throughout the diaspora, through education, instruction and interactions, Erin Perry, for the past five years, has worked to facilitate arts and cultural enrichment throughout Pittsburgh with its programming for youth and adults, and collaborations with local, national, and international artists. As a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business, Perry, who is also a dancer and photographer, applies her academic training within a community setting, utilizing arts as a tool for transformation, both individually as well as collectively. With an extensive background in teaching, Perry has impacted children and adults from Wilkinsburg to Taiwan. She has taught classes in English, math, photography and movement. Perry said, as an eternal student of life, her focus continues to be the upliftment of humanity through knowledge of self. Along with being a leader in the arts community, Perry is a proud wife and mother of three.

Psychologist Tamare P. Piersaint is dedicated to more than healing individuals, she also works to heal communities. Piersaint is the owner of Serenity for Youth & Families, her practice that provides behavioral health therapy to children, youth and families, with a vision and hope––“Helping you find Peace within the storm, and the Courage to make a Change”––of assisting and supporting her clients on their recovery journey. But she is also the founder and director of L’Union Fait La Force–Haiti in Pittsburgh, which she established in 2009 to strengthen the Haitian community in Pittsburgh (and surrounding neighborhoods) by promoting empowerment of Haitians with a targeted mission to unlock the potential of Haitians residing in Western Pa. L’Union Fait La Force, taken from the Haitian creed “Unity in Strength,” aims to build and sustain healthy communities, while working towards prosperity through economic and social justice, cultivating leadership, respecting cultural diversity and fostering unity. She also takes her work to the community though her membership on the Immigrant & Internationals Advisory Board of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, primarily focusing on the mental health needs and access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services for immigrants and refugees. Piersaint is also an adjunct faculty member at Carlow University, a member of the American Psychological Association, a lifetime member of the Psi Chi National Psychology Honor society, a

Executive Director Legacy Arts Project, Inc.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

ty-based nonprofits and professional organizations; and improved transparency and accountability. Parrish is also a member of the Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association, for which she was contest director, the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh and Steel on Ice, an African American ski club in Pittsburgh, for which she served as correspondence secretary.

Owner Serenity for Youth & Families

member of the Association of Black Psychologists, a member of the Association for Women in Psychology and a past chair of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association Graduate Students Board.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

FINANCE

ADMINISTRATION

ERIN E. POTTER

DARLENE L. POWELL

For more than 21 years, Erin E. Potter has been a dedicated employee to BNY Mellon, where she is a vice president and a Risk Management manager. She currently works in the Chief Administrative Office for the Investment Services Chief Risk Officer where she leads the team responsible for publishing a Risk Dashboard that is utilized by executive management throughout the company to understand the risks within their various businesses. Recently, Potter launched a website for Risk managers to promote the exchange of knowledge and encourage communication. Prior to her current position, Potter was an account manager with insurance companies as her client base. Potter received her business management degree from Carlow University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. In addition to her professional duties, Potter participates in the BNY Mellon sponsored Women’s Initiative Network, and is co-owner of a commercial cleaning business. In her spare time, Potter is an active member of Bible Center Church where she serves as a member of the Praise & Worship Team, and enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling and cheering on the Steelers.

Darlene Powell not only puts her 25 years of experience as a Human Resources executive to work for clients, she also does so in the community as a volunteer and mentor. Currently the director of human resources for Crown Castle—the largest wireless infrastructure firm in the country—Powell is responsible for developing strategic human resource-based solutions to support an expanding national division of the organization. Prior to joining Crown Castle, Powell worked for other Fortune 500 companies prior to relocating here from Chicago in 2009, including Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Aramark; CNA Insurance; and InterContinental Hotels. Beyond her work for international corporations, Powell also co-founded Invictus Leadership Group, participates in human resources consulting, and has served as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh since 2009. Additionally, she serves as a board member and treasurer for SisterFriend, which provides hygiene and feminine care products to afterschool programs and shelters throughout Pittsburgh. Before moving to Pittsburgh, Darlene was active with the Center for Economic Progress for 10 years, helping families in Chicago move forward with financial security by working one-on-one with clients to prepare federal and state income tax returns and provide basic counseling on tax laws and credits.

