New Pittsburgh Courier 8-28-19

America’s best weekly

Olabrice Helton Wilkerson

Skye Coto

Black Women in Art: Paint on Canvas

Turns 102!

Pgh. Charms host meeting

Metro A5

Metro A4

Lifestyles A6

Pittsburgh Courier www.newpittsburghcourier.com

NEW

Vol. 110 No. 35

Two Sections

MALIK BANKSTON

Published Weekly

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

$1.00

DEXTER HAIRSTON

Bankston steps down, Damany Lewis Hairston steps up leaving WPXI-TV Change in leadership at the Kingsley Association

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

Dexter Hairston is a little over a month into his 90day fact-finding mission as the Kingsley Association’s new executive director.

The board announced he would be taking the reins from longtime director Malik Bankston July 31, but he actually started three weeks earlier.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s a good challenge,” Hairston told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an Aug. 26 interview. “This is a very popular place, with people coming in for an array of wants and needs—and that’s good. It’s supposed to be the hub of the community.”

Hairston said he is meeting with existing and po-

tential partner organizations—the city, county, Pittsburgh Public Schools, the foundation community, the United Way, and others—to understand and solidify their relationships with Kingsley.

“We have some partnerships that are essentially gentlemen’s agreements,” he said. “I want to solidify those. I want everything in writing so there are no surprises coming down the WPXI-TV ANCHOR DAMANY LEWIS has accepted an offer to become the weekday anchor of a new show on WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C. pike.”

Hairston, who left as CEO of the McKeesport YMCA in 2018 after 17 years, said every nonprofit has unique challenges, but they also have similarities; developing and enhancing partnerships is one of those.

SEE KINGSLEY B6

African American Chamber to present interactive Alzheimer’s/dementia workshops

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

Of the five million Americans suffering with Alzheimer’s disease, 280,000 live in Pennsylvania. Roughly 4,000 of them will die from the disease despite the efforts of 675,000 caregivers, most of whom are unpaid family members— and that’s just Alzheimer’s.

There are other forms of dementia that are equally devastating.

In an effort to give its members and the general public a better understanding of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, will present “Brain Health” Keys to Successful Aging, a series of free workshops related to dementia/Alzheimer’s disease.

“This is a subject where everyone we’ve talked with has a family member or friend dealing with dementia or Alzheimer’s and people don’t know the difference,” said

for opportunity in Charlotte

Chamber President and CEO Doris Carson Williams.

“We will have ask-the-experts sessions so people can become better educated.

They can also get information on early warning signs, SEE DEMENTIA B6

Anchor was embraced by Pittsburghers, complicating his decision to leave

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

What viewers see from WPXI-TV (Channel 11) anchor/reporter Damany Lewis when he’s on camera is a pleasantly-serious delivery, full of accuracy, and with a laid back, yet authoritative tone.

What viewers don’t see is Damany Lewis, the family man, the husband to Rochunda for more than 15 years. Damany Lewis, the father of two children, ages 9 and 6, as he took them to their first day of school just last week, then headed straight to WPXI to anchor the noon news-

“This (Pittsburgh) is as close to home that I’ve lived in in a long time, so we’re really going to miss that aspect of Pittsburgh. But life is a journey… and this is the next step in that journey.”

Damany Lewis WPXI-TV Anchor cast. Damany Lewis, the man who sits on the Board of Directors for the local YMCA, and was a regular workout participant at the now-closed YMCA Penn Hills Branch.

Though he was born and raised in Chicago, Lewis told the New Pittsburgh Courier that for the past four and a half years, Pittsburgh has felt almost like home. The people here

have treated him like family.

“I have established a lot of roots here in Pittsburgh,” Lewis said. “My kids are in school here…when we came here, we didn’t know anyone.”

Now, Lewis’ family has established a healthy network of family and friends in the area.

So when Lewis was presented with the opportunity to not only anchor the noon newscast on WSOCTV in Charlotte, North Carolina, but also co-host a brand new weekday news show on the station, where SEE LEWIS A4

African Americans recruited for banking jobs via BankWork$

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

With major financial corporations like Bank of America and Chase moving into the Pittsburgh market, there will be a greater need for frontline banking personnel.

That need, in turn, has created an opportunity Pittsburgh to address the historic lack of racial diversity in the banking industry by putting African Americans in those entry-level positions.

Partner4Work, the PA Bankers Association, and several local financial institutions announced last week that they intend to seize that opportunity by roll-

ing out the BankWork$ program to train unemployed and underemployed African Americans for those entry-level positions.

“This is a potent program,” said Partner4Work CEO Earl Buford during the Aug. 21 announcement at the Jeron X. Grayson Center in the Hill District. “And Citizens Bank has committed Tracey McCants Lewis $75,000 in monPenguins Deputy Counsel new ey, $95,000 and HR Director overall, to this. In total there’s $250,000 of public, industry and philanthropy going into this—and there’s a firm commitment to hire these graduates.”

BankWork$ is a program of the Biller

“This is about more than jobs, it’s about careers in banking and beyond.”

TRACEY McCANTS LEWIS

Pittsburgh Courier NEW

To subscribe, call 412-481-8302 ext. 134

Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick says

SEE BANKING B6

Courier, other Black newspapers were in vanguard of exposing racism!

Forum B6 Forum B5

A2

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

When South Africans declared ‘liberation’ at two Whites-only beaches

(TriceEdneyWire.com/ GIN)—South Africa witnessed the beginning of the end of Whites-only beaches 30 years ago this week after an action launched by the Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It was part of an escalating campaign to defy apartheid. Throngs of demonstrators were chased down Cape Town streets by police using whips, tear gas and water cannons spraying purple dye. More than 500 people, including 52 journalists, were arrested.

A march was planned that also included the Rev. Allan Boesak, anti-apartheid leaders and president of the World Alliance of Reform Churches. It was organized by the Mass Democratic Movement, that swelled into the most sustained anti-apartheid protest since the government suspended many civil rights in 1986 under

SOUTH AFRICA BEACH emergency decrees.

Police gave the marchers 10 minutes to disperse, but the protesters sat down on the pavement and began clapping and singing.

Then police drove two water cannon trucks into the square and began spraying demonstrators with purple dye. Shoppers and activists fled in panic, and some fell to the pavement.

Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace laureate, condemned the police action.

“All moral right is on our side,” he told about 2,000 people who gathered in his Anglican church nearby.

“We have committed ourselves to this struggle until it is won. We shall be free …despite this type of action from those who refuse to hand over power.

New Ebola drugs show exciting promise with 90 percent cure rate (TriceEdneyWire.com/ GIN)—Two experimental treatments are raising hopes among medical personnel that a cure for the deadly virus Ebola has been found.

The antibody-based treatments will now be offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced the finding together with Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research and Dr. Michael J. Ryan, director of emergency response for the World Health Organization.

Psychologically, Dr. Muyembe said, news of a cure could change the course of this outbreak, which is the worst of the 10 that Congo has endured.

After years of war and genocide, residents of eastern Congo are deeply distrustful of the government in the capital, Kinshasa.

Rumors have spread that Ebola does not exist, or that treatment teams steal blood and body parts for witchcraft. Treatment centers have been shot up or burned down.

“Now we can say that 90 percent can come out of treatment cured, they will start believing it and developing trust,” Dr. Muyembe said. “The first ones to transmit this information will be the patients themselves.”

Dr. Muyembe, 77, whom Dr. Fauci referred to as a “true hero,” has been fighting Ebola since it first appeared in what was then Zaire in 1976. (He) is a unique and courageous African health leader”, said Peter Piot, Professor of Global Health and Director of the London School of Hygiene &

THE NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER PUBLISHING COMPANY

Publication No.: USPS 381940 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Phone: 412-481-8302 Fax: 412-481-1360 The New Pittsburgh Courier is published weekly Periodicals paid at Pittsburgh, Pa. PRICE $1.00 (Payable in advance) 6 Months—$25 1 Year—$45 2 Years—$85 9-Month School Rate $35

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:

New Pittsburgh Courier 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219

DR. JEAN-JACQUES MUYEMBE Tropical Medicine, who first met Muyembe at Yambuku.

“He stayed in Congo during decades of very turbulent history and succeeded in maintaining scientific excellence and integrity throughout. He has trained several generations of much needed physicians, microbiologists, and public health workers in DRC. He is a role model for many of us.”

The epidemic, which was declared a public health emergency last month, has now infected about 2,800 known patients, killing more than 1,800 of them, according to the world health body.

The new experimental treatments, known as REGN-EB3 and mAb-114, are both cocktails of monoclonal antibodies that are infused intravenously into the blood. The drugs are most effective when used as treatments for patients with low levels of Ebola in the bloodstream, according to the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

Both drugs are U.S. made.

REGN-EB3 is made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals of Tarrytown, N.Y. Dr. Fauci’s institute, which is

part of the National Institutes of Health, developed mAb114 and licensed production last year to Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a Miami company.

The two new therapies were among four tested in a trial that has enrolled almost 700 patients since November. The two worked so well that a committee recommended that the other two treatments, ZMapp, made by Mapp Biopharmaceutical, and remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences, be stopped. All patients will now be offered either the Regeneron or the Biotherapeutics drug.

Fauci paid tribute to all of those involved in the trial in four towns: Beni, Katwa, Butembo and Mangina.

NGOs including International Medical Corps and Doctors Without Borders “put their lives on the line every day to care for patients in extremely difficult conditions in the area where the outbreak is occurring,” he said.

Decades ago, Dr. Muyembe pioneered the use of survivors’ blood serum— which contains antibodies—in order to save patients. The two experiment treatments that proved successful last week descend in part from his original research.

Asked how he felt about that during a telephone news conference, Dr. Muyembe said through a translator: “I’m a little sentimental. I had this idea a long time ago, and I’ve waited patiently for it. I’m very happy, and I can’t believe it.”

CORRECTION

A headline on Page A1 of the Courier’s Aug. 21, 2019 edition which read, “Tyian Battle’s ACH Clear Pathways purchases the Kaufmann Center” was incorrect. The correct headline is: “ACH Clear Pathways in the process of fundraising to purchase the Kaufmann Center.”

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

This Week In Black History

Week of August 28-September 3 August 28 1955—The body of Emmett Till is recovered from the Tallahatchie River near Money, Miss. The 14-year-old Chicago native had been kidnapped, tortured and murdered the previous day for allegedly whistling at a White woman. Till’s savage death became a rallying cry for the early Civil Rights Movement. Justice was never done in the case, however. The two White men responsible for his death were found not guilty by an all-White Mississippi jury. But both men—Ron Bryant and J.W. Milam—a few months later would brag in an interview with Look magazine that they indeed had killed Till.

1963—The historic March on Washington for Black rights takes place. It was the largest civil rights demonstration in American history, drawing people from throughout the nation to Washington, D.C. It was at this EMMETT TILL march that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

August 29 1920—Jazz legend Charlie “Yardbird” Parker was born on this day in Kansas City, Mo. The saxophonist and composer was one of the leading and most influential figures of the Jazz Age. 1924—Dinah Washington is born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Her powerful voice would enable her to become one of the most influential singers of the 20th Century. Sadly, she died of a drug overdose in 1963.

1958—Michael Jackson is born on this day in Gary, Ind. The “King of Pop” CHARLIE “YARDBIRD” was the seventh of nine PARKER children. He died June 25, 2009, apparently after being given a powerful drug to enable him to sleep.

1962—Mal Goode becomes America’s first Black network news commentator when he begins broadcasting for ABC Television on this day in 1962.

August 30 1800—The Gabriel Prosser-led slave rebellion is stopped before it can start because of bad weather and MICHAEL JACKSON betrayal by two slaves who told their White masters of the impending revolt. Gabriel had meticulously planned the rebellion and organized an estimated 1,000 slaves to participate in an attack on Richmond, Va. One historian described the 24-year-old, 6’3” rebel as “a fellow of courage and intellect above his rank in life.” After the betrayal, Gabriel and 15 of his co-conspirators were hanged on Oct. 10, 1800. (Note: Most history texts refer to him as Gabriel Prosser, but, although he was a slave of Tomas Prosser, there is no indication that he ever used “Prosser” as his last name.)

1838—The first African American owned magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication on this day in New York City.

1966—Prominent civil rights attorney Constance Baker Motley is confirmed to the U.S. District Court in New York.

She thus became the first African American female to hold a seat on the federal bench.

Motley had participated in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case which led to CONSTANCE BAKER the desegregation of the naMOTLEY tion’s schools. She was also an advisor to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Motley died in September 2005.

August 31 1935—Frank Robinson, the first African American to manage a major league baseball team, was born on this day in Beaumont, Texas. Robinson became player-manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1975. He kept the job for about a year. He became manager of the San Francisco Giants in 1980.

FRANK ROBINSON 2002—Jazz great Lionel Hampton died on this day at the age of 94. Hampton gained international fame as a “big band” leader and for his amazing abilities playing the vibraphone.

September 1 1975—General Daniel “Chappie” James becomes the nation’s first Black four-star general and takes command of the North American Air Defense Command. The position made him a key player in the nation’s nuclear defense system. James was born in Pensacola, Fla., and died at the relatively young age of 57 in 1978.

LIONEL HAMPTON 1977—Legendary actress and Blues and Gospel singer Ethel Waters dies at the age of 80 in Chatsworth, Calif. Born in Chester, Pa., Waters became the second African American in history to be nominated for an Academy Award. For many Blacks, however, she was best known for her singing. The song which gained her the greatest popularity was the spiritual “His Eye is on the Sparrow…So I know He Watches Me.” September 2 1766—Post-colonial era Black leader James Forten is born on this day in 1766. Little is known today, but during that period he was one of the most prominent Black men in America. Born free in Philadelphia, Pa., he became a fierce anti-slavery activist, an inventor and successful businessman. In fact, the sail-making ETHEL WATERS company he founded made him one of the wealthiest Black men in the nation. Forten and AME Church founder Richard Allen organized the First Convention of Color in 1817. He went back and forth on the issue of “re-Africanization,” which called for the return of Blacks to Africa. He financially supported Paul Cuffee’s venture in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, but he later turned against the American Colonization Society and its efforts to return free American Blacks to the West African nation of Liberia.

1945—As World War II comes to an end, official records show 1,154,720 Blacks were inducted into the military services including 3,902 women. The highest ranking African American women during WWII were Majors Harriet M. West and Charity E. Adams.

September 3 1838—Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore using so-called “free papers” and disguising himself as a sailor. He would go on to become the most prominent anti-slavery activist and Black leader of his day. He is perhaps best remembered MAJORS CHARITY E. ADAMS AND for his now HARRIET M. WEST famous 1857 quote: “If there is no struggle there is no progress…

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” Free papers were documents normally required to be in the possession of all free Blacks. But one freedom tactic employed during slavery was for a slave to somehow borrow the papers of a free Black who fit his or her general description and use the papers to escape from slavery.

1868—In an example of how briefly true freedom for Blacks lasted after slavery ended in 1865, the lower house of the Georgia legislature on this day in 1868 expelled 28 African Americans, employing a twisted argument that because they were Black they were not eligible to serve in the legislature even if they had been duly elected. Ten days later, the Georgia Senate followed suit and expelled three elected Blacks.

But the U.S. Congress stepped in by refusing to seat the Georgia delegation if the Black representatives FREDERICK DOUGLASS were not allowed to return to their seats.

1919—One of the nation’s first Black-owned movie companies—Lincoln Motion Pictures—releases its first full length feature film, “A Man’s Duty.” The company was owned by Noble Johnson and Clarence Brooks.

NATIONAL

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

A3

Ilhan Omar, celebrities, politicians electrify attendees at A. Philip Randolph Institute’s 50th Annual National Education Conference MINNEAPOLIS (NNPA)—Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) addressed members of the A. Philip Randolph Institute last week in Bloomington, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. APRI is one of the nation’s largest organizations of African American labor union leaders and activists.

Rep. Omar invigorated the crowd that came out to the conference with her proclamation of continuing her fight despite multiple death threats and critique on the national level. Omar also ensured that she has no intention of bowing down to the current administration.

“If someone needs you to down on a knee to make themselves feel tall, then there’s something wrong with them, not you,” Rep. Omar said. “I got in this ring because I’m ready to fight.

The A. Philip Randolph Institute held its 50th Annual National Education Conference on Aug. 7 -11, at the Radisson Blu Mall of America Hotel. Former Congressman and current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also addressed the group.

Hundreds of national and local labor union activists, celebs, political and civic engagement leaders took part in the conference including Actor Danny Glover and Sirius XM talk show host Joe Madison.

KEYNOTER—Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks to attendees.

Madison known as “The Black Eagle’ did an interview with Mrs. Jacqueline Jackson, wife of civil rights icon, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and her son Jonathan. Mrs. Jackson is the author of the book “Loving You, Thinking of You, Don’t Forget to Pray: Letters to My Son in Prison,” a collection of letters she wrote to her son Jesse Jackson Jr. APRI National President Clayola Brown said the group is working to build awareness and drive community engagement to find solutions to social and racial injustices. “As we know from the 2018 elections, APRI activists and our allies have been fundamental and essential to educating, organizing and moving political and legislative victories,” Brown said. With increased education, measurable programs, strong community partnerships, and organizational development, we will recover, and we will advance,” Brown said.

The A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) is a labor rights organization founded in 1965 by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. The organization has more than 110 chapters nationwide with membership from the nation’s top unions and community organizations. Clayola Brown, the first female to head the organization, is the current president. You can find out more information at www.apri.org. Follow APRI on Facebook or Twitter.

Trap Museum unveils exhibit in honor of late rapper Nipsey Hussle by Émil J. Flemmon NNPA Newswire

Atlanta’s Trap Museum unveiled a special new exhibit on Tuesday, Aug. 13, to commemorate the legacy of late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

“It’s very important that we pay tribute and honor our fallen brother, Nip, because the legacy that he left, the example that he set, I mean all of it goes without saying, but it should never go unnoticed,” said rapper T.I., who curated the exhibit and is responsible for the creation of the Trap Museum.

“He left giving us a representation of how to do it,” he added.

The exhibit is comprised of contributory moments of his life, including his family, community works, actress Lauren London and the infamous street where his murder occurred, Slauson Avenue.

The unveiling took place days before what would’ve been Nipsey’s 34th birthday with many influencers in attendance,

including former NBA player Shawne Williams, and singers Monica and LeToya Luckett who also star alongside T.I. on the hit VH1 show, “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle.”

Many people are still mourning the loss of Nipsey Hussle after he was killed earlier this year outside of his Marathon clothing store in South Los Angeles.

Prior to the tragedy, Nipsey received his biggest musical honor as he was nominated for “Best Rap Album” for the critical and commercial success of debut studio album, “Victory Lap.” He is remembered not only for his success in the music industry but mostly for his philanthropic work in the community that he grew up in.

Other notable hip-hop artists such as The Game, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and many others have also created tributes acknowledging the work of Nipsey Hussle during his life.

(This article originally appeared in The Atlanta

(Photo: Courtesy of Trap Museum) Voice.)

A4

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Olabrice Helton Wilkerson turns 102!

OLABRICE HELTON WILKERSON

August 4, 2019; What a day it was in North Versailles, as Olabrice Helton Wilkerson was surrounded by family and friends for her 102nd birthday celebration!

Ms. Wilkerson, as told to the New Pittsburgh Courier by her granddaughter, Ola Jackson, was one of the first Black nurses in a West

OLABRICE HELTON WILKERSON, seated, surrounded by her remaining living children, from left to right: Marina Davis, Maxine Giles and Murlene Parker. Ronald Davis is not pictured.

Penn Nursing Hospital graduating class, as the certificate shows below, dated July 23, 1957. She was married to the late Rayford Wilkerson, a mill worker. She has 39 grandchildren, 100 great grandchildren, 126 great great grandchildren, and 21 great great great grandchildren.

OLABRICE HELTON WILKERSON, one of the first Black nurses in a West Penn Nursing Hospital graduating class, is pictured in the second row, second from left (Ollie).

THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF OLABRICE HELTON WILKERSON

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

METRO

ALYCIA WASHINGTON, with “A Broken Heart Can Grow.”

ASHANTE JOSEY, with “Earth,” at Black Women in Art: Paint on Canvas, held at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, July 25. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

SKYE COTO, with “Afro Ninja.”

Black Women in Art: Paint on Canvas Black Women in Art: Paint on Canvas, which occurred July 25 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, is an event designed to empower, uplift, and create space for art made

by Black women. This particular event was hosted by The Queenpin PGH and The Thirsty Mind Collective, and featured feature both exhibited art and panels of experts.

‘BLACK WOMEN IN ART’ PARTICIPANTS

AARYN MUHAMMAD, with “The Essiese of Florouses” painting of Angela Davis.

A5

LIFESTYLES New Pittsburgh Courier

A6

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Debbie Norrell

Lifestyles Report Ungrateful

Who remembers driving a car that they felt was beneath them? I do.

Back in the eighties I did not have a car. I had been driving a company car and the company car disappeared when I was dismissed from the job. My mom found a car for me for a couple hundred dollars on a used car lot in Wilkinsburg. I think it was an Oldsmobile...whatever it was, it ran and for a while, got me from point A to point B. The car had a big hole in the floor and you could see the street through that hole.

Friends of mine who rode with me dubbed it the “woodmobile” because we had to place a piece of wood under the gas pedal when the car was cut off. If you didn’t put this wood in place the car would continue to move. It was actually quite funny.

I think my next car was my father’s old station wagon. It was an upgrade from the “woodmobile.” My father had passed away and my mother knew I needed a car so I inherited his station wagon. It also ran but in the cold weather the doors would freeze and I would have to crawl out of the tailgate. Just imagine me crawling out of the back of the vehicle in a full length fur coat. It happened on more than one occasion.

This was all after my divorce and finally I got on my feet and bought a nice car. I’m sharing this with you because I was appalled when I heard the story about the young man who pushed the BMW his parents gifted him into the river because he preferred a Jaguar.

“Are you kidding me?”

I said to myself, this story must be a hoax.

It all happened in the Northern Indian city of Haryana. The car was a birthday gift and the young man was 22 years of age. The story garnered a lot of attention because the young man was unhappy with his birthday gift of a brand new white BMW from his father.

He physically pushed his new car, into a river. After setting the new car adrift (and cataloguing it for social media, you can see it on YouTube), the man attempted to fish it out with ropes.

“The son was unhappy with his father for not buying him (a) Jaguar,” police said in a statement. “He deliberately pushed the luxury vehicle into the river.”

The man allegedly has mental health issues for which he is currently being treated. Reportedly police are not pressing charges.

I was thinking if he has mental health issues perhaps he does not need a car at this time. How ungrateful some people are. I would have been happy to have a brand new car as a gift. I was grateful for two old cars. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth or under the hood.

Brian McKnight gave his sons an apartment for two years scott free… so ungrateful, and McKnight’s wife gave them jobs in a hospital that would help pay for college. Still, they were ungrateful.

CHARM AND CHARMER—Jacqueline and James O.H. Williams

PRESIDENTS SHARING A MOMENT—Allison Lee Mann, Pittsburgh chapter president, with National President Lynada Martinez

CHARM AND CHARMER—Yvonne and Donald Betts

Pittsburgh Charms host Executive Board meeting Glasgow. On that evening guests enjoyed a Black and Gold Gala. The Charms were honored to be joined by their first national president, Rebecca Hairston of Pittsburgh.

There are 21 chapters of Charms. The group was formed in 1952 in Pittsburgh when Lavera Edward Hord contacted a HANDSOME COUPLE IN CLUB COLORS— group of young women, Charmer Ed Taylor and Charm Mary Taylor of Durham, N.C. suggesting that they meet one evening a month, if possible, to socialize and catch up on the news in and about Pittsburgh. The majority of them were friends or acquaintances who had recently become MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES—Twyla Glasgow and Allison Lee FIRST NATIONAL PRESIDENT—Rebecca Hairston—seated, with daughters Myra brides or Mann Hairston and Jean Hairston-Jenkins new mothers. The ladies usually gathered late in the evening, they jokingly referred to themselves as “The Midnighters.” As their children

by Debbie Norrell became older, the MidnightLifestyles Editor ers decided to organize formally and select a name for Charms Inc. is a nonprofit social, civic themselves. After various and cultural organization of women dednames were submitted and icated to high cultural standards and hua vote was taken, “Squaws” manitarian service that will improve the was the winner—thus, the quality of life for all. During the weekend Squaws were born. Over the of July 24-28, the Pittsburgh Chapter of years chapters in cities outCharms hosted the 28th National Board side of Pittsburgh were addMeeting at the Doubletree by Hilton in ed. On Feb. 11, 1997, their Monroeville. During the weekend several name was officially changed business meetings and social gatherings to CHARMS, INCOPORATwere held. On July 27 the Charms hostED. Their motto: “Smile, help ed a luncheon themed “Spotlight on the Arts.” Guests enjoyed the poetry of Kim CELEBRATING 57 YEARS OF MARRIAGE—Nor- your fellow man, and aspire to greater things.”

El and two selections from Charm Twyla een and Roy Jenkins

CHARMS AND CHARMER—Allison Lee Man, Edward Harry Lee Sr. and Harriet Merriweather

SISTERS—Nadine Connor, Noryce Jean Hill-Bell and Noreen Jenkins

PITTSBURGH CHARMS

RELIGION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Homewood AME Zion Community Day 2019

A7

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

www.cathedralofhope.com

Worship on Sunday: Summer Worship Hour...10 a.m.

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

Curious about Quakerism?

MARYANN HOWARD, ERIC WILLIAMS, MARCELLA HILL at the Homewood AME Zion Church Community Day, Aug. 10. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

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

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

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

MARYANN HOWARD, ARCHIE BROWN, STACI KING

HOMEWOOD AME ZION FIRST LADY DARLENE COUNTS and Pastor Jonathan Counts.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT CHURCH EVENT!

Church Circuit ANTIOCH BAPTIST FALL REVIVAL

SEPTEMBER 4, 11, 18, 25—Antioch Baptist Church, 332 Elizabeth St., Sewickley, will hold its annual Fall Revival every Wednesday in September at 7 p.m. Guest speakers: Rev. Michael Peterson (Sept.

4), Mount Olive Baptist Church; Rev. Bryan Crawl (Sept. 11), Second Baptist Church, Rochester; Rev. Lisa Richbourg (Sept. 18), Pilgrim Baptist Church; Rev. Jonathan Wilson (Sept. 25), New Bethel Baptist Church. The theme is “Revived to Lift Him Up.” All are welcome to attend. For more information, call 412-741-7688 for details. Rev. Travis C. Coon, pastor.

SIXTH MOUNT ZION MISSIONARY DAY

SEPTEMBER 15—Sixth Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 6556 Shetland St., will hold its Missionary Day at the church. The theme is “Replanting the Seed.” The guest speaker will be Rev. David White of Shiloh Community Missionary Baptist Church. For more information, call 412-441-7839.

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

For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext.

128.

STACI KING, left, with Anela.

We want to place your event in our Church Circuit weekly calendar!

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

The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

A8

METRO

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Damany Lewis leaving WPXI-TV for opportunity in Charlotte Anchor was embraced by Pittsburghers, complicating his decision to leave

Pittsburgh).

But Lewis will tell you his real start in broadcast journalism came at Florida A&M University, a historically-Black college in

desk, you’ve probably seen Lewis report from the Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; or from Point State Park asking folks about the measles cases that were reported in Pittsburgh a few months ago; or on the South Side after a big Penguins or Steelers victory.

“When our sister station in Charlotte, WSOC, began looking for their next anchor, they initiated a nationwide search. That search ended when they determined the best person for the job was already working within CMG (Cox Media Group): Damany Lewis,” wrote WPXI news director Scott Trabandt to staffers in an email obtained by the Courier, Aug. 21. “Damany is a class act, and has been a great citizen in Pittsburgh. We never like to see talented journalists and good people leave, but this is a great opportunity for Damany, his family, and our colleagues in Charlotte.”

Indeed, Lewis, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, calls this move a promotion. “I get to put my fingerprint on this (brand new) newscast, and that’s rare.

First impressions mean a lot (to viewers). And that’s a lot of responsibility, so I want to make sure everything looks right, and

Tallahassee, where he was taught the journalism craft and earned a bachelor of science in broadcast journalism with a minor in history in 2000.

Little did he know that he’d learn something else at FAMU—the importance of family.

LEWIS FROM A1

he could help build it from the ground up, it was a no-brainer for him professionally.

But for the side you don’t see, Lewis the family man, Lewis the father of two children who have made friends here in Pittsburgh, it made Lewis’ decision whether to leave Pittsburgh for Charlotte that much more difficult.

In the end, it was Lewis’ better half, Rochunda, that provided the final word.

“My wife encouraged me to do this in Charlotte,” Lewis told the Courier, Aug. 22.

After Sept. 6, you’ll no longer see Lewis on WPXI in Pittsburgh—beginning Sept. 12, he’ll be the new face in Charlotte local news.

“This (Pittsburgh) is as close to home that I’ve lived in in a long time, so we’re really going to miss that aspect of Pittsburgh,” Lewis said. “But life is a journey…and this is the next step in that journey.”

Lewis came to be known as one of the most reliable voices in Pittsburgh television news, and is currently one of only two African American male news anchors on Pittsburgh local stations (Andrew Stockey, WTAE-TV 4).

Away from the anchor

“I had just lost my mom when I was 18 years old, and I needed a sense of family,” Lewis told the Courier. “When I went to FAMU, they provided that

A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C. The event is labeled the NABJ (National Association for Black Journalists) Multimedia Short Course.

DAMANY LEWIS is leaving Pittsburgh after four and a half years at WPXI-TV for a rare opportunity to co-host a new show on WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C. (Photo courtesy WPXI-TV) sounds right.”

Lewis’ professional journey has earned him some frequent flyer miles— Champaign, Ill., Tallahassee, Fla., Jacksonville, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Sacramento for seven years before invading “Television Hill” (WPXI in

for me. They embraced me. They guided me. I will always love FAMU. That place has a special place in my heart.”

And to pay it forward, each year Lewis attends and lectures to journalism students at fellow Black college North Carolina

“FAMU really instilled in me that I need to give back, not only to the university but also to my community and those who are looking to follow me in this field of journalism,” Lewis said. “We took care of you—do the same for others.”

DAMANY LEWIS leading a panel discussion at the WPXI-TV studios.

DAMANY LEWIS won back-to-back Mid-Atlantic Emmys in 2017 and 2018 for best General Assignment Reporter.

Your subscription to the Courier helps fuel the positive stories in Black Pittsburgh to the masses.

Take advantage of our summer special rates on Page B4!

BUSINESS New Pittsburgh Courier

It’s back-to-school time!

Metro B7

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Classifieds

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B4

B

Harry C. Alford & Kay DeBow

Beyond the Rhetoric

We need to revitalize the great 8A Business Development Program According to the Small Business Administration (SBA): “The federal government’s goal is to award at least five percent of all federal contracting dollars to small disadvantaged businesses each year.” Here are the Program benefits: “To help provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities, the government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses that participate in the 8(a) Business Development program.”

“Disadvantaged businesses in the 8(a) Program can: Compete for set-aside and sole-source contracts in the program. Form joint ventures with established businesses through the SBA’s mentor-protégé program. Receive management and technical assistance, including business training, counseling, market assistance, and high-level executive development programs, as they apply.”

The above program was the brainchild of the late, great Parren J. Mitchell while he was the Chair of the House Small Business Committee and his staff—led by NBCC Board Member Anthony W. Robinson. It is, without debate, the most successful minority business program in the history of federal procurement. No formal program has made more Black millionaires than this program.

Despite this, it needs to be updated and reinforced.

Having a 5 percent minority business goal for the federal government is pittance. The Black population percentage of our nation is over 14.6 percent alone. Hispanics have a percentage of 17.0 percent. That amounts to 31.6 percent without other ethnicities. Racism and passive discrimination in this nation still exists and per the U.S. Supreme Court and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 discrimination needs to be addressed according to the disparate impact placed on identified groups. President Bill Clinton had the answer to this after being encouraged or intimidated from the Million Man March of 1996. His plan to “Mend” affirmative action rather than “end” it included formal Disparity Studies for each of the 10 Federal Regions. Following that adjusted goals could be implemented. One big problem—he never did it. The Congressional Black Caucus should wake up and take the lead from its greatest Founder, Congressman Mitchell, and proceed with the above idea.

The great HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson applied this logic and took Black procurement at HUD to new heights—approaching 32 percent. President George W. Bush watched his “back” as democratic congressmen tried to have him indicted for whatever reason they could find.

He eventually resigned to spend time protecting his name and future during various hearings and investigations.

HUD does about 4 percent in Black procurement today.

Updating the goals and returning to a serious aura can bring this program back to the effectiveness it once had.

The greatest challenge to the 8a Program came under the Barack Obama Administration. It is so ironic! This president had a mission to “repay” White construction unions for raising over $600 million dollars in his first presidential campaign.

His pay back to them was to require federal construction contracting over $1 million to become union only projects. As Blacks and Hispanics are terribly underutilized by construction unions, this would cripple the 8a program. We went to the White House and pleaded on the effect this would have over our constituency (should have been his too). They ignored our efforts and quickly became adversarial towards us.

What quickly happened was devastating. The Obama SEE 8A B2

ECONOMIC POWER—Black people spend more money than any other ethnic group, with an annual purchasing power of $1.3 trillion. Of all these funds, less than 2 percent is spent within the Black community.

A NECESSARY ALLIANCE Black Businesse$, Black Consumer$

by Starla Muhammad

Black businesses not just in August, but all year around.

“Once we have these businesses in our communities that will resolve our crime. That will give these youth some identity of what they can do so I encourage you all to encourage others to support this month and be a part of our ongoing agenda of buying Black,” said Revin Fellows, co-founder of National Black Agenda Consortium.

Created in 2004 by John Templeton, a historian and Frederick Jordan, an engineer, National Black Business

leading this charge of Black entrepreneurship. The number of Black For New Pittsburgh Courier female-owned firms climbed 66.9 CHICAGO—Entrepreneurship is percent, from 900,000 in 2007 to 1.5 nothing new in the Black commumillion in 2012, noted the Census nity. Black people have historically Bureau. Additionally, these 1.5 milworked hard to establish, maintain lion Black female-owned businessand grow their own businesses to es accounted for 58.9 percent of the cultivate an economic base in pronation’s 2.6 million Black or African viding goods, products and services American-owned businesses, the buto consumers. Despite obstacles inreau reported. Of these 2.6 million in cluding lack of access to capital, re2012, 109,137 had paid employees. sources, connections and at times According to the U.S. Small Busiinconsistent support from the public, ness Administration’s Office of Advothe entrepreneurial spirit cacy, annual receipts from continues to be alive and Black-owned businesses to“We can never solve our economic prob- taled $150 billion, 2.5 milwell in Black America.

That spirit coupled with lems of the Black community while spend- lion Black-owned businessthe ongoing push by Black es have no paid employees business advocates encour- ing most of our money with the people that (95.8 percent) and only aging Black folks and oth109,000 had at least one ers to patronize and sup- live outside of it. We can never control our paid employee. But with a port these businesses, can community as long as others own most of consistent, targeted effort, influence a Black business those numbers and figures “boom” and be a catalyst for the businesses in it.” can grow. change and transformation J. Averi Frost is executive MINISTER TAHARKA SHAKUR director in and for the conditions of of the Central Ohio Black people through jobs African-American ChamMonth is an opportunity to recognize ber of Commerce based in Columbus. and community development.

“We can never solve our economic Black-owned businesses around the There is a lot of hunger and energy problems of the Black community country and also a chance for consum- around the idea of Black entreprewhile spending most of our money ers to make a concentrated effort to neurship whether it means ownerwith the people that live outside of spend money with these companies. ship or supporting others in busiThere are approximately 2.6 mil- ness, she explained. “One thing that it. We can never control our community as long as others own most of lion Black-owned businesses in the we’re definitely seeing is that bethe businesses in it,” said Minister United States. The number of Black cause we know that there’s systemTaharka Shakur during an August or African American-owned firms atic and historical challenges with press conference in Chicago kicking grew 34.5 percent between 2007 and access to capital as far as financial off National Black Business Month. 2012— from 1.9 million to 2.6 mil- institutions to our businesses, it is Local entrepreneurs and activists lion in 2012, according to the most even more important now of an effort spoke on the importance of Blacks recent statistics from the Census SEE ALLIANCE B2 doing business with and promoting Bureau. Black women have been

The lost story of John H. Johnson’s empire New book about Johnson Publishing Company is a refreshing look about a family dynasty

by Erick Johnson For New Pittsburgh Courier

It was the house that John H. Johnson built. Today, Johnson Publishing is gone after years of decline. Buried in the negative publicity is the forgotten story of a man who made headlines after using his mother’s furniture for collateral to build an empire that would change Black America forever.

It’s a story that’s getting a fresh look in a new book by Dr. Margena Christian. In 2014, Christian and four other staff members were let go as part the company’s downsizing. She was the last editor who knew Johnson personally, before she was let go.

Titled “Empire: The House that John H. Johnson Built,” Christian’s book is one of the hottest reads this summer. The book is in big demand at the Chicago Public Library, where their many readers must wait online to check it out.

In 1985, Christian was hired as an editor after being interviewed by John H. Johnson and his daughter Linda, who was then president and chief operating officer at JPC. Johnson H. Johnson became her mentor and served in various professional positions that helped cement Johnson Publishing Company as the premier media company presenting news of Black entertainment, history, sports and lifestyles.

Christian created Empire after writing her dissertation in graduate school on John H. Johnson. Christian said she did not initially plan to write a book, she said she felt that “it was necessary to document the history” because she was the bridge between the old and the new generation.

“I was afraid that one day no one will remember John H. Johnson.”

In researching the book, Christian used informa-

tion from various sources, including John H. Johnson’s memoir, Succeeding Against the Odds. Reverend Jesse Jackson, whom Johnson hired after he moved from North Carolina, wrote the book’s foreword. But Unlike, Succeeding Against the Odds, Christian’s book gives readers a nice peak into the world at Johnson Publishing headquarters where celebrities across the globe visited and gave many employees a job that many Blacks dream about.

Empire is based on Christian’s own experience during her 19-year career at Johnson Publishing Company’s former headquarters at 820 S. Michigan Avenue.

Readers will learn how loyal Johnson was to his race.

His attorney was Black. His accountant was Black. He felt uncomfortable eating with White people and often didn’t trust them.

The book details the passion and spirit in Johnson as he

led editorial meetings with his Ebony and Jet journalists.

Christian talked about JHJ’s sharing stories about his encounters, from Ray Charles to Nat King Cole, who he attended high school with at Wendell Phillips.

One of the highlights of the book is a detailed account of how Johnson decided to publish the photo of Emmett Till’s brutally disfigured face after two White men killed him in Mississippi in 1955.

According to Christian’s book, Mamie Till-Mobley contacted Johnson, asking him to publish the photos after they ran in the Chicago Defender. Only over a decade old, both Ebony and Jet were already struggling to get White companies to advertise in the magazines and there was concern that the racially charged story would further damage these efforts. One co-managing SEE JOHNSON B2

B2

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

BUSINESS

8A business program

BUSINESS CALENDAR

8A FROM B1

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 412-396-5884.

Business Startup 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.

Chamber 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.

Ready for web training?

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.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS—Ryan Gill, Collin Gill and Austin Gill launched Gill Brothers Candle Company and have sold more than 10,000 units.

Youth candle business expands to Macy’s

by Lenore T. Adkins For New Pittsburgh Courier

When three of Celena Gill’s sons asked her to buy them a Nerf gun and more than $500 in video games, she told them to get a job or start a business.

She was only kidding.

But her sons, Collin, 14, Ryan, 11, and Austin, 8, they took her words to heart and launched Frères Branchiaux Candle Co. in October 2017 to make soy and vegetable wax candles, room sprays, diffusers, soaps and bath bombs out of the home they share with their parents in Prince George’s County.

Frères Branchiaux means “Gill Brothers” in French—Collin is already fluent in the language while his younger brothers are studying it.

“We wanted to do Gill Brothers Candle Company, but there’s Gill Brothers’ Trucking, Gill Brothers Air Support,” Ryan Gill explains.

In the 22 months since they started their company, the boys have sold more than 10,000 units—candles are their top-selling product and range between $18 and $36.

“It’s really all word of mouth,” Celena Gill told the AFRO. “Like, I rarely reach out to people.”

They’re already selling their products in more than 30 stores and they’re looking to expand.

Starting in November, their products will be sold on The Workshop at Macy’s alumni e-commerce site, confirms Katelyn Yannie, Macy’s manager of Northeast Relations.

And the brothers are raising $20,000 on gofundme.com to buy a truck that’ll serve as a mobile store for their business. This will make it easier for them to sell their wares at various events.

“It’s easier than a van and we…don’t have to pack the candle stuff in it,” Ryan Gill explained.

The truck would also double as a mobile training center where the boys could help coordinate job training for homeless trying to get back on their feet or as a hub for the brothers to pass on their entrepreneurial skills to various youth groups and schools.

As it is, they donate 10 percent of their profits to the homeless.

The boys settled on making candles not only

because their mother loves burning in the house, but also because her research found candles are the most successful kiddie business, Celena Gill said.

They started out experimenting with candle making using formulas their mother brought back from a candle class that her friend and soror Danita Nikki Brooks, founder of Zen in a Jar, a home and body care line, ran. Then Celena Gill went to a pro candle maker workshop to learn more techniques that helped her boys learn little tweaks.

“Making candles is purely science,” Celena Gill said. “Everything matters, whether your candle cannot burn or (if) it’ll blow up. It’s a very deliberate product because you can burn someone’s house down.”

The boys made candles as a lesson in school—Celena Gill homeschools her younger sons and Collin Gill will soon begin his freshman year at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. After about two weeks, they were ready to start selling, Celena Gill said. The boys have made more than enough to buy all the things they wanted and then some.

They earned six figures for their work last year and are on pace to double that in 2019, their mother says.

At the time the boys launched their business, their mother was already selling inspirational T-shirts, mugs, lapel pins and pillows through her website, Celena Gill Design and she did pop-ups as well. Meanwhile, her husband, Patrick Gill sells personal care and beard products for men through his company, Black Oak Grooming.

“All of us do something,” she told the AFRO. In those early days, the boys relied on their family members, as well as their parents’ friends, school and business contacts, fraternity brothers and sorority sisters.

Looking to the future, the boys plan to focus more on the retail end of their business and training other kids to become entrepreneurs.

“If they don’t want to do it, you can’t make them if the effort isn’t there,” Celena Gill said of kids thinking about opening their own business. “Some people love working nine to five and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

(This article originally appeared in The Afro.)

A NECESSARY ALLIANCE ALLIANCE FROM B1

as far as consumers for us to make sure we’re supporting our businesses as does every other community frankly,” said Ms. Frost.

“If we are able to better circulate the dollar within our community it’s going to have a greater impact. Any entrepreneur is most likely to hire somebody and to invest in a community that looks like them or reflects their values,” she added.

The Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey through his Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, patriarch of the Nation of Islam, taught economics is a key component of Black survival and prosperity in America. Mr. Muhammad’s “Do For Self” program was transformed into reality with the establishment of successful Black Muslim-owned businesses in the 1960s and 1970s. He taught Black America to “spend your money among yourselves, build an economic system among yourselves and unite to pool your resources.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan reintroduced Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint calling on not only Muslims, but all Black wage earners—the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy—to make affordable contributions, on a regular basis, into a single “national treasury.” Some of this money could be used to open new Black businesses or invest in existing ones to make them stronger.

The Nation of Islam continues to promote the need for Black-owned businesses and land. If 16 million Black wage-earners contributed a nickel a day, seven days a week that would equal 35 cents per week. In 52 weeks or one year that totals $18.20 which multiplied by 16 million people equals $291.2 million.

“We can say whatever we want about the president. His personality doesn’t matter.

The context of the environment matters and there have been opportunities that we haven’t taken advantage of as producers and as employees,” said Cedric Muhammad, an economist and CEO of Hip-Hoppreneur Inc. Black people must have an agricultural and manufacturing base, he argued.

“There’s no way out of this condition other than to go to the land and other than to popularize building trade professions and to develop some type of a manufacturing base in the inner city or the more rural areas which can be done,” he said. Agribusiness will feed into manufacturing and that would create a signif-

icant level of employment then entrepreneurship if Black businesses could be financed.

Black businesses must do a better and more intentional job of strategically marketing themselves to increase visibility in their communities, said Ms. Frost. “Not just like being on Facebook or doing random radio ads; making sure your actual target customers are hearing what you’re talking about. And that can even go a step further by being involved in a trade organization, a Chamber of Commerce and/or like signing up for these directories,” she explained. The Central Ohio African-American Chamber of Commerce has available a list of 400 Black entrepreneurs in the state.

It is important to bridge the gap between Black businesses and consumers, said advocates.

There are several avenues promoting Black businesses folks can find via apps, online and print directories and of course, word of mouth.

And while Black businesses must do their part, so must Black consumers. “The consumer is always going to do their part which is to spend but unfortunately they’re not aware of our existing Black-owned businesses,” said Cedric Muhammad. He touted Maggie Anderson, who made headlines several years ago when she and her family only patronized Black-owned businesses in Chicago for a whole year. “Maggie Anderson laid the blueprint for what every person in the city has to do. So we need to know where to go, where the existing businesses are, so we can do better patronizing them and then we have to support them not just with our consumption dollars. The Hon. Elijah Muhammad didn’t want a nation of consumers, he said he wanted a nation of producers. We should be a nation of producers and employers and so these businesses need loans and they need equity investments, they just don’t need consumption though consumption would help a lot,” said Cedric Muhammad.

“As consumers, we have to do a better job spreading the word, not just the bad experiences but the good experiences too and doing a better job of spreading the good gospel that way more of us can support these businesses,” said Ms. Frost.

“We’re not in the beginning stages of it but we’re trying to get back to connecting with each other so it’s happening in silos. For the chamber we’re trying to make it kind of an umbrella effort to pull together everything we own so that we can all support each other.”

Administration went “dark” over the 8a Program. Black procurement levels at the time George W. Bush left office were over 8 percent. When Obama finished his two terms it had been reduced to a little over 1 percent. People, we are talking billions of dollars extracted from our communities.

SBA Regional Administrator Ashley Bell spoke at our recent Annual Conference and emphasized the reduction in Black procurement due to the reduction in active Black 8a firms. The same can be said for SBA business loans. It was just devastating and most of the Black community does not know what “hit” them.

What was particularly “salt in the wounds” was that the SBA under the Obama Administration became very hostile towards Black business. At one point, the SBA would reject our emails to them.

They took their budgets for funding development grants away from Black associations and tossed them around to nonBlack groups. There was pure hatred over there during those eight dark years. How could Blacks do this to other Blacks in the 21st century?

Let’s get busy with turning this atrocity around. We must encourage the White House and federal agencies to quickly “pick up the pieces” and bring the 8a Program back to life and with vigor and updated goals. If Black firms could attain at least 5 percent in procurement contracting with the federal government that would mean $25 billion dollars annually infused into our economic base. There is a federal election coming in 2020 and we must make significant improvement while that environment exists. It is time for Blacks to address each political candidate with that great quote from Chaka Khan—“What Cha’ Going to do for Me.” (Harry Alford is the co-founder, president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce ®.

Kay DeBow is the co-founder, Executive vice president of the Chamber.)

The lost story of Johnson’s empire JOHNSON FROM B1

editor told Johnson, “Boss, do you know what you’re doing? Do you know how many White people you’re going to anger and all the things they can do to you?” Johnson replied, “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m going to do it anyway. You have to dare to do things you’re afraid to do.”

The book also includes information about Johnson Publishing Company’s ventures and how they promoted the careers of some of America’s most successful Blacks.

Aretha Franklin served as the first celebrity spokesperson of the Ebony Fashion Fair Cosmetic line. Former Vogue Editor-at-Large Andre Leon Talley got his start in 1982 after Eunice Johnson hired him as fashion editor at Ebony. In 2003, a new section in Jet called “In the Spotlight,” highlighted a rising entertainment mogul named Tyler Perry.

The book also touches on the funeral of JHJ, where the absence of Oprah Winfrey was noticed by some mourners. She sparred with then Chicago Defender Executive Editor Roland Martin, who mentioned it in the newspaper.

The book also mentions Johnson Publishing’s challenges in its early days.

White companies initially didn’t place advertisements in Ebony and Jet. Because high end stores like Neiman Marcus and Marshall Fields did not carry its cosmetic products for five years. Ebony Fashion Fair lost $1 million before it turned a profit. And for a fruitless 10 years, Johnson sent an advertising representative to Detroit every week for 10 years before Johnson Publishing got its first automobile account.

Those hard days gave way to the gilded era of Johnson Publishing, which in addition to Ebony, Jet and Fashion Fair, included radio station WJPC, the travel service Ebony-Jetours, as well as a book division that produced 42 books. They include the “EBONY Cookbook,” The “EBONY Book of Black Achievement” and Executive Editor Lerone Bennett Jr.’s “Before the Mayflower,” which was one of the division’s best sellers.

After being reminded of the company’s storied past and extraordinary achievements by Christian’s book, there is pride but also pain from the present day fall of Johnson Publishing Company.

John H. Johnson died in 2005. His wife died in 2010. This summer, Johnson Publishing filed bankruptcy after years of decline under Chairman Linda Johnson Rice.

In 2010 and 2017, the headquarters that John H. Johnson built on storied Michigan Avenue was sold twice, before 3L Real Estate converted the building into modern apartments. In 2016 Ebony and Jet were sold to the Clear View Group, which has since let go of most of its writers. Johnson Publishing Company’s prized, four million photographic archives collection last month was sold for $30 million to four foundations Empire doesn’t provide much inside detail about the decline of Johnson Publishing Company, but says without John Johnson’s ongoing vision, many “believed that mismanagement and poor leadership rerouted the company’s course.”

In an interview with the Crusader, Christian said amid the negative publicity about Johnson Publishing Company, her book aims to preserve the legacy and positive achievements that established John H. Johnson as a pioneering entertainment mogul who dared to dream big.

(Empire: The House that John H. Johnson Built can be purchased on Amazon for $15.39 paperback or $17.82 hardcover.)

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

B3

Five years after Michael Brown’s death: Despite visible progress, racial disparities persist in Ferguson

Guest Editorial

Lest we never forget our past The work of the Commission on the 400 Years of African American History culminated last weekend in Hampton, Virginia, at Fort Monroe. Hundreds of observers of this moment in history participated in a host of programs aimed to fulfill Congress’s mandate to “recognize and highlight the resilience and contributions of African American’s since 1619,” the year of the arrival of the first Africans brought to America as slaves.

For many, this is a painful history, filled with the realities of the evil deeds of White people who looked upon African men, women, and children, not as humans, but merely as property brought to America to build a country solely for their benefit. The legacy of the institution of 400 years of slavery in the U.S. still runs deep in our society’s DNA, particularly among whites who are literally fighting to hold onto their misperceptions of superiority and among Blacks who keep on fighting to unclamp the institution’s bars on their human and civil rights.

The painful and discomforting experiences brought on by last weekend’s reenactment of the slave ships bringing the first group of Africans to shore which multiplied to millions, or the early sunrise African Naming Ceremony at Buckroe Beach reminding us of our ancestral past, are just two events exemplifying just how far we, as Americans and African Americans,a have come.

Keeping our head in the sand and refusing to revisit the past, no matter how awful it was, is not the way to move forward. This commemoration is a demonstration of the strength, faith and resilience of the African that still flows through the blood of generations today.

This rich and relevant history is not being taught in our classrooms and, increasingly, students are asking “why not?” How is it, they ask, that the stories about our contributions toward the making of America are only relegated to one month, a side-bar, or a special edition?

No one could have said it better than James Weldon Johnson when he and his brother wrote the Negro National Anthem, which prophetically describes the meaning and purpose for this 400-year commemoration. He wrote: “Stony the road we trod, bitter the chast’ning rod, felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet, come to the place on which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, here now we stand at last, where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.”

(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

Founded 1910

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

Rob Taylor Jr.

Jeff Marion

Office Manager

Managing Editor

Circulation Consultant

John. H. Sengstacke

Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—“The city’s personal-responsibility refrain… reflects many of the same racial stereotypes found in the emails between police and court supervisors.

This evidence of bias and stereotyping, together with evidence that Ferguson has long recognized but failed to correct the consistent racial disparities caused by its police and court practices, demonstrates that the discriminatory effects of Ferguson’s conduct are driven at least in part by discriminatory intent in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.”—U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, March 2015 Five years ago, a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer shot and killed unarmed Black teen Michael Brown, bringing national attention to Ferguson Police Department’s shocking pattern of racial profiling and excessive force.

In a town that is a third White, African Americans accounted for 85 percent of traffic stops, 90 percent of tickets and 93 percent of arrests, according to Justice Department report released seven months after Brown’s death.

Ferguson Police used force almost exclusively on African Americans.

They regularly stopped Black drivers without probable cause.

Ferguson officials circulated racist jokes on their government email accounts.

Five years later, the Ferguson has shown some signs of improvement.

There are now six Black members of the City Council, compared with only one in 2014. The Police Department has gone from three Black officers out of 53 to about two dozen

as likely as other motorists to be stopped.

Ferguson has not yet identified a Consent Decree Coordinator, according to the independent monitor appointed in 2016 as part of a settlement between the city and the Justice Department. “Although the Monitoring Team published a Workplan in the Fall of 2018, it has not received regular updates from the City with respect to progress on that plan because no sole individual within the City is responsible for updating the Workplan and notifying the Monitoring Team about advancement in particular areas,” according to the monitor’s most recent report.

The economic news is even worse.

According to the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the median White household income was more than twice the median Black household income in 2017, a slightly wider gap than in 2010.

Disparity in the poverty rate in St. Louis County has grown as well, driven mainly by flat income growth for Black households versus increases in white income.

We commend the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and its outstanding leader, Michael McMillan, for their work in tackling economic disparities in the region, and agree with his assessment that the work is a “marathon as well as a sprint.” As he has said, “A concerted, dedicated effort has to be spent on changing these disparities, and that the job is not done. So we have to stay the course from the governmental, notfor-profit, corporate, business and civic communities in order to fix those wrongs.”

Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal Black officers, including a Black chief, Jason Armstrong.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, which transformed the location of a burned-out into the Ferguson Empowerment Center, has just announced a new $5 million investment to build a strip mall that will include a bank, a restaurant, a minority business incubator and a home health-care company.

Save Our Sons, the workforce development program that operates out of the Empowerment Center, has connected more than 750 men with jobs in the Ferguson area since it opened in 2017. A new partnership with First Financial Federal Credit Union will provide auto loans, credit counseling, checking and savings accounts to members of Save Our Sons and other local residents.

But stark racial disparities persist not only in Ferguson but in the wider St. Louis region, both economically and in the criminal justice system.

The disparity in traffic stops in Ferguson actually has widened drastically, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s office. The rate of stops of Black drivers has increased by five percentage points since 2013, while it has dropped 11 percentage points for White drivers. Statewide, Black motorists were nearly twice

I’m just asking!

(Trice Edney Wire.com)—I know you’ve been giving the 1619 Project some thought. How can we not be interested in what happens to Black people in America, as well as on the way to America 400 years ago when our first ancestors were brought from Africa to Port Comfort in Virginia. There’s something ironic about being brought to a place called Port Comfort and being treated so viciously. The horrors escalated there and many of them are still happening. There are repercussions present from the whole enslavement project that was/is still sanctioned by our government.

I’ve been noting the discussion of psychiatrists about the status of Donald Trump’s mental health. It’s scary, but we’ve been warned by psychiatrists who exercised their duty to inform us.

As much as people sing about this being the “land of the free, and the home of the brave,” the first part of that phrase is not true for Black people even if a few of us have been allowed to live comfortably without showing any responsibility for the rest of Black people who’ve been wounded by the circumstance of enslavement. I include all of us as not being free because I believe as Solomon Burke sang, “None of us are free, til all of us are free.” I often hear people say we’re the land of equal opportunity, but that is an incomplete sentence unless you add something about “except certain people that

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary America has held in bondage for 400 years.”

If this were the land of the free and equal opportunity for all, why was Jim Crow necessary and why are Black people still impacted by it? Why was there the Tulsa Massacre just as Black people built up their businesses, their wealth, their community? Why did we need Brown v. Board to give our children better educational opportunities and why didn’t we have the right to learn to read before that?

Why would two duly elected Congresswomen of color have to get Donald Trump’s and Benjamin Netanyahu’s permission to travel anywhere? Was there a written rule that says they could only travel with a White male led group or not at all? Why does Israel get $142 billion of our tax dollars while Black people get nothing to repair the damage deliberately done to our ancestors and ultimately to us?

Didn’t perpetrators know the horrible things they did to our ancestors would be handed down to us and

that past denials would prevent generations to have the ability to accumulate wealth and for so many to live in poverty?

Why do we still have such a high rate of police brutality against Black people? Why are there great efforts to suppress our vote after Black people were denied any voting rights for hundreds of years?

Why do we still have to face so many statues of White men who were responsible for our ancestors’ enslavement and the problems that still resonate today? Why was Colin Kaepernick punished so harshly for peacefully protesting against racial injustice? Why is White supremacy on the rise so soon after the successful term of President Barack Obama?

I’m tired of hearing people, including Black people, say about America, “This is not who we are.”

Really? On this 400th anniversary of our being in this country, Black people have always been treated inhumanely.

Thank you to the New York Times for taking a new look at slavery’s origin and its legacy. Let us take a new look, too, so we can understand what America is as opposed to what she claims to be. Let us not be fooled by “Make America Great Again” because that implies America was once great for all of us.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is president of the National Congress of Black Women. 202/6786788; www.nationalcongressbw.org.)

The significance of the 1619 Project (TriceEdneyWire.com)—On Sunday, the New York Times unveiled “The 1619 Project,” a journalistic series in the Sunday magazine that seeks to tell the “unvarnished truth” about slavery and its impact on America’s history. In 1619, just 12 years after the founding of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, the Jamestown colonists bought the first slaves, 20 to 30 enslaved Africans, from English pirates.

The Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, issued America’s founding creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights… among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As Nikole Hannah-Jones writes in her stunning introduction in the New York Times Magazine, at 43, she is part of the first generation of Black Americans in the history of this country to be born into a society in which Blacks had equal rights of citizenship. Blacks suffered under slavery for 250 years, and brutal racial apartheid for a century more. We have been legally free for just 50.

Americans prefer not to face this reality. Our history classes address it gingerly, if at all. Even as President Donald Trump and cynical politicians stoke racial divisions for po-

discrimination; not simply on race, but on gender, nationality, religion and disability. Without the idealistic and patriotic struggle of Black Americans, as Hannah-Jones notes, “our democracy today would most likely look very different—it might not be a democracy at all.”

Recently, Ken Cuccinelli, Trump’s acting director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services, sparked litical profit, we too often look away outrage when he brazenly rewordfrom it. Trump has recently decided ed Emma Lazarus’ famous poem to make four young, newly elected found at the foot of the Statute of congresswomen of color a central Liberty that reads “give us your target of his already launched camtired, your poor, your huddled paign for re-election, scorning them masses yearning to breathe free…” as un-American, suggesting that if What Cuccinelli probably had no they don’t like America, they should clue about is that the Statute of go back to where they came from.

Liberty was a gift to the people of This though all four are American the United States from the peocitizens, and three were born right ple of France and was dedicated here. in 1886 to celebrate the national Trump is poisonously invoking the abolition of slavery. old lie of slavery and segregation It is the figure of Libertas, the that people of color are somehow not Roman goddess of freedom. A broken real Americans. Yet, as Roger Wilkins shackle and chain lie at her feet as wrote in his book “Jefferson’s Pillow” she strides forward, commemorating and Hannah-Jones in her introducthe abolition of slavery in 1865, an tion, it is the freedom struggles of abolition that turned out to be the Black Americans that propelled the first step in America becoming in cause of equal rights for everyone. fact, as well as in word, the land of The Constitution excluded women, the free. In telling the “unvarnished Native Americans and Black people, truth” of slavery, we will face the and did not provide the right to vote horrors of our past, as well as the trito most Americans. umph of our progress. It is a telling It is the laws born out of the civil that is long overdue.

(Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is president/CEO of rights movement that extended the right to vote to everyone and banned the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition.)

Jesse Jackson Sr.

Commentary

CLASSIFIED New Pittsburgh Courier

B4

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Help Wanted

Legal Notices

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER

FICTITIOUS NAME REGISTRATION

needed for grades K-5th grades.

Please send resume and all clearances to jobs@urbanacademy pgh.org or via mail.

REGIONAL TOCQUEVILLE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, MAJOR GIFTS PROGRAMS United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Office

UWSWPA is seeking an experienced major gift development officer to be responsible for managing a portfolio of Tocqueville Society members (donors contributing $10,000+ annually) and planned giving donor relationships.

This work will include, but not be limited to, developing and managing relationships with specific assigned donors and prospects with the capacity to give $10,000 or more on an annual basis. This officer will focus 75% of their time within Allegheny County and 25% of time in Butler and Westmoreland Counties.

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience. Five plus years of non-profit fundraising experience, with at least three of those years in a role focused on major gift identification, cultivation, solicitation, and recognition. 3- 5 years of experience with various types of planned giving instruments preferred.

Visit our website at https://uwswpa. org/careers/ to view job description and apply for this position. Submissions will only be accepted electronically.

The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity, serving Allegheny, Butler, Westmoreland, Fayette and Southern Armstrong counties.

LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

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.

Estate of ADAM M. SCHAIBLE, Deceased, of Pittsburgh, No. 04311 of 2019, Molly Hyatt, Administrator, c/o Molly Hyatt, 4030 Deer Run Drive, Knoxville, TN 37912, or Judith Anderson, Esquire, POB 17497, Pittsburgh, PA 15235.

Estate of MR. MARTIN R. SAVKA, Deceased, of 2008 Carey Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. Estate No. 02-19-05232 Mr. Martin E. Savka, 820 Thompson Avenue, McKees Rocks, PA 15136, Administrator, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108.

Estate of ANTHONY M. SALVI, Deceased, of McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania No. 02-19-05013 Jodi L. Neel and Angela M. Kilbert, Co-Administrators, 1317 Patterson Avenue, McKeesport, PA 15132 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Attorney, BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC, 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of LOUIS W. MEASSICK, Deceased, of Cannonsburg. No. 04925 of 2019. PNC Bank, 300 Fifth Avenue, FL 31, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or to James J. Bowman, McKinley Bowman & Bowman Attorneys, 429 Washington Avenue, Suite 1, Bridgeville, PA 150172350.

Notice is hereby given pursuant to the provisions of the Fictitious Names Act of Pennsylvania that an application for registration of a fictitious name (was/will be) filed with the the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the conduct of a business under the fictitious name of Jolly’s Hot Dogs with its principal office or place of business at Corner of Fifth & Wood Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. The names and addresses, including street and number, if any, of all persons who are parties to the registration are: George L. Jolly, 4015 Portman Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15214.

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

SONNY BOY

2 8 6

0 5 3

9 1 4

REQUEST FOR BIDS AUTO INSURANCE

The Westmoreland County Housing Authority (WCHA) is requesting bids for Auto Insurance for its fleet of vehicles.

Sealed bids will be received by Michael L. Washowich, Executive Director, until Friday, September 20, 2019 at 10:00 A.M. (Eastern Standard Time) at the office of the Westmoreland County Housing Authority, 167 South Greengate Road, Greensburg, PA 15601, at which time they will be opened publicly.

Interested respondent can obtain hard copy bid documents from the WCHA Administration Office at the address listed above. Electronic Bid Documents can be obtained by emailing Rachel Fritz at rachelf@ wchaonline.com. Perspective Bidders shall register with WCHA via email in accordance with the bid requirements.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE CONTRACT N0. 1720 Sealed Bids for CONTRACT 1720 -Replacement of Fluid Bed Incinerator #1 Manifolds shall be received at the office of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15233, until 1:30 P.M., Prevailing Time, Thursday, September 19, 2019 and then shall be publicly opened and read.

ALCOSAN encourages businesses ovvned 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.

A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at the Authority’s Plant on Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 10:00 A.M, Prevailing Time. Prospective bidders are encouraged to attend the Pre-Bid Conference.

Contract Documents may be examined and obtained at the office of the Authority. A non-refundable fee of $100.00 (no cash or credit cards will be accepted) will be charged for each set of Contract Documents received. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Certified Check or Bid Bond in the amount of 10% of the Bid Price.

Any questions regarding the Contract Documents should be submitted in writing to Jeffrey S. Mazza, P.E., Mechanical Engineer at jeffrey. mazza@alcosan.org.

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

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Kimberly Kennedy, P.E.

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS

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

Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 140 E-mail:

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

It’s HOT outside…

So why not have the Courier delivered to your house?

Special Summer rates 6 months = $25 $20 1 year = $45

$35

Call the Courier’s Brenda Hill at 412-481-8302, ext. 134 with the code word: SUMMER SPECIAL Promotion ends September 20, 2019

SONNY BOY

FORUM

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Will you answer the call for moral revival?

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—I cannot overstate my tremendous admiration for Rev. William Barber. Our connection goes back to North Carolina when I was the President of Bennett College, and he led the state NAACP. His daughter, Sharrelle, graduated from Bennett in the spring before I assumed the Presidency and as student body president, she served on the search committee that selected me. So he’s a friend of long-standing.

In the years since our North Carolina time, I’ve watched this brother grow in his profound leadership, galvanizing people all over the nation around a moral agenda for our country. When we see already-weak bonds of civility and community, both national and international, fraying, the movement to “build a moral agenda rooted in a framework that uplifts our deepest moral and constitutional values to redeem the heart and soul of our country.” In the past year or so, Rev. Barber has been building national momentum and plans mass action in Washington, D.C. on June 20, 2020.

We will be in the heat of the 2020 political election, a time when we must look at our nation’s future and its direction. Barber’s organization (which he co-leads with Rev. Liz Theoharis, is poetically called Repairers of the Breach. Its website is https://www. breachrepairers.org/, and it is worth checking out regularly, as updates on the 2020 march, along with other ac-

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary tivities, will be posted.

The Barber movement is optimistic and much needed at a time when an elected leader regularly picks fights with the heads of other nations, triggers a trade war, disrespects people, even his own appointees, with vile name-calling, and drips disdain for women, especially elected Black women and other women of color. We live in a graceless age, but Barber and Theoharis radiate grace. They are optimistic, patient, and movement building. They are inclusive, focused, and, most importantly, kind. They get this economy and its uneven distribution, but they also get race and the many ways it is foundational. The Repairers website says, “Our deepest moral traditions point to equal protection under the law, the desire for peace and among nations, the dignity of all people, and the responsibility to care for our common home.” In embracing and expanding the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Revs. Barber and Theoharis have asked Presidential candidates to consider a debate that focuses exclusively on poverty. Many have agreed, but others have not gone on record. With more than one in five African American families living in poverty, and wages relatively stagnant, a national conversation about poverty is more than overdue.

Indeed, the other conversation is one that drills down on what international economic fluctuations mean to the average person. Economic pundits have high-level discussions about the stock market (when half of all Americans own no stock or bonds), making people think they can make no difference in economic policy. But we can make a difference when we pass laws that provide a living wage, paid sick leave, affordable health care, and more. The Poor People’s Campaign and the Moral Budget give people tools to approach some of these economic issues. With his eloquence and his leadership, Barber has emerged as a national treasure and a lightning rod for economic transformation.

What will economic transformation look like? Is it possible for capitalists to make a profit and still pay their workers a living wage? It is possible to dismantle the predatory capitalism that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “thingifys” people in the name of profit? Do capitalists understand that consumers fuel this system, and paying consumers translates into more sales for them? And do predatory capitalists understand the ecological devastation they promote when they fail to embrace climate change?

Rev. Barber raises all these questions and more. For the next nine months, through June 20, 2020, he is moving around the country, addressing injustice, mobilizing people, and focusing on change. He has offered our nation a fundamental challenge.

Will you answer the call for moral revival? Four hundred years after the first Black folks were brought to these shores, a call to deal with systemic racism, economic injustice, the war economy, and ecological devastation is long overdue.

(Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist.)

Pittsburgh Courier, other Black newspapers were in vanguard of exposing racism!

Over the course of York City’s segremy life I have been gated public school Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick an avid reader. I system was worse started in elementhan Alabama and tary school and it Mississippi. progressed over the There are those years. My interests across America in covered a number every branch of the of magazines and media who cover library books, and every cough, tweet eventually all newsand statement that papers. At about the age of 12, I became President Trump makes. However, it is a newspaper boy delivering the Pittsapparent to me that the overwhelming burgh Courier about 65 years ago. This majority of coverage is more political was many years prior to computers, than genuine concern. These persons Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., have been effective in the Black cometc. In that period of time if you were a munities as we spend too much time newspaper reader there were two local and energy thinking and talking about daily papers, the Pittsburgh Press and Trump and too little energy and time Sun Telegraph. focusing on local issues that we can These publications never carried any influence. columns about the terrible acts of racThere was an occasion last week that ism being committed across this nation I picked up a newspaper and six Black daily. They could not afford to write persons were being questioned about about the terrifying acts of racism the plight of Blacks in the Pittsburgh because they, themselves, epitomized area. Four of the six responded by racism. It was impossible for them to talking about President Trump. I threw expose the acts of racism committed the paper in the trash can, because I by the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny had anticipated all six would reflect County, private industry and even on the conditions throughout Alleghreligious institutions. They would eny County where untold numbers of not hire Black employees and had a gunshots are heard, unemployment at a contract with a teamster’s union that record high, Black contracts are non-exwas proven by the U.S. government to isting, and we refuse to place the blame be controlled by organized crime and on those who have controlled this city would not allow Blacks to work at the before Donald Trump was born. newspapers.

If you are able to drive across the City There were families like mine that of Pittsburgh, South Side, North Side, could not wait until Thursday, the Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Strip, East Pittsburgh Courier would be coming Liberty, Oakland, etc., and witness OUR out. The Courier exposed atrocities TAX DOLLAR at work…but none of committed against Black citizens across us…don’t blame President Trump— this nation. The paper became the eyes blame it on those we have elected localand ears for Blacks across this nation ly, COLORED and White. and particularly here at home in PittsIt has never amazed me when persons burgh. on the payroll would state, “I need my If you are familiar with the movie job, I will do whatever I am told to do.”

“Green Book,” it was a movie of decepHowever, it is a tragedy when those coltion, because it should have applied ored persons who are elected state that not just to Southern cities, but ev“the Democratic Party comes before ery Northern city including upsouth those who elected them.”

(Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a contributor to the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New Pittsburgh Courier.)

Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and New

To Tell The Truth

‘Stand Your Ground’ law and acquitted assisted manslaughter In 2005 Florida enwas put into effect acted a law that ex- J. Pharoah Doss the law has been panded the right of invoked to protect self-defense. Critics drug dealers and of the law referred gang members from to it as a “shoot murder charges, first” policy, but and it’s allowed dissupporters called putes over lovers the law “Stand Your and personal posGround.” sessions to escalate In 2006, the NY into bloody murder Times said: The scenes without conFlorida law gives people the right to sequences. use deadly force against intruders enWith George Zimmerman, I guarantee tering their homes. They no longer need you his knowledge of these acquittals to prove that they feared for their safe- contributed to his bravado and reckless ty, only that the person they killed had behavior. intruded unlawfully and forcefully. The Between 2005 and 2019 there are a law also extends this principle to vehi- dozen more egregious examples of “stand cles. The law also does away with an ear- your ground” acquittals but, miraculouslier requirement that a person attacked ly, last week a Florida jury convicted a in a public place must retreat if possi- White man of manslaughter for shooting ble. Now, that same person, in the law’s to death an unarmed Black man in 2018. words, “has no duty to retreat and has The Black man ran into the store while the right to stand his or her ground and his girlfriend and her two kids waited meet force with force, including deadly for him in the car, but they parked in force. The law also forbids the arrest, a handicapped space. The White man detention or prosecution of the people approached the car and started yellcovered by the law, and it prohibits civil ing at the driver for parking in the resuits against them. served spot. The Black man came out Here are some examples. the store and shoved the White man to In 2006, Kenneth Allen was angry the ground, then the White man pulled with his neighbor, Jason Rosenbloom, a gun and fired. because Rosenbloom placed eight trash The White man’s defense attorney bags on the curb instead of the allowed actually said the unarmed Black man six. The men got into a verbal dispute. caused his own death by shoving the When Rosenbloom approached Allen, Al- defendant and placing the defendant in len shot him in the stomach. Allen told a vulnerable position, but video footage the police Rosenbloom tried to enter his proved, after the shove, the Black man home and claimed self-defense. Allen did not move forward or make another was not charged. threatening motion toward the White In 2007, Timothy McTigue and Mi- man, he was simply defending his girlchael Palmer got into a fight in Rivera friend.

Beach. McTigue claimed Palmer tried to Apparently, the defense attorney’s ardrown him. McTigue fatally shot Palm- gument makes sense under “stand your er in the back of the head while Palmer ground,” because the jury didn’t convict was climbing out of the water. McTigue the White man for killing an unarmed was acquitted. man unnecessarily. They convicted him In 2009, Jackson Fleurimon shot and because the “stand your ground” statute killed Lucus Termitus, because Termi- also states the shooter cannot have intus showed up at Jackson’s apartment stigated the altercation. (If the defense brandishing a gun and told Jackson not argued the initial altercation was beto sell dope on his side of the complex. tween the defendant and the driver and Fleurimon was granted immunity under the Black man initiated a separate violent confrontation, the defendant would “stand your ground.”

In 2012, the term “stand your ground” have been acquitted.) But all the “stand was brought to national attention when your ground” acquittals were the influ17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot ential factor in the defendant’s behavior, and killed by neighborhood watch co- and it was his incomplete knowledge of ordinator George Zimmerman. (At first the law that secured his conviction not Zimmerman wasn’t arrested or charged the fact that he was wrong.

(J. Pharoah Doss is a contributor to the New with a crime.)

In 2013 the Huffington Post wrote, in Pittsburgh Courier.) eight years since “stand your ground”

Check It Out

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.

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

B5

Wilmer J. Leon III

Commentary

Rapper Jay-Z did not sell out, he bought in (TriceEdneyWire.com)—“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the wake of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and extrajudicial murder, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has struck a deal to lead the NFL’s endeavors into music and entertainment. This deal has caused a lot of consternation within the African American community. The issue now being raised centers around Jay-Z being a “sellout”.

What must be clearly understood is that Jay-Z is a capitalist. He did what capitalists do, he bought in.

Before he was Jay-Z, he was Shawn Carter.

He grew up in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, NY and was a drug dealer in his youth. By his own admission, his drug-dealing days prepared him for his current life as a sports entrepreneur and music mogul. “I know about budgets.

I was a drug dealer. To be in a drug deal you need to know what you can spend.” To Shawn Carter, drugs were just a widget or commodity whose sale presented no moral dilemma or conflict. Selling drugs was a means to an end. It’s the urban Horatio Alger story, from as he said, “grams to Grammys”. Shawn Carter sold out his community for his personal gain by selling drugs to his own people. Jay-Z, the capitalists, has once again increased his personal fortune by buying into an institution that has also shown little regard for the fate of Black people.

When asked where we are in the protest process and the significance of kneeling, Jay-Z gave a very Trumpian response: ‘’I think we’ve moved past kneeling and I think it’s time to go into actionable items…No, I don’t want people to stop protesting at all. Kneeling—I know we’re stuck on it because it’s a real thing—but kneeling is a form of protest. I support protest across the board…But now that we all know what’s going on, what are we going to do? How are we going to stop it? Because the kneeling was not about a job, it was about injustice.’’

Translation? Jay-Z supported Kaepernick in the moment because it was the thing to do.

Now there is an opportunity to get paid and as a capitalist, I’m about that paper.

In addition to helping the NFL with entertainment, Jay-Z will also consult with the NFL on matters of social injustice. Speaking of injustice…this opportunity for Jay-Z to work with the NFL only became possible after Kaepernick sacrificed his NFL career to protest against the real injustice of state sanctioned murder by the police. If Jay-Z were really down for the cause, wouldn’t he have stepped to the mic and told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he will work with the NFL on the condition that “Kap” gets a fair shot at making an NFL roster? He could have used that moment and power to put real pressure on the league.

But it’s not really about Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z. He is a metaphor. In the current context, Jay-Z is a distraction from the real issue… the dangers of Black capitalism. In Manning Marable’s “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America, Marable writes, “A decisive component of this underdevelopment process within the periphery is the nonwhite elite.” These elite play a very important role. They serve “… as a necessary yet dependent buffer between those who wield power and those who have none. Within popular culture, it is the nonwhite mouthpiece of the new order, articulating in the media and in the various aesthetic forums the ideals of the masters.”

As referenced in the opening, Dr. King was clear, “Power without love is reckless and abusive…Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice…” Jay-Z is wealthy and in some circles, wields a certain degree of power. However, given the example set by Kap’s protest and sacrifice, what part of Jay-Z’s deal with the NFL shows the love for the community and the demand for justice? This deal seems to be power without love, reckless and abusive.

When White capitalists team with Black capitalists, the Black community finds itself in a more precarious circumstance. The White capitalists will leverage the indifference and duplicity of the Black capitalists against the very community that the Black capitalist claims to support. “We don’t need to kneel anymore. It’s time to get paid.” Frederick Douglas told us very clearly, “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to (or get paid to do)—and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”

By focusing on Jay-Z we are losing site of the fact that Colin Kaepernick used his platform to call attention of historic and systemic problem in America, state sanctioned brutality and murder by the police. The NFL, the government and the media used their power to corrupt the message and demonize Kaepernick, costing him his livelihood.

As was the case with Curt Flood, Muhammad Ali, Dr. John Carlos and others before him, Colin Kaepernick will eventually be remembered for taking a stand, or in this case, a knee for justice.

Jay-Z will be remembered for buying in…and by buying in, he sold out.

(Dr. Wilmer Leon is the producer/host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Leon,” on SiriusXM Satellite radio channel 126.)

B6

METRO

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

African Americans recruited for banking jobs via BankWork$ BANKING FROM A1

Family Foundation based in Seattle. Les Biller, a former COO of Wells Fargo & Co., and Sheri Biller, a community activist and volunteer, launched BankWork$ in 2006. It operates in 13 other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.

It was designed by the banking industry to train people with employment barriers to become qualified candidates for entry-level positions such as tellers, customer service representatives and personal bankers. They receive soft-skills training, coaching and mentoring, information about career pathways, interview prep, and other hands-on activities.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Hill District residents to get trained in the banking industry,” said Pittsburgh Penguins Deputy Counsel and HR Director Tracey McCants Lewis.

“This is about more than jobs, it’s about careers in banking and beyond.”

The training is free to qualified applicants— meaning they are 18, have

a high school diploma or GED, and have no criminal record. Classes will be offered at the Energy Innovation Center and will run for eight weeks, beginning Sept. 1.

Mark Price, First Commonwealth CEO and chair of the PA Bankers Association, was impressed with the program’s success in Philadelphia.

“In 2017, the association signed an agreement with BankWork$ and graduated 140 individuals, 75 percent were hired the day they graduated,” he said. “The future of banking in Pittsburgh is bright.”

In addition to Citizens and First Commonwealth, support for the program comes from PNC Bank, Bank of America Corp., Northwest Bank, Dollar Bank, Huntington Bank, S&T Bank, and The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Recruiting is already underway. Buford said the effort will be robust and will include CareerLinks, various community groups and targeted outreach. For more information on the program, contact Partner- REPRESENTATIVES FROM CHASE BANK, at BankWork$, an initiative of Partner4Work. BankWork$ aims to help African Americans obtain banking jobs. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello) 4Work at 412-552-7090.

African American Chamber to present interactive Alzheimer’s/dementia workshops DEMENTIA FROM A1

interested in initiatives and we’ll have sessions on around healthcare, and home care and hospital care, they knew that. So it has and we’ll comment on recent worked out well,” she said. media reports about treat- “We are currently sending ment.” out notifiThe prications to mary differchurches ence is that and commudementia nity groups is a sympso they can tom and can get involved be brought as well. It’s about by a free and number of open to the factors inpublic, peocluding othple just have er diseases, to register.” and in some The first instances session will can be rebe held versed. AlzWednesday, heimer’s is a Sept.

11, progressive from 3-5 degenerap.m., at the tive disease DORIS CARSON WILLIAMS P i t t s b u r g h ch a r a c t e rLife Sciized by memory loss, con- ences Greenhouse, 2425 fusion about time or place Sydney St., Pittsburgh, and mood swings. It pri- 15203, and will be led by marily strikes individuals Dr. Jeannette E. Southover 65 and is currently Paul, Andrew W. Mathieincurable. son UPMC Professor and Williams said the univer- Chair of the Department sity contacted the Cham- of Family Medicine, Uniber because of the success- versity of Pittsburgh ful series of seminars on School of Medicine. To diabetes it held three years register, call 412-392ago.

0610. You must register “The Chamber is always by Monday, Sept. 9.

Bankston steps down, Hairston steps up Change in leadership at the Kingsley Association KINGSLEY FROM A1

“I’m trying to get in front of everyone, so I can hear from them how important Kingsley is, and if there are any gaps or weaknesses that need to be addressed.”

On a smaller scale, Hairston has made a few internal changes that align with his management style, which, he said, relies on communication and cooperation.

“It’s like we’re taking a cross-country trip and I’m just driving the Winnebago, but everyone else has a role,” he said. “Communication is critical to making people feel valued. I want to empower people in supervision roles to use their power—and I will support that.

The staff seems excited about some things we can get done in a short period of time—and if they’re excited, that makes me excited.”

For his part, Bankston, who led the organization for 22 years, said he has not retired, but merely stepped down as executive director.

“There’s a difference,” Bankston said. “There comes a time when smart people recognize the need to make room for some new ideas and new thoughts— there’s a lot of work that I’m still involved in that I

plan to continue and I’m looking forward to continuing it…but as I have said, I’m stepping down so that I can focus and concentrate on the things that I want to do—and leave the things that ‘have’ to be done to somebody else.”

come back to Larimer,” he said. “It was absolutely a demonstration to invest in the community when nobody else was. What we built here would have been welcomed in any neighborhood.”

He said the $10 million investment in the center sent

ing there.

And Kingsley’s wellness programming, family services programming and its education and training continues to prosper.

“The center is remarkable and important, not just because of what Kingsley has

THE KINGSLEY ASSOCIATION BUILDING, in Larimer.

During his tenure, Bankston’s greatest accomplishment was bringing Kingsley back to Larimer where it began as part of the Settlement House movement in the 1890s.

“We made a pivotal decision and commitment to

The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

Read us online! at...

a signal to others about reinvesting in the community—and that has actually begun with the $30-million Choice Neighborhood Grant which is bringing 350 housing units to Larimer, half of which are set aside for people already liv-

EDUCATION FROM A1

Photos by Thomas Sabol

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

done and supported under this center but because of all the other civic, neighborhood interests who have been able to use this space,” Bankston told the Courier.

“It’s an actual centerpiece in the neighborhood, a stable and reliable platform.”

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

B7

BACK

TO DAINNA GRAY, DEVON TALIAFERRO

12-YEAR-OLD TIONTAE

SCHOOL! PITTSBURGH OBAMA STUDENTS SHAKIRA, AYANNA

School is back in session!

PPS STUDENT MARJANI D. HOWZE-JETTER, center, with PPS employees during the district’s annual back-to-school event, Aug. 19, at Pittsburgh Obama. (Photos by Courier photographer Gail Manker)

GOTTA GET THE NAILS DONE…

LALONNIE DIXON, center, with daughters Nijah, left, and son Zayn.

DESTINI HAIR SALON—Davena, 11, gets her hair done by Charice Hundley.

YOU KNOW DREAMZ HAIR SALON in Homestead was in the building…

B8

AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER