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Vol. 110 No. 33

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AUGUST 14-20, 2019

Racial profiling, persecution, and ultimately, vindication

Courier Staff Writer

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

The narrative collectively pushed by Detroit prosecutors, police, media and the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel was: “Out-oftown couple has too much to drink, creates disturbance, assaults police in the process.”

“That sounds reasonable, to be honest,” said Khari Mosley who, with his wife, Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner, were that out-of-town couple in Detroit on March 6. “That’s not beyond the realm of

understanding, but what happened was way more like the Twilight Zone.”

Mosley, who was found not guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace charges July 15, and Wagner met exclusively with the New Pittsburgh Courier editorial board to discuss their version of what happened and to combat the “drunken couple” storyline—which Wagner said has not been corrected nor retracted.

“There’s still a story out there that doesn’t represent what actually came out at trial.

It’s the Westin’s incompetence. They racially profiled him (Mosley) and said he was a vagrant (though he was dressed in a high-end red Polo warmup suit). They filed a false police report. The police relied on

Early childhood education program offered at Milliones

by Christian Morrow

Khari Mosley, found not guilty on all charges, tells the real story of what happened in Detroit

COURIER EXCLUSIVE

$1.00

KHARI MOSLEY says he assumed this position during the ordeal at the hotel. He was cleared of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace charges on July 15. (Photos by J.L. Martello)

ALLEGHENY COUNTY CONTROLLER CHELSA WAGNER, with husband Khari Mosley. Wagner is facing felony assault charges in Detroit.

that report and admitted at trial they failed to investigate,” she said. “It’s a train wreck for them because what came out at trial is now in full view.”

What is now in full view could also be used to exonerate Wagner, who faces a trial on felony assault charges on Nov. 12. Mosley said the entire incident stemmed from the Westin turning a simple customer

When classes begin at Pittsburgh Milliones (U-Prep) 6-12 in less than two weeks, students will have a new Career and Technical Education program option that could earn them the certifications needed to start making $29,000 a year upon graduating, and $35,000 within three years.

The district’s new Early Childhood Education program is designed to not only teach students the aspects of teaching and working with young children, from birth through elementary age, but also to give them real-life apprenticeship experience working in childcare and educational settings. And through an articulation a g r e e m e n t ANGELA MIKE, director of Pittswith Carlow burgh Public Schools’ CTE proU n i v e r s i - gram. ty, students completing the program earn nine credits towards a degree.

Pittsburgh Public Schools CTE Director Angela Mike said the idea for the program grew from a conversation with Carol Barone-Martin, executive director of Early Childhood Education for the district. She said there is a shortage of credentialed people and she was having a hard time finding people to hire.

She’s not alone.

“We have industry partners on board

SEE MOSLEY A5

SEE MILLIONES B7

Jovon Higgins-Mitchell passes away from ALS A rarity in African Americans

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Nate Mitchell, better known in Pittsburgh as Nate “Da Phat Barber” and the owner of two local barber shops, was going above and beyond the call of duty when he decided to attend a prom lineup featuring one of his clients, who was a high school senior.

After all, it was the high

school senior’s big day—he was dressed up in his finest outfit, his date donning her best prom dress. Other prom participants were there, too, on this spring afternoon in 1998, as Mitchell, parents and other adults cheered and took pictures before the high schoolers attended the prom that evening.

One of the adults cheering from across the way was Jovon Higgins. She had just

graduated from Virginia State University, a historically-Black college 25 miles south of Richmond.

Brett Banks, who attended the prom lineup with Mitchell, spotted his longtime friend, Higgins, and he introduced Mitchell to her.

Little did Mitchell know that going to a simple prom lineup for one of his clients would lead him to his future wife.

JOVON HIGGINS-MITCHELL

“She was beautiful,” Mitchell recalled to the New Pittsburgh Courier.

Months later, at a concert for the hip-hop group The Roots, he saw Higgins again, got her number, “and the rest was history.”

For the next 20 years, the two were inseparable.

They got married in October 2011, raised their now 9-year-old daughter, Lauren, together (along with Nate Mitchell’s older daughter, Kamaria), bought a home in Penn Hills together, opened a business

together in Lawrenceville…

“She was a loving mother, loved her daughter like no other, a loving wife, a mentor to many, personally and through business,” Nate Mitchell said about Jovon Higgins-Mitchell. “She was a true entrepreneur for sure, and she just loved life, she was all about life and being present.”

Nate Mitchell said although his wife was a Christian, she was very “mindful” of things around SEE HIGGINS-MITCHELL A4

Youth summits held at schools to discuss problems, provide solutions

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

High schoolers all across the area are headed back to school soon—for Penn Hills students, it’s Aug. 26. For Pittsburgh Public Schools students, it’s Aug. 26 for freshmen and seniors, Aug. 27 for sophomores and juniors. And for Woodland Hills students, your first day is Aug. 22.

Also headed back to school is Sharon McIntosh, youth summit coordinator for the Greater Pittsburgh Coalition Against Violence. She’s at high schools all across the county—Penn Hills, Woodland Hills, Sto-Rox, Central Catholic, U-Prep, among them—spreading the following message to the students: “Know that you are valuable, know that you have a special purpose in this life that will change this world for the better. It’s inside of you.”

Most Black youth in the Pittsburgh area know another Black youth who has died or was wounded via gun violence.

Already in 2019, at least six African Americans aged 18 and under have been shot and killed in this area, including the first homicide of 2019, when 16-year-old Jonathan Freeman was killed in Homewood on Jan. 10.

18-year-old Morgan Dunston was a week away from graduating from McKeesport High School when she was shot and killed in the South SEE SUMMITS A4

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SHARON McINTOSH, far right, with studens from Woodland Hills High School.

J. Pharoah Doss on

Mass shootings, sick ideologues, and social alienation Forum B6

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AUGUST 14-20, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

NY Times pummeled over job posting called offensive by Africans (TriceEdneyWire.com/ GIN)—The New York Times is still recovering from the verbal bashing it received from Kenyan writers shocked and angered by the paper’s outdated references to Africa in a recent ad for the job of Nairobi Bureau Chief.

Has far has Africa come, wondered educator Alice Wairimu Nderitu since the day when posters portrayed wild animals with the title “The Highlands of British East Africa as a Winter Home for Aristocrats”?

The Times job opening is described as an exotic African assignment—“from the deserts of Sudan and the pirate seas of the Horn of Africa, down through the forests of Congo and the shores of Tanzania.”

“It is an enormous patch of vibrant, intense and strategically important territory with many vital story lines,” the ad continues, “including terrorism, the scramble for resources, the global contest with China and the constant push-and-pull of democracy versus authoritarianism.”

At this point, Wairimu Nderitu said the Times job description sounded like a call for a colonial settler, not a professional journalist.

Twitter buzzed with reactions: “If you are rearing to apply for this Bureau Chief job you should know what kind of stories New York Times is looking for.

The darkness of Africa!” declared computer forensic guru George Njororge.

“Hard to distinguish this nytimes ad from a call to join a 19th Century expedition with Livingstone & Stanley,” proclaimed Travis L. Adkins, lecturer on African & Security Studies at Georgetown University.

“A reminder that the NYTimes already has a dubious reputation in Kenya,”

Prof. Ken Opalo, recalling the furious debate over the Times printing a photo of two dead men slumped over their seats at a cafe.

“The biggest losers from this sort of madness,” Opalo said, “would not be Eastern Africans, but the daily’s American audience who “continue to be fed [and believe] myths and as a result are increasingly economically [and] geopolitically uncompetitive in the region”.

“When someone sent me this New York Times ad, I had to read it twice just to confirm that the kind of journalist they are looking for is one who would just focus on the negative news in this region,” added Oliver Mathenge, digital editor at Radio Africa.

Kayode Ogundamisi,

anti-corruption campaigner, said: “Requirements to work as @nytimes journalist in Africa. You have the ability to focus on the negative and “occasional good news”.

“Unexpected stories of hope. That is how much @ nytimes despise Africa.”

In a belated response, international editor Michael Slackman owned up to approving the ad that was full of clichéd descriptions of the continent.

The ad was the result of taking a short cut, he said.

Rather than write a new job description, a posting from about 18 months ago went out. Still, he insisted, The Times “was “committed to covering Africa, not as if it were some stereotype, but because it matters”.

He named his movement ‘Revolution Now’—and they jailed him (TriceEdneyWire.com/ GIN)—Omoyele Sowore, activist, founder of the anti-corruption news service “Sahara Reporters” and former presidential candidate, was not surprised when the Nigerian Security Service (DSS) forcibly entered his house early Saturday morning and arrested him. His crime?

Organizing a protest against bad governance in Nigeria.

The DSS arrived Aug. 3 with four trucks, seizing his phones and other electronic gadgets.

Sowore launched his Revolution Now movement in part, he said, because recent elections which returned President Mohammadu Buhari to power were not credible.

But the calls for revolu-

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tion were unlawful, according to the security officers.

“He crossed the line, he threatened public safety,” said a government spokesman.” Nothing will happen, there won’t be any revolution. The government, which has been elected democratically, will be in place.”

The arrest could interrupt plans for nationwide anti-government protests scheduled for this week.

In a recent meeting with supporters, Sowore declared: “This series of marches and rallies will continue until we have the Nigeria of our dreams.”

Currently, he said, “there’s no respect for our dignity as a people. For you to get back your dignity, do what they’re doing in Hong Kong, in Algeria, in Tunisia and in Puerto Rico.”

“Shut down this unworkable system… The revolu-

tion is now.”

Among Sowore’s many friends is Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka who spoke out against the arrest in a strongly-worded statement.

“Beyond the word ‘revolution’… nothing that Sowore has uttered, written, or advocated suggests that he is embarking on, or urging the public to engage in a forceful overthrow of the government,” the writer said.

“His arrest is a travesty and violation of the fundamental rights of citizens to congregate and make public their concerns.”

Nigeria’s Premium Times newspaper editorialized: “Speaking out is becoming more dangerous in Nigeria as curbs on free speech and repercussions for taking stances opposed to the government of the day are on the rise.

This Week In Black History

Week of August 14-20 August 14 1862—President Abraham Lincoln (for the first time) meets with a group of prominent Blacks to discuss the Civil War and public policy. But before the meeting was over, he would anger those gathered.

Although an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery, Lincoln suggested that it would be best for America and Blacks if African Americans were to emigrate to Africa or Central America. Nevertheless, a Littlemore than a month later on Sept. 22 he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation technically freeing all slaves in the rebellious Southern states.

1883—Ernest E. Just is born in Charleston, S.C. Just would become one of the nation’s most prominent biologists conducting pioneering research in cell division. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dartmouth ERNEST E. JUST University in 1907 and would go on to establish the Zoology Department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Just would die in 1941.

1959—Modern basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson is born on this day in Lansing, Mich.

August 15 1975—In another of those highly publicized “trials of the century,” which frequently grip national attention, 20-year-old Joann Little is found not guilty of murder after she stabbed a White jailer who had entered her cell in Beaufort County, N.C., to sexually assault her.

The trial had been moved to Raleigh because of widespread racial prejudice in the Eastern North Carolina area where the incident actually took place.

EARVIN “MAGIC” JOHNSON 1979—President Jimmy Carter forces the resignation of United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young after he angered Jewish groups by meeting with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The resignation created stormy relations between Blacks and the generally uncompromising pro-Israel lobby in the United States.

August 16 1922—Author and investigative reporter Louis E. Lomax is born in Valdosta, Ga. Little is known today, but in the 1960s Lomax was one of the most prominent Black journalists in America. He was renowned for his coverage of the Civil Rights Movement and his investigative reporting. He died mysteriously in an automobile accident near Santa Rosa, New Mexico, on July 30, 1970. One LOUIS LOMAX urban legend is that his car was forced off the road by persons working for the FBI because he was completing a book which would show that the assassination of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was part of a government plot. This urban legend is often repeated, but there has been little concrete evidence offered to support it. Lomax’ best known books are “Negro Revolt” and “To Kill a Black Man.” August 17 1887—Black separatist and Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey is born on this day in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Garvey advocated Black pride and the building of MARCUS GARVEY Black institutions. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914 and with amazingly rapid speed built it into the largest independent Black organization in history with 1,100 branches in more than 40 countries. He came to the U.S. in 1916 and the FBI began keeping a file on him in 1919. By 1923 he was indicted on what many considered trumped up mail fraud charges and eventually deported from his U.S. base in 1927. Garvey would die in England on June 10, 1940. But years before his death, he predicted his return, writing, “Look for me in the whirlwind or the storm, look for me all around you, with God’s grace, I shall come and bring with me countless millions…to aid you in the fight for liberty, freedom and life.”

August 18 1963—The first Black JAMES MEREDITH person admitted to the University of Mississippi, James Meredith, graduates on this day in 1963. His graduation was unmarred by the protests and violence which marked his federally forced entry into the once segregated institution.

1964—White-ruled South Africa is officially banned from competing in the Olympics because of its system of racial oppression known as Apartheid. The country’s Black majority would not achieve democratic rule, however, until May 1994 when the Nelson Mandela-led African National Congress won more than two-thirds of the vote in the country’s first free elections.

August 19 1791—Benjamin Banneker writes a letter to Secretary of BENJAMIN BANNEKER State (later president) Thomas Jefferson denouncing slavery. In his letter, Banneker declared, “I freely and cheerfully acknowledge that I am of the African race” and then precedes to label America’s recently achieved freedom from England a “hypocrisy” as long as Blacks continued to suffer under “groaning captivity and cruel oppression.”

Banneker was a Black activist against slavery even though he is generally recognized for his mathematical achievements, designing one of the first clocks made in America and laying out the nation’s capital after Pierre L’Enfant abandoned the job.

1954—African American diplomat Ralph Bunch is named Undersecretary of the United Nations. Bunch had already received the Nobel Peace Prize (1950) for his work as a U.N. negotiator during the Arab-IsraeRALPH BUNCHE li war of 1948-1949.

Bunch would later become U.N. Secretary General. He was born in Detroit but raised in Los Angeles.

August 20 1619—This is the most probable date that Black History in America begins. Approximately 20 Africans (the records of the day referred to them as “20 and odd Negras”) arrived in Jamestown, Va., aboard a Dutch ship. It appears the Africans were sold as indentured servants who could work and earn their freedom. Little is known about the group except that the Dutch had stolen them from a Spanish slave ship which was probably headed for the Caribbean or South America. Few names survive. But one of the men was called Anthony (or Antonio) RICHARD ALLEN and one of the women was called Isabella. The available records indicate the ship arrived in Jamestown in the latter part of August.

Other records and some speculation have led most historians to believe the actual arrival date was Aug. 20, 1619—the beginning of Black history in America.

1830—The first National Negro Convention is held. It takes place in Philadelphia and is chaired

by Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Top on the agenda of the gathering was what could free Blacks do to help bring an end to slavery.

1942—Musician, composer, singer, songwriter Isaac ISAAC HAYES Hayes is born on this day in Covington, Tenn.

NATIONAL

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

AUGUST 14-20, 2019

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After hate-filled massacres, NAACP blames Trump for fueling ‘racism, bigotry and White supremacy’

by Hazel Trice Edney

2019: There have been 253 mass shootings in For New Pittsburgh Courier America in 216 days of this year. That is (TriceEdneyWire.com)—President Donmore than one mass shooting per day for ald Trump, in the wake of mass shootings 2019. And we still have five more months that killed at least 31 people two weekends to go this year. ago, called for a unified condemnation of According to the Gun Violence Archive, to “racism, bigotry, and White supremacy” date, the total number of gun-related inciwhile he, himself has consistently prodents in this country now stands at 33,076, moted and supported racism, bigotry and resulting in 8,744 deaths and 17,366 injuWhite supremacy. ries.

At least 22 were killed and more than 20 The number of youths killed, ages 1 to 17, injured at a Walmart in El Paso Texas on now stands at 2,197.

August 3 as parents and children ventured “This is absolute insanity for a so-called out for back to school shopping. Dallas res‘civilized’ nation. The shootings in El Paso ident, Patrick Crusius, 21, was arrested in and Dayton were senseless acts of hate that the shootings. According to authorities and could possibly have been prevented had widespread reports, Crusius wrote a manithere been laws in place to control access festo claiming responsibility for the attack to high powered, rapid-fire, military grade and railing against what he described as weapons. The National Coalition on Black a “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” using lanCivic Participation and the Black Women’s guage mirroring Trump’s language describRoundtable strongly urges the U. S. Senate ing “invasion” immigrants. to come off of vacation and deal with this Crusius also reportedly told authorities crisis by passing a national common sense that he had intended to kill as many Mexgun safety law now.”

THE NINE VICTIMS OF THE DAYTON, OHIO MASS SHOOTING. (Photos Courtesy CBS News) icans as he could. At least 18 Mexican naIn Trump’s speech, he mentioned mental tionals were shot. Nine died, reports say. illness that leads to gun violence, but said Federal investigators, including the FBI, have nothing about his own hateful tweets. classified the case as domestic terrorism.

He said, “We must reform our mental health Less than 15 hours later, another White male laws to better identify mentally disturbed inopened fire at a bar in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine dividuals who may commit acts of violence and people, six of them Black. Twenty-seven others make sure those people not only get treatment, were injured in Dayton. The shooter, Connor but, when necessary, involuntary confinement.”

Betts, 24, was shot dead by responding officers.

He said he is directing the Department of Jus“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto ontice to work in “partnership with local, state, and line consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our federal agencies, as well as social media companation must condemn racism, bigotry, and White nies, to develop tools that can detect mass shootsupremacy,” Trump said in a televised speech ers before they strike.” from the White House Monday morning. “These He said the “glorification of violence in our socisinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no ety” through “gruesome and grisly video games” place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravmust end. ages the heart, and devours the soul. We have He added,“We must make sure that those asked the FBI to identify all further resources judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not they need to investigate and disrupt hate crimes have access to firearms, and that, if they do, those and domestic terrorism—whatever they need.” firearms can be taken through rapid due process.

Ironically, Trump also called the Internet “a That is why I have called for red flag laws, also dangerous avenue to radicalize disturbed minds known as extreme risk protection orders.” and perform demented acts” and described it as Finally, Trump said he was “directing the Dea place with “dark recesses”. partment of Justice to propose legislation enBut some—including the NAACP—believe it WATCHFUL EYE—NAACP President Derrick Johnson speaks at a National Press Club suring that those who commit hate crimes and has been clearly Trump himself who has used (NPC) Headliners luncheon in Washington, Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh/File) mass murders face the death penalty, and that social media—mainly Twitter—to fuel racism, this capital punishment be delivered quickly, deWhite supremacy and bigotry throughout the the resurgence of white nationalism, the National Coalition on Black Civic cisively, and without years of needless delay.” nation and around the world through his attacks domestic terrorism, intolerance, and Participation (NCBCP) and ConveStill civil rights leaders lay blame for the El on people of color, portraying them as less than racial hatred germinating from the ner of the Black Women’s Roundta- Paso and Dayton massacres squarely at Trump’s White House,” wrote Johnson in a ble (BWR). “Gun violence in Amer- feet: human. ica must end, and it must end now.

Following the recent shootings, NAACP Pres- statement.

Johnson wrote: “The NAACP is calling on the Other civil rights leaders chimed How many more lives must be lost by Trump administration to cease its use of divisive ident Derrick Johnson called out Trump’s own hate-filled behavior on the Internet over past in, appearing to be at a loss for an- senseless gun violence for elected of- and discriminatory rhetoric which fuel these swers. ficials to step up and lead?” years, months, weeks and days. unconscionable attacks and allot resources to “When is Enough, enough?” asked Campbell issued the following combat the rise of domestic terrorism and hate “These tragic shootings are stark reminders of the dangers that plague our communities under Melanie Campbell, president/CEO of statistics on gun violence to date in crimes.”

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METRO

AUGUST 14-20, 2019

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‘She did everything in style.’

Jovon HigginsMitchell passed away from ALS, a rarity in African Americans HIGGINS-MITCHELL FROM A1

her, referring to a principle called “mindfulness” that’s derived from “sati,” an element of Buddhist traditions. He said she wanted to create a community center in Pittsburgh with “mindfulness and presence at its core and base.”

After all, her bachelor’s degree from Virginia State was in psychology, and she was pursuing a master’s in psychiatry from Point Park University.

But her life was cut short due to a disease that rarely affects African Americans—ALS. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

It’s more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the New York Yankees baseball player, a seven-time All-Star, whose career was derailed in the late 1930s due to the disease.

According to the ALS Association, in the human body, motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to

the muscles throughout the body. ALS causes the motor neurons to progressively degenerate. When that happens, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, people may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and, ultimately, breathe. The motor nerves that are affected when a person has ALS are the motor neurons that provide voluntary movements and muscle control. Examples of voluntary movements are making the effort to reach for a phone or step off a curb. These actions are controlled by the muscles in the arms and legs.

There is no cure for ALS. The average life expectancy of a person with the disease is two to five years from the time of diagnosis.

But it’s a disease that is not commonly found in African Americans. The National Center for Biotechnology Information reported that from 2009-2011, 5,883 unique ALS cases were identified, but just 9.3 percent were African Americans. Whites accounted for nearly 75 percent of the cases, 12 percent classified as an unknown race.

There are currently about 16,000 people nationwide living with ALS, with 93 percent of the current cases believed to be affecting

JOVON HIGGINS-MITCHELL, with husband, Nate Mitchell, and their daughter, Lauren, in this 2014 photo. (Photo by Courier Photogapher Emmai Alaquiva) Whites.

With ALS so infrequent in the Black community, that type of diagnosis was the last thing on the minds of Jovon Higgins-Mitchell and Nate Mitchell, who are Black, once Jovon Higgins-Mitchell started experiencing muscle twitching, muscle weakness and loss of balance four years ago.

The doctors tested Jovon Higgins-Mitchell for “everything,” Nate Mitchell said.

“All these cancers, heart disease, HIV, everything under the sun. And if you come back with a clean bill of

health,” then it could be ALS. “You almost wish they could come up with something else to tell you,” Nate Mitchell said, rather than being diagnosed with ALS. “I personally feel like it’s one of the most reckless diagnoses you can give a patient, because you can’t see it, it’s all based off of symptoms.”

Jovon Higgins-Mitchell’s diagnosis came in late 2015.

Nate Mitchell told the Courier the husband-and-wife team never let the doctors give her “an expiration date. We didn’t want that energy in our direction,

even with a grim diagnosis.

I feel like we got as much time as we did because we took that stance.”

Jovon Higgins-Mitchell passed away in the family home on July 20. She was 43. Her funeral was held at the family’s home church, Macedonia Baptist Church in the Hill District.

But Nate Mitchell told the Courier that Jovon Higgins-Mitchell didn’t want her death to be a sad occasion. So, after the funeral, there was a big party/ repast held at Tree Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville.

“Jovon was a magnificent spirit that trotted the earth with the love of arts tucked inside every pocket she had,” said mutual friend Emmai Alaquiva, a Gubernatorial Officer for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. “With her needle of fashion, she had the ability to stitch the fabric of a community together.”

Jovon Higgins-Mitchell, a 1993 Schenley High School graduate who was raised in the Hill District, was well-known to Pittsburgh fashion gurus as co-owner of 720 Music, Clothing and Café in Lawrenceville. She produced fashion shows and had a clothing line called “720 Instant Vintage.”

Actually, “720” holds an important meeting to Nate Mitchell and Jovon Higgins-Mitchell. Not only was it included in the name of their business and Jovon Higgins-Mitchell’s clothing line, but according to Nate Mitchell, “she had exactly 720 posts on her Instagram…we purchased our home on July 20 (7/20), 2007…”

And on July 20 (7/20), 2019, she transitioned.

“My wife did everything in style,” Nate Mitchell told the Courier. “It wasn’t a sad thing (when she passed away). We all watched her suffer. She was definitely ready. She was at peace for sure.”

Youth summits held at schools to discuss problems, provide solutions SUMMITS FROM A1

Side Flats in the early morning hours of May 24.

Two people were killed after a shooting occurred during a party at an Airbnb rental property in the Hill District, June 12. The victims were 20-year-old Tyrese Smith, and 17-yearold Alexus N. Chester, a Pittsburgh Public Schools student who was celebrating her 17th birthday.

While gun violence affects people and ethnicities of all ages, Black teens in Pittsburgh are more impacted by gun violence than other races. It’s in their neighborhoods, their schools. It may, at times, seem all-encompassing.

Oftentimes, those responsible for teenage-involved shootings are young people themselves. In the non-fatal shooting incident on the Fourth of July in Downtown Pittsburgh, 18-yearold Camerin Caldwell was arrested by police as the prime suspect in shooting a 16-year-old and 18-year-old in Katz Plaza, Downtown.

Last summer, a 17-yearold teenage lifeguard was shot at a Clairton swimming pool. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested.

McIntosh and her team spend the school year at local high schools, speaking to students, listening to their concerns and frustrations, and providing positive solutions and advice.

McIntosh, a former principal in the Duquesne City School District and former

acting assistant principal at Pittsburgh Weil, told the Courier she understands why many Black youth have various feelings of anger, frustration, and how that could lead to violence.

“Basically, they feel disenfranchised, they feel a sense of hopelessness,” McIntosh said during an exclusive interview, July 17. “It basically comes down to economics, because what they see on television that makes a person seem important is big cars, money, and all of those things, and so their aspiration is to achieve that rather than to know their own self-worth.”

McIntosh added: “So when you feel that the only way you’re going to be important is if you can flash money and have all the girls and the big cars, then that’s what you aspire to, but you aspire to it in a way that’s incorrect, with the selling of drugs, with the robbing of one another in the streets. What we’re trying to teach our young people is that they are valuable— in what has been given to them by God, to do in this world things that will help change the world.”

McIntosh, in her role as GPCAV youth summit coordinator, approaches administrators in various high schools and asks them to create a youth team that’s representative of the school, “and that can be the spokesperson for those young people,” she said. The

SHARON McINTOSH is the youth summit coordinator for the Greater Pittsburgh Coalition Against Violence. (Photo by Courier photographer Gail Manker) youth groups, which number anywhere from 10 to 20 individuals, then meet with McIntosh and discuss the pressing topics youth want to discuss—teen dating, gang-related violence, domestic violence, peer pressure, family problems, etc.

Then, dozens more students join the group at a later date at what’s billed as a “Youth Summit” at the school, where those issues are discussed to a larger student audience.

In the past few years, the youth summits have been well-received at Woodland Hills High School, Sto-Rox Junior Senior High School,

Perry Traditional Academy, and U-Prep (Pittsburgh Milliones). More youth summits will be held in area high schools this upcoming school year.

McIntosh told the Courier that in today’s age of smartphones and social media, young people barely talk “face-to-face.” That’s why it’s important to have the youth summits at area schools so the problems can be discussed in an open environment—no smartphones needed.

“We’re trying to get our young people to dialogue with one another, to come up with resolutions on how to deal with aggressive

behavior or how to deal with feelings of rejection, how to deal with bullying and those types of things,” McIntosh said.

Some students, McIntosh said, encounter peer pressure to get money fast because, as an example, “when you walk into the school building and they call your shoes Bobos and they have $300 Jordans on, that makes a child feel very different. They’re belittled by their own peers in the school system, and they’re told (in effect) that they’re not important because of how they look or how they dress.”

Then there’s the problem of guns being so accessible in many Black communities, said Jada Pannell, a therapist at Center for Victims. “It’s so easy to get a gun and (the youth) are posting pictures of themselves with guns on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. A lot of it is to feel famous, being the cool guy,” she told the Courier.

Posting pictures of oneself with guns? That’s famous?

That’s cool?

Pannell doesn’t think it is.

But oftentimes, she said if a youth is growing up without the benefit of both parents, sometimes the second parent could be, in effect, the streets.

“Some of these kids, the streets is all they know,” Pannell, 25, who grew up in Wilkinsburg, said. “Just being raised by a single

mom, dad’s dead or in jail, that’s just the norm. The streets is their only resort, the streets are their family, so they’re going to do what they need to do to protect their family at the end of the day, just like any of us would do to protect our own families in our home. It just happens to be the streets are their family, and that’s their only option. There’s no other options laid out on the table for them.”

“There is no value for human life,” McIntosh added.

“Years ago it used to be the saying, ‘no love,’ and so, they were devaluing life, and if you feel devalued, then certainly when you’re looking at someone else you don’t see the value in that individual, either.”

But McIntosh’s goal, whether it’s at the schools, or in the neighborhoods, is to let young people know that there is a value to human life. And materialistic things that are portrayed on television, videos and the media don’t define a person.

“People think that ‘I’m better than you’ because ‘I have this’ or ‘I have that’ and ‘you don’t,” McIntosh told the Courier, “not realizing that the ‘better’ is inside of you.

It’s not what you’re wearing, it’s not what you have, it’s what’s inside you. Until someone can work from the inside out, and deal with that type of trauma with our young people, then we will constantly see this type of (violent) behavior.”

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Racial profiling, persecution, and ultimately, vindication Khari Mosley, found not guilty on all charges, tells the real story of what happened in Detroit MOSLEY FROM A1

service problem into “the crime of the century.”

Mosley, who is regional director of the Blue Green Alliance of the United Steelworkers, was ultimately found not guilty on all charges after a four-day trial that concluded with jurors deliberating just 40 minutes before rendering their verdict, July 15. But he still wanted to tell his side of the story to the general public, most of whom were not in the Detroit courtroom to hear, according to Mosley, what really happened.

The couple had driven from Pittsburgh to see hiphop artist Nas perform with the Detroit Philharmonic Orchestra on March 5. They checked in at the Westin, which is Downtown Detroit, went to the show and returned to the hotel. By now, it’s the early morning hours of March 6.

Wagner went to sleep, and Mosley went to the hotel bar to have a drink. Upon leaving the bar, he realized he didn’t have his hotel key. Mosley then went to the main desk of the Westin to get another one.

That’s when the clerk and hotel security started down the road to the Twilight Zone, according to Mosley. They wouldn’t give him a key because only Wagner’s name was on the register.

“I asked them to call the room— they didn’t,” Mosley recalled the story to the Courier on Aug. 9. “Can one of you escort me up there and

Mosley.

Then, Mosley is escorted back to the room, but by now, he’s agitated, telling the police and security he wants their names and information because he’s going to sue. As Wagner is trying to get Mosley to come into the room, one officer is still in the way.

“I told him to get the F out and the door closed,” said Mosley. “We think it’s over, but that’s when they claim they heard banging and crashing in the room.”

“And that’s the only time the audio goes out” from the bodycam video of Detroit police, Wagner said. “The judge even said, that’s the only time in over an hour of recording the audio drops out.”

That’s when the police come in to remove Mosley, put him in handcuffs, Wagner objects and begins shooting video on her phone. The Detroit police arrest Wagner for interfering and assault, and take her to jail.

Mosley managed to find a Detroit lawyer who could

KHARI MOSLEY, right, tells his side of the story to the New Pittsburgh Courier editorial board, Aug. 9. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello) Detroit police admitted they did not see Mosley break any laws. As for the “banging and crashing” that was missing from the police audio recording, and was the pretext for the police re-entering the room and eventually arresting Wagner, it appears to have been pretext only.

“Everyone had a different description of what they heard. One said he thought it was me putting my hands on her,” said Mosley. “But at trial, they were asked if they checked on her wellness—no.

While you were in the room when Mr. Mosley was packing, did you observe anything broken or damaged—no. Did housekeeping later report anything broken or damaged— no. Were they ever sent a bill for damages—no.”

The six-member jury had five African Americans. Mosley told the Courier that most of them had expressions on their faces that showed there was

“It was a train wreck, the entire time, and I never thought I’d see a system that would make me think our criminal justice system here (in Pittsburgh) is good. It (Detroit) was that bad.”

CHELSA WAGNER Allegheny County Controller knock on the door—no we can’t do that. Can you go knock and have her come down and get me—no we can’t. You mean I can’t wait here while you go get her?

No. You’re not a registered guest here, and you have to leave or we’re calling the police.

“And that’s how it all began.”

Hotel security then called the Detroit police—claiming to be police themselves per the 911 recording—and said Mosley has started a disturbance in the bar and threatening staff and guests, and that they feared for their lives.

There is no video from the bar—why the Westin does not have the video is unknown, though Mosley and Wagner believe it was intentionally destroyed.

But there is video of a security guard chest-bumping Mosley. There is no video of Mosley being violent, yet when the police arrived, the security guard accused Mosley of trying to hit him.

From that point on, there is police bodycam video—and audio.

Despite being told Wagner was in bed asleep, when the police entered the hotel room, they searched the room for two minutes before walking to the bed to talk to Wagner, according to

get Wagner out of jail, and after sticking around for one more day because they were told there’d be an arraignment for her—there wasn’t—they went home.

Two days later they sent notice to the Westin that they planned to sue—and to preserve “any and all video.” On March 19, they sent the same notice to the Detroit police. The next day, Wagner was charged with felony assault and Mosley, who was never officially arrested, was also charged.

Coincidence? Wagner and Mosley believe so. One day, the two Pittsburghers give notice they plan to sue.

The next day, they are both charged by Wayne County (Detroit) prosecutors.

Mosley told the Courier that although it was unsettling to have charges pressed against him, it was easy to tell his side of the story because, “the story is the story,” he said. There was no need to fabricate anything—Mosley knew that his story was the correct story. Mosley did not accept any plea deals—he went to trial.

At the trial, the only witnesses called to testify were Detroit police and hotel security guards. The security guards admitted that Mosley never threatened anyone on the night in question. The

no way they believed Mosley committed any crimes.

“Mr. Mosley, a jury of your peers have found you ‘not guilty’ of all of your charges.

This case is dismissed, thank you very much, sir,” said 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King inside the courtroom.

“Thank you, your honor,” Mosley replied.

And with that, Mosley, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and navy blue bow tie, walked out of the Detroit courtroom with his wife, Wagner, and traveled back to Pittsburgh.

They probably won’t be visiting the city of Detroit anytime soon.

“What the trial showed us was that the entire premise of their entire narrative was false from the beginning,” Mosley told the Courier. “From the idea of, there being some sort of disturbance in the bar. It came out in the facts that the only thing that happened in the bar was I ordered one glass of wine, and was able to charge that glass of wine to the room.”

Mosley can’t believe that he could charge a glass of wine to the hotel room that he and Wagner stayed in, but then wasn’t believed by hotel staff that he was a guest at the hotel when he later asked for another

room key.

“The police acknowledged on the stand that they erroneously believed what the Westin security was telling them without any effort to investigate,” Wagner told the Courier.

Wagner, seated next to her husband, Mosley, at the Courier offices, then

discussed how she felt the Detroit News, one of the city’s two major daily publications, “has mischaracterized everything. What they’ve tried to claim from these days in the courtroom was that the prosecution just didn’t meet their burden, when in fact, what I would describe, is more of

this pejorative farce. It was a train wreck, the entire time, and I never thought I’d see a system that would make me think our criminal justice system here (in Pittsburgh) is good.”

“It (Detroit) was that bad.”

(Courier Staff Writer Rob Taylor Jr. contributed to this story.)

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www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Debbie Norrell

Lifestyles Report In My Travels Summer 2019 There is so much going on in the city that you should be busy all of the time. Jazz in Highland Park has started, Jazz in Riverview Park is going on and recently Jazz on the Rooftop at the Thelma Lovette Y on Centre Avenue in the Hill District is alive and well. If you like Jazz or just like people, take advantage of some of these free events. There are summer festivals and parades and again they are free. Get on Facebook and find out what is going on and where. This is restaurant week; check out a new restaurant.

We still have some good weather left and there are still things left to do. Speaking of eating places there are two new ones opening in Penn Hills. If you are a Penn Hills resident you may have noticed that a Taco Bell is opening behind the Rodi Road Wendy’s and there is a Checkers opening on Frankstown Avenue across from the Eat ‘n Park. I try not to eat a lot of fast food but it is always great to have additional options in the neighborhood. You can guarantee that I will try out both of my new options while the places are fresh and hopefully service is good. So many fast food restaurants are no longer fast. I went to the Penn Hills McDonalds recently to pick up some pancakes, the drive thru line was long so I parked and went inside.

Once inside it looked like it was backed up in there as well so I went to the grocery store and purchased the things I needed to make my breakfast. Just in case you haven’t noticed, fast food is no longer fast.

Who saw the huge sinkhole at the corner of Brushton and Frankstown Avenue?

You may not have seen it in person but maybe on the news or on Facebook. I used to live in that area and I could not believe it. Do sinkholes just happen or do they start small and then implode? I have noticed the beginnings of what I think could be sinkholes on Lime Hollow Road. There are about six and there are orange cones and markers to alert drivers but I don’t think that is enough. That is a narrow and curvy road and if you are going down the hill in the dark you could easily fall into one of those holes. I’m not sure who is responsible for that road but I am going to begin making some phone calls.

Nadine Road has been closed for a while and we don’t need another major roadway closed.

Attention shoppers!

You may already know this but Burlington is moving from behind Monroeville Mall to the space next door to JoAnn’s across from Homegoods. The old Burlington is having a sale and right now things are at 40 percent off. I have not been there yet because I don’t need anything. But as the percentage goes up my needs might change.

Eighty percent off or 90 percent off sounds like a motivator.

(Email Debbie at debbie norrell@aol.com.)

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD—Gwen Terrell accepts from Dawndra Jones

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD—Presented to Mary Gray by Dawn- OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD—Dawndra dra Jones and Anne Germany Jones presents to Ada Milliner

The 11th Evelyn Paige Parker Scholarship Brunch

by Debbie Norrell Lifestyles Editor

The Evelyn Paige Parker Scholarship Fund was established in 2004 by the Pittsburgh Black Nurses in Action (PBNIA) and was named after Evelyn Paige Parker who was a dedicated nurse and member of the organization. On June 15, at the LeMont Restaurant, PBNIA held their eleventh Evelyn Paige Parker Scholarship Brunch.

Each year PBNIA awards a deserving nursing student a $1,000 scholarship from their fund managed by the POISE Foundation.

The 2019 PBNIA Evelyn Paige Parker Scholarship was presented to Leah Johnson. Scholarships were also presented to Charis Allen, Jasmine Collier, Tyra Patterson and the 2019 Victor D. Fagen Sr. LPN to RN Continuing Education Scholarship was presented to Catherine Manson. The Victor D. Fagen Sr. scholar-

PRESENTERS AND AWARDEES—Susan Baida, Patricia James, Tyra Patterson, Catherine Manson, Jasmine Collier, Leah Johnson and Dawndra Jones ship was a first for PBNIA. Corporate scholarships were sponsored by Allegheny Health Network, UPMC and University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Outstanding Service

PBNIA MEMBERS—Dr. Betty Braxter and Dorretta Lemon-Fallen RN

MICHELLE CARTER–BEY RN—Spoke on the LPN Road to RN

Awards were presented to: Dr. William Simmons, Gwendolyn Terrell, Ada Milliner, Victor Fagan, Michael Harper and Dorretta Lemon-Fallen.

Guests enjoyed a tasty

brunch, CAPA High School Smooth Jazz and Keynote speaker Paula Day, RN. Day spoke about why dancing is good for the brain and encouraged people to find a sound they like, stand and shake.

The mission of PBNIA is to reduce health disparities among African Americans and other minorities in the Greater Pittsburgh area through education and awareness.

EMCEE—Michael Harper (Photos WWII NURSE ALWAYS ATTENDS—Vivian Moore with daughter

by Debbie Norrell) Shelby Moore

PBNIA LADIES

KEYNOTE SPEAKER—Paula Day

FIRST VICTOR D. FAGEN SR. AWARD—Presented to Catherine Manson, center, by Dawndra Jones OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD—Presented to Dr. William Simand Victor D. Fagen Sr. mons by Dawndra Jones

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

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Feeling overwhelmed? 5 tips to make time for self-care

(BPT)—Ever feel like the days just get away from you, and you don’t have time to do the things you need to do, much less want to do? Often wish you could just spend your evenings or weekends on your personal goals, practicing self-care or just relaxing? There are many ways you can take control of your time and take better care of yourself. Sometimes it’s a question of prioritizing what you want to do—and outsourcing the rest.

Simplify meal prep and cooking. Unless cooking is enjoyable and relaxing for you, chances are you get home from work stressed and hungry—and tired of takeout. Fortunately, there are dozens of options for letting yourself off the hook when it comes to cooking from scratch without sacrificing good, healthy meals.

Today many plans exist for ordering pre-packaged ingredients and recipes in a manageable form for you to prepare at home, with minimum fuss. Not only are they delicious, but you can find services that cater to particular health plans or your specific dietary needs.

Get help with pet care. Unless you have kids old enough to take care of Fido, or you enjoy taking him for his walks, it’s easy to find pet care services, or even a reliable neighborhood teenager, to help walk the dog or check on the cat, particularly if you work long hours or travel for work. Doggy day care services, boarding and grooming experts also help lift some

home to a beautifully clean home every night.

Prioritize health and exercise. You try your best to exercise, so why not give yourself the most help you can to meet your wellness goals, and a reward when you achieve them? Hiring a personal trainer or signing up for a class that will inspire you to keep up your fitness level is an investment in yourself that will pay dividends in your future, and make you feel great right now. Whether it’s Zumba, spin class, yoga or Pilates, any activity that helps you build strength, flexibility and fitness is worth the cost. Then be sure to treat yourself with an occasional massage, sauna or spa visit—whatever helps you relax and feel good.

Take a time-out. When you are able, plan your next vacation for a location that will be fun and relaxing. If a long vacation is not in the cards, plan a mini-break, even just for a weekend, to get away from the daily routine and let you focus on yourself, your significant other or your family. Something as simple as spending a of the burden of caring for your furry with. Merry Maids home cleaning services night in a local hotel—with as many amefriends. are available weekly, every other week, nities as you can enjoy—will leave you Outsource house cleaning. While we all monthly or one-time, so you can pick feeling refreshed and invigorated. You’ve wish we had beautifully organized, clean the service that best suits your lifestyle. earned it. homes, it’s almost impossible to do every- On every visit, the team from your local The next time you’re feeling stressed thing we’d like to keep our houses in great Merry Maids franchise dusts, vacuums, and overwhelmed, choose to outsource shape. Merry Maids offers a variety of washes and sanitizes each room. Imagine those tasks that can take over your life, cleaning services that allow you to choose the hours of reclaimed time and peace of and give yourself the best gift—the gift of which tasks or rooms you most need help mind you’ll have, knowing you’re coming time.

Questions to ask your healthcare provider about medication costs

(BPT)—Even in the privacy of a doctor’s office, many patients hesitate to discuss one subject—money.

While nearly one in four Americans over the age of 50 feels stressed about their medical bills, only half of those have spoken to their healthcare provider about it, according to a University of Michigan poll. But it pays to ask about the cost of your treatment. The same poll found that two-thirds of patients who talked to their healthcare provider about drug costs received a recommendation for a lower-cost alternative.

Speaking with your healthcare provider about treatment options and out-of-pocket costs should be one of the first things you do after being diagnosed with a chronic illness. But sometimes it can be hard to know how to start the conversation, or what questions to ask. As the largest independent charitable organization dedicated to helping people pay out-of-pocket costs for their prescribed treatments, the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation helps patients manage the financial burden of care every day. Dan Klein, President and CEO of the PAN Foundation, suggests asking your healthcare provider the following questions if you are concerned about the cost of your medication.

1. Can you or someone in your office help me find out how much this medication will cost out-of-pocket?

Although drug prices fluctuate, and patients pay different amounts depending on their health insurance, healthcare

providers or their staff can usually provide an estimated cost for a treatment or can call your pharmacy and find out.

This simple question is an easy way to start the cost-of-care conversation and let your healthcare provider know that you want to explore ways to minimize your costs.

2. Does this medication have a generic equivalent that I can use?

Many brand-name drugs, especially those that have been on the market for a long time, have generic equivalents that are significantly cheaper. These generic copies contain identical active ingredients and are rigorously tested by the FDA to ensure they are as safe and effective as the brand-name versions.

3. Could a change in dosage or frequency help reduce my costs, but still be effective?

Out-of-pocket costs should not prevent you from accessing and adhering to your treatment. But controlled changes to your dosage or frequency may help you lower

Are you getting enough protein in your diet?

(BPT)—You may have noticed protein bars and shakes popping up at grocery stores or gyms. Coverage of the benefits of protein is all the rage. So it might be surprising to learn that almost half of older adults are not consuming enough protein, thus negatively impacting their health, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging.

What role should protein play in our diet?

“Protein can be thought of as one of the building blocks to our muscles, bones and blood,” said Dr. James Metcalf, a medical director with UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “Not only does protein help keep our body strong, it helps promote good balance and mobility—all important factors to being able to live independently as we age.”

Additionally, protein helps combat common signs of aging, like declines in muscle mass, strength and function, which can put you at greater risk of falling and fracturing bones.

But before you grab the nearest protein bar, let’s discuss exactly how much protein you should consume each day.

How much protein do I need?

The National Academy of Medicine’s recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. For an adult who weighs

195 pounds that’s 71 grams per day; for someone who weighs 170 pounds that’s 62 grams per day.

While it is helpful to know how many grams of protein you should aim to consume each day, knowing the amount of protein in the foods we eat can be a bit of a mystery. Below are some sources of high-quality protein and the corresponding amount of protein in each, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture FoodData Central database: •Chicken breast (one): 54 grams of protein •Salmon (0.5 fillet): 40 grams of protein •Lentils (one cup cooked): 18 grams of protein •Black beans (one cup cooked): 15 grams of protein •Greek yogurt (one container; plain, nonfat): 10 grams of protein •Egg (one): 6 grams of protein Bottom line If you feel you might benefit from adding some sources of protein into your diet, be sure to talk with your doctor before making any drastic changes.

Increasing your protein consumption will not be a silver bullet to keeping your body healthy as you age. Staying physically active is also important to help maintain your health and live your best life.

your costs without compromising effectiveness.

It’s crucial that this is only done under medical advice, as making cost-cutting decisions without your healthcare provider’s input can be harmful.

4. Is there a less expensive way to receive my treatment?

Depending on your condition, there may be multiple ways to receive treatment, some more expensive than others. For example, oral anti-cancer agents have become an increasingly common part of cancer treatment plans but are sometimes more expensive than traditional intravenous (I.V.) administration. Be sure to ask your healthcare provider if there is a cheaper treatment option for you that

meets your healthcare needs.

5. Do you have drug coupon discount cards for my medication, or free samples?

Drug companies often give healthcare providers discount coupons or free samples to dispense to patients. It can be easy for healthcare providers to forget about these, so don’t be afraid to ask! Drug manufacturer discount coupons can only be used by those with commercial insurance, not by people with Medicare or Medicaid.

6. Can you or someone in your office help me find financial assistance to cover my costs? Is there a charitable foundation that I can apply to?

Charitable foundations, like PAN, can help patients pay their out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications. Your healthcare provider’s office should be familiar with these programs and can point you in the right direction. You can learn more about patient assistance charities and connect with resources to help you manage your chronic illness at panfoundation.org. You can also download the FundFinder app from that website, which will notify you when assistance becomes available from any of the major charitable patient assistance foundations.

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BONUS

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www.newpittsburghcourier.com

CROWD AND COLEMAN FAVORITE

BEATRICE COLEMAN WITH GRANDCHILDREN (Photos by Debbie Norrell)

Fashion Extravaganza Number 107

by Debbie Norrell Lifestyles Editor

Milestone birthdays take a lot of planning. One might think that by the time you reach 107 years of age that a birthday party would be the least of your worries.

Not for Beatrice Coleman.

On July 28, at the Comfort Inn & Suites on Rodi Road, Coleman hosted a birthday party and fashion extravaganza. The guest of honor requested that attendees dress in their favorite color in an after-five style and be prepared to participate in a fashion extravaganza. Coleman wore a beautiful suit in a shade of purple with a matching lavender hat. She even selected several models as her favorites and presented them with a gift.

Coleman’s daughter, Teresa Clark, a resident of California, assisted with the planning.

Each guest received multiple party favors: a church fan with Coleman’s picture and a custom-made cookie in the shape of “Vogue Magazine Issue no.

107.” Coleman has hosted large parties for several years and small family gatherings as well. She announced that

107 will be the last large party.

Beatrice Coleman began attending Metropolitan Baptist Church in 1950 and has become the longest active member. She is referred to as “Mother Coleman.” Coleman moved to Pittsburgh in 1949 with her husband, Jesse Sr. In her professional career she was a nurse and graduated from Franklin Nursing School and then worked at West Penn Hospital. She also spent 31 years at Divine Providence Hospital on the North Side. It may be no surprise but the birthday lady loves to travel, visiting places in Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and Jerusalem. She loves to socialize with other grandmothers, forming a club called “Les Grand-meres” whose members became her traveling buddies. She never drove. She walked or rode streetcars or buses. She loves to bowl and model. She still cooks, manages the staircase in the home, and loves to watch “As The World Turns,” “American Ninja Warrior” and westerns on TV. I asked about her secret to longevity, she always says “live right, love God and love everybody.”

THE COUPLE IN BLUE ON THE RUNWAY

GUEST OF HONOR—Escorted by grandson David Tony Coleman Jr.

JAZZY MODEL

DAD & DAUGHTER HEAD TO THE RUNWAY

BEATRICE COLEMAN—With daughter Teresa Clark, son David Coleman, and widow of late son Jessie Coleman Jr., Carolyn Gaston Coleman.

BEATRICE COLEMAN WITH GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. Beatrice Coleman’s secret to longevity: “Live right, love God and love everybody.”

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

FLM-Haiti’s ‘Hope for Haiti’ 5K The Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti is a local Christian nonprofit that works with the people in the mountain highland communities south of Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti.

It’s an organization that, for more than 30 years, has enabled the Haitian people to address critical needs in nutrition, safe water, health, education and job training.

The organization hosted its annual Walk for Haiti in May, a 5K walk that financially benefits the ministry of FLM-Haiti. Registration was $25 per walker, and was held at the Highland Park Reser-

voir. The 5K walk equaled about three laps around the reservoir.

Ninety percent of the organization’s fundraising efforts support teacher salaries, food to feed the students, tuition relief, equipment, and medicine and supplies. The funding also supports the employment and development of Haitian physicians, teachers, and guesthouse staff.

Leon D. Pamphile, PhD, is the executive director of FLM-Haiti. Marie Rozette Pamphile is the associate executive director. Russell Bynum is the president.

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NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Reaching the youth through Basketball JAKIM DONALDSON, center, leads the youth during his ninth annual P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Basketball Camp, held July 24-26 in Knoxville. (Photos by Courier Photographer J.L. Martello)

The 9th Annual P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Basketball Camp

KEION GRANT

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Jakim Donaldson stands tall. At 6-foot-8, you can’t miss him wherever he walks and talks in Pittsburgh, or overseas when he plays professional basketball.

Just a few weeks ago, the 35-year-old Donaldson was one of the New Pittsburgh Courier’s Fab 40 honorees. Add that to the many awards and achievements he’s acquired through his athletic acumen.

But nothing means more to him than the happiness he sees on the faces and the information he provides to Black youth at his annual summer basketball camp.

From July 24-26, the ninth annual P.R.O.M.I.S.E Basketball Camp was held A Giving Heart Community Center in Knoxville. And if you’re a kid, who doesn’t like playing basketball?

Thus, the kids come, shoot hoops, make new friends, and get to see and hear from a local basketball standout that is, indeed, a pro.

How many of the youth who participated in the three-day camp will turn into professional ballplayers? It doesn’t matter. What matters to Donaldson, and his father, Jay Donaldson,

is that the kids are doing something valuable with their summer vacation and getting valuable informaBILLIE MORIARTY JOSH WILLIAMS tion for their minds.

P.R.O.M.I.S.E. is a local, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping men, women and children who have lost loved ones to violence.

P.R.O.M.I.S.E. stands for Protecting and Restoring the Order of Mankind with the Initiative of Serving Elders.

Jay Donaldson, the organization’s president, started the organization after he lost one of his sons, Jehru, to violence. In 2007, Jehru was shot and killed while waiting in a car on the North Side to take his girlfriend’s nephews to a Pirates game. He was 18.

In past years, P.R.O.M.I.S.E. has awarded students with $1,000 for college via the Jehru M. Donaldson Scholarship.

P.R.O.M.I.S.E. has also held clean-up days, a book club, and a mentoring program.

Next summer, you can bet on hot weather, Fourth of July fireworks, and what will be the tenth an- JAKIM DONALDSON, an Oliver High School graduate, teaches the youth at his ninth annual P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Basketball Camp. nual Jakim Donaldson P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Basketball Camp.

The kids will, once again, be ready.

P.R.O.M.I.S.E. BASKETBALL CAMP—From left: Demir Frison, Nathan Brazil, Jakim Donaldson holding Amiya Donaldson, Jay Donaldson, Nehemiah Brazil, Marc Pate, Armani Donaldson.

RELIGION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

The 6th Pastoral Anniversary…

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Praise & Worship ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Sunday Mass 10:30 A.M. www.stbtmchurch.org

East Liberty Presbyterian Church

For Rev. Tyrone Munson

At The Historic Olivet Baptist Church

REVEREND TYRONE MUNSON and Rev. Dr. J. Van Alfred Winsett, at the Pastoral Anniversary for Rev. Munson, July 28. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

Church Circuit JERUSALEM BAPTIST TRIP, CONCERT

AUG. 16—The Jerusalem Baptist Church Gospel Choir is sponsoring a concert on Friday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. Rev. Gregory Coleman and wife, Cachet Coleman, along with JBC Minister of Music, Tanya Pugh, and others will lift their voices in praises to our God. A Free will offering will be taken. Also, JBC is sponsoring a trip to “The ARK Encounter & The Creation Museum” in Williamstown, Kentucky, on Aug. 13, 2020. Reserve your seat on the bus with a $25 deposit. The total cost of the trip is $280. Payment plans are available or $150 is due by Dec. 15, 2019. The final payment is due by April 2020. No refunds.

Please see Deacon Ruth Fielder at 412-922-0474 or Deacon Edna Watts at 412-921-0445 for more information and a detailed flyer. Jerusalem Baptist Church is located at 123 Steuben St., West End. Rev. Theodore E. Pugh is the senior pastor.

ANTIOCH CHURCH ANNIVERSARY

AUG. 18—Antioch Baptist Church, 332 Elizabeth St., Sewickley, will celebrate their 129th Church Anniversary at 10:45 a.m. at the church. The guest speaker will be Rev. Gerald Lastor, pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church, Pittsburgh. Dinner will be served after service. All are welcome. Please call 412-7417688 for details. Reverend Travis C. Coon, Pastor.

GRACE MEMORIAL COMMUNITY WORSHIP SERVICE

AUG. 18—Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church will hold a Community Worship Service at Robert E. Williams Park, 3500 Milwaukee St., Upper Hill. The service begins at 11 a.m. and is open to all. There will be food, dancing and games immediately following the service.

SEED & HARVEST COMMUNITY DAY

AUG. 24—Seed & Harvest Ministries Inc., in North Versailles, is holding its second Community Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the church, 3500 Fieldcrest Dr. There will be games, fun, face-painting, a dunk tank, a bounce house, blood pressure screenings, a fire engine, free food and hot dogs while they last, and free baskets will be raffled. It’s a day to bring the community together as one. For more information, call 412-664-4400.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

AUG. 31—Under the big tent across from the Carnegie Library In Oakland will be the annual International Day of Prayer For Our Youth, from noon to 3 p.m. The goal is to pray at the same time for the same purpose: our youth. Shirley Jones Douglas will be the host. Opening prayer by Bishop Dr. Gerald Loyd. Other speakers include Pastor Tony Armstead, Rev. Regina Ragin Dykes, Russell Bynum, Tim Stevens, Frederick Douglas Sr., and Devantae Butler. Bring the whole family. For more information, call 412-969-7299.

To place your event in our Church Circuit weekly calendar, Send info to: New Pittsburgh Courier, 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh PA 15219 or Email us! religion@newpittsburghcourier.com

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5 steps to take to get closer to a secure retirement (BPT)—Did you know nearly 1 in 3 people think they’re more likely to learn Bigfoot is real than to save enough to retire comfortably, according to a recent survey from AARP and the Ad Council?

But successfully saving for retirement doesn’t have to be a fantasy—or scary. Chances are you’re better at saving than you think. Have you put kids through college? Bought a house?

Purchased a car or two? You’re probably better at achieving financial goals than you give yourself credit for. The careful planning and savings skills you’ve already used can help you reach your next big financial goal: a secure retirement.

The right tools make it easier. AARP and the Ad Council offer a free online resource to help you get started, where you can create your personal action plan in just a few minutes. Meet your friendly digital retirement coach, Avo, and get started at AceYourRetirement. org today.

“In just three minutes you can get answers to a few simple questions, plus personalized tips and saving strategies,” said Debra Whitman, AARP executive vice president and chief public policy officer. “The to-do list format is effective and works for any age—not just AARP members.”

The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll have peace of mind, and a concrete plan. While everyone’s situation is unique, here are steps you can take today.

1. Take advantage of your employer’s retirement benefits. If your workplace offers a 401(k) or other savings plan, make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. If your employer matches part of your contribution, aim to contribute at least enough to get the full match.

“It’s basically free money for your future, and it can be a huge way to amplify the amount you’re able to save for yourself,” said Whitman.

If possible, consider boosting your contribution past that employer match by a percentage or two, to increase your savings even more. A long-term goal might be to set aside 10-15 percent of your income as a contribution to your 401(k).

2. Try to pay down debt. No matter your situation, reducing debt is always smart, as debt you carry eats away at savings you’re trying to set aside.

Check interest rates on your current mortgages, car loans, home equity loans, parent loans or credit cards.

Consider working toward paying down loans or cards with the highest interest rates first. Call your credit card companies and ask for a lower interest rate.

Some debt may be eligible for refinancing, so consider that option to lower interest rates if possible.

3. Have a family conversation. When it comes to any big financial decision, it helps if everyone is on the same page.

You and your spouse could create a budget and incremental goals to work on together. Talk to your adult children SEE STEPS B2

ABOVE AND BEYOND—“They completely went above and beyond,” said Bernard Macon, center, of Vincent and Lekeisha Williams, owners of LV Health and Wellness Pharmacy in Shiloh, Illinois. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas for Kaiser Health News)

Black pharmacists closing the cultural gap in health care

by Cara Anthony For New Pittsburgh Courier

After a health insurance change forced Bernard Macon to cut ties with his Black doctor, he struggled to find another African American physician online. Then, he realized two health advocates were hiding in plain sight.

At a nearby drugstore in the suburbs of St. Louis, a pair of pharmacists became unexpected allies of Macon and his wife Brandy. Much like the Macons, the pharmacists were married, energetic young parents, and unapologetically Black.

Vincent and Lekeisha Williams, owners of LV Health and Wellness Pharmacy, didn’t hesitate to help when Brandy had a hard time getting the medicine she needed, before and after sinus surgery last year. The Williams’ made calls when Brandy, a physician’s assistant who has worked in the medical field for 15 years, didn’t feel heard by her doctor’s office.

Independent Black-owned pharmacies fill a void for African American patients looking for care that’s sensitive to their heritage, beliefs and values. For Bernard Macon, LV Health and Wellness Pharmacy in Shiloh, Ill., provides some of that vital support. (Michael B. Thomas for Kaiser Health News) “They completely went above and be-

yond,” said Bernard Macon, 36, a computer programmer and father of two. “They turned what could have been a bad experience into a good experience.”

Now more than ever, the Macons are betting on Black medical professionals to give their family better care.

The Macon children see a Black pediatrician. A Black dentist takes care of their teeth. Brandy Macon relies on a Black gynecologist. And now the two Black pharmacists fill the gap for Bernard Macon while he searches for a primary care doctor in his network, giving him trusted

Wellness Pharmacy in Shiloh, Ill., on June 6, 2019. (Michael B. Thomas for Kaiser Health News) But medical providers who give patients culturally competent care—the act of acknowledging a patient’s heritage, beliefs and values during treatment—often see improved patient outcomes, according to multiple studies. Part of it is trust and understanding, and part of it can be more nuanced knowledge of the medical conditions that may be more prevalent in those populations.

For patients, finding a way to identify with their pharmacist can pay off big time.

Cutting pills in half, skipping doses or not taking medication altogether can be damaging to one’s health— even deadly. And many patients see their pharmacists monthly, far more often than the annual visits to their medical doctors, creating more opportunities for supportive care.

That’s why some Black pharmacists are finding ways to connect with customers in and outside of their stores. Inspirational music, counseling, accessibility and transparency have turned some minority-owned pharmacies into hubs for culturally competent care.

“We understand the community because we are a part of the community,” Lekei-

African American patients are looking for care sensitive to their heritage, beliefs and values. confidantes that chain pharmacies likely would not.

Black Americans continue to face persistent health care disparities. Compared with their white counterparts, Black men and women are more likely to die of heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza, pneumonia, diabetes and AIDS, according to the Office of Minority Health.

Vincent Williams and Bernard Macon discuss medication at LV Health and

SEE PHARMACISTS B2

UAB’s Deborah Grimes named one of the Most Influential Women in Corporate America

by Bob Shepard For New Pittsburgh Courier

(BlackPressUSA)—Grimes, the chief diversity officer for the UAB Health System, has been named one of the most influential women in corporate America for 2019

by Savoy Magazine.

The magazine released its 2019 Most Influential Women in Corporate America listing in its summer edition. The full list of African American women achievers impacting corporate America can be viewed online at SavoyNetwork.com.

Originally trained as a nurse, Grimes held several leadership positions at UAB Hospital, including vice president of Quality/Regulatory Affairs and Chief Compliance Officer, before assuming the role of chief diversity officer for the health system in 2017.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from UAB’s School of Nursing, a master’s degree from the UAB School of Health Professions and a Juris Doctor degree from the Birmingham School of Law. Grimes serves as a board member of the Alabama Kidney Foundation and is a member of the Black Nurses Association, Society of Human Resource, Birmingham Society of Human Resources, Healthcare

DEBORAH GRIMES Compliance Association and the National Association of Health Services Executives.

“A 33-year veteran of UAB Medicine, Deborah has served in many roles as nurse, attorney and administrator,” said Will Ferniany, Ph.D., CEO of the UAB Health System. “We salute the diversity

of experiences she brings to the job each day, and congratulate her on this most deserving recognition.”

Selection of the Most Influential Women in Corporate America begins by screening information received from more than 500 prospective candidates in diverse

fields. The selection committee includes the Savoy editorial board and community leaders with representatives from the academic and business arenas.

The committee reviewed information on executives in human resources, information, real estate, finance, investment banking, diversity, foundations, procurement, business development, marketing, sales, health care, manufacturing and law. After the committee reviewed all of the profiles, the field of candidates was narrowed to the 2019 Most Influential Women listing based upon their exemplary record of accomplishments and influence while working to better their community and inspire others.

The Savoy Most Influential Women in Corporate America edition is currently available for purchase online at Amazon. comand after July 30 at Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide. For more information regarding the Savoy Most Influential Women in Corporate America, visit SavoyNetwork.com to view the 2019 Most Influential Women in Corporate America full list along with individual profiles of each executive.

(This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.)

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AUGUST 14-20, 2019

BUSINESS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

BUSINESS CALENDAR Chatham Training Program

AUG. 21 through SEPT. 25—The Chatham Women’s Business Center will offer “Concept to Launch” a six-week entrepreneurial training program for women in the early stages of starting a business, on six consecutive Wednesdays, 6 to 8 p.m., at Chatham Eastside, 6585 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15206. Classes focus on: Developing a business concept; identifying target customers and markets; marketing strategies, basic financials and more. Cost for all classes is $95, but a limited number of need-base scholarships are available through a partnership with Bridgeway Capital. For more information, contact Anne Flynn Schlicht at 412-365-1448.

Duquesne Small Biz Workshop

AUG. 28—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host First Step: Business Essentials, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. 108 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh 15282. This interactive workshop is designed to help new entrepreneurs and business startups to understand the first step of starting a new business. Topics covered include Business Structure and Formation, Fictitious Name Registration, Insurance, Environmental Concerns, Financing Options, Taxation Requirements, Major Components of the Business Plan, and Financial Statements & Projections.

Cost: $25. For more information, call 412-396-5884.

Cybersecurity Workshop

SEPT. 12—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will present Cyberscurity: Must-Haves for Small Businesses, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 108 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh 15282. According to Forbes,43 percent of all breaches occurred at small businesses and ransomware attacks are on the rise. However, many business owners are not sure of the steps they need to take. This workshop can get you started. Albert Whale, president -chief security officer, IT Security, Inc. will cover topics such as Data access authorization, Data back-up, Data storage, Identifying potential attacks, and Employee training. Cost: $35. For more information, call 412-3965884.

Duquesne Workshop

SEPT. 19—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host First Step: Business Essentials, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. 108 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh 15282. This interactive workshop is designed to help new entrepreneurs and business startups to understand the first step of starting a new business. Topics covered include Business Structure and Formation, Fictitious Name Registration, Insurance, Environmental Concerns, Financing Options, Taxation Requirements, Major Components of the Business Plan, and Financial Statements & Projections.

Cost: $25. For more information, call 412-396-5884.

PowerBreakfast

SEPT. 20—The African American Chamber of Commerce returns from a two-month summer break with a presentation by California University of Pennsylvania President Geraldine Jones, 7:30 a.m. at the Rivers Club, Oxford Center, 301 Grant St., Pittsburgh 15219. Jones will give an overview of the university and of potential business opportunities for chamber members. Cost: $20 for members, $30 for non-members. Call 412-392-0610 for more information.

Duquesne Training Event

SEPT. 26—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host Building a Small Business Website: From A to Z, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., 108 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh 15282. Building a website has now become an essential step for businesses to increase their sales. Chris Vendilli from ProFromGo will cover: Cost-effective tools to make a website stand out; Major factors in estimating costs and the timeline to building a website; Differences between agency, freelancer and online website builders; Factors that can improve the process while keeping costs down, and Recommended tools and resources. Cost $35. Call 412-396-5884 for more information.

Business Growth Seminar

OCT. 10—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host Proven Strategies for Business Growth, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 108 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh 15282. Local businesses that have grown using these marketing and finance tools to enter new markets and expand in current ones. Learn how to finance your growth and increase sales through exporting, government procurement, and digital marketing including social media.

Speakers include: Andreas Beck, Beyond Spots & Dots; Jim Boltz, North Allegheny Chamber of Commerce; Ryan Lockhart, The 504 Company; Rich Longo, Duquesne University SBDC; Ed Nemeth, Southwestern PA Commission; David Pinkosky, Pittsburgh District Office, US SBA; Johnna Pro, Department of Community & Economic Development; Brent Rondon, Duquesne University SBDC; Heather Thomas, Huntington Bank, and Art Tintori, Catalyst Connection. The workshop is free. Call 412-396-5884 for more information.

Reform alternative business lending practices to protect small-business owners

by Rep. Edolphus Towns For New Pittsburgh Courier

(NNPA)—In my three decades representing parts of New York City in the House of Representatives, expanding economic opportunities for underserved communities was a top priority. That’s why, after I retired from public service, I joined the Board of World Business Lenders, an alternative business lender that provides desperately needed financing for businesses who want to grow or expand, leading to so many ancillary benefits to their local communities.

Unfortunately, not all alternative business lenders are created equal.

In an industry that is not regulated, many of them are engaged in predatory practices, preying on the very customers they are committed to serving.

Unlike World Business Lenders, which has voluntarily self-regulated by implementing a “best practices” lending program committed to offering fair and transparent loan terms to its borrowers, other alternative business lenders engage in opaque and occasionally destructive behavior that can lead to bankruptcy or worse for their own customers.

A critical tool for these predatory lenders has been the use of our state’s court system to seize the assets

REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS of small businesses whether located in New York or in any other state by employing legal instruments called “confessions of judgement.” These lenders have been requiring their small business borrowers, as a condition of receiving any short-term loans from them, to sign confessions of judgement that waive bor-

rowers’ legal rights in any dispute with the lenders.

Small business borrowers in other states have no right of notice if their assets are seized in New York under confessions of judgement and may not even realize if a New York judgement has been entered against them until their banks have seized

their assets.

Alternative business lenders should make every loan transparent for their borrowers by clearly disclosing repayment terms, including interest rates, prepayment charges and by outlining clear payment schedules. Borrowers must be made aware of all fees and costs associated with their loans. Brokers and employees of alternative business lenders should be subject to background checks and continuing education requirements.

Importantly, alternative business lenders should be required to offer each borrower terms not worse than the most favorable loan product for which he or she qualifies.

Alternative business lenders have nothing to fear from additional regulation. World Business Lenders is a successful company that profits even as we voluntarily abide by these terms, which protect customers. Unfortunately, in the political environment in Washington, it is unlikely that Congress will act to prevent predatory lenders from driving small business owners into bankruptcy. In the absence of leadership in Washington, it is time for Albany to act.

(Representative Edolphus Towns is a board member of World Business Lenders. He represented the 10th and 11th congressional districts in New York from 1983-2013.)

Black pharmacists closing the cultural gap in health care PHARMACISTS FROM B1

sha Williams said. “We are visible in our area doing outreach, attending events and promoting health and wellness.”

To be sure, such care is not just relevant to African Americans. But mistrust of the medical profession is especially a hurdle to overcome when treating Black Americans.

Many are still shaken by the history of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were used in research worldwide without her family’s knowledge; the Tuskegee Project, which failed to treat Black men with syphilis; and other projects that used African Americans unethically for research.

Filling More Than Prescriptions At Black-owned Premier Pharmacy and Wellness Center near Grier Heights, a historically Black neighborhood in Charlotte, N.C., the playlist is almost as important as the acute care clinic attached to the

drugstore. Owner Martez Prince watches his customers shimmy down the aisles as they make their way through the store listening to Jay-Z, BeyoncÈ, Kirk Franklin, Whitney Houston and other Black artists.

Prince said the music helps him in his goal of making health care more accessible and providing medical advice patients can trust.

In rural Georgia, Teresa Mitchell, a Black woman with 25 years of pharmacy experience, connects her customers with home health aides, shows them how to access insurance services online and even makes house calls. Her Total Care Pharmacy is the only health care provider in Baconton, where roughly half the town’s 900 residents are Black.

“We do more than just dispense,” Mitchell said.

Iradean Bradley, 72, became a customer soon after Total Care Pharmacy opened in 2016. She strug-

gled to pick up prescriptions before Mitchell came to town.

“It was so hectic because I didn’t have transportation of my own,” Bradley said. “It’s so convenient for us older people, who have to pay someone to go out of town and get our medicine.”

Lakesha M. Butler, president of the National Pharmaceutical Association, advocates for such culturally competent care through the professional organization representing minorities in the pharmacy industry, and studies it in her academic work at the Edwardsville campus of Southern Illinois University. She also feels its impact directly she said, when she sees patients at clinics two days a week in St. Charles, MO., and East St. Louis, IL. “It’s just amazing to me when I’m practicing in a clinic setting and an African American patient sees me,” Butler said. “It’s a pure joy that comes over their face, a sigh of relief. It’s like ‘OK, Im glad that you’re here because I can be honest with you and I know you will be honest with me.’”

She often finds herself educating her Black patients about diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other common diseasmine your best strategy es. at ssa.gov/benefits/retire“Unfortunately, there’s ment/estimator.html. still a lack of knowledge in 5. Live within your those areas,” Butler said. means. Spending only “That’s why those condiwhat you can afford is tions can be so prevalent.” key to financial security.

Avoiding Medical MicroThe sooner you develop aggressions a budget and track your For Macon, his experiencspending, the more cash es with medical professionyou’ll save in the short als of backgrounds differterm, helping you make ent than his own left him more accurate projections repeatedly disappointed for the long term. Enjoy and hesitant to open up. life now, but don’t let that After his wife had a misenjoyment come at the carriage, Macon said, the cost of your future. Saving couple didn’t receive the money consistently every compassion they longed for month can help make while grieving the loss. A a secure retirement a few years later, a bad expereality. rience with their children’s These goals are within pediatrician when their your control, and you can oldest child had a painful make progress if you start ear infection sparked a small, start today and move to a different providmake a plan. Let Avo help er. you develop an action plan “My daughter needed by visiting AceYourRetire- attention right away, but ment.org today. we couldn’t get through to

5 steps to take to get to secure retirement STEPS FROM B1

about how paying down your debt and saving for retirement is a priority, and that helping them with their education, housing or other responsibilities is a secondary goal.

4. Plan your retirement timing. “As soon as possible” isn’t the best way to decide when to retire.

If your health and work situation allow, delaying retirement until your late 60’s or even early 70’s can make a big difference to your long-term financial security.

“Earning a few more years of income can really help you grow your nest egg, and waiting to claim Social Security increases your annual benefit for the rest of your life,” said Whitman.

Calculate your Social Security benefits to deter-

anybody,” Macon recalled.

“That’s when my wife said, ‘We aren’t doing this anymore!’”

Today, Macon’s idea of good health care isn’t colorblind. If a doctor can’t provide empathetic and expert treatment, he’s ready to move, even if a replacement is hard to find.

Kimberly Wilson, 31, will soon launch an app for consumers like Macon who are seeking culturally competent care. Therapists, doulas, dentists, specialists and even pharmacists of color will be invited to list their services on HUED. Beta testing is expected to start this summer in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the app will be free for consumers.

“Black Americans are more conscious of their health from a lot of different perspectives,” Wilson said. “We’ve begun to put ourselves forward.”

But even after the introduction of HUED, such health care could be hard to find. While about 13 percent of the U.S. population is Black, only about 6 percent of the country’s doctors and surgeons are Black, according to Data USA. Black pharmacists make up about 7 percent of the professionals in their field, and, though the demand is high, Black students accounted for about 9 percent of all students enrolled in pharmacy school in 2018.

For Macon, though, the Williams’ LV Health and Wellness Pharmacy in Shiloh, IL provides some of the support he has been seeking.

“I still remember the very first day I went there. It was almost like a barbershop feel,” Macon said, likening it to the community hubs where customers can chitchat about sports, family and faith while getting their hair cut. “I could relate to who was behind the counter.”

(Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.)

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

AUGUST 14-20, 2019

B3

Democrats’ political gifts to Number 45

Guest Editorial

2020 is the year to be counted Black Americans must make their voices heard and determine for themselves policy decisions that have an impact on their daily lives. They must participate in the national decennial count of every person living in America that will take place on April 1, 2020.

Every household will receive one questionnaire with about 10 questions that can quickly be answered online, by phone or by mail. The census count determines how nearly $700 billion in local and federal dollars will be allocated and spent by Congress to meet local, state and other needs. The least counted is where the least will be spent.

Beginning in January, Americans will be counted on to go to the polls to determine the next leader who will sit in the White House, as well as statehouses across the country. Some voters are turned off by the way U.S. presidents are chosen, via the Electoral College. The controversy has led to a movement to end the Electoral College voting process in exchange for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Several Democratic presidential hopefuls and members of Congress have introduced a constitutional amendment to end the Electoral College, which started in the 1700s as a body of electors determining the country’s leadership. Of the 538 electors, 270 electoral votes decide who will be the president of the United States in the general election. Two presidents, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, won by electoral votes and not by popular vote.

This uphill battle is gaining momentum, at least among the Democrats. So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia, with a combined 184 electoral votes, agreed to give their electoral votes to the presidential candidate that wins the most national votes. According to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, the organization leading this effort, it will take a combined 270 electoral votes between participating states to enact the agreement giving power back to voters.

Either way, Black people cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and watch as others decide their fate.

They must “stay woke,” vote and be counted!

(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)

Letters to the editor for publication The New Pittsburgh Courier welcomes all responsible viewpoints for publication. All letters should be typewritten and contain writer’s address and phone number for verification. All letters will be edited for clarity and length. Address all letters to: Letters to the Editor New Pittsburgh Courier 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219 You may fax your letter to 412-481-1360, or via e-mail to letters@newpittsburghcourier.com

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( T r i c e E d n e y Wi r e. c o m ) — A f t e r watching and reading about the highlights of the Democratic Party “debates,” I am convinced that the Democrats, at least those on the debate stages, really don’t believe that Number 45 (aka Donald J. Trump) is a threat to vital interests of this country. If they truly believe what they consistently say and write, they wouldn’t have provided Number 45 and his Trumpettes with a basket full of political gifts to use against their eventual candidate for the presidency. Instead they came off, at least to me, as me, myself and I narcissists, striving for personal attention and future big-time positions in the corporate, academic or political arenas.

There is also the possibility of book contracts or jobs as television commentators.

The belief of most of them seem to be that most voters in the country live in urban areas such as Washington, D.C., Manhattan, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia etc. Number 45 knows betters. He practically never campaigns in the large urban centers.

A. Peter Bailey

Commentary Instead he focuses on the majority of the White population in the country who share his basic beliefs. Beliefs that White males haves some kind of divine right to be the dominant force in national and international affairs, that the only immigrants who should be allowed to enter and become citizens of the U.S. should be ones from places like Norway, that Black folks should be grateful that they were rescued from “shithole” countries in Africa, that intelligent, strong-willed women are a pain in the you know what, that it would be blasphemous to put a photo of Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, and that Dr. Ben Carson is the ideal colored man. And on and on.

The 20 Democrats on those debate stages and most of the American print and broadcast media, progressive and conservative, consistently romanticize the White American voting public as being basically firm proponents of justice and equality for all citizens of the U.S. Again Number 45 knows better. He and those around him are well aware that throughout this country’s history, millions of middle income and working class Whites have voted for their racial biases over their economic interests.

Most of the debaters know damn well that they have absolutely no chance of being elected president of the U.S. in 2020 or any other year.

Yet instead of using their time, energy and resources to defeat a con man who they insist is a dire threat to all that they believe in, they will probably continue playing their me, myself and I games. History will judge them harshly.

Finally, a serious Democratic Party would choose Joe Biden as its candidate if he makes a public oath to serve only one term as a transition to the next generation.

When will this end?

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—The Black community is not going unscathed

by Donald Trump’s concentrating on dehumanizing our Hispanic brothers and sisters. We care deeply about the people harmed in that horrific crime we have just witnessed in El Paso.

Because our ancestors have gone through being uprooted from Africa, through the brutality of slavery, the harshness of Jim Crow, the inhumanity of lynching, and because the impact of these horrific white supremacy hate crimes are still with us, we’re going through our own pain and the pain our Hispanic brothers and sisters are facing Almost every politician who made a statement about El Paso, said what politicians too often say, “Our prayers are with the people of El Paso” and almost as a second thought, they add Dayton. How little these politicians care when they end their comments with prayer. Prayer is fine, but Fannie Lou Hamer said, “You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.” When the people of Ohio showed up at Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s meeting shouting, “Do something,” I knew they understood what Fannie Lou said.

What’s going on is about racial hate and the worship of guns. Haters’ insecurities, along with the constant urging through his racist rhetoric, Trump has shown us he’s the “Leader in

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary

around the world.

To quote James Baldwin in “Fire Next Time,’ he said, “Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure does not testify to your inferiority—but to their inhumanity.”

Our hearts bleed for our Hispanic brothers and sisters. While our hearts bleed, we aren’t out of the woods either, and it’s time for us to join hands to lead the change we need. Let’s not accept the demonization of each other by anybody. Trump has no intention of bringing us together. That falls on us. 2020 may seem like a long way off, but it’s our hope that more of us will see that all of us owe it to our ancestors to work and vote against evil.

Nothing should stand in the way of unity exercised for the causes we share. Beto O’Rourke has been a real champion on making us understand the beauty of the people of El Paso. He left the Presidential campaign to go home and speak with and on behalf of the people of El Paso. Trump’s visit to El Paso was not welcomed. Rep. Veronica Escobar made that clear. We applaud her for her leadership. We, in the Black community, have suffered under racism for a very long time, and we, too, wonder when racism will end. Together, we can make the time shorter.

Chief” of ignorance, hate, racism and meanness. On his unwelcomed trip to El Paso, he couldn’t rise to being a consoler. Instead he chose to exploit racial tension.

Last week he was spewing his evil thoughts about Rep. Elijah Cummings for doing his job as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

This week he’s spewing hateful words about people who’re already suffering from recent tragedies and stealing parents from their children. His lack of caring wouldn’t allow people to grieve in peace.

What are we going to do with this mad man? Sixteen more months of this evil behavior coming out of the White House is intolerable. Everyday that he remains living free on our taxpayer dollars, he slices more decency from our nation. People outside our borders must think all Americans have gone mad to tolerate such madness from one man who is obviously shredding all the goodwill President (Dr. E. Faye Williams is national president Barack Obama built with people of the National Congress of Black Women)

Letters To The Editor

Gun violence seems to be a part of life Dear Editor: How often have we heard the quote from the Diva from Philadelphia, Patti Labelle, in her hit song of 1984, “New Attitude.”

We need a new attitude concerning the gun violence in the United States and the daily carnage occurring throughout our nation. Will we ever learn, despite the slogan of the NRA, GUNS DO KILL. It seems that most Americans appear to be immune to this danger with multiple shootings making headlines on a continuous bases.

So far this year we have had 297 deaths by mass gun murders. Just recently 22 killed in El Paso, Texas and nine in Dayton, Ohio. How many remember the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., last year?

We listen with horror of the 31 recent people killed and dozens injured and still get a night’s sleep.

Wake up, America!

These mass shootings make the United States look like a savage, primitive society, compared to our Western peers. It’s all because of the easy availability of guns and their wide circulation in our nation. The abundance of guns has caused the casual attitude that most Americans have toward them. Even worse, the number of individuals carrying and using guns to kill other citizens is unbelievable. Doctors and concerned citizens have urged Congress to lift the ban on gun violence research, a law banning

important information due to the power of the NRA. In the United States, firearm-related deaths and injuries are a major public health problem that requires diligent and persistent attention. Each year, more than 32,000 persons die as a result of firearm-related violence, suicides and gun accidents in the United States. Firearms are the second-leading cause of death due to injury after motor vehicle crashes for adults and adolescents. What’s more, the number of non-fatal firearm injuries is more than double the number

of deaths. Although much attention has been given to the mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. in recent years, the 88 deaths per day due to firearm-related homicides, suicides and unintentional deaths should be of equal concern.

Today the solution may not be found in the new laws but in a new mindset toward guns and their potential danger of serious harm to society. We truly need a new attitude and as stated in the film “Network,” “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” This

is not something that the government can do alone but it will take a groundswell of concerned citizens.

Only then will we get our government, public service agencies, and a strong education awareness programs to emphasize the danger of firearms. Cigarettes are still legal for adults but their use has declined due to a public education program. Lives have been saved due to not smoking, why not with guns?

Robert Berkley Harper Retired Professor of Law University of Pittsburgh

Look for Trump under the next bus!

Dear Editor: Will Trump’s die-hard White supporters mutiny and throw Trump under the bus? Don’t be surprised if they do. He just publicly condemned, before the whole world, “racism,” “bigotry,” and “White supremacy.” That’s his die-hard base. He may have just crossed their red line in the sand.

Now, one way or the other, Trump has to praise before the whole world racism, bigotry, and White supremacy, to try to pacify his rabid racist base, but not drive away, at least some, of the so-called “moderate” White Republicans and so-called White “swing voters” who claim they have never ever been White racists, but still voted for a peacocking

White racist and “stomp down fool” in 2016. Trump has trapped himself between a rock and a hard place.

Iowa’s Steve King and other avowed White racists will run to Trump’s right in 2020, and outTrump Trump. Look for the neo-Nazi and neo-Klan hordes (what’s new about ‘em?) to flex their muscles and march in the streets.

Trump can’t control these racists. They know Trump’s first priority is Trump-supremacy over and above White supremacy, “Trump First!” even before “America First!” In 2020, these White racists will be looking out for themselves first.

Trump is history’s ultimate damn fool. He is fighting on all fronts at

once, both at home and abroad. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un have Trump with his back to the wall, painted in a corner that he painted himself in.

Next year, 2020, puts boo-coo pressure on all of the cower Republicans running for office. They have been afraid to confront Trump. Now, they will be trying to hide from Trump and support him at the same time.

It’s all piling up on Trump, his trade wars, impeachment threats, the Trump business empire, and so on. Will he crack up under the pressure; will the crack-pot keep cracking? Look for Trump under the next bus.

Fred Logan Pittsburgh

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AUBERLE- WARD HOME Healing Children & Families

Since 1952, Auberle has been dedicated to transforming the lives of children, youth & families. Auberle is a nationally recognized human service agency serving 4,000+ children & families each year.

Currently hiring for: •Case Manager – FT •Case Aide/Driver – PT •Foster Care Parent Recruiter – FT •Night Monitor – FT •Receptionist - PT •412 Youth Zone Coach Supervisor - FT •412 Mobile Outreach Youth Coach – FT •412 Facility Support Staff - FT •412 Youth Zone Coach – FT •Youth Care Worker – FT/PT •Placement Services Supervisor – FT •SNAP Case Aide - PT •Overnight Direct Care Staff If you are highly motivated, passionate about youth & interested in making a difference, visit www. auberle.org to apply. EOE ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice

PUBLIC NOTICE OPENING OF WAITING LISTS

Effective at the start of the business day Tuesday, August 20, 2019, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) will open the waiting lists for the following Project Based Voucher Site Based Communities: •Sycamore Street Apartments – 124 W. Sycamore Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15211. (1 bedroom units only. These units require the head of household to be at least 55 years of age).

•Crawford Square Apartments – 510 Protectory Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. (1, 2 and 3 bedroom units only).

•East Liberty Place South – 5836 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

(1 and 2 bedroom units only).

Not all households will be eligible for a 1, 2 or 3 bedroom unit, as the age, gender and relationships of household members affect the number of bedrooms for which a household is eligible. Income and eligibility restrictions of the Housing Choice Voucher Program apply.

Not all units at this location are served by these waiting lists; additional units with different requirements may be available directly from the location’s management office.

Pre-applications can be submitted in person to the HACP Occupancy Department between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., mailed to the address below, or faxed to 412456-5182. For information about obtaining a pre-application for one of the communities listed above, please contact the Occupancy Department at 412-456-5030.

Position on the waiting list will be determined based upon the date and time stamp received once the completed pre-application is submitted to the Occupancy Department.

Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations to submit a pre-application can contact the HACP’s Disability Compliance Office at 412-456-5282. For those that are deaf or hard of hearing, you can also contact HACP at TDD: 412-201-5384.

This event is for Project Based Vouchers for Sycamore Street Apartments, Crawford Square Apartments and East Liberty Place South and is completely separate from the HACP Housing Choice Voucher and Low Income Public Housing Programs.

The Housing Authority of the City Of Pittsburgh Occupancy Department 100 Ross Street – 4th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219

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ESTATE NOTICE

Letters Testamentary on the Estate of DONALD H. SPINELLI, Court Term No. 021904831, late of Penn Hills, 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. Rose Spinellli, Executrix, 202 Delaware Avenue, Oakmont, PA 15139, or to Cathy L. Brannigan, Esq., 15 Duff Rd., Suite 6C, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 Estate of LILLIAN D. DALLA PIAZZA, Deceased of Bridgeville Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, No. 02-19-04656.

Elsie Dalla Piazza, Executor, 283 Union Avenue Extension, Oakdale, PA 15071 or to: TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC, 401 WASHINGTON AVENUE, BRIDGEVILLE, PA 15017.

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Estate of Mr. ROBERT M. DILANNI, SR., Deceased, of 314 Olivia Street, McKees Rocks, PA 15136. Estate No. 02-19-04990 Mr. Robert M. Dilanni, Jr., 155 Grant Street, Verona, PA 15147, Executor, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108.

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ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on July 24, 2019, with respect to a nonprofit corporation, Let’s Get Free: The Women & Trans Prisoner Defense Committee, which has been incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988.

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS: The Allegheny County Housing Authority (ACHA) is currently seeking the services of a qualified architectural firm to provide professional design and construction administration services for JEFFERSON MANOR INTERIOR & EXTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS. The Allegheny County Housing Authority encourages responses from small and/ or certified Minority; Women; Disadvantaged and Veteran owned firms, as well as firms that have not previously performed work for the ACHA. LOCATION: Jefferson Manor, 201 Jefferson Road, Penn Hills, PA 15235 CONTRACT: #ACHA-1617 DOCUMENTS: A detailed package - describing submission requirements, may be obtained after Tuesday August 13, 2019 by contacting Andrew Jamrom A/E Administrator at (412) 402-2464 or ajamrom@ achsng.com NON-MANDATORY PRE-DESIGN CONFERENCE: THURSDAY/ AUGUST 22, 2019, AT 10:00AM in the Allegheny County Housing Authority Board Room 625 Stanwix Street 12th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222; All offerors are encouraged to attend the conference.

SUBMISSIONS DUE: 2:00 PM local time on TUESDAY/SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 at the Allegheny County Housing Authority, 625 Stanwix Street 12th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

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COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY PITTSBURGH, PA August 8, 2019

The Office of the Director of the Department of Public Works for Allegheny County in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is soliciting Statements of Interest through PennDOTs ECMS system for the following: ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Preliminary Engineering, Final Design, and Services During Construction for Bridge Preservation Group 5 County Project No. AA00-18FB Local Agreement Number: L00429 This is a federal-aid project with PennDOT oversight. Statements of Interest are due no later than August 30, 2019 and are to be submitted through PennDOTs ECMS System, http://www.dot14.state. pa.us/ECMS The advertisement can be found under agreement number L00429.

A copy of the published advertisement can also be found on the County Website: http://www. county.allegheny.pa.us/bids. Any inquiries into this Advertisement are to be directed to Mr. Dheeraj Katyal, Project Manager at dheeraj. katyal@alleghenycounty.us or 412350-5792.

The County will use the normal selection process and preselect or short-list at least three firms for consideration for this Project assignment on the following evaluation criteria: Commitment to a Quality Control and Quality Assurance Process, Performance on Past Projects, Ability to meet Project Schedules, Experience on Allegheny County and PennDOT Projects, Use and Experience of Subconsultants. The County’s Minority and Women disadvantaged goals for this Project will be 13% of the total price for MBE participation and 2% of the total price for WBE participation.

Stephen G. Shanley, PE, Director Department of Public Works of Allegheny County

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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFBs) FOR HOMEWOOD NORTH STOOPS AND COURTYARD PAVING, AMP-20 HACP CONTRACT NO. 600-37-19

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFBs) FOR HOMEWOOD NORTH SPRINKLER FREEZE PROTECTION, AMP-20 HACP IFB NO. 600-21-19 REBID

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR BEDFORD DWELLINGS PLUMBING LINES SERVICES, AMP-02 HACP IFB NO. 600-15-19

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH will receive sealed bids for the Homewood North Stoops and Courtyard Paving, AMP-20.

The construction work is estimated to begin in November of 2019.

Bid Documents will be available on or about Monday, August 12, 2019 and may be obtained from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s webpage, www.hacp. org. Bidders may register on the website and download the bid documents free of charge. Electronic versions of the Bid Documents, including bid forms, project manual, and drawings can be picked up in person, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement A Pre-Bid Conference and Site Visit will be held on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.: Homewood North Stoops and Courtyard Paving 10 Albertice Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208 A site visit will be conducted thereafter. Bidders shall come prepared to review all aspects of the construction site necessary to prepare a bid.

Bids will be received at: HACP Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Attn: Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement until 2:00 p.m. September 16, 2019 at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH reserves the right to waive any informality in, or reject any and all bids.

No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days subsequent to the opening of bids without the consent of the HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements for Federally Assisted Construction Contracts. The Contractor must ensure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sexual preference, handicap or national origin.

HACP has revised its website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFP documentation.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION. Additional information may be obtained by contacting Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement at (412) 456-5116 Opt 1.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH will receive sealed bids for the Homewood North Sprinkler Freeze Protection, AMP-20 The construction work is estimated to begin in spring of 2020.

Bid Documents will be available on or about Monday, August 5, 2019 and may be obtained from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s webpage, www.hacp. org. Bidders may register on the website and download the bid documents free of charge. Electronic versions of the Bid Documents, including bid forms, project manual, and drawings can be picked up in person, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement A Pre-Bid Conference and Site Visit will be held on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.: Homewood North 901 Albertice St., Pittsburgh, PA 15208 A site visit will be conducted thereafter. Bidders shall come prepared to review all aspects of the construction site necessary to prepare a bid.

Bids will be received at: HACP Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Attn: Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement until 2:00 p.m. September 3, 2019 at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH reserves the right to waive any informality in, or reject any and all bids.

No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days subsequent to the opening of bids without the consent of the HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements for Federally Assisted Construction Contracts. The Contractor must ensure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sexual preference, handicap or national origin.

HACP has revised its website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFP documentation.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION. Additional information may be obtained by contacting Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement at (412) 456-5116 Opt 1.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH

HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

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

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH will receive sealed bids for the Bedford Dwellings Plumbing Lines Services, AMP-02 The construction work is estimated to begin in December of 2019.

Bid Documents will be available on or about Monday, August 12, 2019 and may be obtained from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s webpage, www.hacp. org. Bidders may register on the website and download the bid documents free of charge. Electronic versions of the Bid Documents, including bid forms, project manual, and drawings can be picked up in person, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement A Pre-Bid Conference and Site Visit will be held on Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.: Development and Modernization Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Bidders shall come prepared to review all aspects of the construction site necessary to prepare a bid.

Bids will be received at: HACP Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Attn: Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement until 2:00 p.m. September 11, 2019 at which time and place all bids will be received.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH reserves the right to waive any informality in, or reject any and all bids.

No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days subsequent to the opening of bids without the consent of the HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements for Federally Assisted Construction Contracts. The Contractor must ensure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sexual preference, handicap or national origin.

HACP has revised its website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFP documentation.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION. Additional information may be obtained by contacting Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement at (412) 456-5116 Opt 1.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR INSPECTION, TESTING, AND MAINTENANCE OF FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS AUTHORITY WIDE IFB#300-25-19-REBID

FORM OF ADVERTISEMENT

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby requests bids from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Fire Sprinkler Systems Authority Wide Rebid IFB#300-25-19-REBID The documents will be available no later than August 5, 2019 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 10:00 A.M. on August 23, 2019 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, at which time they will be opened and read aloud.

Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org.

Questions or inquires should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116 Opt 1 A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Dept.

100 Ross Street 2nd. Fl. Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 August 15, 2019 10:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation.

HACP’s has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh

HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

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

Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 AM on August 28, 2019 and will be read at 11:15 AM., the same day, at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527), for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness. portauthority.org) B190752A Axle Box Roller Bearings B190755 Special Trackwork Crossing Frogs B190427A1 Reman/Exchange/ New Cummins Turbochargers B190643A CCTV & Card Access System Maintenance B190753 LRV HVAC Micro Control Cards B190533AR Air Channels - LRV No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on each of the above items at 10:00am August 14, 2019 at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, PA). Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the Port Authority within five (5) business days of the scheduled bid opening.

These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation.

The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations.

Contractor is responsible for expenses related to acquiring a performance bond and insurance where applicable. All items are to be FOB delivered unless otherwise specified. Costs for delivery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidder’s proposal pricing.

Port Authority of Allegheny County hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprise will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

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

PUBLICATION DATE: August 14, 2019 1. The Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh (“Authority”) shall accept sealed bids for the performance of the work described below (the “Work”) at its office at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222, until 11:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 10, 2019.

2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The performance of snow plowing, snow removal and salting for various Authority owned parking garages and lots located within the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as and when requested by the Authority.

3. The Instructions to Bidders, including the Form of Bid, Form of Agreement, General Conditions, and Specifications, will be made available after 3:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, August 15, 2019, via email request to the Authority’s Project Management Department at tsowinski@pittsburghparking. com.

4. A Mandatory pre-bid conference will be held at the Authority’s office at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 at 10:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. The purpose of the pre-bid conference is to provide additional detail regarding the Work. The information provided at the pre-bid conference will be essential in preparing a bid to perform the Work. Persons or entities that intend to submit bids to perform the Work are required to send to the pre-bid conference at least one representative who will understand the information presented at the pre-bid conference in a manner that allows such information to be incorporated in the preparation of the bid to perform the Work. It is expected that the representative who attends the pre-bid conference will be experienced in construction matters and employed by the bidder in a supervisory capacity. Prebid attendance is mandatory.

5. Sealed bids received prior to the deadline will be publicly opened and read at 11:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 17, 2019.

6. Each bid submitted must be accompanied by a bid guaranty of ten percent (10%) of the proposed bid in the form of a bid bond, certified cashier’s or treasurer’s check payable to the Authority.

7. The Authority reserves the right to in its sole discretion, (i) change, at any time prior to the bid deadline at 11:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 17, 2019 the Contract Documents; (ii) waive any defect, irregularities, or informality in any or all submitted bids; and (iii) reject any or all submitted bids.

David G. Onorato, CAPP Executive Director

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR ELEVATOR REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE AUTHORITY WIDE IFB#300-38-19

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Elevator Repair and Maintenance Authority Wide IFB#300-38-19 The documents will be available no later than August 12, 2019 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 11:00 A.M. on September 3, 2019 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, at which time they will be opened and read aloud.

Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.

HACP.org.

Questions or inquires should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116 Opt 1 A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Dept.

100 Ross Street 2nd. Fl. Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 August 22, 2019 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation.

HACP’s has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

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COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY PITTSBURGH, PA August 8, 2019

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE CONTRACT NO. 1716 G-E “MAIN PUMP STATION FLOW METERS AND ACCESS PLATFORM”

The Office of the Director of the Department of Public Works for Allegheny County in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is soliciting Statements of Interest through PennDOTs ECMS system for the following: ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Preliminary Engineering, Final Design, and Services During Construction for Bridge Preservation Group 4 County Project No. AA00-17FB Local Agreement Number: L00424 This is a federal-aid project with PennDOT oversight. Statements of Interest are due no later than August 30, 2019 and are to be submitted through PennDOTs ECMS System, http://www.dot14.state. pa.us/ECMS The advertisement can be found under agreement number L00424.

A copy of the published advertisement can also be found on the County Website: http://www. county.allegheny.pa.us/bids. Any inquiries into this Advertisement are to be directed to Mr. Dheeraj Katyal, Project Manager at dheeraj. katyal@alleghenycounty.us or 412350-5792.

The County will use the normal selection process and preselect or short-list at least three firms for consideration for this Project assignment on the following evaluation criteria: Commitment to a Quality Control and Quality Assurance Process, Performance on Past Projects, Ability to meet Project Schedules, Experience on Allegheny County and PennDOT Projects, Use and Experience of Subconsultants. The County’s Minority and Women disadvantaged goals for this Project will be 13% of the total price for MBE participation and 2% of the total price for WBE participation.

Stephen G. Shanley, PE, Director Department of Public Works of Allegheny County

NOTICE TO PROPOSERS

The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (SEA) will receive proposals for North Shore Riverfront Park Snow & Ice Removal at the Sports & Exhibition Authority office as identified below. The contracts for this work will be with the SEA. The Request for Proposals may be obtained after the date identified below from Bill Williams, email: bwilliams@ pgh-sea.com, Telephone: (412) 325-3003.

This Advertisement applies to the following Request for Proposal: Project: North Shore Riverfront Park Snow & Ice Removal RFP Available: August 9, 2019 Pre-Proposal Meeting: 10:00a.m August 20, 2019 (non-mandatory) North Shore Riverfront Park, Tribute to Children/Fred Rogers Statue Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Time/Date/Location for Proposal Submittal: 2:00 p.m. September 4, 2019, Sports & Exhibition Authority, 171 10th Street, Second Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority is soliciting Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1712A - FURNISH AND DELIVER CHEMICALS AND TECHNICAL SERVICE FOR TREATMENT OF BOILER WATER, STEAM AND CONDENSATE. Bids will be received at the office of the Authority until 11:00 A.M., Prevailing Time, Wednesday, September 11, 2019, and then shall be publicly opened and read.

ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities and women to submit bids on Authority Proposals or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to the successful bidders. Successful Bidders are to use minority or women’s businesses to the fullest extent possible.

A non-mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at the Authority’s Plant, at the Engineering Conference Room, on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 1:30 P.M. Prospective Bidders are encouraged to attend the Pre-Bid Meeting.

Contract Documents may be examined and obtained at the office of the Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Certified Check or Bid Bond in the amount of $5,000.00.

The successful Bidder shall be required to furnish a Performance Bond in the amount of 100% of the Bid Price.

Any questions regarding the Contract Documents should be directed to Ben Heilman, Contract Supervisor, at benjamin.heilman@ alcosan.org or by phone to (412) 734-6204, or fax to (412) 7348715.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids, to waive any informality in any Bid and to accept any Bid should it be deemed in the interest of the Authority to do so.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Benjamin J. Heilman Contract Supervisor

THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH

Sealed bids will be received in the Bellefield Avenue Lobby, Administration Building, 341 South Bellefield Avenue until 11:00 A.M. prevailing time August 28th, 2019 and will be opened at the same hour for the purchase of the following equipment and supplies: ROCK SALT & ICE MELT General Information regarding bids may be obtained at the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Service Center, 1305 Muriel Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. The bid documents are available on the School District’s Purchasing web site at: www. pghschools.org Click on Our Community; Bid Opportunities; Purchasing - under Quick Links.

The Board of Public Education reserves the right to reject any and all bids, or select a single item from any bid.

We are an equal rights and opportunity school district

Sealed Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1716 G-E, Main Pump Station Flow Meters and Access Platform shall be received at the office of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15233, until 11:00 a.m., Prevailing Time, Friday September 13, 2019 and then shall be publicly opened and read. A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at the Authority’s Plant in the O&M Building, on Thursday August 22, 2019 at 10:00 a.m., Prevailing Time.

ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities and women to submit bids on Authority Contracts or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to successful Bidders. Successful Bidders are to use minority and women’s businesses to the fullest extent possible.

Contract Documents may be examined and obtained at the office of the Authority. A non-refundable fee of $100 (no cash will be accepted) will be charged for each set of Contract Documents received. All written inquiries or checks must be mailed to the Engineering Department of ALCOSAN. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Certified Check or Bid Bond in the amount of 10% of the Bid Price.

Any questions regarding the Contract Documents should be directed to Daniel Petrowski, Michael Baker, via email to Daniel.Petrowski@ mbakerintl.com or via fax to (412) 375-3991.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informality in any bid and to accept any bid should it be deemed in the interest of the Authority to do so.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Kimberly Kennedy, P.E. Director of Engineering and Construction

NOTICE TO PROPOSERS

The Sports & Exhibition Authority (SEA) will receive proposals for the project identified below. The agreement will be with the SEA. The RFP may be obtained after the date identified below from Kevin Mielcarek; E-mail: kmielcarek@ pittsburghcc.com; Telephone: 412325-6167.

Project: David L. Lawrence Convention Center RFP Name: Exhibit Hall Shade Maintenance RFP Available: Wednesday August 14, 2019 Non-Mandatory Pre-Proposal Meeting Time/Date/Location: 11:00 am, Tues., Aug. 20, 2019, DLCC Administrative Office, 1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15222 RFP Due Time/Date/Location: 2:00 pm, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, DLCC Administrative Office, 1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15222

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for HUD Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-Housing Programs (2019 Bonus Funding RFP).

Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Eastern Time on August 28, 2019.

For more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty.us/ Human-Services/Resources/ Doing-Business/Solicitations(RFP/RFQ/RFI).aspx.

Marc Cherna Director Allegheny County Department of Human Services

TO PLACE AN AD IN SOUL READERS Call 412-481-8302, Ext. 140 The deadline for all ads to be placed is Monday at 4 p.m.

All ads must be paid for in advance. We accept Money Orders, Credit Cards and Western Union “Quick Collect” payments.

America’s Best Weekly

315 East Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 140 E-mail: ads@newpittsburghcourier.com Deadline/Closing/Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication

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FORUM

AUGUST 14-20, 2019 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Who cares about fair elections?

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—The US House of Representatives passed the Securing America’s Fair Elections (SAFE) Act in June by a nearly totally partisan vote of 225-184 in late June. Only one Republican voted for legislation that would mandate paper ballots, increase election security, and create safeguards to prevent foreign interference in our elections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. R-Ky., opposes the legislation and won’t even allow it to be introduced or voted on in the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was eloquently angry when she raised a series of questions, “I just would really like to know from my Republican friends, what’s wrong with replacing outdated, vulnerable voting equipment? What is wrong with requiring paper ballot voting systems to ensure the integrity of our elections? What is wrong with enacting strong cybersecurity requirements for elections technology vendors and voting systems? We must be relentless in the defense of our democracy, fighting on all fronts to keep America safe.”

Republicans don’t seem to want to defend democracy, though. They simply want to win. And McConnell, who behaves like the 45th President’s handmaiden, has abandoned his duty as Senate leader in favor of partisan shenanigans. Former special counsel Robert Mueller III testified that Russian election interference was happening even as he testified, too many Republicans chose to ignore his warning be-

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary cause it does not serve them. McConnell is among those who seem to hope that Russian interference aids Republicans and perhaps ensures the reelection of the most odious human being ever to occupy the Oval Office.

Meanwhile, people are organizing and attempting to overcome interference by mobilizing the Democratic base of voters. Barbara Arnwine, who founded and leads the Transformative Justice Coalition (www.tjcoalition.org) gathered dozens of activists to participate in a daylong strategy session on voting rights on August 7, fifty-four years after the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. Arnwine’s organization is among the many planning to ensure both voter turnout and election fairness in the upcoming elections. With so many focused on the 2020 election, and appropriately so, it is essential to note that 2019 elections are also significant. Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi will elect governors, New Jersey, and Virginia are among those who will elect state legislators, and some cities will elect mayors.

Activists can use these elections to test our broken system, and as practice, perhaps for 2020. But activists must also be clear that Republicans don’t seem to want fair elections. If they did, McConnell would schedule a vote on the SAFE Act, which provides dollars for better, safer, voting technology.

Both houses of Congress are on recess this August month, and won’t reconvene until after Labor Day. Most members of Congress will say that they aren’t taking a six-week vacation because they are also working in their districts.

Citizens need to meet with them, organize town hall meetings, and get input from those recalcitrant Republicans (all of the Democrats voted for the SAFE Act) on why they eschew fair elections.

Some of them use a “state’s right” argument, suggesting that states can manage their own elections on their own terms. African Americans understand states’ rights all too well. States’ rights made it necessary for our nation to pass a Voting Rights Act, despite the guarantees included in the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The question to ask is the questions Speaker Pelosi asked when the legislation came up for a vote on June 27. What’s wrong with election fairness?

It is indisputable that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections to aid the 45th President. It is undeniable that millions of voters have been purged from the polls since 2016 with Secretaries of State eager to influence elections, as they did in both Georgia and Florida in 2018. It is indisputable that while Florida voters attempted to restore votes to former felons, the legislature undermined that vote by requiring people to pay all fines and fees before they are allowed to vote.

If the Congressional vote on the SAFE Act is any indication, Republicans don’t want election fairness. They want to win by whatever means necessary. We’ve invaded foreign countries to “ensure democracy,” but our Congress does not have the decency to ensure democracy at home. Since the government won’t do its work, civil society organizations will have to. Kudos to Barbara Arnwine and the Transformative Justice Coalition for their work on voter fairness!

(Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist.)

Schumer and Dems call for action following domestic terror attacks (NNPA)—Afed on a platter 20 people Lauren Victoria Burke form focused were reported on anti-immimurdered on gration specifthe morning ically targeted of August 3 in at Mexican El Paso, Texas, immigrants

by White suentering the premacist PatU.S. through rick Crusius, Texas. On Octhe shooting tober 22, 2018 became the 8th deadliest in mod- in Houston, Trump proclaimed “I ern U.S. history and the 250th gun am a nationalist.” massacre on the 216th day of the “You know, they have a word, it 2019. Early the next morning in sort of became old-fashioned. It’s Dayton, Ohio, a 24-year old White called a nationalist,” Trump statmale named Connor Betts shot ed. Many observed that the lannine people to death, six of them guage was a loud signal to White African American. supremacists as a President of the The first shooting immediately United States embraced their rhetprompted calls for changing the oric. definition and the language of gun According to ADL’s Center on massacres carried out by White Extremism, 73.3 percent of U.S. males: White nationalist terrorism. extremist-related murders in the “Our country is under attack past decade were committed by from White nationalist terrorism, right-wing extremists, including inspiring murder on our soil and White supremacists. Texas’ Repubabetted by weak gun laws. If we lican Governor Gregg Abbott anare serious about national securi- nounced that the murders in Texas ty, we must summon the courage to will be prosecuted as a hate crime. name and defeat this evil,” wrote Crusius allegedly posted a manSouth Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete ifesto in which he mentioned the Buttigieg on twitter. The Mayor phrase “Hispanic invasion.” of South Bend was not alone in his There has been no major gun confeelings. trol legislation passed on the fed“You can’t disconnect the Presi- eral level in 25 years. Some of the dent’s language from these shoot- worst gun massacres have taken ers…he’s creating an environment place over the last five years. Fifwhere this keeps happening,” said ty-eight people were murdered by Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH). Ryan Stephen Paddock at a concert in also agreed during a CNN interview Las Vegas in October 2017. Omar on August 4, that “the White nation- Mateen murdered 49 people at alists believe Trump is a White na- Pulse Nightclub in Florida in June tionalist,” when asked if he thought 2016, and 32 people were murdered Trump was a White nationalist. at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Regarding President Trump’s in 2007 by Seung-Hui Cho. rhetoric in relation to the El Paso Democrats in Congress, led by mass shooting, former Texas con- Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gressman and presidential candi- (D-NY) has called on Senate Madate Beto O’Rourke said, “He is a jority Leader Mitch McConnell to racist, and he stokes racism in this call the U.S. Senate back in to sescountry...it ultimately changes the sion to pass legislation related to character of this country and it background checks for firearms.

(Lauren Victoria Burke is an indepenleads to violence.”

Over the last three weeks, Pres- dent journalist and writer for NNPA as ident Trump has made a series of well as a political analyst and strategist racist statements on social media as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. directed at African American mem- She may be contacted at LBurke007@ bers of Congress. Trump was elect- gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke)

Commentary

Mass shootings, sick ideologues, and social alienation Recently, in violence, El Paso, Texbut Harris J. Pharoah Doss as, a 21-yearconcluded old White these types of male stormed mass shooters into a “trouble us Walmart with for reasons a semi-authat have tomatic nothing to do rifle and with culture, murdered 22 ideology, or people. Acany other socording to the gunman’s alleged cial variable.” Harris stated the manifesto, posted right before the other types of mass shooters were shooting, he targeted Hispanics people motivated by religious or in response to the “Hispanic inva- secular ideologies.

Now, ideologies are sets of beliefs sion of Texas.” or myths that influence and The resulting hysteria over “White nationalist terror” and de- justify political behavior. Napoleon Bonaparte coined the term— mands for stricter gun laws were ideologue—as a smear against expected. After the shooting the opponents that weren’t pragmatic governor of Texas said, “Bottom but possessed by an ideology. line is mental health is a large contributor to any type of violence Napoleon believed ideologues were “blind to historical reality in their or shooting.” pursuit of abstract truths and The governor’s link to mental they were troublemakers as wieldhealth was unexpected. ers of ideas in the quest for reform Critics stated the governor’s and improvement.” (Or lofty focus on mental illness diverts attention from gun safety and rac- political goals such as to preserve a racial hierarchy or homogeny.) ism. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, So, sick ideologues aren’t mentally a Democrat from El Paso, begged people to stop using mental illness ill, they’re self-indoctrinated with a belief-system that is detrimental as an excuse.

The gunman’s alleged manifesto to society.

But, Matthew Walker, nationis evidence that he was motivated al correspondent for The Week, by a White nationalist ideology wrote an op-ed called: Mass which is not a mental illness— shootings are about alienation, right? not ideology.

But New York Democratic Rep. Walker asked, what can we Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated: possibly do to change all of this?

There is a difference between a Ban video games that wrap White supremacist and White the consciousness of young supremacy. White supremacy is men, reverse the legalization of like a “virus.” Supremacists are those completely overcome by the marijuana (because of its psychosis-inducing properties), place “disease,” but supremacy—the a moratorium on non-military virus—exists on a larger scale production of guns and confiscate beyond just the infected. It also all privately owned firearms, imlays dormant. White supremacy prison anyone who searches for is often subconscious and clearly our nation has not been inoculat- hate forums, create a China-style closed Internet and put an end to ed. the free and open distribution of I understand Rep. Cortez was information? trying to make a point about Walker concluded, none of this deep-rooted hatred within a specifis feasible, instead we are going ic segment of the population, but to continue to live in a country terms like “virus” and “disease” in which young men continue to and phrases like “the infected” and “not inoculated” links ideology fall into acedia (spiritual apathy), purchase weapons, and kill for to illness instead of making the entertainment. (Mass shootings) necessary differentiation.

In 2013, cognitive neuroscientist can happen anywhere at any time and short of a complete revoluSam Harris listed types of mass tion—moral, social, political, and shooters. Harris listed the menreligious—there is nothing we can tally ill, people who would harm do about it. others for reasons that wouldn’t That sounds pessimistic, but make a bit of sense, even if they could be articulated. He listed evil what’s worse, admitting the inability to prevent mass shootings psychopaths, people who aren’t or pretending to have the ability delusional, but are malignantly to prevent them? selfish, ruthless, and prone to

Check It Out

Charlene Crowell

Commentary A national crisis: Surging hate crimes and White supremacists (BlackPressUSA)—A Saturday morning shooting rampage in El Paso, Texas on August 3 took the lives of 22 people, and seriously injured more than two dozen others. Reportedly, the alleged shooter wanted to kill as many Mexicans as he could. Armed with safety glasses, ear coverings and an assault-style rifle, the shooter entered a Walmart store during a back-to-school sale.

“Saturday’s attack on El Paso was an attack on the Mexican heritage of millions of Americans—and also part of a history of white supremacist and nativist acts in Texas across three centuries,” wrote Hector Tobar, in a recent New York Times op-ed. Tobar, an associate professor at the University of California at Irvine is also a published author.

Later that day during evening hours and nearly 1,600 miles away in Dayton, Ohio, another gunman’s attack left 9 people dead and 27 injured in that city’s Oregon district. Like the Texas shooter, Ohio’s shooter was heavily armed but was shot by police before he could enter a nightclub where he could have killed far more. The victims of this shooting reflected the city’s diversity and included Blacks, Latinos, and whites.

How in a span of only 24-hours, could two cities in different states and regions suffer mass shootings—one in a city only a few miles from the nation’s southern border, and the other, a former Midwestern manufacturing hub?

Despite the shock of two unprovoked attacks, family and community members in both cities must somehow cope through their grief while preparing funeral arrangements. These two communities are also challenging governmental officials at both the state and federal levels to take actions to prevent further fatalities.

Nationally, a profusion of prayers and condolences from the nation together signaled that a tragic moment may yet be transformed into a groundswell movement that reckons with the American conscience. The profusion of assault weapons combined with easy access is a gripping issue that confronts us all.

In response to these and other tragedies, a rainbow coalition of leaders held a noon rally on Aug. 6 in the nation’s capital. In a joint statement, the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights was joined by key partners including but not limited to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Voto Latino, the Center for Community Self-Help and the Center for Responsible Lending.

“None of this is acceptable,” said the leaders in a written statement. “None of this is normal. Our organizations are united in saying that Members of Congress can no longer look away as communities of color are murdered with impunity. We must all unite and demand accountability.”

The NAACP is additionally calling for the passage of the bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. Passed on a bipartisan House vote of 240-190 on Febr. 27, the bill has yet to be taken up by the Senate. The bill would address both background check requirements for firearms, and firearm transfers between private individuals.

Beyond congressional actions, however, other spheres of influence can also take an active role in curbing violence. For example, corporate leaders could publicly condemn efforts to demonize immigrants, minorities or other groups targeted for hate crimes and violence. In pulpits across the country, pastors should preach about the moral dilemma the nation faces and call upon congregants to live their faith every day. Community-based organizations can call upon state and local officials to also speak out against senseless acts of violence and white supremacists.

Now is also a time to remember that regardless of race or ethnicity, our history chronicles the range of hate crimes that have taken the lives of Latinos as well as Native Americans, Blacks, Jews, and the LGBTQ community. The terror now facing America’s Latinos resurrects these horrors, particularly how Blacks encountered racial hatred for more than a century during Jim Crow era and later during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s.

Too many times in recent years, our unique Black American experience we remain at risk as a people. In 1998 the body of James Byrd, a Black, 49-year old Jasper, Texas man was ripped to pieces as it was drug over a mile and a half by whites driving a pick-up truck. Other and more recent heinous hate crimes remind us of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice—just to name a few.

According to Rutgers University, Black men today are 2.5 times more likely than white men to be victims of violence. From 2013 to 2017, 11,456 fatal encounters with police and members of the public were reported.

At the same time, the emergence of hate groups has been on the rise, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

“The total number of hate groups rose to 1,020 in 2018, up about 7 percent from 2017,” wrote Heidi Beirich, who leads SPLC’s Intelligence Project and its award-winning publication, The Intelligence Report.

Its report released this February found that white nationalist groups grew from 100 in 2017 to 148 the following year, 2018—a 50 percent growth. Other hate groups—anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Muslim—also grew during these same years from 233 to 264. While the Ku Klux Klan dominated hate groups in the Jim Crow and civil rights eras, its presence across the country now appears to have been eclipsed by the growth of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and skin head organizations.

SPLC’s Hate Map by State shows that the largest number of statewide hate groups are located in California (83), Florida (75), and Texas (73). At the local level, additional hate organizations currently operate in Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tallahassee. Beyond these three states, hate groups can also be found in 45 other states and in more metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Sacramento, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Just as the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prompted the enactment of major civil rights legislation, now is another time for our nation to stand up to the many forms of domestic terrorism that plague the nation. People of conscience and principle have a duty to stand up, speak out for the fullness of our “inalienable rights.”

(Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s communications deputy director. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.)

METRO/SPORTS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

AUGUST 14-20, 2019

B7

In ‘The Kitchen,’ Tiffany Haddish shows her serious side

by Merecedes J. Williams For New Pittsburgh Courier

Girl power returns to the big screen as Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy, and Elisabeth Moss star as New York City mobster wives in “The Kitchen.”

When their husbands are sent to prison, the trio— Ruby O’Carroll (Haddish), Kathy Brennan (McCarthy), and Claire Walsh (Moss)—are forced to boss up and take over the family business to make ends meet. But, with power comes pressure, and the ladies must do some unthinkable things to survive.

“The Kitchen” is a great first real attempt to a female mobster movie. Capacious amounts of organized crime mixed with a safe dose of estrogen make this film a summer mustsee. From the setting to the script, the movie was dark and dangerous just like I would imagine one of New York City’s most popular neighborhoods to be in the 1970s.

While there were some “wow, that’s crazy” moments, I was looking for a little bit more gruesome mob-like behavior. Especially since the movie was set in New York City in

the ‘70s, I just knew there would be scenes filled with some raunchy, bloody action. I am little disappointed that there were not more shootouts and violence.

I feel like I got the watered-down version.

As for the ladies, they weren’t watered down, though. They were actually full of life, fierce, and determined. “The Kitchen” is definitely an upgrade and resume-builder for Haddish, McCarthy, and Moss.

They were a sisterhood of destruction and joined forces to create an entertaining piece of work.

Haddish and McCarthy

presents a different Tiffany Haddish, and you will be happy with her performance. While I enjoyed her in “Girls Trip” and “Night School,” I equally relished her steps out of the funny girl box.

This summer flick empowers the boss lady in every woman. In this movie, and like many women around the world, it takes courage Kitchen.” It was Haddish in and guts to step out of the her most unfiltered, serious shadows of a man. role to date.

Shoutout to some PittsI appreciate the serious burgh boss ladies that I had side of Haddish. I actual- the pleasure of sharing a ly thought the funny roles stage with recently: Kecia were becoming redundant Lucas, Tenel Dorsey, Aliya for her. “The Kitchen” Wray, and Charice Hundley.

Movie/TV Reviews

Merecedes J. Williams

are known for their comedic roles, but both women were nothing to joke about.

There were no obnoxious laughs, stiff nae naes, or a loud outburst of “she ready” from Haddish. She is a complete boss in “The

Early childhood education program offered at Milliones MILLIONES FROM A1

representing 20 different childcare agencies who are very interested in working with us,” Mike said. “These students could start work immediately, or using the credits to become elementary schoolteachers, or even go the entrepreneurial route and start their own childcare business.”

According to data collected

by Partner4Work, there is a substantial need for credentialed early childhood educa-

tors—and the need is projected to grow. There are 4,172 such available positions in Allegheny County alone, and that number is expected to reach 9,654 openings by 2026.

Mike said the program will begin with 10th-grade students learning first aid and pediatric CPR skills, although for the first year, 11th graders can enroll and make up those two classes over the summer. In 11th and 12th grades, students learn to develop the char-

acteristics of successful teachers and childcare providers, take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it to real-life situations through their apprenticeship rotations. They then test to earn their Child Development Associate certificates; one for infants and toddlers, one for pre-school.

Like all teachers, once they have earned their certificates, graduates must submit Act 34 (criminal background check) and Act

51 (child abuse) clearance forms. They must also take a Tuberculosis test.

Mike said the decision to put the program at Milliones/U-Prep had nothing to do with recent talks of moving the students in grades 6-8 students to Arsenal in Lawrenceville.

“This has been in the works since well before that,” she said. “We wanted it at Milliones because it only had one CTE program—entertainment tech-

nology—where the other high schools have at least two. Plus, we wanted to be able to recruit from the middle school.”

The program is open to students across the district.

Students in the East region can attend half-day and will be provided a midday shuttle and bus pass. Students outside the East region would have to transfer to Milliones/U-Prep.

“I think it’s awesome and I’m definitely eager to get

this going,” Mike said. “I’m excited to give students another pathway to a career—and I’m excited that it’s at U-Prep.”

The Early Childhood Education program brings the total number of programs in PPS’ Career and Technical Education sector to 16. Some of the other programs offered include Cosmetology, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Automotive Technology, and Information Technology.

Unexpected departure—Steelers receivers coach Darryl Drake dies at age 62 Instead of waking up to view and analyze film from their recent 30-28 preseason victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or getting

remained with the Bears until 2012 at which time he departed to coach the receivers for Bruce Arians and the Arizona Cardinals.

Inside Conditions

Aubrey Bruce back onto the practice field, the Pittsburgh Steelers were awakened by some unsettling, unexpected and devastating news. The Steelers’ wide receivers coach, Darryl Drake, died this past Sunday at the age of 62. Coach Drake was entering his second year with the Steelers.

Steelers president Art Rooney issued the following statement. “We are at a loss for words following Darryl Drake’s passing this morning, Darryl had such an impact on the players he coached and everyone he worked with throughout his entire career. He was a passionate coach and had a tremendous spirit toward life, his family, his faith and the game of football.”

Drake began his NFL coaching career as the receivers coach with the Chicago Bears in 2004. He

Arians was also the former offensive coordinator of the Steelers.

The Bears posted this on Twitter: “Today we mourn

receivers coach Darryl Drake. Darryl was the former Bears wide receivers coach under Lovie Smith from 2004-12, including the (Bears) 2006 Super Bowl appearance.”

Arians tweeted: “We lost a great man, husband, father, coach and a dear friend Darryl Drake. Our prayers go out to his family. RIP brother.”

Arians’ former team, the Arizona Cardinals, posted this: “Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of Darryl Drake. It is impossible to overstate his impact on the game in nearly four decades as a coach in college and the NFL. Today, the entire football community mourns his loss.”

DARRYL DRAKE

ceivers at his disposal coupled with the departure of the Steelers’ talented yet troubled wide receiver, Antonio Brown, now with the Oakland Raiders it appeared that Coach Drake and his receivers were poised to have a breakout year as part of a talented Pittsburgh Steelers offense.

When I, like Coach Drake and many other writers and fans were forced to sit through and endure the 2018 narcissistic-based shenanigans and dumbness from the ungrateful DARRYL DRAKE, HINES WARD NFL megatalent Brown, With an abundance of it had to be tricky during the untimely passing of Pittsburgh Steelers wide young, talented wide re- the past season for Coach

Drake to coach or even communicate with an individual such as Brown.

This is a person that is seemingly incapable of seeing any image or caring about anyone but himself.

At this point it’s difficult, no, almost impossible, from preventing my cauldron of anger from spilling over onto these pages.

I dare not write what I really feel because more than 50 percent of the text would have to be redacted. While Antonio Brown was using his own supply of hot air to again treat us all to his version of grandeur and pomposity, making a sullied and self-cen-

tered, attention-grabbing entrance into Oakland Raiders training camp, or should I say in Brown’s case, “complaining camp,” while unbeknownst to all of us coach Darryl Drake was nearing the end of his earthly journey. At the time that this column was written, I did not see or hear about any reaction from Antonio Brown and with the trouble that he probably gave Coach Drake, especially about not having his share of passes tossed his way. Any words that Antonio Brown would offer, I caution you to take with a grain of salt.

If they didn’t matter, they wouldn’t play ‘em—Steelers preseason!

It goes without saying if the Emperor Charles “Chuck” Noll said it, take it to the bank. His response when asked by a reporter if he thought pre-season games were important. :10—That being said, here’s your exclusive preseason Pittsburgh Steelers report as they prep to play the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday, Aug. 17 at Heinz Field. :09—Overall team game…No drama, no headaches, no cold feet issues, no helmet protests. Just great hard nosed heads up football :08—Coach Tomlin…

Clearly ready to move the team forward. No interest what-so-ever in discussing the past and any of its complications. Clearly focused on the task at hand and had his team ready to play on two counts. #1. Let’s win this game and send former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians packin’! #2. Let’s show the Steeler Nation we’re a better team without Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. :07—Quarterback…we know that future Hall-ofFamer Ben Roethlisberger

Overtime

Bill Neal is the man for this plan.

However, the backup spot just got interesting. Last year’s number two man, Josh Dobbs, didn’t lose any ground with a decent preseason arm showing, and gained a step or two showcasing his running talents.

Mason Rudolph made it interesting with steady and confident play and a great touchdown throw to firstyear tight end Zach Gentry, and for the record, Brogan Roback won’t be back…

He’ll be busy making “Duck Calls!” :06—Running backs…

Here’s where the party’s at. Of course All-Pro James Conner is the man. But Jaylen Samuels and Benny Snell Jr. are going to be a great complement to Conner. Rosie Nix will continue

to be Mr. Versatile. :05—“O-Line”…The best in the NFL when they’re at their best. Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, AllPro Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Matt Feiler, B.J. Finney, Chukwuma Okorafor, Vance McDonald, Xavier Grimble, and Zach Gentry (tight ends) are where it all gets started upfront! :04—“D-Line”…This is where the rubber meets the road and the nasty has to get going. Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave, Tyson Alualu, Dan McCullers (all 6’7 and 350 pounds of him) and Isaiah Buggs must plug the holes, create fumbles, get sacks and bring the noise “right here…right now.” :03—Linebackers…By

now you know that Devin Bush is the real deal, 10 tackles on opening night, Jon Bostic, L. J. Fort, Tyler Matakevich, Vince Williams, Mark Barron, Sutton Smith, Ulysses Gilbert and T. J. Watt will combine to improve a Steeler linebacker group that suffered through

a multitude of sins last year with the loss of Ryan Shazier. :02—“D-Backs”…Wish I could say I was saving the best for last, but that just wouldn’t be true. Right now we have Joe Haden, one of the best in the NFL. The rest will be determined in the coming week.

:01—Receivers…Now here’s the best! JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, let the race begin. :00—Special Teams…Already improved in all areas. :00:00—Get ready to vote.

Do it like your life depends on it.

GAME OVER.

B8

AUGUST 14-20, 2019

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

THE 2019 AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY PARADE Manchester Neighborhood Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019 Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello

THE ANNUAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY PARADE rolled through the streets of Manchester, Aug. 10. Pictured above is the Black Political Empowerment Project and the Greater Pittsburgh Coalition Against Violence.

HIGHMARK HEALTH in the parade…

RICHARD COLEMAN cooking on the grill…

THE DELTAS...

CCAC in the house…

THE AKAs…

THE MARVEL SQUAD step team.