ENTREPRENEUR/COMMUNITY SERVICE

RELIGION

LUCILLE PRATER-HOLLIDAY

REV. DR. JOAN PRENTICE

Lucille Prater-Holliday is a veteran community activist who has turned early personal struggles into a commitment to fight for low- and moderate-income families and for economic justice in her community. She spent 12 years in the foster care system, along with her nine siblings, and was later raised by her natural mother in a single-parent household. After graduating from Westinghouse High School, she married. But just 12 years later, she found herself widowed with two children. That did not stop her from completing her college education, nor from continuing to work at helping senior citizens, dependent and neglected children, incarcerated male juvenile offenders, residents of low-income public housing, and public school students experiencing problems with truancy over come their struggles. In 1997, Prater-Holliday founded the Black Women’s Empowerment Institute to empower African American women to be catalysts for change in their own lives and their communities. She is past president of ACORN Pennsylvania, Action United Pennsylvania and Action United Pittsburgh. Prater-Holliday is also the first African American female chairperson of the Wilkinsburg Civil Service Commission. Over the years, Prater-Holliday has received numerous accolades for her activism and volunteer work, including the 2014 YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Tribute to Women Leadership Award for Civic and Community Service, the 2013 Champion Enterprises Celebration of Women Community Champions Award, and the 2012 Classic Events! Political Activist Award.

In an era when some complain that church leaders do not take their ministry beyond the church walls, Rev. Joan Prentice is not one of the objects of complaint. She has built her ministry on outreach and serving the community through as many paths as possible. Following her ordination in 1998, Rev. Prentice began her ministry as the host of “Gospel Reflections” on WAMO radio, and regularly took her show on the road to create opportunities for congregations to be blessed and provided a platform to local gospel artists to share their gifts. Even before that, however, she had founded Mothers United in Christ, a ministry devoted to women raising children in a culture of violence to be positive and strong influences in the care and nurture of their children, homes and communities. For the past 17 years, she has served as staff pastor and minister to new members at Mount Ararat Baptist Church. And her latest venture is designed to reach even more new members—again out in the community. Called “The Ephesus Project: The Church Without Walls–– Traditional Church in an Untraditional Way,” it is dedicated to reaching, teaching, and building leaders for church and community ministry in the twenty-first century. She also leads retreats for clergy, lay and community leaders, and provides training and a sacred space designed for rest, restoration and healing for those who spend most of their time in service to others.

Vice President/Risk Management Manager BNY Mellon

Founder/CEO Black Women’s Empowerment Institute

Director of Human Resources Crown Castle

Executive Director/Pastor The Ephesus Project

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

PUBLIC SERVICE

LAW ENFORCEMENT

THERAINE A. RANSOME

YOLANDA E. ROBERTS

For more than two decades, Theraine A. Ransome has dedicated herself to helping people and saving lives. A crew chief for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for 10 years, and a paramedic for 19, no day is just an ordinary day for her. In addition to her daily paramedic duties, Ransome is a field training officer and a member of the Bureau’s Honor Guard. Ransome, a 1981 graduate of George Westinghouse High School, is also a retired staff sergeant from the United States Army, where she served both active duty and in the reserves for 20 years. During her tenure she served in support of Operation Desert Storm. Outside of work, Ransome is active in the Allegheny Health Network Mission Wellness and is a member of Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church. She has two children and four “beautiful” grandchildren.

Yolanda E. Roberts has seen the good and bad side of the city of Pittsburgh during her 26 years with the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. She is currently assigned as a detective within the Mobile Crime Unit: Crime Scene Investigations. A proud product of the Pittsburgh public and private school system, says Roberts, she is a graduate of Schenley High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Pittsburgh. It was during her college career that she participated in the Army-R.O.T.C. program and was inspired to pursue a military career. She served in the United States Armed Forces as a sergeant and army reservist for six years. Also during that time, Roberts attended the City of Pittsburgh Police Academy where she graduated in April 1990. In an effort to engage community and police relations, Roberts is actively involved in volunteer outreach initiatives, such as the Kids & Cops Summer Program, Carnegie Science Center S.T.E.M. Youth Program, Hill District Public Relations Initiative, and is a former mentor/ coach of the historic Miss Black Teenage Pageant led by Jean Bryant Production. She also has a life-long

EDUCATION

CORPORATE/RELIGION

RENA A. S. ROBINSON

REV. APRIL D. ROEBUCK

Crew Chief City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS

Assistant Professor of Chemistry University of Pittsburgh If anyone is going to find a way to halt the ravaging effects of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, it might be Renã A. S. Robinson. She not only has the drive, skill and talent to meet the challenge, but she is also dedicated to passing on her love of science to the next generation. An analytical chemist, Robinson began the study of aging disorders while earning her PhD from the University of Indiana. She began her concentration on neurodegenerative disorders after receiving a postdoctoral fellowship to the University of Kentucky. Since joining the Chemistry Department at the University of Pittsburgh in 2009, Robinson has created a nationally and internationally recognized research program, is an emerging leader in the field of proteomics for her work in aging, Alzheimer’s disease and applications relevant to human health. Recently Chemical and Engineering News awarded her with the 2016 Talented Twelve Award, distinguishing her as one of the world’s brightest young minds in the field of chemistry. She is also the recipient of a Starter Grant Award from the Society for Analytical Chemistry of Pittsburgh, the 2014 Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award from the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, and, most recently, the 2017 Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award. Robinson actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students, and trains them with the skills necessary to be effective scientists in academia, industry, government or other sectors. In

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Detective/Mobile Crime Unit City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

church affiliation with Holy Rosary, Saint Charles Lwanga and Saint Paul AME Churches. She says her life is a constant reminder that “no man is an island” and that “as a village we stand as one.” Roberts is the loving wife of her husband of 26 years, Blair Roberts, and the mother of two sons, Kai, 24, and Sadik, 22, whom she describes as the center of her joy.

Systems Analyst/Associate Minister/Founder UPMC/Mount Ararat Baptist Church/World Hope Initiative

Despite following a promising IT career path that led her to the position of systems analyst at UPMC, Rev. April D. Roebuck answered the call to ministry she first heard in her mid 20s. Now Rev. Roebuck is an associate minister at Mount Ararat Baptist Church, in Larimer, and is pursuing a doctoral degree in ministry and missional leadership. Reverend Roebuck gave her initial sermon in 2011 and was licensed to preach the Gospel by Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis. Since then, she has been invited to preach at churches and speaking engagements throughout the city of Pittsburgh and abroad inside and outside of the Baptist denomination. Through diligent study, both ministerial and academically, she was ordained a year later, again by Rev. Curtis. Through exposure to injustices she has seen visited upon various peoples and cultures in places such as Africa, the Middle East, South America and Mexico, Rev. Roeaddition, she engages high school students in re- buck has determined to address those ills. To search experiences in her laboratory. She also works that end, she has founded the nonprofit World to increase awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, es- Hope Initiative, which seeks to give or restore pecially amongst the African American community in hope in situations where it has been lost or Pittsburgh. She helped to spearhead a Brain Fitness distorted. Currently, World Hope Initiative Boot Camp with colleagues at the University of Pitts- feeds and clothes the homeless in the city of burgh Clinical and Translational Institute and Alzhei- Pittsburgh, and has lead a water drive and mission trip to Flint, Mich. to assist in the water crisis, and mer’s Disease Research Center.

has provided women in Guyana, South America with sewing machines to sustain themselves and their families.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

EDUCATION

JESSICA RUFFIN

TAMARA SANDERS-WOODS,EdD

Not only is Jessica Ruffin charged with running Carlow University’s Social Justice Institutes, since it did not exist until July, as its inaugural director, she is charged with creating it and molding its purpose from scratch. But she wouldn’t have it any other way, she says, because the institutes exemplify Carlow University’s strong commitment to social justice; ethical, forward-thinking and responsible leadership; and service to the community—just as she hopes to. She is proud to serve in this capacity. Prior to taking on this role, Ruffin served as chief operating officer for Coro Pittsburgh, managing and coaching staff through the delivery of quality programming to emerging civic leaders seeking to develop their leadership skills so as to have a meaningful impact on Pittsburgh and the region. Ruffin also worked as community impact director with Amachi Pittsburgh, an initiative to support children with incarcerated parents, and as a business support specialist with the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh, where she assisted women in launching or expanding their own businesses. But her pursuit of social justice and improvement extends beyond the workplace. Following Marian Wright Edelman’s dictum that “service is the rent we pay for living,” Ruffin also serves as a school-based mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Mentor 2.0 Program, and on the Capital Campaign Committee for her church, St. Paul AME Church in Knoxville. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Chatham University, and was a 2011 recipient of the New Pittsburgh Courier’s Fab 40 award. She currently lives in Beltzhoover with her son, Xavier.

Tamara Sanders-Woods, principal of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Colfax K-8, is passionate about fostering the growth of young minds. A native of Pennsylvania, she earned a Bachelor of the Arts degree in elementary education from Carlow University, a master’s degree in K-12 school leadership, and a doctorate degree and Superintendent Letter of Eligibility, both from Duquesne University. In addition to her professional work, Sanders-Woods is a board member of a local charter school; a member of the NAACP Allegheny East and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., of the Alpha Alpha Omega Chapter; and the social media coordinator for the Gateway Midget Football and Cheerleading Association. She currently resides in Monroeville with her husband, Eric, and two sons, DeVonne and Ean. She also has a daughter, India, and two bonus children, India R. and Eric Jr.

Director of Social Justice Institutes Carlow University

Principal Pittsburgh Public Schools

MEDIA ROXANNE NORMAN SEWELL President The LJS Group

A native of Homewood, Roxanne Norman Sewell has extensive experience in the corporate and private sector. After more than 30 years of working for major corporations, she found working with her husband and founder of LJS Group Luther J. Sewell Jr. to be the perfect fit. In 2008 she joined the business as president and has enjoyed using her personal talent to enhance their publication, Talk Magazine, as well as grow their statewide advocacy/education networking events and marketing campaigns. Prior to joining LJS Group, Sewell, who holds associate’s degrees in secretarial science and business management from CCAC, graduating with high honors, worked as a secretary for U.S. Steel for 10 years, an executive secretary at Rockwell International in their strategic planning and CEO’s offices and as a stainless steel sales representative at J&L Special Steel. Sewell serves as a stewardess at Trinity AME Church and enjoys an incredibly, happy life with her husband, children and grandchildren.

18 JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

MEDIA

EDUCATION

DANIELLE M. SMITH

MATHILDA SPENCER, PhD

Audio journalist & personality American Urban Radio Networks A veteran audio journalist for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN), the nation’s largest African American-owned radio network, Danielle M. Smith produces national news and sports broadcasts on a daily basis, as well as conducts interviews with national newsmakers and edits the audio from the interviews for newscasts that air hourly Monday through Friday. She also writes, produces and voices stories. While Smith, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in broadcasting from Point Park University, works diligently behind the scenes at AURN, she also shines as a part-time on-air talent at WGBN-AM 1360 where she hosts the weekly show “Hot or Not,” which spotlights local and national up and coming gospel/Christian artists. She is also a contributing writer for The Soul Pitt Quarterly Magazine. Smith has been recognized for her stellar reporting work. Her accolades include a Robert L. Vann Award for Excellence from the PBMF and the 2013 Community Spirit Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism from North Side Institutional Church. Active in the community, Smith is an active member of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, where she participates in the Frank Bolden Urban Journalism Workshop; the Multicultural Taskforce for the Pittsburgh chapter of the Center for Organ Recovery and Education; secretary of the Church of God in Christ Haiti Support Group; and Pentecostal Temple COGIC, where she provides the weekly Audio/Video announcements. She has also participated in Amachi Pittsburgh, which assigns mentors to children whose

Assistant professor California University of Pennsylvania parents are incarcerated. She had the pleasure to For more than 30 years, Mathilda Spencer, PhD, has mentor a young lady whose father was incarcerated. worked in the human services and criminal justice The child was particularly special to Smith because field, accumulating quite an extensive background. she and the child’s mother had grown up together. It was at an early age, while attending the Upward Bound program at Carnegie Mellon University, that her love of learning really took root and led her career path. Currently, Spencer is an assistant professor of criminal justice at California University of Pennsylvania (Cal U), where serves on the General Education and Teaching and Learning Committees. She was also assigned, by the dean, to the Strategic Enrollment Planning work group that is responsible for generating suggestions for improving internal marketing at the University. In addition to Cal U, Spencer, who holds a B.A. in general arts and sciences from Penn State University, a M.S. in administration of justice from Shippensburg University and a Ph.D. in administration and leadership studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, has taught sociology and supervised practicum students at Westmoreland County Community College, and criminology at Point Park University and the Community College of Allegheny County. Prior to joining Cal U, she held the position of assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh’s Titusville campus, where her responsibilities included oversight of the newly formed criminal justice curriculum. Additionally, Spencer spent many years as an adult probation/parole officer for Allegheny County Adult Probation and Parole; a juvenile probation officer

COMMUNITY SERVICE

EDUCATION

ARZELLA STEWART-MCCAULEY, PhD

CHRISTEL N. TEMPLE, PhD

Founder and CEO Young, Gifted and Black Program

With a passion for making sure that youth, especially Black youth, succeed, Arzella Stewart-McCauley, PhD, established the Young, Gifted & Black Program, a 501c (3) created to equip young adult African American and people of color with the essential skills to become effective leaders in the community, and help them eradicate personal barriers that may prevent them from becoming successful in their chosen careers or professions. Under the organization, Stewart-McCauley hosts the Young, Gifted & Black Awards, which recognizes eight to 10 young adults, ages 21-41, for their outstanding service and commitment to their community and profession. Thus far,

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more than 90 individuals have been recognized; this year will be the award ceremony’s tenth anniversary. Prior to establishing the Young, Gifted & Black Program, Stewart-McCauley, who completed her undergraduate study at the University of Pennsylvania and Point Park College, then went on to earn three master’s degrees and a doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh, worked as an educator and mental health therapist. She worked for various nonprofits and higher learning institutions. She was also selected by the late Wilford Payne to work as a member of the Alma Illery Mental Health Team and served as the Mental Health coordinator for the MS Society in Jefferson Hills. A respected leader in the community, Stewart-McCauley is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Alpha Alpha Omega Chapter, the NAACP and other professional organizations; the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America and the Bishop CH Foggie Conference Choir; and is a past member of the Swan Chorale and Bach Choir. She also served as the director of the Young Adult Christian Ministry in the AMEZ church for more than a decade. Currently a member of Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church where she is active in the Women and Mass Choirs, Stewart-McCauley said she is satisfied that she has a balance in her professional, social and spiritual life. She has two children, Tiffany and Ralph Jr., and four fantastic grandchildren.

working with juvenile sex offenders and supervising both the investigations and school-based probation units; and, with a heart for children, working with dependent and delinquent children at Holy Family Institute and Auberle. Spencer, a resident of Penn Hills, serves as the vice president for the Philanthropic Education Organization (PEO) Chapter BD Oakmont, a philanthropic organization where women celebrate, educate and motivate to inspire the advancement of women, and is an active member of Unity Community Church. Affectionately known as Aunt Te, Spencer cherishes the support of her numerous friends and her family, especially her niece, Elizabeth Garrett Stevens; nephews, Harry Garrett, Stuart Garrett and his wife, Brenda, and their children and grandchildren.

Department Chair of Africana Studies University of Pittsburgh

An author and educator, Virginia native Christel N. Temple, PhD, is the recently named chair of the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, where she has been employed since relocating to Pittsburgh in 2010. Prior to working at Pitt, Temple, who earned a B.A. in history from the College of William and Mary, then pursued immersed graduate training in Africana studies with a M.A. from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UBMC), followed by a doctorate from Temple University, taught in the History and Political Science Department of the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., and in the Africana Studies Department of her alma mater UMBC. Temple is a specialist of Afrocentric cultural theory and Comparative Black Literature. She has published two books, “Literary Pan-Africanism: History, Contexts, and Criticism” and “Literary Spaces: Introduction to Comparative Black Literature,” and is working on her third, which will be titled “An Atmosphere of Freedom: Transcendence and the Africana Literary Enterprise.” She has also had several essays appear in the Journal of Black Studies, Western Journal of Black Studies, International Journal of Black Studies, Africalogical Perspectives, Journal of Multicultural Discourses and Journal of Pan-African Studies. She has devoted her time to various topics, such as Malcolm X, Afro-European culture and identity, the Akan concept of Sankofa, Charles Hamilton Houston’s legal and literary authority, Africana womanism, the plays

of August Wilson and Suzan-Lori Parks, and U.S. post-racial discourse. Temple is the immediate past executive director of the Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement, manages the annual Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference in Philadelphia.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

JANUARY 4-10, 2017

ENTREPRENEUR

HEALTH

Renee D. Thomas

TE’ONA WILLIAMS, BSN, RN

The love that Renee D. Thomas possess for children and families is what led her to establish a safe, happy environment where they can grow healthy. Believing that God has entrusted her to serve children and families, she opened A Child’s World Daycare Center Inc., in 1995, where she is currently the founder and director. The center, located in Braddock, Pa., serves children ages 1-12, in grades PreK-7. Thomas, a Schenley High School graduate who holds a degree in child development and family studies from the Community College of Allegheny County, says she is “truly blessed to have the opportunity to nurture and love the total child-mind, body and spirt,” and that it’s her goal “to help parents to produce happy, intelligent and well adjusted children.” She calls it her life’s mission and adds that she “loves it!”

With her dedication to providing high-quality, patient-centered care to our nation’s veterans, Te’ona Williams, a professional registered nurse who has worked in the field for more than 10 years, demonstrates the highest level of expertise in the telemetry and surgical specialty care service unit at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Williams holds an associate’s degree in nursing from the Community College of Allegheny County and a Bachelors of Science in nursing from Carlow University. She has also earned certifications in the Center for Frontline Leadership Program as well as Peritoneal Dialysis, Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support. She also plans to pursue a master’s degree to become a family nurse practitioner. Along with her extensive certifications, Williams led the implementation of the Bedside Rounding Project, a new approach to improving patient education and patient care excellence. The project became such a huge success that she was invited to be a presenter at the AONE Center for Care Innovation and Transformation Conference in New Orleans, La. In addition to her academic and clinical experience, Williams strives for excellence in providing service to all mankind. She is committed and passionate about serving as treasurer within the Healthcare Ministry at Triumph Church; organizing a blood drive for the Central Blood Bank; and promoting the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and Go Red for the American Heart and American Stoke Associations. She also is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Alpha Alpha Omega Chapter). She says one of her greatest joys in life is spending quality time with family, her loving husband and raising her daughter, Savannah.

Owner A Child’s World Day Care Center

Registed Nurse VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

MEDIA BOFTA YIMAM Anchor/Reporter WTAE-TV

When Bofta Yimam isn’t reporting the news as the weekend morning anchor at WTAE-TV Pittsburgh’s Action News, she’s trying to live it. She has received multiple professional honors throughout her career, including a Regional Emmy award and the Edward R. Murrow award. Yimam first started at WTAE as an Investigative Reporter in 2013. Originally from Maryland, she began her career as a Weekend Anchor/Reporter in Georgia. Following that, she has worked at FOX13 in Memphis, Tenn. During her college days at the University of Maryland, she also interned with “Good Morning America” in New York, and studied abroad in Seville, Spain. When not reporting, Yimam hosts an online health fitness group, blogs, and when the opportunity arises, scratches destinations from her travel bucket list. So far, she’s swam with dolphins in Mexico, climbed a mountain to a remote Ethiopian monastery, jumped off a 35-foothigh Jamaican cliff and backpacked in Europe—twice. Yimam is grateful to have landed in Pittsburgh, and continues to be thankful for the amazing family and friends who bless her life.

Men of Excellence

We are looking for African American men in Pittsburgh who motivate and inspire others through their vision and leadership, exceptional achievements, and participation in community service. Watch for nomination forms in

JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE 2016

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER