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Helen Faison passes at 91 VOL. 106, NO. 29

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JULY 22-28, 2015

by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

After a career as a teacher, principal, superintendent and university chair that lasted more than 60 years, and inspired countless African Americans and women, Helen Faison has taken her final sabbatical. She died July 16, just three days after her 91st birthday. Hundreds filled Baptist Temple Church in Homewood for her funeral on July 20. Though born in Homewood, Faison moved to Virginia in 1924 after her mother contracted tuberculosis. She returned eight years later, HELEN FAISON eventually enrolling at Westinghouse High School where she excelled, graduating in 1942. Faison began her teaching career in 1950 at Fifth Avenue High School. She also SEE FAISON A5

Residents meet about Penn Plaza eviction notice Landlord agrees to delay by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

Even as residents railed against the owner of the Penn Plaza Apartments issuing a 90-day eviction notice, Urban Redevelopment Authority Chair Kevin Acklin was already negotiating a stay that would allow the residents to remain longer. “The owners don’t care,” said one resident who asked to remain anonymous because

CELEBRATING BLACK ACHIEVEMENT—As forward writer Candi Castleberry Singleton and introduction writer Chuck Sanders look on Who’s Who Executive VP Ernie Sullivan and Min. Marita Dennise unveil the cover for the inaugural edition of Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

Who’s Who unveiling blows up Twitter by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

Combine colorful speakers, a hashtag and more than 300 of Pittsburgh’s most skilled talented entrepreneurs, artists, medical, legal, academic and business professionals—all with cell phones—and what do you get? You get the official Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh unveiling party, which not only rocked the Herberman Conference Center at sponsor UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Pavilion, but also blew up on Twitter as honorees and guests celebrated the directory’s recognition of African American excellence. Following a sumptuously catered reception that featured music by the James

Pittsburgh Promise changes scholarship amount by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

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town—give yourselves a round of applause,” she said. “Getting our story told “Getting our story told has al- has always been hard. We need some conover telling our story—that’s why this ways been hard. We need trol book is so important. It’s a tool for honorsome control over telling our ing the community, for diversity, and it’s of your family legacy.” story—that’s why this book is part Before introducing UPMC Executive Vice President and CAO Gregory Peaslee, so important.” Hayes-Freeland pointed to the ‘tweets’ LYNNE HAYES-FREELAND flitting across one of the large screens at the front of the room, and told people to join in with #whoswhopittsburgh. Peaslee then welcomed everyone, and Johnson Trio, the program began with emcee and KDKA-TV reporter Lynne thanked Who’s Who for doing something Hayes-Freeland saying she was privileged no one else had. “Look at your program, at the sponto be there. “I’ve never been in a room with this SEE WHO’S A4 much talent. I salute you and my home-

In what supporters said was an effort to extend the life of the scholarship program, The Pittsburgh Promise has lowered the top amount it will award for college scholarships and will no longer pay for books, or room and board. Joined at a July 14 press conference by

Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Maxwell King, Promise Executive Director Saleem Ghubril said the changes are not the first, and are intended to reach the maximum number of students for the longest time. “We want to ensure students who are in kindergarten today will have a scholarship when they graduate high school,” he said. Beginning in 2017, the maximum annual

Rash of weekend shootings leaves 4 injured, 2 dead Target sues hero in by Ashley Johnson Courier Staff Writer

A number of shootings took place this past weekend that left four injured and two dead. From Larimer to the MarshallShadeland communities of Pittsburgh, neighbors heard gunshots. The violent weekend began on July 17 with the late night shooting of two Black males in the 900 block of Smithton Street in Marshall-Shadeland. According to a release from the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, a 21-year-old Perry North male was shot in the head and a 26-yearold Bon Air male was shot in the back, both were taken to Allegheny General Hospital. Reportedly, an argument that had began inside a Smithton Street residence had spilled onto the street. SEE SHOOTINGS A4

scholarship award—for students attending Pittsburgh Public Schools from kindergarten on—will drop from $10,000 to $7,500, for a total of $30,000 over four years. When first announced in 2008, the top annual award was $5,000. The other major changes include: •Eliminating the $1,000 annual award to SEE PROMISE A4

2013 store stabbing by Ashley Johnson Courier Staff Writer

A man who has been hailed a hero for assisting in the apprehension of a homeless man who stabbed a teen girl twice while in the East Liberty Target in March 2013, is now being sued by the corporation, alleging that his actions, along with others, brought a risk of harm into their establishment. Last week, Michael Turner, of East Liberty, took his story to the streets when he stood in front of the store with a handwritten sign that read, “Target Sues Stabbing Victim Hero.” He believes he is unjustly

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being sued by Target Corporation when he selflessly risked his life to save 16-year-old Allison Meadows from being stabbed further by Leon Walls and sees it as a “slap in the face” for his courage and a way for Target to pawn off their responsibility in the matter. Attorney Todd Hollis, who representing Turner at no cost, said the lawsuit is not just a “slap in the face” to Turner, but anybody who may try to help someone in need. “If you or I were standing in front of that store and we were watching someone get assaulted, are we SEE TARGET A5

SUED FOR HEROISM—Michael Turner, right, with his attorney Todd Hollis. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

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Plan to launch Brazil’s only slave memoir, revisit dark past

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JULY 22-28, 2015

by Adriana Gomez Licon Associated Press Writer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—Taken from Africa and sold into slavery in Brazil, Mahommah Baquaqua’s tale of escape to freedom in New York is the only known story of its kind, an in-depth, firsthand account of slavery in the South America country. But few in Brazil are aware of Baquaqua’s biography which, 160 years after it was written, is being published in Portuguese for the first time as momentum builds for the country to examine its complex racial past. A truth commission was established this year to investigate Brazil’s 350-year period of slavery. Next year, tourists coming for the Olympic Games will be able to walk a pathway marking historical sites such as a mass grave for slaves who died en route from Africa. A website about Baquaqua’s life will launch next month; work on a children’s book is under way; and school teachers in a northeastern state are being coached on how to incorporate him into their lessons. “We are seeing a lot of interest from the general public to know about this story,” said Bruno Veras, one of the researchers and translators working to bring Baquaqua’s biography to a Brazilian audience. “Brazil is essentially African but it does not feel that way,” he said. “The story of Baquaqua brings this new possibility for people to identify with this new character.” Before abolishing slavery in 1888, becoming the last country in the Americas to do so, Brazil was the world’s largest slave market. But modern researchers say earlier experts were eager to feed into the country’s mythology of racial democracy and spread a false notion that slavery in Brazil was benign compared to that of the United States. “It was cruel just like anywhere else. But it’s unknown to the population, especially to our Black population, our youth,” said Marcelo Dias, president of the Rio de Janeiro bar association, which set up the truth commission. Unlike in the United States, where thousands of slaves recorded their stories of bondage and freedom during the campaign for abolition, Baquaqua’s extensive account is the only one known to exist from Brazil. Baquaqua dictated his story, speaking in imperfect English, while living in Canada in 1854. He said he’d been born to a merchant family around 1824 in West Africa, in what is now Benin. While acting as a messenger and assistant for a local chieftain, he was captured in 1845 and shipped to a beach near Recife, Brazil. He was sold to a baker, whom he said would beat him even during church services. Later, he was sold in Rio de Janeiro to the captain of a merchant ship, which sailed in 1847 to New York, where slavery had been abolished. As he recounted, “the first word in English that my two companions (from the ship) and myself ever learned was ‘free.”‘ Baquaqua tried to escape as soon as the vessel arrived in New York but was jailed. He later broke free with the help of abolitionists and fled to Boston, then Haiti. Baquaqua later traveled to Great Britain, intending to travel to Africa as a Christian missionary. But any record of him after 1857 has yet to be found and it’s unclear what became of him. “The Biography of Mahommah G.

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FIRST HAND ACCOUNT—This photo courtesy of Bruno Veras shows an image of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua on the book cover of Baquaqua’s auto-biography published in 1854 and titled, “Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua,” (Courtesy of Bruno Veras via AP Photo) Baquaqua” was printed in Detroit in 1854 and the former slave went on speaking tours to promote the book, said Paul Lovejoy, an expert in African diaspora history at York University in Toronto who helped resurrect the biography for a 2007 edition. It’s not clear how many copies were printed, but the story circulated primarily among abolitionists in the United States, Lovejoy said. It never was distributed in Brazil, where printing presses long were banned by Portuguese colonizers. Many scholars believe the lack of slave narratives in Brazil kept the country from understanding its true history. The socalled Baquaqua Project, the drive to spread his story and further research his life, is part of a wide effort involving historians, artists and lawyers working to uncover the country’s past. The truth commission led by Dias could seek reparations from the state for what he said is a “historical obligation.” While Black people today count for half the population, giving Brazil more Blacks than any country beside Nigeria, 18 percent hold important positions in large companies, Congress, courts or the entertainment industry, according to a recent survey by newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Through partnerships with universities in the U.S. and Angola, the commission and others hope to access even more archives kept abroad that could help quantify how much the government gained by taxing slave traders. “Our role is to reopen old wounds,” Dias said. The idea to publish Baquaqua’s life story in Brazil came last year from Lovejoy, who knew Veras from their mutual work on a project to build an international database of slave biographies. Baquaqua’s story, Lovejoy said, “allows teachers to have an example they can talk about at a level kids can understand. It’s no longer an abstract concept.” The book will be released in Portuguese later this year. In August, Veras will launch a website to share information about Baquaqua and he currently is leading workshops in Pernambuco state to help teachers incorporate the tale in their curricula. An artist in Bahia is helping illustrate a version of the story for children. Brazil

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Week of July 22-28 July 22 1861—President Abraham Lincoln submits the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. The order freeing slaves, however, was not actually issued until Jan. 1, 1863. And even then it benefited very few slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the rebellious Southern states. But the federal government at the time did not have control of the South so no slaves actually went free. In the so-called Border States where the federal government did have authority, the Proclamation did not apply. About the only slaves who benefited were those who had already escaped and fled to the Union side during the Civil War. 1939—Jane Matilda Bolin becomes the first FLOYD PATTERSON Black female judge in America. New York City Mayor Fiorella LaGuadia appointed her a judge in the court of domestic relations. 1963—Floyd Patterson loses his heavyweight boxing title to Sonny Liston and Liston would later lose it to a young fighter by the name of Cassius Clay—later Muhammad Ali. 2001—Actor Whitman Mayo dies in Atlanta, Ga., of a heart attack. He was 71. Mayo is best known for his role as “Grady” in the popular 1970s television series “Sanford and Son.” July 23 1900—The first Pan African conference took place in London, England. Blacks from throughout the world gathered to plot strategies for bringing about rights for all people of African ancestry, independence from colonialism for African countries and international Black unity. This “conference” was the precursor of all the subsequent Pan African “Congresses.” Among the most prominent names present in 1900 were African-American activist and intellectual W.E.B. DuBois and West Indian lawyer H. Sylvester Williams. 1948—The Progressive Party Convention begins in Philadelphia. The convention nominates Henry Wallace for W.E.B. DUBOIS president and he makes the strongest showing of virtually any third party candidate in American history. More than 150 Blacks were at the convention and dozens ran for office on the Progressive Party ticket. They were attracted by the party’s call for an end to segregation, full voting rights for Blacks and universal government sponsored health insurance. The party was populated mainly by liberals and leftists. Wallace’s candidacy was even endorsed by the then relatively strong American Communist Party. The party came under vicious attack during the anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950s. But positions taken by the Progressive Party forced the Democratic Party to adopt meaningful changes in order to hold onto the Black vote. 1984—The first Black Miss America Vanessa Williams is forced to give up her crown as a result of the discovery of some sexually explicit photographs. She was replaced by the first runner-up (another African-American) Suzette Charles. Williams bounced back, however, and became a successful singer and actress. July 24 1651—Anthony (or Antonio) Johnson, a free Black man who had purchased freedom for himself and his wife, is awarded 250 acres of land in North Hampton,Va. Johnson was among the first group of 20 Black indentured servants brought to America in 1619. Indentured servitude was a form of slavery which allowed the person to either work for or purchase his freedom. After becoming free, Johnson became the first wealthy Black person in America. He even purchased five indentured servants of his own. He probably picked up the name “Johnson” from his original owner but in official records VANESSA WILLIAMS from the period he is simply referred to as “Antonio the Negro.” 1802—Famed French writer Alexander Dumas is born. He was the product of a French general and a light-complexioned Black Haitian woman. Dumas would go on to become one of the world’s greatest and most prolific writers. He is best known for his classics such as “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.” His Blackness caused him some problems in French society, but by and large his fame and the money from his books enabled him to live an extravagant lifestyle. 1904—This is the day it is believed that actor Ira Aldridge was born in Africa. He would come to America, learn English and German, and develop into one of the world’s most accomplished Shakespearean actors. He played the role of the Moor Othello on many occasions. July 25 1916—The Black inventor of America’s first gas mask, Garrett T. Morgan, made national headlines on this day when he and a team of volunteers used his invention to rescue 32 workers trapped in a gas-filled tunnel 250 under Lake Erie. Morgan called his device “the Morgan safety hood and smoke protector.” But it has become known simply as the gas mask. Morgan also invented America’s first traffic light. He was born in 1877, did most of his IRA ALDRIDGE inventing in Cleveland, Ohio, and died in 1963. 1972—Faced with possible exposure by the media, the federal government (specifically the U.S. Public Health Service) finally acknowledges its involvement in the horrific and immoral Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. During the experiment, 399 Black men (mostly poor sharecroppers from Alabama) were led to believe they were being treated for syphilis while the doctors and nurses involved (some of them African-American) were actually fooling the men with fake medicines in order to discover the long-term effects of syphilis on the human body. The “experiment” lasted from 1932 to the time it was exposed in 1972. Finally, on May 16 1997, President Clinton issued an official apology to the eight surviving members of the experiment saying, “The United States government did something that was wrong— deeply, profoundly, morally wrong…and clearly racist.” July 26 1847—President Joseph J. Roberts declares the West African nation of Liberia an independent republic. The nation was primarily founded by former U.S. slaves returning to Africa. Roberts, himself, was born in Virginia. Three factors were behind the founding of Liberia beginning around 1821. TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT Free Blacks were coming under increasing discrimination in America; pro-slavery forces felt the presence of free Blacks would encourage rebellion within the slave population; and friendly Whites (like those in the American Colonization Society— ACS) felt Blacks would never be treated fairly in America and should return to Africa. The ACS helped over 13,000 Blacks return to Africa with most going to Liberia. 1926—The NAACP awards its prestigious Spingarn Medal to Carter G. Woodson for his work in Black History. Indeed, Woodson became known as the “Father of Black History.” The historian, author and journalist founded Negro History Week—the precursor to today’s Black History Month. Woodson felt knowing true Black history would be an inspiration to people of African ancestry. He once wrote: “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” July 27 1919—The infamous Chicago Race Riot of 1919 begins. It would last for several days and require 6,000 National Guardsmen to put it down. The Chicago disturbance was the bloodiest of 25 race riots which took place in cities throughout the country. In fact, the summer of 1919 became known as the “Red Summer” because of the wide spread number of racial conflicts. In Chicago, the rioting was started by White gangs harassing the large number of Blacks who had moved to the city for wartime jobs created by World War I. In addition to harassing and beating Blacks, the White gangs invented “drive-by shooting” as they drove through Black neighborhoods firing rifles and pistols. Young Blacks formed mobs of their own and began retaliating. When it was all over 15 Whites and 23 Blacks were dead; more than 500 people had been injured and another 1,000 left homeless. July 28 1868—The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified formally making former Black slaves citizens of the United States. Many scholars consider this the most important amendment to the Constitution. In addition to making Blacks citizens, it contains both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. These clauses have been used to guarantee a wide range of rights for all U.S. citizens.The 14th Amendment was passed, in part, to overturn the “Black Codes” being adopted in many Southern states after the Civil War. The Black Codes were an attempt to give Blacks official second class status in America by, among other things, limiting their rights to vote, sue a White person or testify in court. 1915—United States Marines begin the first American occupation of Haiti. The official justification was that disturbances on the predominantly Black island might allow Germany’s Adolph Hitler to infiltrate troops into the Americas. But the U.S. invasion was driven in large measure by a desire to put down a popular rebellion which threatened the rule of Haiti’s dictator and American business interests. Over 2,000 Haitians were killed in the early weeks of the occupation which did not end until August of 1934. 1917—The NAACP organizes an 8,000-person strong “silent march” down New York’s Fifth Avenue to protest lynching and other brutalities against African Americans. The marchers were particularly outraged by the July 2, 1917 massacre of Blacks in East St. Louis, Ill. President Woodrow Wilson (considered by many Blacks to be a racist) had just taken America into World War I under the theme of “Making the World Safe for Democracy.” Many of the marchers carried signs reading “Mr. President, why not make America safe for democracy?”

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Obama says race infects U.S. criminal justice system by Damon C. Williams For New Pittsburgh Courier

PHILADELPHIA—Hours after announcing his administration had secured a multinational pact with Iran to limit their nuclear program, President Barack Obama told the NAACP national convention July 14 that race has always played an outsized role in incarceration. “There is a long history of inequity in the justice system in America,” Obama said in Philadelphia. “It’s important for us to realize that violence in our communities is serious and that historically has affected the African American community, which many times has been under-policed, rather than over-policed. “Folks were very interested in containing the African American community, which led to segregated areas, but within those areas, there wasn’t enough police presence. But here’s the thing, over the last few decades, we have also locked up more and more nonviolent drug offenders than ever before for longer than ever before, and that is the real reason our prison population is so high.” Obama said there has been a prison explosion in the U.S. over the past 35 years. “The United States is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Think about that. Our incarceration rate is four times higher than China’s. We keep more people behind bars than the top 35 European countries combined. And it hasn’t always been the case—this huge explosion in incarceration rates. In 1980, there were 500,000 people behind bars in America—half a million people in 1980… Today there are 2.2 million. It has quadrupled since 1980. Our prison population has doubled in the last two decades alone.” He added that some people should be in jail, including murderers, predators, rapists, gang leaders, drug kingpins. But some low-level, first-time, non-violent drug offenders should not be among those incarcerated, the president said. “Over the last few decades, we’ve also locked up more and more non-violent drug offenders than ever before, for longer than ever before. And that is the real reason our prison population is so high,” he explained. “In far too many cases, the punishment

ADDRESSES DELEGATES—President Barack Obama speaks at the NAACP’s 106th national convention at the Philadelphia Convention Center, on Tuesday, July 14, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) simply does not fit the crime. If you’re a low-level drug dealer, or you violate your parole, you owe some debt to society. You have to be held accountable and make amends. But you don’t owe 20 years. You don’t owe a life sentence. That’s disproportionate to the price that should be paid.” And people of color are paying a higher price than anyone else, the president stated. “African Americans and Latinos make up 30 percent of our population; they make up 60 percent of our inmates. About one in every 35 African American men, one in every 88 Latino men is serving time right now. Among White men, that number is one in 214. The bottom line is that in too many places, Black boys and Black men, Latino boys and Latino men experience being treated differently under the law.” Obama said he is in favor of reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing, and said he was hopeful of a bipartisan plan in Washington to address sentencing

guidelines. “Today, back in Washington, Republican senators from Utah and Texas are joining Democratic senators from New Jersey and Rhode Island to talk about how Congress can pass meaningful criminal-justice reform this year,” Obama said. “That is very good news. This is a cause that is bringing people in both houses of Congress together and created some unlikely bedfellows.” The president named unlikely alliances such as the Rand Corporation and Newt Gingrich, Americans for Tax Reform and the ACLU, and the NAACP and the ultraconservative Koch Brothers as examples of organizations and individuals that may have philosophical and ideological differences coming together over criminal justice reform. Saying that Americans can’t close their eyes anymore, Obama called for bipartisan action to revamp a criminal justice system riddled with inequities that result in unduly harsh prison sentences, particularly for minorities and cost the federal govern-

ment $80 billion a year for unwarranted mass incarceration. “In far too many cases, the punishment simply does not fit the crime,” Obama said. “Mass incarceration makes our country worse off and we need to do something about it.” He spoke one day after he commuted the sentences of 46 drug offenders, 14 of whom had been sentenced to life. Despite the new interest among Republicans in criminal justice legislation, not all GOP legislators saw the president’s commutations as a positive step. “Commuting the sentences of a few drug offenders is a move designed to spur headlines, not meaningful reform,” said Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, a member of the House Judiciary Committee who has proposed bipartisan legislation. In his address to the NAACP, President Obama acknowledged that racial inequality remains a fact of life in the U.S. “We made progress, but our work is not done,” he said. “By just about every measure, the life chances for Black and Hispanic youth still lag far behind those of their White peers. Our kids, America’s children, so often are isolated, without hope, less likely to graduate from high school, less likely to earn a college degree, less likely to be employed, less likely to have health insurance, less likely to own a home.” And part of that is by design, he said. “Part of this is a legacy of hundreds of years of slavery and segregation, and structural inequalities that compounded over generations. It did not happen by accident,” he explained. “Partly it’s a result of continuing, if sometimes more subtle, bigotry—whether in who gets called back for a job interview, or who gets suspended from school, or what neighborhood you are able to rent an apartment in—which, by the way, is why our recent initiative to strengthen the awareness and effectiveness of fair housing laws is so important. So we can’t be satisfied or not satisfied until the opportunity gap is closed for everybody in America. Everybody.” (The NNPA News Service provided additional reporting for this story) (Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune)

Bill Clinton accepts blame for excessive prison sentences

by Damon C. Williams For New Pittsburgh Courier

PHILADELPHIA—Former President Bill Clinton said he supported President Barack Obama’s plan to reform the nation’s criminal justice system, and assumed blame for crafting a bill that made matters worse. The remarks came July 15 in an address in Philadelphia at the 106th NAACP national convention. “The president spoke a long time yesterday, and very well, about this criminal justice reform, and I appreciate what he has done,” Clinton said. “But, here’s what happened when I took office. We had had a roaring decade of rising crime—we had gang warfare on the streets. We had little children being shot dead on the streets who were just innocent by-

standers standing in the wrong place. We had kids in Los Angeles doing drills in their schools to learn how to drop down and get under their desks because of people just doing random drive-by shootings. Violent crime had tripled in the previous 30 years and the police force had only increased by 10 percent. “So we put 100,000 more police on the streets so they could be tighter tied to the community and we passed the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban which had an ammunition on the clip, as I remember, of about 10 bullets,” Clinton added. “And we passed funds to give people something to say yes to in the after school hours, not just to say no to. But in that bill, there were longer sentences. And most of these people are in prison under state law, but the federal law set a trend. And that

BILL CLINTON was overdone. “We were wrong about that. That percentage of it, we were wrong about.” Prior to Clinton’s address, NAACP Chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock said the

former president “demonstrated his pragmatic leadership while in the White House” and said he looked forward to hearing Clinton “lend his perspective on some of the most impor-

tant civil rights challenges” of our time. “President Clinton comes to the NAACP’s 106th annual convention as not merely a humanitarian or a former president but as a friend,” Brock said. “Whether advancing civil rights nationally or combating human rights challenges globally, President Clinton has demonstrated the values of the NAACP over an arc of public service that is both long and wide.” Clinton’s comments were in step with comments Obama made during the president’s keynote address earlier this week. Obama said there is “a growing body of research” showing minorities are more likely to be stopped, frisked, questioned, charged and detained, and African Americans are more likely to be arrested. “The statistics on who

gets incarcerated show that by a wide margin, it disproportionately impacts communities of color; African Americans and Latinos make up 30 percent of our population; they make up 60 percent of our inmates,” Obama said on Tuesday. “And one of the consequences of this is, around 1 million fathers are behind bars. Around one in nine African American kids has a parent in prison,” Obama said. “What is that doing to our communities? What’s that doing to those children? Our nation is being robbed of men and women who could be workers and taxpayers, could be more actively involved in their children’s lives, could be role models, could be community leaders, and right now they’re locked up for a non-violent offense.” (Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune)

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Who’s Who unveiling blows up Twitter CONTINUED FROM A1

sors—leave it to Who’s Who. Who else could get Highmark and UPMC that close,” he said. “But seriously, I want to thank them for this testament to the depth and breadth of Pittsburgh’s Black community, and the 24 of our colleagues in its pages.” As she prepared to introduce the remaining speakers, Hayes-Freeland noted that none of her tweets had appeared on screen. Rod Doss, associate publisher of Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh, thanked the Who’s Who Publishing team for putting together the inaugural Pittsburgh edition. “It’s an honor to be associated with the people and the energy in this room,” he said. “This is a grand opportunity to showcase the talent in Pittsburgh.” State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, then congratulated everyone and urged them to go beyond the event, to exchange cards, and do lunch, and follow up. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Pittsburgh has a lot of good things happening now. “And a lot of it is because of the people in this room,” he said. Hayes-Freeland said she still wasn’t seeing her tweets. “Oh wait,” she said. “I’m doing it wrong—there’s no apostrophe. Oh well, here’s Valerie.” Valerie McDonald Roberts, the city’s chief urban affairs officer extended thanks from Mayor Bill Peduto and a challenge: “Mentor these young people.” De Lena Scales and Ernie Sullivan, sales and marketing manager, and executive vice president respectively, then thanked the sponsors—UPMC, Highmark, PNC, Univer-

sity of Pittsburgh, Urban Lending Solutions and Huntington Bank, before playing a special video honoring Pittsburgh youth called “Leaders of the Future.” Highmark Executive Vice President for Community Affairs Evan Frazier then thanked Who’s Who for honoring several Highmark employees. Following him, outgoing UPMC Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Candi Castleberry Singleton, who also wrote the forward for Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh, thanked everyone—including Highmark. “If I was feeling competitive, I’d say welcome to my house,” she jokingly said. “But this isn’t about any of that. This is about Pittsburgh and what we can do together. Today, Black Pittsburgh did something good.” Chuck Sanders, CEO of Urban Lending Solutions—the 14th largest Black-owned firm in the country—who also wrote the directory’s introduction, encouraged the youth present to get their education, because even though he played professional football, the NFL stands for “Not For Long.” He then introduced the Living Legends that have their own section in the directory: Alma Speed Fox, Bev Smith, Katie Everett Johnson, Patricia Prattis Jennings, Doris Carson Williams and Esther Bush. Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media, which owns Who’s Who, said the company came to Detroit a few years back and put out a directory and he wasn’t in it—so he bought the company. He thanked the sponsors, the advertisers and the people in the books pages. “Sometimes people don’t get recognized and it’s our job to pull out those hidden

gems so you get to see them in these pages,” he said. “We are not the people you see on the six o’clock news. We are much

more complex and more successful.” Then as cameras clicked and fingers texted, he unveiled the cover of Who’s

Who in Black Pittsburgh. “We are not only in handcuffs, we are CEOs and presidents,” he said. “Thank you Pittsburgh,

the next city’s going to have a hard time stepping up.” (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

THE LIVING LEGENDS—Rod Doss, associate publisher of Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh, left, and Ernie Sullivan, executive vice president of Who’s Who Publishing, right, flank the Living Legends. From left: Doss, Doris Carson Williams, Bev Smith, Patricia Prattis Jennings, Katie Everette Johnson, Esther Bush and Sullivan. (Photos by J.L. Martello)

Pgh Promise changes scholarship amount UPMC —Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh honorees from UPMC enjoyed the recognition. CONTINUED FROM A1

students who already have full funding; •Only paying for tuition and fees, not for room and board or books; and •Awarding funds for four years only beginning immediately after graduation, students deferring a year lose a year of funding. Additionally, the residency/attendance eligibility scale will be adjusted, with students enrolling in grades 1-5 earning 90 percent, in grades 6-8 earning 70 percent, and in 9th grade earning 50 percent. The changes are needed because The Promise has not reached its $250 million funding goal. UPMC’s donated $100 million over 10 years, but The Promise and its supporters have raised only $74 million of the remainder in corporate, foundation and individual donations. With the Pittsburgh Foundation acting as The Promise’s fiduciary agent, King said it is important for the city’s corporate community to step up its contributions. If the goal is reached, the changes announced will allow The Promise to distribute scholarships through 2028. But King was optimistic that it would continue beyond that. “I think there’s hope that we can have a continuous fundraising capability in this community to keep the Promise going forever,” he said. Though Ghubril said it cannot claim complete credit, The Promise’s latest annual report noted that through 2014, the school district’s graduation rate has risen from 65 percent to 71 percent since 2009, for Black students the rate has increased from 57 percent to 65 percent. However, The Promise has been criticized for not reaching enough of the district’s most at-risk demographic—Black males.

Overall, African American students have received just 38 percent of the scholarships. And even though Black students make up 68 percent of an extension program created to get borderline students above the 2.0 GPA eligibility mark, Black males account for only 9 percent of Promise graduates. This has led to calls for even more changes, including making the promise available to students with any passing grade. Ghubril said that would not happen. “Scholarships by themselves, regardless of amount, will not make students ready for post-secondary success. Only academic readiness will,” he said. “The factors that seem to hinder some Black males from meeting our minimum eligibility criteria are many, they are complex, and they are a national struggle. Some factors are schoolbased, while others are social, emotional, familial, economic, or healthrelated. The solution requires our entire community locking its elbows around our children and working tirelessly on rebuilding the foundational assets that all children must have in order to succeed.” In addition to the extension program—which will continue to pay for a year at Community College of Allegheny County, and for three more years at any instate college, university, or trade school for those who succeed—Ghubril said regional leaders are working with him on a “more collaborative support system for our most vulnerable students.” “We want to see more of them become Promise-eligible,” he said. “We will be able to share more details later in the year.” (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

HIGHMARK—Who’s Who in Black Pittsburgh honorees from Highmark enjoyed the evening and the honor.

Rash of weekend shootings leaves 4 injured, 2 dead CONTINUED FROM A1

Hours later, ShotSpotter captured several shots fired at the Sunoco gas station, located at 6481 Frankstown Ave., in Larimer. Upon arrival, authorities found 31year-old Paul Jones Jr. lying on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene. In the early morning of July 19, 25-year-old Maria Bruno was found fatally shot in the backyard of a home in the 900 block of Fordham Ave., in Brookline. She too was pronounced dead at the scene. While there were others in the home at the time, it is still unclear what happened. No one has been charged. Then later that evening, police spotted a 17-year-old

Black male laying in the street near the intersection of Minott and Sorrento Streets in Marshall-Shadeland. According to a release, the male was shot in the head and taken to Allegheny General Hospital where he was last classified as being in critical condition. Hours later, just after midnight on July 20, a 47year-old female from Carrick, according to a Public Safety release, was shot multiple times in the chest in the 900 block of Brownsville Road in Knoxville. Two Black males were seen running away from the scene. No one has been arrested in either of these incidents. A number of shooting inci-

dents also took place the prior weekend, July 10-12. Over those three-days, six shootings occurred; five in Pittsburgh, one outside of the city, in Allegheny County. Of the six, one was fatal. On July 10, Derek McCellan, 44, was found dead in a vehicle on Chambers Street in Clairton. He had multiple gunshot wounds to the head. When asked if there was a trend behind the number of shootings in the city, Sonya Toler, public information officer for the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, told the New Pittsburgh Courier, that while no one can truly explain why individuals resort to gun violence and no one particular

reason can be pinpointed, authorities are seeing a pattern of retaliatory shootings in regards to various matters, such as drugs, gangs, domestic incidents, etc. While shooting incidents seem to be all too frequent, Toler pointed out that the number of homicides that have taken place in the city thus far, which is 26, is down from last year at this time, which she said were 41. Although homicides are recorded, there is currently no data that captures the number of shootings when no fatalities occur. As of July 20 there have been 51 homicides that have taken place within Allegheny County.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JULY 22-28, 2015

METRO

A5

Target sues hero in 2013 store stabbing CONTINUED FROM A1

likely to help if we believe it’s going to put our own personal well-being in harms way? The public policy message that Target is espousing is harmful to anyone that might want to help.” On March 25, 2013, according to Turner, he, along with two other men, were standing on Highland Avenue when a homeless man named Leon Walls approached the group, stabbed his friend, Jobe Wright, and ran away. He said the group of men pursued Walls, trying to keep him in their sight for authorities. Turner said he and Wright got in a vehicle to look for Walls while the other ran after him. Because of heavy traffic, Turner said he got out of the vehicle on Penn Avenue, outside of Target, and as he was standing there, Rolland Smith came out and said “he’s is in here.” Turner said that he entered the Target, went up the elevator and saw Walls. He also said that upon entering he was given a bat by one of the men to hold-off Walls until authorities could come. Turner went on to say that he and Walls exchanged words, followed by Walls ramming a shopping cart into him, knocking him down. He said someone took the bat off of him and began chasing Walls. Walls then grabbed Meadows, who was visiting Pittsburgh from Tennessee, and stabbed her twice. Someone then distracted Walls while Turner and another man jumped on him, subduing him until authorities arrived. Walls was arrested and, according to reports, in June, found guilty but mentally ill of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. He was found not guilty by

reason of insanity for the stabbing of Wright. Walls has not been sentenced yet and is in the Allegheny County Jail. Meadows’ parents have filed a lawsuit against the corporation. In Target’s lawsuit against Turner, Walls, Rolland Smith and Wright have also been named as defendants. When contacted for comment on their lawsuit against Turner, Molly Snyder, group manager of Public Relations for Target, responded that “Target disputes Mr. Turner’s version of events” and cannot comment further because litigation is pending. “This could have happened to any of us. Any of us could’ve been standing inside the store when this guy comes in with a knife and he could have grabbed our babies, our sisters, our nieces,” said Hollis. “ That little girl could’ve been one of our relatives, so the fact that he (Turner) acted selflessly, risking his own wellbeing to save another person, that’s heroic to me. And the fact that Target would thank him by filing a lawsuit is reprehensible.” He said that Turner has limited educational and financial means and that Target’s intent is to transfer their irresponsibility for not

having adequate security to Mr. Turner. Turner said although he has “been through a lot” regarding the incident, including a pelvic injury sustained during the incident when a cart was rammed into him, reoccurring blood clots and long hospitalization at times, he said he does not regret risking himself to save Meadows from further injuries. “He (Turner) is struggling from day-to-day to maintain not only his health, but his financial well-being. For Target to do this is morally reprehensible and destructive,” said Hollis. “He is an inspiration to our community. Target came into our community with the understanding that they were going to help build the community up; clearly their actions contradict that earlier mandate. Picking on one of our community’s heroes will never instill justice in the heart and minds of our community.” Hollis said his next steps are to go over the complaint and file the proper motions. “The measure of a man is his willingness to help someone who can offer nothing in return. Michael Turner’s willingness to help this young lady and to save her life is nothing short of being a hero,” he said.

CONTINUED FROM A1

woman and was chosen as the director of the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute in 1999. Almost immediately, she achieved another milestone, taking a leave of absence from the Institute to serve as the interim superintendent for the city school district following Dale Frederick’s resignation. She was the first African American to hold that position. She was extremely professional, quiet, reserved and deliberate in her decision making,” said former school board member Mark Brentley. “Never raised her voice—she didn’t have to. She commanded that kind of respect— a true hero in public education. An amazing woman and an amazing career.” She earned her bachelor’s,

JULY 22—The August Wilson Center for African American Culture will host the portrait-based art installation, “Humanae/I AM AUGUST” at the August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. Through July 25, the project seeks 150 individuals to have their portraits taken for the art installation that will feature the faces of Pittsburgh. There exhibit will be installed Sept. 25 for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Gallery Crawl and remain displayed through August 2016. Groups, churches and organizations are also welcome. Reservations are required. For more information, call Deesha Philyaw at 412-3633000 or email deesha@kelly-strayhorn.org.

Financial Literacy Symposium JULY 25—The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh’s Bank On Greater Pittsburgh in partnership with Neighborhood Allies will host a Financial Literacy Education Symposium from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at Hosanna House, 807 Wallace Ave., Wilkinsburg. There will be several breakout sessions, a proclamation and a gospel concert with Minister Trini Massie. This is free and open to the public, and reservations are required by July 17. For more information, call 412-227-4191 or email BOGP@ulpgh.org.

Networking/Talent Show Luncheon JULY 26—Shelly Bryant will host a Networking and Variety Talent Show Luncheon at 1 p.m. at North Versailles Community Room, 1401 Greensburg Ave., North Versailles. Reservations are requested and food will be provided. For more information, call Bryant at 412-628-4958.

Basketball Camp JULY 29—P.R.O.M.I.S.E. will host the 5th Annual Jakim Donaldson Basket-

Residents meet about Penn Plaza eviction notices CONTINUED FROM A1

he feared eviction. “They’re not going to help pay for us to move, but they want that rent and if you miss, they can kick us out in three weeks for not paying.” He said the rent has increased $60 since he moved in, and now he can’t sign a

First Black superintendent Faison dies worked as a counselor at Westinghouse. In 1968, she became the district’s first female, as well as its first African American, high school principal at Fifth Avenue High School in 1968. Faison retired in 1993 and became a visiting education professor at Chatham University. She later became the education department’s chair-

Community Calendar Humanae/ I AM AUGUST

PENN PLAZA APARTMENTS (Photo by J.L. Martello)

ball Camp from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. at Oliver High School, 2323 Brighton Rd., North Side. For three days, through July 31, boys and girls ages 8-18 are welcome to this free basketball camp to learn necessary basketball skills. Lunch will be provided and campers must bring active gear and shoes as well as provide proof of income. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-3211019 or visit www.promiseonthemove.c om.

Fashion Show/ Pool Party JULY 31— B. Marshall Productions will host Pittsburgh’s Fashion Show & Super MODELS Pool Party from 5-10 p.m. at Sherwood Event Center, 400 Sherwood Rd., Wilkinsburg. The event will include celebrity hosts Vanessa Doss and Miyoshi Anderson, a Charity Basketball Game, a Fashion Show displaying various designers and other entertainment. Proceeds will benefit Stop the ViolencePittsburgh and the 2016 Juneteenth Festival in Market Square. For more information, call William Marshall at 724-205-9376.

Summer Enrichment Academy ONGOING—5A Elite Youth Empowerment will host a Summer Enrichment Academy from 68:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Park Community Center, 7300 Ridgeview Ave., Penn Hills. Every Friday through Aug. 28, youth ages 10-18 will participate in sports training, dance, peace building, personal awareness workshops and dinner. This is free and registration is required. For more information, call 412-867-5889. (To have items listed on Community Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or email: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

masters and doctoral degrees, all from the University of Pittsburgh, and after retiring from the district, returned to serve on the university’s board of trustees. She served as a member of the boards of visitors of Pitt’s education school and College of General Studies. The school honored her as a Legacy Laureate and with the Pitt African American Alumni Council’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 1993, Pitt established the Helen S. Faison Scholarship in the School of Education. In 2004, the Pittsburgh Public Schools named its new elementary school in Homewood for Faison. (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

yearlong lease. “So if it’s month to month—they can kick us out any time,” he said. The two Penn Plaza buildings were opened in 1968 by the late developer Pat Navarro Sr. using Federal Housing Authority low-interest loans. Sometime later, the Gumberg family’s LG Realty bought the site. The original federal loans, authorized in 1964, came with covenants that prevented redevelopment of the site for 40 years. The covenants expired in 2004, freeing the way for redevelopment. Shortly afterward, the company stopped longterm leases. Upon hearing of the 90-day notices, Peduto told residents he had contacted the Gumbergs, and told them to “take a breath.” Ed Gainey, who also met with residents July 18, said throwing people out who have few housing options is not right. “I want to see more affordable housing in East Liberty, not less,” he said. “We’ve got residents in their 60s who’ve been their for 40 years. Their doctors are here. You can’t just ship them to the Mon Valley. I’m

not against development, but I put people development first.” In 2010 the Gumbergs stopped leasing 70 of the 320 apartments in the two massive buildings. At $850, two bedroom apartments are going for just over half of what new apartments in the neighborhood rent for. Gumberg had planned a mixed-use development on the 7-acre property, but because it surrounds a cityowned park, Peduto has leverage above and beyond denying government financial support and zoning clearances.” “The park is our leverage,” he said. Jonathan Kamin, attorney for the developer said the company has agreed to rescind its eviction notices for 60 days. Peduto said he wanted to make this stand so other developers get the message that this is “not how we do business in Pittsburgh.” In addition to rescinding the evictions, Peduto and Acklin want the company to add affordable housing to their development plan and create a fund to help residents move. (J.L. Martello contributed to this story.)

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JULY 22-28, 2015

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

OPINION

Blacks should be involved in all sports

Guest Editorial

NAACP convention was a hit, but there’s still work to do By all accounts, the 106th NAACP national convention was a rousing success. The conference made news Saturday, on day one, by lifting a decades-old boycott of South Carolina after that state took down the Confederate battle flag from its Statehouse grounds. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore prosecutor who made news after recent riots there by indicting six police officer for the death of Freddie Gray while he was in police custody, was a keynote speaker on Sunday. Other guests during the week included President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and current U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The nation’s oldest civil rights group issued statements that were relevant and on point, echoing the president’s call for criminal sentencing reform, addressing economic inequity and promoting opportunity. But there is still work to be done. One of the challenges facing the NAACP may likely to be if it will lead or follow movements that sprung up this year, the year of Black Lives Matter. That movement rose out of the shock and rage of serial police-involved deaths around the nation in Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, North Charleston, Baltimore and even Philadelphia. The movement stirred the White House to appoint a commission to investigate 21st Century policing, and appointed Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to lead it. The NAACP has weighed in on underlying issues surrounding the rage, but the movement appears to have a life of its own. Still, the preeminent American civil rights group can focus light on matters of importance for Black people, but it’s not hard to wonder if the days of Brown v. Board of Education—the 1954 landmark case that led to national desegregation of schools— was a high-water mark seldom approached in an era where movements take a life of their own and leaders rarely sustain themselves. And then there are issues closer to home. The local (Philadelphia) NAACP appears to be headed back into stability under the leadership of new president, Minister Rodney Muhammad. But national leaders still remained silent on the bitter dispute that ousted longtime local president Jerry Mondesire last year after former colleagues filed a civil suit alleging he misappropriated NAACP donations. Even at a news conference this week, national leaders refused to discuss the subject. There’s an old saying that all politics is local. If in fact it’s true, maybe the route back to leadership of social movements nationally for the NAACP will take a local path. (Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

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 email to letters@newpittsburghcourier.com.

Pittsburgh Courier NEW

Founded 1910

Rod Doss

Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher

Allison Palm

Eric Gaines

Office Manager

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Ulish Carter

Ashley Johnson Associate Editor

Managing Editor

Jeff Marion Circulation Consultant

John H. Sengstacke Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

“What is important is how we represent you and the community. Baseball Clubs were for the elite and if we are not careful the game will be again only for the elite. We got to reach back into the inner city, to baseball is too boring and it is! Turning that around takes time and we are committed to doing it,” said Neal Huntington, Pirates general manager. Huntington spoke at the Pirates African American Heritage Day Luncheon recently about getting and keeping Blacks in baseball at all levels. This is something very dear to my heart after being a sports writer, and watching baseball move from number 1 in the Black community to almost off the radar. Basketball and Football have not just replaced it, but baseball in the Black community is almost the same as tennis, and swimming. Why is a mystery to me? Baseball the last time I looked is the highest paid sport and athletes’ careers are much longer with fewer injuries because it’s an easier game to play, and less physical. I’m not knocking baseball, but I am knocking the men who run the Little Leagues, Midget Leagues, all youth leagues, baseball and football. More emphasis should be put into baseball and less into football. There’s room for all three sports, as well as soccer and tennis. Just look at what Serena Williams is doing in tennis. Why aren’t there any Black men at least in the Top 10? And soccer, I take my hat off to Ambassador Sports Pittsburgh and Partners who held one of its Summer Camps at Josh Gibson field in the Hill District in an effort to get more Blacks involved in the number 1 sport in the world, Soccer. Once again, this is not a complicated sport and Blacks have the athletic ability and intelligence to play this game at a very high level and make tons, and tons of money at it. I would love to see a Summer Soccer League with communities such as the Hill District, Homewood, Manchester, Garfield, East Liberty, Braddock, Duquesne, Homestead, North Side and others with teams in it to get

Ulish Carter

Just Sayin’

as the animals under control. *** I’m still trying to understand the new National NAACP President Cornell William Brooks. Walking from Selma to D.C., what is it suppose to accomplish? “We are marching because we believe our lives, our votes, our jobs and our schools matter,” he said. He said the NAACP and the Black community is fighting for their lives. That the NAACP is not content to stand on its past but must be about the now, and the future. He called the 860-mile two-month march through five states “America’s Journey for Justice.” I hope he has put together a program to effectively fight for these issues after the march and speeches are over. We appear to be in a mold now for marches and speeches but no active program to confront and deal with these problems. Remember, if you watched the movie “Selma,” and every Black and White person in this country should have watched it. If you haven’t it’s available for rent or purchase where ever videos are sold or rented. But Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., always had a purpose for his marches. The Selma march was about Voting Rights. So the NAACP needs to focus nationally and locally on what they are demanding and go after that be it jobs, education, health care, voting or whatever. A lot of that effort needs to be directed at us, not just the White establishments. We don’t vote. We are killing each other on the streets. We aren’t supporting Black businesses. No matter who’s in office, Republicans or Democrats, Blacks are going to have to fight to make sure we aren’t forgotten. A backlash started when President Obama took office and there will be a bigger one when he leaves. So we had better realize that we have a long way to go in our equality fight, and marches and speeches are only the beginning, not the ending or the overall solution.

more Blacks involved in this sport. Back to baseball, the same is true. Little League baseball should last through the summer months of June, July, and August. Little League kids shouldn’t be touching a football until September. The summer should be about Baseball. The fall about Football, and the winter Basketball. You say what about the spring? Soccer. Since I’m on sports, I have to mention my colleague Bill Neal’s’ Overtime column. He listed Muhammad Ali as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He was right. But Mike Tyson ahead of Joe Louis? Please? Please? Please? Tyson was a carbon copy of Joe Frazier, which means Louis and George Foreman would have killed him. Could you imagine 5’10” Tyson walking into the 6’ 4” plus Foreman or Louis in their prime? Did you see what George did to Frazier, and Ken Norton, two of the greatest of all time? He hit them so hard he literally lifted them off their feet. My Top10 are: 1. Muhammad Ali, 2. Joe Louis, 3. George Foreman, 4. Larry Holmes, 5. Jack Johnson, a tie between Tyson and Frazier for 6th, 8. Rocky Marciano, 9. Evander Holyfield and 10. Sonny Liston. Liston probably would have killed Holyfield, Marciano, and Tyson but their reigns were more impressive. I agree with Bill, there are no quality heavyweights anymore. Maybe boxing is on its way out? *** Pittsburgh Police Officer Alphonso Sloan’s sketches featuring his anti-police brutality and abuse illustrates why there is such a great need for more Blacks on the police force from the com(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the munity and less need for suburban residents coming in to keep what they see New Pittsburgh Courier.)

Release low-level, non-violent drug offenders (NNPA)—Jerry Alan Bailey was sentenced to more than 30 years in federal prison for conspiring to violate federal narcotics laws. Shauna Barry-Scott was sentenced to 20 years for having cocaine in her possession and intending to distribute it. Jerome Wayne Johnson grew marijuana plants and was charged with intending to distribute marijuana. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Douglas Lindsay initially was sentenced to a life sentence for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, but early on his sentence was reduced to 24 years. Bailey, Barry-Scott, Wayne and Lindsay were among the 46 people whose sentences President Obama recently commuted. They are the lucky ones. There are 95,165 people—48.6 percent of all federal inmates—incarcerated for drug-related crimes, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (That’s triple the second-largest category that includes weapons, explosives and arson; 31,743 or 16.2 percent of federal inmates are confined on those charges). Another 210,200—16 percent—were imprisoned in state facilities on drug-related offenses as of 2012. President Obama’s commutations of non-violent drug sentences are a step in the right direction. By choosing nonviolent drug offenders, he highlights the draconian sentences that those committing these crimes receive. The American Civil Liberties Union says that of the nearly 3,300 people getting life sentences for petty crimes, almost 2,600 will spend decades in jail for non-violent drug offenses. According to AlterNet, thanks to the “three strikes” law, Tyrone Taylor got life for selling an undercover agent $20 worth of crack. Taylor says he was a

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary

It costs the federal government $82 per day or approximately $30,000 a year to support one inmate. If even only half of those who have applied for clemency deserve it, that’s a savings of $822,000 a day or $300 million per year. This is money that could go for all kinds of initiatives around job training, drug treatment and education. Imagine that, instead of incarcerating addicted people, they were sentenced to residential drug rehabilitation programs. President Obama has solid ideas for criminal justice reforms, but it is not likely that this Congress will pass any of them. So he is left working with presidential commutation, an inmate at a time. Is it possible to grant “mass” commutations for those convicted of relatively minor drug crimes, especially those who had clean records before arrest? In addition to saving lots of money, it would, in many cases reunite families. Strict conditions of probation would likely prevent recidivism. Nearly 150,000 children have mothers in prison, some for poverty-related, non-violent drug crimes. Some of these mothers desperately want contact with their children, and many of them deserve it. Most would gladly comply with restrictive probations conditions if they could just hug there child. It’s good that President Obama “gets it” when it comes to reforming the criminal justice system. Can he implement change more quickly than pardoning one non-violent offender at a time? There is no difference between Jerry Allan Bailey and Tyrone Taylor except that Bailey received the pardon. There are thousands waiting on a similar break. Let these people go!

drug user, not a dealer. Still he got more time than many killers would. Leland Dodd, 59, got a life sentence for conspiracy to traffic marijuana, and has already served 24 years in federal prison. Army veteran David Lincoln Hyatt had no prior record when he got a life sentence in 1993 for his role in a cocaine conspiracy. Now 65, he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and hopes to receive a compassionate release. Even the judge who sentenced him under mandatory minimum sentencing laws has advocated for his release. According to President Obama, we spend $80 billion a year on incarceration. In contrast, according the White House Initiative on HBCUs, these colleges got between $600 and $700 million from the Department of Education on grants and contracts. I applaud President Obama’s step forward in pardoning 46 non-violent drug offenders. Many of whom would have been better off had they been sentenced under the less harsh Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. After passage of that act, inmates were invited to apply for lighter sentences and about 20,000 did. The Office of the Pardon Attorney reviews these requests, and forwards those they deem worthy of commutation to the president. The 20,000 applications are delayed because of a “back(Julianne Malveaux is an author and log” in reviewing them. economist based in Washington, D.C.)

Trumping The Donald on immigration by Bill Fletcher Jr. (NNPA)—Watching Donald Trump being interviewed this past week was— for the few moments that I could take it—quite fascinating. What quickly became clear was that Trump will not let the facts get in the way of his opinion. Actually, he will dispense with the actual facts and create his own. Such was the case when it was pointed out that the number of murders committed by undocumented immigrants were less, as a proportion, than those committed by the general public. Trump simply said that the interviewer had her facts wrong; did not state counter-facts; and moved on. We have to remember that this is the same person who played to the worst, racist sentiments in the U.S. with his support for the Birthers, i.e., those who suggested that President Obama had not been born in the U.S. and was, therefore, not a citizen and not eligible to be president of the United States. The facts, including the provision of Obama’s birth certificate, were never enough to stop his gab. Again, the

facts are as he sees it. Trump’s anti-immigrant rant, while ridiculous, is quite dangerous. He is playing to right-wing, xenophobic forces in the USA who wish to portray immigrants as the source of the problems of this country. His blatant, antiMexican rhetoric, suggesting, for example, that Mexican immigrants bring with them crime, leads one to ask a simple question: What does Trump think about the people who migrated from Sicily? How about from Ireland? In both cases, notorious criminal organizations were either brought with the immigrants or were formed by the immigrants once they arrived. Does this mean that Sicilians and Irish were overwhelmingly criminals? Of course not, but that small fact is completely absent from Trump’s analysis. If he is not suggesting—and actually cannot suggest—that Sicilians and Irish were a bunch of criminals, then on what basis can he go after Mexicans? Trump’s opportunism is aimed at winning the Republican nomination or, at least, influencing the outcome of the

primary process. More importantly he is, regardless of intent, working to not only stoke the coals of xenophobia, but to make more coherent and legitimate, the right-wing, racial attack on immigrants of color. He may say that he has Mexican friends, but where have we heard that language before? Trump’s racist opportunism must be blunted and this means a combination of speaking out every time we hear his irrational words, as well as working to isolate him as one would a dangerous plague. Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter as well as organized labor need to join hands with immigrant rights forces in pointing out the hypocrisy and blatant racism contained in Trump’s efforts. These movements must also join hands in the fight for genuine immigration reform that recognizes the humanity of immigrants of color as well as recognizes that many, if not most, of these immigrants find themselves on our shores as a direct result of policies by the U.S. government and corporations, policies such as military interventions and free trade acts.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

How to reform the criminal justice system (NNPA)—There is no question that the criminal justice system is broken. President Obama made that clear recently in his address to the annual convention of the NAACP in Philadelphia. “The United States is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners,” he said. “Think about that. Our incarceration rate is four times higher than China’s. We keep more people behind bars than the top 35 European countries combined. “And it hasn’t always been the case—this huge explosion in incarceration rates. In 1980, there were 500,000 people behind bars in America— half a million people in 1980… Today there are 2.2 million. It has quadrupled since 1980. Our prison population has doubled in the last two decades alone.” On his visit to El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma, Obama said: “A primary driver of this mass incarceration phenomenon is our drug laws—our mandatory minimum sentencing around drug laws. And we have to consider whether this is the smartest way for us to both control crime and rehabilitate individuals.” He added, “…When we’re looking at nonviolent offenders, most of them growing up in environments in which the drug traffic is common, where many of their family members may have been involved in the drug trade, we have to reconsider whether 20-year, 30-year, life sentences for nonviolent crimes is the best way for us to solve these problems.” Of the 2.2 million people behind bars in 2012, nearly 1.5 million were in state and federal prisons and 744,500 were in local jails. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 38 percent of federal and state prisoners were Black, 35 percent were White and 21 percent were Latino.

George E. Curry

Commentary How do we reform the criminal justice system? The Sentencing Project, a Washington-based organization that works for sentencing reform, offering alternatives to incarceration and ending racial disparities, said a number of things can be done to end or reduce mass incarceration. In its publication titled, “Ending Mass Incarceration: Social Interventions that Work,” the Sentencing Project stated. “Preschool education for at-risk three and four year olds is also an effective prevention strategy…Head Start and other preschool programs produce both short-term and long-term benefits. This includes reduced engagement with the criminal justice system through the age of 27, along with positive school outcomes and reduced need for social services.” On juvenile justice, the report said, “Research shows that programs prioritizing family interactions are the most successful, probably because they focus on providing skills to the adults who are in the best position to impact the child’s behavior.” The community also has a vital role to play. “Studies have shown that organizational participation and informal social control mechanisms can address criminal violence at the neighborhood level,” the report said. “Community participation can help in supervising and monitoring teenage peer groups through social networks that facilitate adult and youth interaction.” In a July 14 letter to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the ranking member of the committee, a coalition of 60 organizations—including the Sentencing Project, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Council of Churches, the NAACP, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers— called for broad-based criminal justice reform. “In its 2011 report to Congress, the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that mandatory minimum sentences disproportionately impact communities of color and that African Americans received relief from mandatory minimum sentences least often, compared with Whites and Hispanics,” the letter noted. The organizations urged Congress to support reform that: Changes current federal law that allows a person with two prior felony convictions to have a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence converted to a mandatory life sentence; Allows past criminal records to be sealed and removes the lifetime ban on persons convicted of drug felonies to receive federal benefits such as welfare and food stamps; Makes sentencing reductions passed in 2010 retroactive; Expands the Bureau of Prisons’ Compassionate Release Program and Expands time credited for good behavior. “We note the importance of supporting initiatives that aim to assist in effective recidivism reduction and re-entry programming as well as provide opportunities for early release for individuals in federal prison,” the groups said. “Ninety-five percent of incarcerated individuals will return to our communities, and in the interest of public safety, we must ensure that they are on a path for successful reintegration back into society while in prison and upon their release. It is a smart investment to implement expanded reentry programming, given that evidence-based programs, job-training, and education can reduce recidivism and lead to better outcomes for individuals returning to their families and neighborhoods.” (George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com.)

FORUM

Because you too are somebody On July 16, I and reflect upon was in attendance Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick the absence of acat a worthwhile tivities. The only affair to celebrate business activithe release of the ties were two Inaugural Edition bars. I reminisced of Who’s Who in about the old Black Pittsburgh. Wylie Avenue and There were about the huge number 300 people in atof Black-owned tendance. There businesses. Those were a number of people of my genera- Black men and women, who never heard tion whom I knew, but there were more the word entrepreneur, possessed the of the current generation with whom I foresight and courage that qualified was not familiar. them as true Who’s Who. They were furOver the course of my life I have been riers, photographers, barbershop and fortunate to receive a number of awards beauty salon owners. There were tavand on every occasion I would ask the erns, drug stores, restaurants, fish and same question, “Why is not this person Bar B Q, gambling joints, jewelry stores, or that person not being recognized?” pawn shops, grocery stores, shoe repair, The answer would generally be, “Hop, jitneys, cab company, gas stations, every deserving person can’t be high- garages and across Allegheny County lighted.” Then I would with tongue in there were 200 Black men who owned cheek ask why not? What criteria are es- their own trucks. tablished to define Who is Who? Is it Third, but not last when do we give mandatory have a high school diploma, recognition to those parents, parent, GED, BA, MA, PhD? Is it a basic re- grandparents, extended families who quirement that you have a position in had limited schooling, but realized the the corporate system or a title in the po- importance of the next generation oblitical structure? Is there a requirement taining higher education and sacrificed that those we honor publically have to ensure it would become a reality. A made a difference in the lives of others perfect example is the late Mr. Terry. He outside their immediate families? In my would sometimes work three jobs and estimation there must be at least 1000 one was in Mt. Lebanon and it would to 1500 people who have been recog- cost a dime to ride round trip. He would nized by various organizations as out- generally walk one way and save a standing Black men and women. My nickel to give his wife to put away. Anmajor concerns are two fold, first if there other example is Mrs. Williamson who are this many that have earned public would go to the Good Will or some other recognition then I am compelled to ask agency and acquire a super sized dress the question, why are Blacks in Pitts- and then cut it in a manner so she could burgh in such terrible condition? sew three smaller dresses for her Last Saturday evening I did something daughters. These are just some examI had not done for a long period of time, ples of everyday people that qualify as and that was to drive through the Hill Who’s Who. District by way of Wylie Avenue. I This week’s column is not intended to started at Roberts Street and by the minimize the importance of those who time I got to Devilliers Street I had have been fortunate to receive public passed two churches and one mosque recognition, but to pay tribute to those and the now Blakey Building, which in who also deserve credit for a job well my day was the Kay Boys Club. They done, because you too are somebody. (Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contributor were all dark. At the end of Wylie on Herron Avenue I was compelled to park to the Forum page.)

To Tell The Truth

Taming the public temper Hawthorne ated with that wrote: The public J. Pharoah Doss drug trade led to is despotic in its Black leaders betemper. (Meancoming despotic ing: When in their temper morally outraged and in 1986 the the public will majority of the support extreme Congressional measure for an Black Caucus instant remedy of supported federal a social ill.) legislation that Recently President Barack Obama enacted extreme mandatory minimum commuted the sentences of 46 non-vio- sentencing laws. Charles Rangel a lent drug offenders. Then at the NAACP prominent member of the Black Caucus annual convention he said, “Long wanted harsher penalties. mandatory minimum sentences that are In 1989 Ebony published another artiin place should be reduced—or dis- cle. It featured Charles Rangel. The carded entirely.” magazine saluted Rangel as “The Front“Low-level drug dealers,” Obama con- line General in the War on Drugs.” tinued, “Owe a debt to society, but not a Rangel accused President George H. W. life sentence or a 20 years prison term.” Bush of not doing enough to stop drugs. Historian Michelle Alexander has re- Rangel said, “We need outrage. I don’t ferred to long mandatory minimums as know what is behind the lackadaisical “The New Jim Crow” and stated, “The attitudes toward drugs, but I do know drug war was motivated by racial poli- that the American people have made it tics…it was launched as a way of trying abundantly clear: They are outraged by to appeal to poor and working class the indifference of the US government White voters, as a way to say, “We’re to this problem.” going to get tough on them, put them Obama doesn’t want to be lackadaisiback in their place.” cal and urged congress to pass a senIs this true? Black Americans have a tencing reform bill by the end of the proud tradition of protesting unjust year. But reducing sentencing only laws. remedies the long term consequences of When was the march on Washington congressional extremities. (Taming the against the drug war? temper tantrum caused by a previous Alexander’s remark is revisionist his- temper tantrum.) The underlining issue tory only accepted in the United States is cutting cost. Today, there are over 1.5 of Amnesia, because the moral outrage million inmates in federal and state of the Black community initiated these prisons costing $80 billion a year. policies not White efforts to put Blacks But if saving money is the priority in their place. what happened to the initial moral outThe Black community declared war on rage? America has grown tolerant of drugs before the Reagan administra- drugs. And if moral outrage has turned tion. into moral relativity then congressional In 1970 Ebony magazine published an leaders need to discuss legalization not article titled, “Blacks Declare War on reform. dope.” It stated that most community Legalization is not establishing a dangroups agree that the first offensive gerous precedent. Drugs were legal bemust be against Black pushers and dis- fore the 1914 Harrison act. Then in 1919 tributors. The previous year 224 New alcohol prohibition was enacted, which York teen-agers died from heroin over- led to the rise of mobsters like Al doses or drug-related infections. Capone, but Prohibition was eventual In 1973 New York Governor Nelson repealed, which sent the Capone types Rockefeller announced laws that set the searching for another illegal substance standard for tough sentences for low- that had the same demand as alcohol. level non-violent drug offenders. RockeWhen Ronald Reagan was asked about feller was joined at the podium by the war on poverty he said, “We fought a prominent Black leaders of New York war and Poverty won.” When Obama is City. The leader of the Harlem based asked if there is still a war on drugs I People’s Civic and Welfare Association wonder if he’d say, “No, drugs won.” Or said, “Our young people are dying, “Yes, but the Congressional Black Cauthey’re being destroyed, and unless you cus lost.” (J. Pharoah Doss is a contributor to the New back this bill New York is doomed.” In the 1980’s crack-cocaine hit Ameri- Pittsburgh Courier. He blogs at jpharoahcan inner cities, and the violence associ- doss@blogspot.com)

Commentary

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.

JULY 22-28, 2015

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Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.

Commentary

Obama calls for criminal justice reform (NNPA)—Whenever the president of the United States speaks to a national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, millions of people pay attention. As a former executive director and CEO of the NAACP, I listened very carefully last week to President Barack Obama’s historic keynote address to the organization’s 106th annual convention in Philadelphia. There was a noticeable deliberate “freedom of expression” style and substance in President Obama’s speech to the NAACP. He was confident, candid and clear. Obama was unrestrained, passionate and focused. In other words, the president went straight to his main subject matter: The urgency and mandate today for criminal justice reform in the United States. President Obama stated, “But today, I want to focus on one aspect of American life that remains particularly skewed by race and by wealth, a source of inequity that has ripple effects on families and on communities and ultimately on our nation—and that is our criminal justice system.” Obama’s remarks were timely and welcomed by millions of families that have been devastated as a result of the injustice of the current court and prison system. It was full of analysis and statistics that went beyond typical political rhetoric. He cited the following facts to stress that now was the time for bipartisan corrective action by all levels of government: •The population of the U.S. has only 5 percent of the world’s population, but holds 25 percent of the world’s prisoners; •In 1980, there were 500,000 people in prison in the U.S., but today there are 2.2 million, a disproportionate number of them African American and Latino; •The U.S. spends $80 billion per year on keeping people in prison, about the same amount of money it would take to make tuition free at all public universities and colleges across the nation; •One third of the entire budget of the U.S. Justice Department is spent on incarceration; •While African Americans and Latino Americans combined make up about 30 percent of the U.S. population, we make up 60 percent of the prison inmates in the U.S.; •One in every 35 African American men is imprisoned, compared to one in every 88 Latino men as compared and one in every 214 White men; and •Research studies have confirmed that African Americans are more likely to stopped by the police, frisked, questioned, charged and arrested than any other racial group in the U.S.’s We all should be willing to join and support the emerging criminal justice reform movement in America. Hopefully, President Obama’s address to the NAACP will stimulate the passage of bipartisan legislation that will stop racial profiling and other legislative measures that will help to dramatically reduce the prison population in the United States. In the absence of real reform, the issues surrounding mass incarceration will not be adequately resolved President Obama made reference to the fact that on reaching the ultimate goal of criminal justice reform, there are today converging interests between the NAACP and the politically conservative Koch brothers, as well as between the ACLU and Americans for Tax Reform and among other divergent groups who have not worked together on social justice issues in the past. That is a good sign of what might be possible going forward. Frederick Douglass said it best, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” But the struggle to reform the criminal justice system must move beyond just a momentary national news cycle event response to whenever President Obama makes an outstanding speech. I wish social change was that easy to achieve. It is not. The work has begun, but we still have a lot of hard work and coalition building to do to make real reform happen. I believe we in the African American community has to take more responsibility to end mass incarceration and to challenge all the inequities of our society. Ending poverty and injustice, first and foremost, is our demand and it also has to be our responsible leadership to keep pushing forward. The government has its role, but we should not solely rely on the government. I believe in self-development and self-improvement. Our struggle for freedom, justice, equality and empowerment must continue with renewed energy and determination. (Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is the president and CEO of the NNPA.)

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JULY 22-28, 2015

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

NATIONAL

Friend: Sandra Bland ‘in good spirits’ before jail death by Jason Keyser and Michael Graczyk Associated Press Writers

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP)—Friends’ recollections and Sandra Bland’s own words present a picture of a young woman on the cusp of finding her niché in life. She seemed to have landed a perfect job. She had a voice and following on social media for speaking out about racial injustice and police brutality and was active in her community. Even after one video surfaced showing the 28-yearold talking in March about depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, those who knew her said she would not have killed herself inside a Texas jail cell—not even over the confrontational traffic stop that led to her arrest, which mirrored the ones she railed against online. “She was in good spirits. She was looking forward to what was next,” said friend and mentor LaVaughn Mosley, 57, adding that he was unaware of any struggles with depression. “She was making plans for the future, so there’s no way she was in a suicidal state.” On Friday, July 17, about 100 protesters marched from the Waller County jail—where authorities say Bland hanged herself with a plastic bag on Monday, July 13,—to the courthouse in Hempstead. Bland’s death comes amid increased national scrutiny of police after a series of high-profile cases in which Blacks have been killed by officers. Friends and family have questioned authorities’ account of how she died. Bland, known in her family as Sandy B, grew up in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, the fourth of five sisters. She was active in her family’s church and was the only one of her sisters to go to college out of state. She studied at the College of Agriculture at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black school 40 miles northwest of Houston. During her freshman year, she met Mosley, who recruited her for a job as a 4-H camp counselor. For

three summers, Bland shepherded kids between horseback riding, fishing, campfires and other activities at the camp in Huntsville, Texas. She was a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, played trombone in the marching band and volunteered with a senior citizens advocacy organization that Mosley runs, he said. She also witnessed racial hostility and injustices against Blacks in Waller County, Mosley said, describing the area as “very segregated.” Sometime after graduating in 2009, Bland returned to Illinois to be closer to family, but bounced between temp jobs. In January, Bland began posting cellphone videos to her Facebook page under the title “Sandy Speaks” in which she groused about everything from inattentive parents and police mistreatment of Blacks to what she called the “generation of heads down”—all of us with our heads buried in our smartphones. She described the videos—many of them rambling and off the cuff— as a calling from God and urged people to share them, saying she believed she was “here to change history.” Around halfway through the series, on March 1, she began a video by apologizing for a two-week absence. “I am suffering from something that some of you all may be dealing with right now,” she said. “It’s a little bit of depression as well as PTSD. I’ve been real stressed out over these past couple of weeks.” She did not go into detail. In Chicago Thursday, July 16, her sisters told reporters nothing in Bland’s background pointed to a troubled mental state. The family couldn’t be reached on July 17 to comment specifically on the March video. Mosley believes Bland was just venting after a bad day. In the past few weeks, Bland applied for a community outreach job at Prairie View A&M with the family and consumer sciences section of its cooperative extension program.

Black Mississippi flag supporter dies in traffic accident

by Jack Elliott

Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Miss. (AP)—A Black Mississippi man who often dressed in Confederate regalia to support the state flag has died in a one-car accident. The Highway Patrol says 49-year-old Anthony Hervey was killed July 19 when the 2005 Ford Explorer he was driving left the roadway and overturned on Mississippi Highway 6 in Lafayette County. A passenger in Hervey’s car, Arlene Barnum, tells The Associated Press that Hervey swerved and crashed after another vehicle carrying four or five young Black men pulled up alongside them, yelling and looking angry. Barnum said Hervey yelled something back at the other vehicle before losing control and crashing. “It spun like crazy and we flipped, flipped, flipped. It was awful,” she said. She said she gave that account to a Mississippi state trooper when she was taken to a hospital after the accident. The Mississippi Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to an Associated Press query asking if officials are investigating Barnum’s account. Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Johnny Poulos said Monday, July 20, in a written statement that no other details of the

accident will be available until accident reconstruction experts have had a chance to take a look at the evidence. Barnum said she and Hervey had been returning home Sunday, July 19, from Birmingham, Ala., where they attended a Saturday rally to save the Linn Park Confederate Monument. City leaders there recently voted to remove the memorial from the park. Barnum said they were in her SUV, which was not displaying any Confederate flags or stickers. She said she had no idea whether they had been followed from Birmingham. Hervey, of Oxford, has drawn attention over the years for opposing efforts to change the flag. He said he dressed in Rebel soldier garb to honor blacks who served with the Confederacy during the Civil War. He was often seen often wearing the Confederate uniform and waving a Rebel flag on the Oxford square. In an interview with the Associated Press in 2001 after a new state flag design was defeated, Hervey said Mississippians’ support of the flag with a Confederate battle emblem in the corner is akin to “standing up for home.” “This is not racism. This is my heritage,” Hervey said.

(Associated Press writer Jay Reeves in Chattanooga, Tennessee, contributed to this story.)

SANDRA BLAND Staffers work with underserved residents on issues that including parenting, money management, nutrition and wellness. She drove through the

night from Chicago for a July 9 interview, dropping her bags off at Mosley’s place in Prairie View. She got the job and returned the next day to fill out pa-

perwork. On her way back, a state trooper stopped her for failing to signal a lane change. Authorities say she “became argumentative and

uncooperative” and kicked an officer. She was arrested for assault on a public servant. The Texas Department of Public Safety said last Friday that the trooper who stopped Bland violated traffic stop procedures and the department’s courtesy policy. How the trooper violated procedures was “still being determined,” agency spokesman Tom Vinger said. The trooper is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. Mosley has talked to witnesses who say an officer dragged Bland out of the car’s window—something authorities dispute. In a phone call Bland made after her arrest, Mosley said she sounded upbeat despite the ordeal. “It just makes no sense,” he said. “Sandy was a soldier; she wasn’t fazed about it.” (Keyser reported from Chicago. Graczyk reported from Hempstead and Prairie View in Texas.)

New Pittsburgh Courier

still ʻSmokingʼ in concert at 75 B6

Robinson

LIFESTYLES JULY 22-28, 2015

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

‘Building A Holistic Community’ Kingdom Conference B2

B

Debbie Norrell

Lifestyles Report

Retirement on my mind I always admire people that retire early. By early I mean before the age of 65. To me, it means they did a good job of financial planning and now they can leave their employer with no money worries. As I get closer to retirement, of course, my contemporaries are getting closer to retirement as well. One friend of mine was absolutely delighted to find out that he could actually get a check at age 62. I tried to convince him to wait until 65 for a bigger check, but he wanted his money as soon as possible and I totally understand. There are some days when I wake up and I just want to stay home, but that is not going to happen for a while. Another friend who recently turned 62 also wanted to apply for social security and thought he could still go to work every day. As a friend of mine used to say, “somebody told you wrong.” I have saved an article from a financial magazine just for these moments. It says retiring early can cost you over a quarter of a million dollars. I don’t know about you but I can’t leave any money on the table. To begin with you will give up income you would have earned during what might be the bestpaid years of your career. Also, Medicare won’t cover you until age 65. You can go out and buy individual health insurance but the cost will be high. Perhaps Obama Care would be an option for you, but the bottom line is you will have to pay for it. Here is where the big bucks come in; let’s look at our worker, we will call him Jay Doe, he had a median income of $55,500. He quits working in 2014 at age 62, but his full social security retirement age is actually 66. These four years will cost him 4 years of income, $220,000. Next, the Social Security Administration says his benefits will be reduced by about $403 dollars a month for life. So if Doe lives to be 78, that will cost him $8,899 if he lives to be 85, $42,751. Perhaps you are thinking of getting a part-time job or another full-time job to cover the gap. Not so fast. If you don’t wait until full retirement age you are limited to the amount of money you can make on top of your Social Security. If you don’t believe what I’m telling you, just go to the Social Security website and see. SSA used to send out a yearly analysis of what you will receive and when, but you can look at it as often as you like on line. This is a subject that you need to do your homework on. While you are checking on it see what the premiums will be for health insurance, I think you will be surprised. I couldn’t imagine walking around without health insurance. The experts say, if you are in good health wait until full retirement age. (Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)

MEN OF KSEF—Tom Motley, Frankie Hicks, Hugh Stanfield, Dwayne Cooper, Howard Russell, Alexander Carlisle and Michael Phillips

KSEF 25th Annual Scholarship Luncheon by Debbie Norrell Courier Staff Writer

On June 6, at the LeMont Restaurant, Kappa Scholarship Endowment Fund of Western PA (KSEF) celebrated 25 years of providing financial support to college bound minority students from Western Pennsylvania. Daria Crawley, PhD, served as the keynote speaker and eight students received awards. They were: Arnold “Raheem” Perry, Shayonna Herring, Gerrod Travis, Kerry Stith, Janelle Thompson, Thomas Rone, Kevin Williams and Ira Johnson. This year’s luncheon was chaired by Chauncey Smith and Eric Cofield. Over 110 students have received awards exceeding $1.5 million. KSEF would like to thank Penn State University, Robert Morris University, NEED, UPMC and Highmark for making the 2015 awards possible. Howard Russell Jr., KSEF board 2015 KSEF AWARDEES—In no order, Shayonna Herring, Kevin Williams, Thomas Rone, Ira Johnson, Arnold Raheem president, says, “Through the Pitts- Perry and Kerry Smith with members Howard Russell and Eric Cofield. burgh Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi we are re-introducing our Kappa League Program, a mentoring program focused on developing the tangible and intangible skill sets needed for minority males to succeed in society. We are targeting rising 8th graders for our program, which begins in September 2015. Brothers Robert Powell and Michael Thomas are spearheading this initiative. The next overview meeting will take place on Sat Aug. 1 from 9-10 a.m. at Rodman Street B a p t i s t Church in East Liberty. This meeting is open to the public.” Russell went on to say, “Our o v e r a l l strategy as it relates to SHILOH COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH TABLE our youth, WELCOME—Greg Austin, vice polemarch, Pittsparticularly burgh Alumni Chapter young men of color is to begin mentoring them as they begin high school with the goal of their successful matriculation into college, the armed services or a trade of their desire. We are hopeful that many of these young men in the Kappa League program have the level of success which will result in their potential to receive our financial awards for college as well as the many other local and national financial awards for college bound students.” For more information on KSEF, Pittsburgh Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, and their annual financial awards and the Kappa League Program, please visit www.pittsburghkappa.com or email ksefpresident@gmail.com To highlight KSEF’s 25 years in supporting our “leaders of the future” KSEF will host its 25th Annual Valentines Extravaganza in February 2016. This is their premier fundraising event, which supports their financial awards and mentoring programs. For its silver anniversary, KSEF is planning something very special for the entire PittsIMANI CHRISTIAN ACADEMY TABLE burgh community to be a part of.

TOASTMASTER—Eric Morris Sr., KSEF board member

DYNAMIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER—Daria Crawley, in green, with members Mike Philips, Eric Cofield and Howard Russell.

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JULY 22-28, 2015

Praise & Worship

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

RELIGION

‘Building A Holistic Community’ Kingdom Conference

HILLCREST SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH “Be Encouraged”

Elder Christopher C. Thompson Power Hour Sabbath..............8:15 A.M. Sabbath School.......................9:00 A.M. Divine Worship.....................11:00 A.M. AYS One Hour Before Sunset Prayer Meeting Wednesday....7:30 P.M.

ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH

2015 Spiritual Conference

Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Mass Sunday 9:00 A.M. & 11 A.M. Sunday (Gospel Choir Mass) 11:00 A.M. www.stbtmchurch.org

METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH KORIE CHRISTIAN Introducing the speaker

MARCIA STURDIVANT, PhD Giving her keynote speech with the theme, ‘Education is Key.’

MIN. COREY LANKFORD Oasis Ministries Giving the Word of God through song.

Church School.....................................9:30 A.M. Worship Service.....................8:00 & 10:45 A.M. Bible Study/ Prayer Wednesday.......................6:30/7:30 P.M. www.metropolitanbaptistchurchpgh.com metropolitanbaptist2224@gmail.com

SIXTH MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH

JULY 25—The Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) will host its Gospel Idol at 6 p.m. at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. This is a National Minority Donor Awareness Celebration event based on the reality-talent show “American Idol.” Ten talented, local contestants have been selected from the numerous submissions to compete for four prizes. For more information, email Lisa Upsher at lupsher@core.org.

Church School 9:00 a.m. Worship Service 10:15 a.m. Wednesday Night Bible Study 6:00 p.m.

East Liberty PresbyterianChurch Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 www.cathedralofhope.org

Community Day JULY 29—Macedonia Baptist Church, 17 Cochran St., Duquesne, will host a Community Day at 7 p.m. This is an opportunity to come out and be blessed. For more information, call 412-4667422.

Sanctuary Worship.........10 a.m.

For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext 40. We are looking to

feature our positive youth in the church communities. You can e-mail, fax or mail their bios and photo to:

New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Fax: 412-481-1360 e-mail:

egaines@newpittsburghcourier.com

JULY 22—New Creation Family Worship Center, 325 Oakland Ave., Greensburg, will host the 2015 Spiritual Flow Prophetic Believers Conference at 7:15. The theme is “The Year of the Believer: To Pursue, Overtake and Recover All.” Through July 24, attendees will enjoy a message from Prophetess Kelly Crews, Prophet Marquis Boone and Apostle Reginald J. White. The guest psalmist will be Pastor Cassandra Elliot. For more information, visit www.newcreationfamilyw orshipcenter.org.

Gospel Idol

6556 Shetland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (412) 441-7839

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community

Vacation Bible School JULY 22—Macedonia Baptist Church, 17 Cochran St., Duquesne, will host its Vacation Bible School. Through July 24, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the Bible. On July 25 there will be a trip to the wave pool. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-4667422.

2340 Wylie Ave., Pgh., PA 15219 412-391-4334 412-566-8757

22 Sampsonia Street, Northside Pittsburgh., PA 15212 412-231-2554 FAX 412-231-6395 Rev. Lacy F. Richardson, Ph.D., Pastor

Church Circuit

Kennywood Ticket Sale

KINGDOM CONFERENCE—“Building A Holistic Community” was the theme of North Side Institutional COGIC’s first Kingdom Conference that was held last month. There was singing, praying, dancing and miming in an effort to bring the North Side community together in faith. Pictured above, Missionary Temple COGIC performs. In the bottom photo, Kingdom Come Ministries performs a mime. The North Side Institutional COGIC Young Adults Choir also performed. (Photos by Rossano P. Stewart)

Families encouraged to bring back the Sunday Dinner David Baron from Westmoreland and Southeast Allegheny counties is on a mission to see more families share sit-down Sunday dinners with their senior loved ones. The reason? New research shows that 50 percent of surveyed families living near senior relatives feel they do not share enough meals with older loved ones, losing an important family connection.

“For seniors, it’s not what’s on their plate that matters most at mealtime—it’s who is at the table with them,” said Baron, owner of the local Home Instead Senior Care office. “When seniors share meals with a companion, they have a better mealtime experience—both nutritionally and emotionally.” Almost 75 percent of the people surveyed said they

only sit down for a family meal with senior loved ones for special occasions, events or holidays. They say a big part of the problem is time—both not having enough of it and conflicting schedules. To encourage families to make time for these meals, the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation will donate $1 to Meals on Wheels America (up to $20,000 total

through July 31) for each person that commits to regularly scheduling family dinners at SundayDinnerPledge.com. Pledging to have a sit-down dinner with loved ones will help to ensure other seniors will have a quality meal, friendly visit and safety check through Meals on Wheels programs across the country. “We hope families will make the pledge to either revive or begin new mealtime traditions with their senior loved ones,” Baron said. “This small commitment can have a big impact on a senior’s well-being.” To help families across the country host their own Sunday dinner, Home Instead Senior Care has partnered with celebrity chef and mother of four Melissa d’Arabian to develop easy, nutritious recipes. Additional resources include tips for how to involve seniors in meal planning and preparation, pre- and postdinner activities and meal plans for healthy, inexpensive meals that all generations can enjoy. (For these free resources and more information on how you can bring back the Sunday dinner and reconnect with your senior loved ones, visit www.SundayDinnerPledge.com or call Home Instead Senior Care at 724-374-5370 or 412-2053345.) (Release provided by Home Instead Senior Care.)

JULY 29—The Rachel Randall Education Department of Pentecostal Temple COGIC, 6300 E. Liberty Blvd., E. Liberty, will host the selling of Ride All Day tickets for Kennywood Park. Pentecostal Temple Family Day will be held July 29. For more information, call 412-371-6268 or email gzusislove@comcast.net.

Vacation Bible School AUG. 3—Morningside COGIC, 5173 Dearborn St., Garfield, will host its Vacation Bible School from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Through Aug. 7, attendees will learn the stories of the Bible. Registration is requested on the day of the event. For more information, call Sandra Tally at 412-361-9865.

August Revival AUG. 5—Shiloh Community Missionary Baptist Church, 6940 Frankstown Ave., Homewood, will host its August Revival at 7 p.m. Every Wednesday in August Shiloh will worship with the theme “Revive Us Again Lord.” Guest preachers include Rev. Dr. Sedric Veal, Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis, Rev. Dr. Lance D. Watson and Bishop Randolph McKissick. All are welcome. For more information, call 412-441-8710 or visit www.scmbcpittsburgh. org.

Youth Retreat AUG. 8—Morningside COGIC, 5173 Dearborn St., Garfield, will host a Youth Revival from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, call Sandra Tally at 412-361-9865. (To have items listed on the Church Circuit, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JULY 22-28, 2015

PEOPLE

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Lost But Not Forgotten Outreach sponsors day of fun

A DAY OF FUN—A day of food and fun was recently sponsored by the Lost But Not Forgotten Outreach, a program headed by Dorothy Stubbs to assist female ex-offenders. The event was held at the Christian Chapel AME Church, located at 7311 Ridgeview Ave, in Penn Hills. The outdoor event included praise and worship with speaker Evangelist Miracle Reed and a clothing give away. Reverend Prudence Harris is the pastor. The above photo is Avis Walker with Rev. Harris. (Photos by Jackie McDonald)

MONTELL FRAZIER THE MUSICIAN (Photos by Shanna Small)

Montell Frazier: Creating music by Shanna Smail For New Pittsburgh Courier

ENJOYING—Kelly Lynn Curges and Rev. Buena Smith-Dudley

REV. PRUDENCE HARRIS Pastor of Christian Chapel AME Church

DOROTHY STUBBS Coordinator of clothes give away

EVANG. MIRACLE REED Keynote Speaker

DAVID KNIGHT, right, with his friend enjoying the festivities.

Bostick receives Education Champion award Cindy Bostick, mentor coordinator at Communities In Schools Pittsburgh Allegheny County, was honored with the Education Champion award at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square’s first annual Celebration of Champions event on June 18. Bostick has been a mentor coordinator within the Be A Middle School Mentor program for 23 years. Celebration of Champions was designed to honor and recognize Pittsburghers who exemplify remarkable leadership, inspiring community achievement and extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit. To award her accom-

CINDY BOSTICK

plishment, the hotel donated $1,000 to CISPAC in Bostick’s honor. CISPAC is an affiliate of Communities In Schools (CIS) the nation’s largest stay-in-school network. CISPAC is a 501 (c) 3 organization and relies on public support to achieve its mission to empower students to stay in school and succeed in life. CISPAC has been serving nearly 3,000 local at risk students each year since 1985 by providing a holistic approach to drop out prevention that addresses both academic and non-academic barriers in students’ lives. (Information provided by CISPAC)

Montell Frazier, of Beechview, takes on the role of student, rapper and producer with incredible passion. The 17-year-old City High Charter School student, who will be a senior in the fall, is currently working on a project titled “Somewhere in the Forest/Reading the Bible,” that he plans on releasing Aug. 2. The concept behind the project, Frazier said, is that “it’s a storyline about me going into this school in the forest, and trying to find out who God is, who I am, and why am I here on this planet?” Frazier has been making music for quite some time now. After witnessing his father making music at a young age, Frazier said it “kind of just grew on me.” He was about 13 years old when he started recording music. Around the age of 16, his music became more serious and he began gaining recognition around the city; it was then that it became very real to him. In addition to writing and rapping, Frazier also makes beats. He is currently trying to gain the attention of music label Soulection with a new beat, in hopes of being signed. Frazier’s sound has been shaped by world events as well as religion. He is also a unique student. City High English teacher Ted Zatezalo said, “Montell is an interesting character and a good student. Because of his eclectic interests, he is interested in learning about a broad spectrum of materials, so he always brings different ideas to discussions.” When it comes to the evolution of his music, Frazier is very proud of what he has accomplished. “I love all my work mainly because it shows growth. I also like to see how I sounded two years ago and sometimes I just sit and listen to my old music to see my progression in my production and in my

MONTELL FRAZIER THE STUDENT (Photo by Shanna Smail) rapping/writing,” he said about his musical history. “It’s all a process of growth and I love to see it. As far as my best work, I just put out an EP in February called King David and I would say that’s my best EP quality wise, in terms of cohesiveness and overall sound. I also produced the whole EP myself.” Frazier’s new single, “Pink Love 2.0,” is currently available on SoundCloud. He also has other projects available on major multimedia sharing Web sites such as Bandcamp, YouTube and DatPiff. Frazier and his music are also mentioned and shared on various blogs, under the name Montell Fish and he also has a social media presence on Twitter at @MontellFish as well as Facebook.

Frazier also has aspirations to one day collaborate with artist like Lauryn Hill or Mac Miller, and other producers like Taku and Esta. He has already collaborated with other local rapper and friend Sovren, on a few songs. “Hopefully I get to a place where I can support myself, and eventually I want to be able to film score music for movies and video games,” he said. “Music keeps me calm through this crazy world we live in, it definitely kept me from doing a lot of stuff with my friends. Kept me away from a lot of the people I shouldn’t hang with, and it’s had a positive impact by keeping me focused on something that I love; creating a drive in me to go after what I want, and forcing me to be dedicated to something.”

Summer Crab Festival USDA Fresh Boneless-Skinless CHICKEN BREAST

$1.98/lb. Family Pack

$7.98/lb.

Dungeness Crabs

$9.98/lb. $6.98/lb. Save $3/lb. Sold in 5 lb. bags

Free ice with any purchase

FREE PARKING! While shopping at Wholey’s

M-Th 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Wild Caught Jumbo-Canadian SNOW CRAB CLUSTERS

Claw Crab Meat

SALE DATES July 22-29

Call (412) 391-3737

www.wholey.com

1-888-WHOLEYS 1711 Penn Ave. In The Strip District

Take charge of your health today. Be informed. Be involved.

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JULY 22-28, 2015

HEALTH

Ways to eat while you beat the heat

Every good parent, no matter their income, worries about whether their child is getting enough to eat. For the parents of the one in five children living in poverty in Pittsburgh, that worry is allconsuming. Families who are having trouble putting food on the table now have a number of options to help make sure their child is getting the nutrition they need to keep them healthy and happy all summer long. Many children depend on their school for free, healthy meals. But just because school is out doesnʼt mean our kids have to go without that nutrition. The USDA Summer Food Program operates at dozens of locations in the area and can help feed children and teens 18 and younger through August 21. Most sites are open every day and will provide children with 1 or 2 meals (a breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner).

Find a Summer Meal Site In Your Neighborhood: • Text “MEALPA” to 877877 • Call 211 for the United Way hotline • Visit USDAʼs online Summer Meal Site Finder at http://www.fns.usda.gov/ summerfoodrocks or call their Hunger Hotline at 1866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8HAMBRE (for Spanish) Monday through Friday (8 am-8 pm) • At more than 125 sites and food truck locations GrubUp Pittsburgh provides summer meals and activities to all children up to 18 years old as well as individuals with mental disabilities up to 21 years of age. Find program details and location information: • Online at www.grubpupgh.org • By calling (412) 244-3911 Another way to find nutritious, affordable food this summer is through the Fresh Access program at all seven Pittsburgh Citiparks farmers markets and at seven other area markets. At Just Harvestʼs tent you can swipe your ACCESS/EBT, credit, or debit card and get tokens that can be used with dozens of participating vendors to buy locally-grown produce, meats, breads, dairy, and other items. And now, Fresh Access Food Bucks give food stamp shoppers an extra $2.00 to spend on fruits and veggies for every $5.00 they spend in food stamps. Learn more and get the market locations and hours at www.justharvest.org/ gethelp/fresh-access/ The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or “food stamps” is the nationʼs cornerstone anti-hunger and anti-poverty program, helping millions of eligible individuals and families and providing economic benefits to our communities. • PA households receive an average of $240 each month to spend on food. • In the U.S. seniors receive an average of $100 each month. • For every $1.00 in food stamps received, $1.73 goes back into the local economy. You may qualify even if… • You own your home • You are employed • You are receiving unemployment, or SSI, Medicaid, or other disability benefits • You own a car • You have some savings • You are going to school • You are living with others Find out if you are eligible today. Call Just

HEALTHY LIVING

Being healthy means more than simply being physically active. Itʼs about maintaining a balanced spirit, mind and body. The Y is a place where you can work toward that balance by challenging yourself to learn a new skill or hobby, fostering connections with friends through our lifelong learning programs, or bringing your loved ones closer together through our many family-centered activities. At the Y, itʼs not about the activity you choose as much as it is about the benefits of living healthier on the inside as well as the outside.

SENIOR ENRICHMENT

but the 2016 fiscal year budget theyʼre proposing for the nation will only benefit a slim minority of Americans. Current majority leadership has helped create a climate that favors slashing funds for domestic programs in order to keep corporate and wealthy individualsʼ taxes low and defense spending high. Though final approval has not yet been reached, the House and Senate are moving forward to cut more than $5 trillion over the next 10 years from education, transportation, healthcare, and programs that are critical lifelines for the poor and hungry, while increasing military funding. If passed, this budget would be disastrous for low- and middle-income Pennsylvanians. The House version of the budget would: • Cut the SNAP/food stamp program by re-

ductions to eligibility and benefits in the amount of $125 billion, or by 15%. Under these cuts, SNAP participants would lose 220 meals a year or 10 weeksʼ worth of food. • Block grant SNAP and Medicaid, which would allow states to further divert funds from these programs – an idea thatʼs been rejected for two decades. • Cut Medicaid to the tune of $913 billion. • Cut hundreds of billions of dollars from other entitlement programs like WIC and school meal, summer, after-school, and child care center food programs, reducing low-income childrenʼs access to the one to two free meals a day they receive. • $1.1 trillion in further unspecified cuts to mandatory spending, which includes such programs as food stamps, disability payments for veterans, Pell grants for students, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. In the midst of legislative wrangling over these proposed cuts, federal funding for summer food programs is due to expire on September 30. However, momentum is building in Congress behind two bipartisan bills—the Summer Meals Act of 2015 and the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2015—that have great potential to dramatically reduce hunger during the summer months. Just Harvest joined the City of Pittsburgh and local anti-hunger advocates in launching GrubUp last week, to expand local access to summer meals for hungry children in this city. Help is needed to propel the Congress to pass a robust child nutrition bill so that GrubUp and other summer meals programs will be here for summers to come. We must also contact our federal legislators to make sure they enact a budget that reflects the priorities and values of the majority of this nationʼs citizens. Hunger is injustice; together, we can end it.

into their busy schedules and budget. The solution: 4 affordable ways to help the modern family eat well 1. Buy frozen produce Buying fresh produce can be costly and time consuming. An affordable, convenient way to boost veggie intake is to stock the freezer with frozen fruits and vegetables. Contrary to what some may believe, frozen options often contain as many nutrients as fresh options because they are flash frozen when picked. This helps to preserve some/many nutrients during a key window when produce begins decomposing and losing nutritional value. 2. Donʼt forget your dinner-time helper: Frozen and prepared food/dishes/entrees Frozen and prepared food/dishes/entrees can help you to create low-cost, nutritious, delicious meals in a snap. Quality isnʼt sacrificed when you shop the frozen aisle. One approach is to pair frozen prepared foods with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lowfat dairy for simple meal planning. For example, take STOUFFERʼS Lasagna with Meat and Sauce made from 100 percent pure beef, freshly made pasta, and vine-ripened tomatoes and pair it with steamed broccoli or a side salad for a wholesome meal with min-

imal effort and time. 3. Frozen food eaters reported eating fewer calories than quick service diners According to research conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination, people who reported eating frozen food took in 253 fewer calories per day, and consumed more essential nutrients like fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A, as compared to those who reported eating at quick service restaurants. 4. Rethink pizza night Pizza night is a fun family tradition and frozen pizza is cost effective and can be easily prepared at home. DIGIORNO pizzeria! Pizza Primo Pepperoni can help you to create a low-cost, nutritious meal at home without sacrificing quality. Pair with a steamed vegetable or a side salad for a quick, affordable and wholesome meal. Bonus tip: You donʼt have to be a fullfledged green thumb to grow fresh herbs and vegetables and add pizzazz to your pizza. Start a container garden on your deck and with a small investment of time and money, you can have fresh herbs to turn your regular cheese pizza into a tomato and basil delicacy. Great healthy options to plant in a container garden include tomatoes, basil, kale, lettuce, peppers, carrots and rosemary.

Harvest at (412) 431-8963 for a five-minute screening and get help completing your application over the phone. Unfortunately, despite the high need for these programs and their clear benefit to Pittsburgh and our region, several of these programs are on shaky ground. Following the 2014 election Republicans became the majority in the U.S. Congress,

4 simple ways to help your family eat well on a budget

(BPT)—How people approach a wholesome diet has changed dramatically over the decades. Today, many Americans see home cooking as an investment in health, but that leaves hurdles for many families who struggle with busy schedules and tight budgets. A few simple tips using frozen foods can help put any family on a path to healthier eating without breaking the bank. The challenge: finding ways to eat healthier affordably While many people desire to eat healthier, itʼs just not happening as often or as easily as theyʼd like. MyPlate, the U.S. Department of Agricultureʼs recommendations for balanced meals, illustrates how to build a healthy meal. Generally, the recommendation is that one half of your plate be composed of fruits and vegetables and the other half features grains and protein. However, many meals donʼt follow these guidelines, and in 2011, Americans met MyPlate recommendations just seven days out of the year on average, according to NPD Groupʼs National Eating Trends database. Lack of time and higher cost are largely cited as top reasons why families arenʼt eating as well as they could be. Fortunately, families can create balanced meals that fit

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Active Older Adults at the YMCA experience a strong sense of belonging and a network of friends who provide supportive communities for sustained health and wellbeing. Through on-going, fun, safe and engaging classes, activities and field trips members experience better health and an improved quality of life. Check with your local YMCA for a schedule of events. Some fees may apply. We are pleased to participate in the following third party reimbursement programs: • Healthways- Includes programs like Silver Sneakers Fitness Program and Forever and Fit. The Silver Sneakers program offers a free full facility membership to select YMCA locations with access to all programs, services and group classes tailored specifically for you. Check with your insurance provider to determine if you are eligible. • American Specialty Health Networks, Inc. (ASH Networks)- Includes programs like Active & Fit and Silver & Fit. Silver and Fit includes membership, website resources and support from Silver & Fitʼs toll-free members services hotline. Check with your insurance provider to determine if you are eligible and if copays apply.

EXERCISE CLASSES

Whether youʼre just getting started, looking to intensify your workout, or interested in connecting with others, The YMCA offers group exercise classes with everyone in mind. Reference your local YMCAʼs schedule to determine which classes are right for you. Class levels are indicated by a One (1)- beginner and/or senior; Two (2)-intermediate; and Three (3)- advanced. Choose from strength, mind/body, cardio/dance and aqua-based. Some options to try include: • Arthritis Foundation Exercise • Active Older Adults • Barre • Bokwa® • Body Sculpt • Boot Camp • Core & More • Cross Fit • Cross Training • Cycling • Drums Alive • Foundations (Parkinsons) Course • HIIT • INSANITY • Kettlebell Cardio

ONE ON ONE PERSONAL TRAINING

Individual goals, individualized workout plans, motivating progress reports and access to our registered dietitian Our nationally certified trainers focus on the core components necessary for your success: goal setting, customized workouts, motivation and dietary assistance. Every aspect of our training program is tailored to match YOUR needs. Whether you are looking for support with sports performance, weight loss or goal adherence, we are here to help you. Take advantage of and schedule your complimentary wellness consultation today. In less than an hour, you will have a baseline of your bodyʼs current strength, flexibility and balance. We will then educate you on what services and programs we have available to help you address your limitations and improve your health. THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO GET STARTED. 1. Schedule your consultation here. 2. Inquire at the YMCAʼs welcome center. 3. Schedule an appointment with a healthy living coach at the YMCA. BENEFITS OF PERSONAL TRAINING • Improving coordination, flexibility and balance •Increasing self-confidence and selfimage • Healthier lungs and heart function • Stronger muscles and bones • Decrease in blood pressure, stress and anxiety • Decrease in joint stiffness

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JULY 22-28, 2015

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New Pittsburgh Courier

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ENTERTAINER JULY 22-28, 2015

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Cover To Cover

‘Balm’ by Terri Schlichenmeyer For New Pittsburgh Courier

Music almost always does it for you. After a long day, nothing makes you feel better—especially when you pair soft tunes with hot bath and solitude. You might even add a glass of something tasty and a novel you’ve been dying to read. But in the new book “Balm” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the only thing that soothes is forgiveness and restitution. Moving to Chicago had never been part of Sadie’s plan. She’d supposed, instead, that she’d live in Pennsylvania after the War ended, and go on with her life as though there was never any war. Her parents had seen things differently, however: she was hastily married to a wealthy man she barely knew because it was safer that way. Sam purchased a house in Chicago, furnished it, and hired staff in anticipation of having a wife to display; Sadie might have even fallen in love with

him, had he not been killed in a train accident. She couldn’t mourn; she barely knew Sam, which made the staff uncomfortable. As they deserted her, Sadie knew she needed a maid. The voice in her head—an insistent voice that said he was a soldier once—sent her to Madge. Born to a woman who was more interested in being a root doctor than in being a mother, Madge left her Tennessee home as a teenager—unloved by her Mama but knowing how to use plants and seeds to heal. She couldn’t say she liked working for Sadie, but assisting with séances left Madge with plenty of time to build her apothecary and a little business. It also gave her guilty time to spend with Hemp Harrison, who said he was a married man. Long before the day when raggedy Rebel soldiers came down the plantation road looking for trouble, Hemp had fallen for Annie, and they married. Though he’d done something unthinkable, he loved her so much; after she was sold away in chains, he vowed to find her and make things right. With the War over, it was said that “millions” of former slaves had somehow landed in Chicago but was Annie among them? Was it right to move on without her? Set during America’s spiritualist movement of the post-Civil War years, “Balm” is a bit of surprise: it’s not exactly a love story, not exactly a ghost story, not exactly a novel of amends. It’s closer to all three, and that only works sometimes. While it’s true that author Dolen Perkins-Valdez writes with extraordinary beauty, those flowingly gorgeous words can slow the story down, which often mars the romantic aspect of it. I enjoyed the ghosty storyline—I found it interesting and accurate, but the spirit’s brother annoyed me beyond all reason and left me feeling restless. This isn’t a terrible book, no. It’s slow, but it has three great main characters going for it and the overall authenticity will make historical novel fans happy. (“Balm: A Novel” by Dolen PerkinsValdez, c.2015, Amistad, $25.99/$31.99 Canada, 273 pages.)

Robinson still ‘Smoking’ in concert at 75 by Genea L. Webb For New Pittsburgh Courier

Smokey Robinson was just as excited to be performing in Pittsburgh again as his fans were to see and hear him. “It’s so beautiful to be back in Pittsburgh and to have you all here,” said the 75-year-old entertainer to the legion of adoring fans that turned out at Heinz Hall to see him. “Pittsburgh is a wonderful city. “ And the former Motown singer, composer and vice president didn’t disappoint. Clad in a green jacket, green leather pants and a white shirt, William “Smokey” Robinson performed a retrospective of his repertoire of the 4,000 songs he has to his credit. He opened the concert with Motown gems “Being With You” and “I Second that Emotion” before launching into “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” followed by “Quiet Storm“ “Ooo Baby, Baby” and “My Girl.”” “There will never be anything like Motown again,” Robinson said during an interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier before his Pittsburgh performance. “When Berry Gordy started Motown, he sat us down and said we were going to make music for everyone, not just for Blacks or Whites but for everyone. My life has been connected to Motown and we’ve made music that has been passed on to other generations.” That lightening in a bottle forever shaped the landscape of music and produced such groups as The Supremes (who auditioned for Motown

SMOKEY ROBINSON because Diana Ross was a neighbor of Smokey’s and the group’s guitarist became a co-writer for Smokey’s group, the Miracles), the Temptations, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Robinson stepped down as vice president of Motown in 1988 after the sale of the company but the nostalgia of the golden era of music will always be with him. “I grew up in Motown,” said Robinson who hails from Detroit but lives in Los Angeles and has a home in the Pine section of Pittsburgh where his wife of 13 years, interior designer Frances Gladney, was born. “Being a songwriter, there were so many

people to write for and have sing your music. “We used to have something called the Motown Review and Diana Ross and the Supremes, Mary Wells, the Marvelettes and Stevie Wonder and the Miracles, we had a great time traveling from place to place doing shows,” Robinson continued before launching into “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” a ditty he wrote for the Temptations that became the group’s first international hit. He then caressed he audience with “Get Ready” and “My Girl,” two more of the songs he penned for the group. “I loved writing for the Temptations. I could’ve been a Temp,” Robinson

said while proving that age ain’t nothing but a number with his nimble dance moves. After performing “Tears of a Clown” and a cover of “Fly Me to the Moon,” the 2015 BET Lifetime Achievement Award winner showed off his sensual side by performing the baby-making song “That Place,” from the “Time Flies when Your Having Fun” album that he released on his own Robso Records. His latest effort was 2014’s duets album, “Smokey & Friends on Verve Records. The album features many of Robinson’s musical counterparts like Elton John, Jessie J, Mary J. Blige and Steven Tyler on classic

Smokey songs. “It’s doing really well,” said Robinson who enjoys golfing and going to movies when he isn’t performing. “It was produced by Randy Jackson and he chose the artists and ask them to pick their favorite Smokey Robinson song. It was great working with all the artists.” When asked what makes a timeless love song, Robinson was quick to respond: “The perfect love song is one that makes people fall in love or one that people put on when they’re making love,” explained the 1999 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and the 1991 Grammy Legend Award recipient. Robinson feels that the internet is both a gift and a curse to musicians today. “It’s been a help because more people have access to your music but it’s not paying for our music. It’s in bad shape because people are not getting paid for their work and that’s the way we make our living,” he said. “Performing is the best way to get your money.” So he put all the love and energy he had on stage to provide Pittsburghers with an iconic concert they won’t soon forget. He got audience members Lucy and Tracey on stage (and the rest of the audience in their seats) to join him in a rousing rendition of “Cruisin’” before he ended the funfest. “Thanks to all of you who came to share a little bit of yourselves with us and being in here singing with us and having fun. Didn’t it feel good?” he asked. Our answer: a resounding yes!

SMOKEY ROBINSON GETS HIS BOOTS ON… TO SUPPORT AMERICA’S MILITARY

Boot Campaign announced recently that legendary singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson joined the esteemed list of more than 400 celebrities getting their “boots on” to support the 1.4 million men and women serving in our armed forces today. In his official “boot shoot,” Robinson donned a pair of Boot Campaign signature combat boots and flashed his iconic smile for the camera. As he prepares to be honored for his prolific music career at this year’s BET Awards, Robinson is sharing his appreciation for the sacrifices service members make to keep himself and all of us free to achieve our dreams. “I’m wearing my boots today for all our troops around the world, and especially those who have given their lives and their limbs,” Robinson said. “I feel really good about wearing my boots to give thanks to those who are protecting our nation. I’m honored.“ Boot Campaign Chief Operating Officer Joey Jones (USMC Ret.) had this to say about Robinson joining the Boot Campaign movement: “Our country has very few living legends in culture, as well as music, such as Smokey. Having him take hours of his day to come to us and put these boots on to show his personal support for our military and veteran communities was really an amazing show of patriotism and embodies what we are attempting to do at Boot Campaign.” The BET network presented the legendary artist with a lifetime achievement award at the 15th Annual BET Awards airing June 28. With a music career spanning 50 years, Robinson is one of the most celebrated artists in music history, credited with largely influencing the development of Motown Records and penning more than 4,000 songs. His list of professional accolades is long, in-

cluding Kennedy Center Honors, the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Achievement Award, the National Meal of Arts Award 2002 presented by President George W. Bush and has been inducted into both the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. Even with the distinctions and decades of adoration from fans around the world, Robinson expressed his own admiration for the men and women of our armed forces who pave the way for our pursuit of happiness. With Robinson’s support, the Boot Campaign mission to promote patriotism, raise awareness of veterans’ issues and provide assistance for military families of all generations will reach an even greater audience and help even more deserving heroes. The music mogul’s bold display of gratitude for service members is deeply appreciated by both Boot Campaign and the military community, and is just another reason he’s one of America’s favorite icons. About Boot Campaign: Established in 2009, Boot Campaign is a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to promoting patriotism for America and our military community; raising awareness of the unique challenges service members face during and post-service; and providing assistance to military personnel, past and present, and their families. Retail sales of combat boots, apparel and mission-focused merchandise, general public donations and corporate sponsorships fund programs that support military families. These efforts extend to all generations of military personnel who endure significant physical, emotional and circumstantial hardships resulting from their service and sacrifice. Visit www.bootcampaign.org to learn more and give back.

The SMOKEY ROBINSON ‘BOOT SHOOT’ (Photo supplied by Boot Campaign)

(Information provided by from Boot Campaign.)

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

July Thursday 23

by Aubrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh Courier

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presents the Thursday Night Icon Series: Diana Krall at 7:30 p.m. at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Cultural District. Jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall will be joined by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Lawrence Loh and Chris Walden. She has had record sales during her more than 30 years in the industry. The evening is an exciting collaboration of jazz and orchestra. Krall is the third artist to take part in the four-show series. For more information, call 412-3924900 or visit www.pittsburghsymphony.org.

[hur-i-keyn] noun: 1. a tropical, cyclonic storm. Let me say this first, based upon the gale force musical winds that legendary singer Natalie Cole brought to the Meadows Racetrack and Casino, in spite of having recently faced several medical issues, reports of the premature demise of “Hurricane Natalie” have been greatly exaggerated. From the moment she stepped onstage until after she satisfied a very raucous and enthusiastic crowd, performing as an encore a very inspirational version of the pop hit: “Love Will Save the Day,” Natalie Cole proves time and time again that she doesn’t seek a song to sing, the song seeks her out hoping that she will grace it with her artistry. From the Ella Fitzgerald classic: “A Tisket a Tasket” along with “Unforgettable” the timeless crowd favorite featuring a technology aided duet with her iconic father, the late Nat King Cole. She continued on with a ballad for the ages, “Love Dance” a song written by Brazilian composer Ivan Lins with lyrics penned by George Benson. She concluded the performance by singing many of her recognizable hits like “Inseparable” and “I Got Love on My Mind.” The list of her chart topping recordings could go on and on but know this; Natalie Cole stands for those few artists who have aged physically without their art stagnating or atrophying. The night ended on an incredibly high note but just when I thought it could not get any better, it went to the next level. When I sat down to breakfast on Sunday at the Hyatt South, (I was provided a complimen-

Blues Festival The Pittsburgh Greater Community Food Bank presents the Pittsburgh Blues Festival at Hartwood Acres. Exciting acts will fill two stages for three-days of great music to raise funds for the fight to end local hunger. Acts include Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Jarekus Singleton, Dana Fuchs, Marcia Ball and many more. Proceeds from the event will go to the Pittsburgh Greater Community Food Bank. For more information, visit www.pghblues.com.

Saturday 25 Gospel Idol The Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) will host its Gospel Idol at 6 p.m. at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. This is a National Minority Donor Awareness Celebration event based on the reality-talent show “American Idol.” Ten talented, local contestants have been selected from the numerous submissions to compete for four prizes. For more information, email Lisa Upsher at lupsher@core.org.

Riverview Jazz Citiparks presents the Riverview Jazz Series from 78:30 p.m. at Riverview Park, North Side. Each Saturday, guests can beat the summer heat with the cool sounds of some of Pittsburgh’s best jazz musicians. The featured musician will be Velvet Heat. The concerts are free. For more information, call 412-255-2493 or visit www.citiparks.net.

Sunday 26 National Jazz Workshop Duquesne University presents the National Jazz Workshop. Through July 31, students and educators will enjoy information from and performances by some of the greatest jazz musicians. This evening there will be a performance by The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra featuring Joe Negri at 7:30 p.m. at University, the Power Center Ballroom, 600 Forbes Ave., Uptown. There will be several concerts throughout the week. For more information, visit www.cmcpgh.org/njw.

Monday 27 Savoy Jazz Savoy Restaurant presents Savoy Jazz Mondays from 5-9 p.m. at 2623 Penn Ave., Strip District. Every Monday guests can enjoy live jazz in a sophisticated atmosphere. The evening will feature Charlie G. with the Skip Peck Quartet. The attire is business casual. For more information, call 412-281-0660 or visit www.savoypgh.com.

Tuesday 28 JazzLive The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents JazzLive at 5 p.m. at the Backstage Bar at Theater Square, 655 Penn Ave., Cultural District. Every Tuesday guests can celebrate a decade of jazz in the Cultural District and enjoy hot jazz from some of the most talented musicians. The musician will be David Throckmorton. For more information, call 412456-6666 or visit www.trustarts.org.

Wednesday 29 Jazz Wednesdays City of Asylum presents “Jazz Wednesdays: Summer on Sampsonia” from 7-9 p.m. at the Alphabet City Tent, 318 Sampsonia Way, North Side. Every Wednesday, through Sept. 16, a series of free jazz concerts will be held featuring icon Roger Humphries and his band, RH Factor. Performances are free, open to the public and BYOB. Reservations are not required, but strongly encouraged. For more information, visit www.cityofasylum.org/events.

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Hurricane Natalie blows audience away at The Meadows

Thursday Night Icon Series

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JULY 22-28, 2015

ARTS & CULTURE

tary room by the Meadows Tom Meinert) two of Natalie’s keyboard players, Alex Alessanandroni (who I initially failed to recognize), asks if anyone else is sitting at the table. I said no and welcomed him. A few minutes later we were joined by Natalie’s o t h e r keyboardist/c o n d u c t o r, Gail Deadrick. Alex only revealed who he was after I began a conversation with a few of the previous night’s concertgoers seated across the room regarding the concert and the fragile state of Coles health. “We perform everywhere, for royalty all over the world,” he said with a sense of pride in his voice. “She remains a great artist to work with.” Alessanandroni who hails from Italy just happens to be a great NFL football fan. Shortly after we began our football talk we were joined at our table by the owner of the Hyatt South at the Meadows, Fred Branovan. The welcome that I received from him was gracious and exceptional. Also I would be remiss not to thank the hotel GM, Gabriel Perez for helping me through what could have evolved into a very “unique” situation the day before when I checked

NATALIE COLE into the hotel. The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, is creating a very fertile environment for the entertainment industry in western Pennsylvania. The possibilities it seems may be endless. For those of us who have had the pleasure of listening to and absorbing the silky, warm and soothing voice of Ms. Cole, I am sure that God might have sent her to warm up us poor souls that were occasionally caught up in the “eye’ of the storms of life. When her iconic father passed away on Feb. 15, 1965, just nine days after her 15th birthday, one can understand why Natalie Cole would be forced to encounter, endure and conquer a few storms in her personal life. When male music lovers from the 1970s to the pre-

MCG Jazz presents Pgh. smallest jazz club Imagine hearing jazz outdoors. Not too difficult since Pittsburgh offers many jazz concerts that take place outdoors in nice weather. Take that image up a notch, and picture yourself listening to jazz on your headphones while waiting for the bus. Then take your imagination one step further: your fellow bus patron presses a button attached to the bus shelter; a great swing band tune begins to play. People start tapping their feet. Hips sway. Everyone waiting in the shelter suddenly smiles. Selfies are snapped. It’s unlike any bus shelter experience ever. This could revolutionize the “bus wait.” This is the idea brought forth by MCG Jazz, whose mission is to preserve, present and promote jazz. According to marketing manager Amy Kline: “My job is to make a bunch of noise on behalf of MCG Jazz and raise our public profile.

Hare-brained ideas are my current specialty. The intent is to promote jazz music as Pittsburgh’s greatest arts export, and to remind people that jazz music—and art—is fun, familiar and everywhere.” Awesome Pittsburgh’s trustees smiled unanimously when they decided to choose the proposal for one of 2014’s $1000 grants, envisioning a bus patron who pushes a button, only to have an iPod play jazz music from one of MCG Jazz’s Grammy Award winning recordings. The interior walls of a bus shelter will feature images of Pittsburgh’s jazz legends, and a blank “Your Face Here!” space to take a picture of yourself at “Pittsburgh’s Smallest Jazz Club.” Lamar Outdoor, owner of the bus shelters in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, is already on board to help make the project happen. MCG’s wish is that these recordings reach both a national and international au-

dience. Dean of Awesome Pittsburgh Emily Keebler reports: “Every Awesome Pittsburgh trustee enthusiastically agreed that this project will strengthen the long time Pittsburgh jazz community and contribute to the overall cultural and artistic diversity of the region.” (To learn more, visit Pittsburgh’s Smallest Jazz Club’s Facebook page. Pittsburgh’s Smallest Jazz Club is on Liberty Avenue, across from 9th Street. The shelter was installed on July 6 and will remain until late August.)

sent recall our periods of romanticism we understand that there were two distinct periods. B.C (before Cole) and E.E. (everybody else). We realize that to experience the voice of Natalie Cole was just as important to understanding the mating call of the yin as the melodies of Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Keith Sweat were in deciphering the love dances of the yang. When Natalie Cole sang; “I Got Love on My Mind,” and that said it all in a nut shell. This timeless “hymn” was dedicated to overcoming stagnant gender boundaries, assisting all who listened in discovering and exploring an intimate and graceful encounter with the opposite sex. Natalie Cole’s “compass of love,” softened the macho approach and helped to create an atmosphere that was conducive to as Al Green would say; “love and happiness.” Her melodies were all about the twinkle in your eyes and the burning desire in your heart. There were times when my ex-wife and I would be manning the battle stations, preparing for war and when that song hit the airwaves all the weapons of engagement and defensive shields dropped to the floor and time stood still….Only then did we know that an increase in our immediate family was imminent. Na-

talie put love on our minds. There were also times that her songs literally helped one to cling to the “sanity of life.” When I hear: “I Live For Your Love,” I still get goosebumps to this day. After I was divorced from my first wife I married an aspiring young model from Philadelphia named Claire Mamie Miles in 1989. In 1991, less than two years after the marriage, Claire underwent a double pediatric kidney transplant at a time when organ transplants were still in the experimental stages. There were but a few pacifiers for a man in love watching a woman that he adored have her love dance interrupted just to begin her pirouette with eternity. Claire has since joined our ancestors. Natalie Cole transmits “I Live for Your Love” with such purity and intensity that it cannot help but to reach our bodies, minds and souls. She told me, a crying broken man to: “Stand up, stand on your own, that’s what they tell me. You can make it alone. Where does it say I have to move, far away from you, to prove I’m strong? Oh, when all it really proves, is I’m lonely without you, and loneliness has to be wrong. I live for your love, (Everyday) Every minute. I live for your love, (In my life). Want you in it. I live for your love. I admit it. I live for your love.”

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JULY 22-28, 2015

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

ARTS & CULTURE

ETIENNE CHARLES ON HORN

ETIENNE CHARLES ON DRUMS

SEAN JONES

Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival

ENJOYING THE DAY—The crowd cheering on Etienne Charles and his group.

ROGER HUMPHRIES

THE CHRISTIAN McBRIDE TRIO

(PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST)—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presented the 5th Annual Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival last month in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. This festival, aimed at connecting the community to jazz, brought prominent jazz musicians and visual artists to the Cultural District to present Grammywinning performers, jazz and jazz-influenced musical performances, and visual art. More than 20,000 visitors from around the country were expected to visit the Cultural District to partake in this year’s event. The Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival is a production of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and one of the city’s favorite festivals. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts. www.TrustArts.org COMING OUT FOR JAZZ—Jazz lovers crowded the street of Penn Avenue to listen to jazz music. (Photos by J.L. Martello)

(Follow them @CulturalTrust and on Facebook.)

New Pittsburgh Courier

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Inside Conditions

C Conference kicks off business silver anniversary celebration JULY 22-28, 2015

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Harry C. Alford

Beyond the Rhetoric

U.S. Export Bank subsidizes Fortune 100 (NNPA)—This seems like an odd question. Capital access is the lifeblood of business growth and job creation. Thus, all vehicles that provide such should be welcomed. As the President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, it is assumed that I would support all avenues of capital access. However, I am starting to have big doubts about one vehicle. The Export-Import Bank is a government-owned organization that was started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as an apparatus for American firms to have more opportunity to export business to the Soviet Union. Most modern nations have their own EX-IM bank and even developing nations such as Ghana have just opened their own to help their businesses export to Europe, Asia and the United States. Unlike most nations our EX-IM Bank has become controversial. It has just lost its charter as of June, and funding is frozen until or unless Congress reauthorizes funding through legislation. By now, you have seen television ads asking for your support in telling Congress to reauthorize the EX-IM Bank. Immediate action is required and if it does not happen within the next six months the doors of the EX-IM Bank will come permanently shut. Most businesses are not familiar with the EX-IM Bank and that is a flaw in its marketing or outreach. It may also be an indicator that it is not inclusive. I don’t know of one Black owned firm that has received financing from this entity. Many billions of dollars have been provided and not one Black owned firm has received a penny. I am still searching for proof that I may be wrong but no one, including the EX-IM Bank has corrected me. The bank claims to have a small business program. Supposedly, 20 percent of its financing goes to such firms. However, its definition of a small business is not inconsistent with the Small Business Administration size standards. They

BUSINESS

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing C4-C5

Classifieds

accept businesses with more than $21.5 million in sales and up to 1,500 workers as being small. This is hardly small. Still the same, none of them are Black owned. Three years ago, the bank sent a representative to give a presentation on their services and announce that they were having a new directed outreach initiative to recruit Black owned firms to take part in their services. That person, who was a vice president, was soon gone from the bank and we haven’t heard a sound since. Some of our members voiced discontent at that meeting noting their negative experiences in trying to get financing from the EX-IM bank. Discontent is a conservative description. The services of the EX-IM Bank are overwhelmingly enjoyed by the Fortune 100 corporations. Giants such as Boeing, Bechtel, General Electric, Caterpillar, etc. The big problem here is that they don’t need government assisted financing. They can do well in the normal financial sectors. In essence, this is a kind of corporate welfare. That is the claim opponents of this entity allege and I can’t argue against that. Then there is another big issue with this entity. It seems to be filled with mismanagement, fraud and corruption. There is a vast amount of news articles about the history of such activity at the EX-IM Bank. According to the Daily Signal newspaper: “An examination of EX-IM fraud cases reveals a disturbing pattern of carelessness in doling out taxpayer subsidies. For example, the bank approved 96 loan transactions in a two-year period for Gangland, USA, which purported to export electronics from Miami to South America. According to prosecutors, company owner Jose L. Quijano received more than $3.6 million in fraudulent loans from the bank.” “Similarly, the bank approved 18 loans involving $13.6 million to Leopoldo SEE EXPORT C2

by Diane I. Daniels For New Pittsburgh Courier

Next year Ola Jackson will celebrate her silver anniversary. Twenty-five years of operating OWN, the Onyx Women Network. As a prologue of what is ahead for the upcoming year Saturday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center, 1852 Enoch Street in the Hill District she is sponsoring the 2015 Business Conference. Utilizing lessons she has learned throughout the years, Jackson is advertising the event as a way for attendees to gain information on how to get their business out of stuck; as a way to build relationships that can generate revenue and as a way to learn how to promote their business. “I wish I would have had someone to address these types of issues with me as I developed in my business,” she said. Other than herself, her Goal Ambassador Speakers will include Arlinda Moriarty owner of Moriarty Consultants, Debra Hickman owner of Giant Eagle, Frankstown Location; Renee Galloway author and owner of Sweet Inspirations, LLC., Jarene Barnes of Jarene Cares Caregiver Consulting and Rosemary Crawford of the Crawford McDonald Law Firm. Vendors offering various skills and products will also play a role in the event. Acknowledging that the conference is for startups and people in business pondering their next steps, Jackson believes it is important that entrepreneurs know how to make sure their business run and do not run them. “By attending on Saturday participants will receive advice on business growth and sustainability. Each of the speakers can and will address how to focus and angle your business to leap forward.” With a strong background in marketing and sales, Jackson will conduct the marketing component of the program. “Businesses to day have to focus on more than just Facebook to promote their products or services,” she said. “You have to invest in advertising to get the word out sufficiently.” Affiliated with the home health care industry for

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS—No matter what event Ola Jackson, owner of OWN attends she always is prepared to take care of business. (Photo by Diane I. Daniels) most of her life and in the business over a decade, Moriarty Consultants is reported to employ 400 people and earns a little less than $10 million in annual revenue. “She has accomplished this in spite of being diagnosed with Adult Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder,” said Jackson. “She doesn’t let anything get in her way and has made it in spite of.” Moriarty will address business logics and development during the conference. Moriarty has combined her childhood experiences, formal education, work knowledge and passion into a career and business that operates within 30 counties in Pennsylvania and in the state of Georgia. The owner of the only Black owned full service grocery store located in the east end neighbor of Penn Hills at the tip of East Hills, Hickman is known for educating, motivating and training her employs. She

has owned and operated the store since 2002. During the conference, Hickman’s topic will address how to leverage relationships, the importance of good customer relations and how to keep customers happy. Time management, setting priorities and being realistic while setting goals is something Jackson advises is important to the success of any business. Using techniques from her book “Done! Prioritize Plan and Perform” and pulling from her ten plus years of experience in personal and professional development, financial principles, and Biblical economics, Galloway will assist participants in improving their productivity. With the philosophy that one should live their hearts desires by living life to the fullest; Barnes a caregiver advocate, life coach, speaker and blogger will address having a life outside of the business realm. One of her biggest focuses

is on caregivers living their dreams while caring for a loved one. Fresh off the campaign trail, Crawford is a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee in the Western District of Pennsylvania, a member of the Bankruptcy Court Mediation Panel, a certified Arbitrator for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Better Business Bureau. Crawford’s’ topic will address participants being financially ready and prepared to protect their business ventures. Excited about the speakers for the day, Jackson is elated that they also are sponsors of the event. Stephanie Durrett, the owner of S D Transit is also one of the sponsors. “This is the first time I’ve had an event and the sponsorship was all women,” she said pointing out the significance of women working together. Committed to empowerSEE CONFERENCE C2

McLay pushes for new hiring criteria at PowerBreakfast by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer

After apologizing for having to delay his appearance by a week, Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay told members of the African American Chamber of Commerce he is working to have the antiquated civil service hiring model for police updated to allow more flexibility in bringing on new personnel. And “antiquated” was not an exaggeration. “We have a 1907 civil service model driving our hiring,” he said during his July 17 PowerBreakfast address. “We want to reconfigure it so we can screen and hire differently. There is an alternate model that is in place elsewhere.” Currently, once applicants are tested, the bureau must pick academy candidates from the top 100, in descending order. McLay wants to be able to pick any from the top 100. “The old systems was intended to fight cronyism, but it doesn’t work, and it selects out the possibility of hiring for values,” said McLay. “Do you want to be Rambo? Do you want to kick butt and take names, or do you want to serve and be a part of the community? I want to be able to select for values and skills as needs arise.” He said he has been in contact with state legislators—and urged Chamber members to do so—about amending the civil service law for a City of the Second Class, which be-

COMMUNITY OUTREACH—Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay addresses members of the African American Chamber of Commerce at their July 17 PowerBreakfast meeting. (Photo by J.L. Martello) cause Pittsburgh is the only such city, would not alter procedures in other municipalities. “People say, ‘you can’t do that we’ll get sued,”’ he said. “Well, we’re already getting sued, and we’re losing. So, why not?”

Such hiring flexibility could also help increase the bureau’s diversity, in terms of race, gender and ideas. With the bureau facing a looming staffing issue, McLay said he is also working on finding a larger training facility so he can run more than one

academy class at a time. “There is a bubble because there was a rash of hiring 20 years ago. That’s why I want a larger training center, which would also let me move to a model of continuous recruitment,” he said. “We can’t afford mass hiring with poor training, plus it’s also better for diversity.” McLay also praised the current rank and file for welcoming him and his focus on improving morale, and for their “organic” support of community initiatives. “There was a recent peace march in Homewood that more than 20 cops took part in,” he said. “They did that on their own time. It was organic, from the bottom up.” He also said grateful for the support he’s received from US Department of Justice, local universities and Allegheny County with respect to training on bias recognition, and data collection and analysis. He also thanked the Black community and local clergy, for approaching him and asking, “what do you need and how can we help.” “Since 1857, I am the first outsider hired as chief, and the day I arrived was the (Fraternal Order of Police) picnic,” he said. “I expected a lot of resistance, but I found a lot of support from officers who were tired of the perception they had, who said, ‘we’re better than that.”’ Following McLay’s remarks, Chamber SEE McLAY C2

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NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

BUSINESS

Car dealers charge exorbitant interest rates (NNPA)—Car lending is on the rise, and rising with it is a hidden, unfair, abusive and discriminatory practice: car dealer interest rate markups. Surveys show that at least twothirds of Americans have no idea it happens. A decade ago, the largest auto finance companies settled landmark cases alleging discrimination in auto lending. Recent enforcement actions suggest that discrimination and unfairness still exist in the auto lending market. Since 80 percent of the cars financed in the U.S. are financed through the dealer, this hidden practice is a huge threat to consumers. Just this week, Honda Finance Corporation (HFC) agreed to pay $24 million in restitution to borrowers of color as a part of a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Department of Justice (DOJ), after investigators discovered HFC’s policy to allow dealers to mark up the interest rate resulted in borrowers of color paying more in interest than White borrowers. Unfortunately, Honda’s discriminatory auto practices are not an isolated incident. An earlier settlement that CFPB and DOJ’ reached with Ally Bank, in which Ally agreed to pay $98 million in civil penalties and restitution, to settle claims of discrimination. Black, Latino and Asian American car buyers who financed with Ally paid more in interest on their loans than similarly situated White borrowers because of car dealer interest rate markups. In September, CFPB revealed that several lenders agreed to pay more than $50 million in fines and restitution because supervisory examinations revealed issues of discrimination. And, a recent settlement between the DOJ and Evergreen Bank found similar disparities in Evergreen’s motorcycle lending portfolio, also attributable to dealer interest rate markups. Consumer advocates welcomed the enforcement actions but cautioned that more work still needs to be done. “We continue to believe that the only effective way to completely eliminate the discriminatory impact and the unfairness of hidden dealer interest rate markups is to end the practice altogether,” said Chris Kukla, CRL Senior Vice President. “This is a step in the right direction and we urge the CFPB and DOJ to continue pursuing the remaining cases.” Kukla continued, “However dealer interest rate markups remain an unfair and hidden practice with continued potential for discrimination. CFPB and DOJ must vigilantly monitor the data for discriminatory or unfair impact and act swiftly if and when that impact occurs.” For the moment, however, Richard Cordray, CFPB’s director will mark the progress made as the journey towards fair lending continues. “Honda’s proactive decision to move to a new pricing and compensation system demonstrates industry leadership and represents a significant step towards protecting consumers from discrimination,” observed Cordray. Dealer interest rate markup is the practice of adding extra interest to a consumer’s loan—dealers pocket this difference as compensation. How does it work in practice? A borrower qualifies for a loan at 5 percent, but the dealer raises it by as much as 2.5 percent more. The dealer tells the consumer, “Great news! We got you a great rate of 7.5 percent!” The dealer then collects a large bonus payment, up to a thousand dollars or more, when it sells the loan to a lender. The borrower gets stuck with higher car payments for the life of the loan.

Research, court cases and enforcement actions have shown that consumers of color have their loans marked-up more often, and by a greater amount, than White borrowers with similar credit profiles. Data from a series of court cases settled a decade ago found that African American and Latino borrowers were twice as likely to be hit with a dealer interest rate markup, and that markup was on average twice as large as for a similarly-situated White borrower. Those lenders agreed to cap the amount of markup dealers could add to the interest rate for 10 years, and those agreements have all expired. Additional CRL research showed that for borrowers of color, following the auto dealers’ own advice on

Charlene Crowell

Commentary avoiding paying too much in markup does work. Car dealers insist that the interest rate is also negotiable, and that if consumers negotiate the rate like they do the price of the car the threat of overcharge disappears. CRL data refutes that. According to a CRL-sponsored survey, borrowers of color reported attempting to negotiate the interest rate as much, if not more often, than White borrow-

ers, and yet paid higher interest rates than similarly situated white borrowers. In fact, borrowers of color who negotiated the interest rate paid more than White borrower who did not negotiate. Media accounts suggest that the CFPB and DOJ are working on several more cases alleging discrimination, and other bank regulators are also referring cases to the DOJ. A host of other enforcement agencies have also launched investigations into auto lending, including whether dealer markups have a discriminatory impact. A similar

practice was banned in the mortgage market; it is long past time to end the same practice in the auto lending market. Even though every forward stride deserves its own acknowledgement, the car lending market still lacks transparency and fairness for many consumers. Dealer interest rate markups are unfair and discriminatory, and we should not tolerate hidden fees that result in unfairness and discrimination in any financial marketplace. Here’s hoping that car sales will soon be more broadly and fairly transacted for everyone. (Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.)

How Janice Bryant Howroyd built a billion-dollar business by Carolyn M. Brown For New Pittsburgh Courier

Janice Bryant Howroyd is the first black woman to build a billion-dollar company. Oprah Winfrey may be the first Black woman self-made billionaire, but Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO of Act•1 Group, is the first Black woman to own a billion-dollar company. In 2011 Act•1, the nation’s largest Black female-owned business, held the No. 3 spot on the BE Industrial/Service list of the national’s largest Black-owned companies, with $1.4 billion in revenues for 2010. Over the last 30 years Bryant Howroyd has steered her Torrence, Calif., based-company through turbulent economic climates to emerge as a leader in the $120 billion staffing industry. The business titan and BE 100s CEO shared her keys to success as a featured keynote speaker at the 2012 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo (BEEC2012) in Chicago (May 23-26). In 1978, Bryant Howroyd started Act•1 Personnel Services as a singleoffice operation that evolved into the ACT•1 Group, an expansive global operation that today employs more than 1,300 people in 240 satellite offices in the U.S. and eight other countries, offering a range of services from employee background checks to executive travel management. This growth has earned ACT•1 the distinction of being the largest woman minority-owned employment agency in the United States.

JANICE BRYANT HOWROYD Covering an array of industries and serving corporate giants such as Merck, Sempra Energy, and AT&T, Bryant Howroyd has mapped out an expansion strategy based on understanding the demands of a changing work environment, anticipating client needs and providing customized services that deliver maximum results. The recent economy has wrecked many companies, large and small, yet, Bryant Howroyd continues to grow her business, increasing its international presence. Act•1 is well on its way to becoming a $2 billion by yearend 2012. Bryant Howroyd represents the enterprising spirit of African American entrepreneurs—men and women— that remains unwavering. She says

now is the best time to start a business because opportunities are ripe. “Whenever you have an economic situation that is weakened a bit, whenever you find societies are having challenges, you also have the opportunity to bring solutions people may not have thought about before and you can deliver in ways they’ve never been open to receive it,” she explains. “You have to ask the right questions and listen for the right answers,” she advises, “Be where you say you’re going to be and how you say you’re going to be there; communicate with clarity and make sure you have full circle communication. Those are the simple ABC’s of business and I think they also serve very well in life as well,” adds Bryant Howroyd who believes vagueness is what causes business failure. You also have to think and act globally. “No matter what the size of your business, no matter what the generation or iteration of your business, you are in a global business,” she says. “We all compete globally— no matter what we manufacture, no matter what we deliver as a service or a solution, there is someone else in the world also doing that—and technology has brought us together into a single community.” Bryant Howroyd will share with new and established entrepreneurs her seven ingredients in creating success: competitive edge, dedication, dynamic foresight, resilience, focus and clarity, employee appreciation and, her biggest asset, faith. (Courtesy of Black Enterprise)

U.S. Export Bank subsidizes Fortune 100 CONTINUED FROM C1

Parra, who pleaded guilty in 2012 to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to prosecutors, Parra and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained the loan proceeds and used them for personal gain. These and dozens of other cases reflect the hazards inherent in government subsidies. That is, agencies such as

EX-IM do not engage in meaningful due diligence when taxpayers are on the hook for any or all losses. The Inspector General noted in a 2012 report to Congress that the bank failed to collect adequate credit information and history from borrowers and lacked sufficient compliance personnel relative to the increasing size of the bank’s finance portfolio, which is expected to exceed

$140 billion by September 30, 2014. It also concluded that EX-IM risk management framework and governance structure are not commensurate with the size, scope and strategic ambitions of the institution.” Yes, it never fails. Discrimination and corruption are “first cousins.” Where there is one you will most certainly find the other. It appears that the EX-IM Bank

is no exception. The NBCC position is this: We will not fight to keep or kill the EXIM Bank. This entity has no impact on our membership. Maybe it would change its ways if it survives. This is quite doubtful. (Harry C. Alford is the cofounder, president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: halford@nationalbcc.org)

Conference kicks off silver anniversary CONTINUED FROM C1

ing women, OWN has served as a voice for a target audience of women of color. Kicking off in 1991by providing public relations services, throughout the years her company has expanded to include a busi-

ness magazine, a television talk show, and an online radio show. Jackson has conducted workshops, seminars and several conferences similar to Saturday’s Business Conference. Jackson is also the host of Your Stylish Ways, a web series

that demonstrates style options on a budget and offers fashion advice. In honor of her 25 years and as a way to keep her business in line with current trends, she is planning to incorporate a name change. The business will

McLay pushes for new hiring criteria CONTINUED FROM C1

President and CEO thanked him and reminded members that the chamber offices are closed and no events are scheduled during the month of August. She also said a members’ orientation is scheduled for July 28 at their Koppers’ building board room and a members’ mixer will be held July 29 at the Children’s Museum on the North Side. The next PowerBreakfast meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18 and will feature Pittsburgh Pirates President Frank Coonley. (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

ON POINT—Chamber President and CEO Doris Carson Williams recognizes a member with a question for speaker, police Chief Cameron McLay following his PowerBreakfast address, July 17. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

be known as NEW, Nurturing Evolving Women. “We believe that nothing can grow without being nurtured, and no one can develop without evolving. There is something fresh, enlightening and inspiring about the word, NEW.” Throughout the years OWN has published a magazine call ONYX Woman that focuses on careers, business and finances. In 2016, Jackson said the final hard copy issue will be published. “We are now focusing more on digital content. NEW will take the place of the magazine by featuring and covering the same content as the magazine.” Either way from OWN to NEW, Jackson’s plan is to continue providing content emphasizing programming targeting women of color. The Network, she explained was created to present content that will bring women closer to their personal, professional and spiritual goals that impact their quality of life. “In addition, our goal is to present minority women in a positive light.”

BUSINESS CALENDAR

Business Institute Seminar

JULY 22—The Business Institute of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania will host “How to do business with the Allegheny County Airport Authority” at 9 a.m. at the Koppers Building, 436 Seventh Ave., Downtown. Chamber members will be introduced to the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s procedures on doing business as well as their DBE/Outreach Manger and their procurement and construction teams to start the process of building relationships. This workshop is for Chamber Members only. Reservations are required. For more information, call 412-392-0610.

Lunch and Learn Series JULY 23— The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host its Lunch & Learn Series at 12:15 p.m. at the Downtown & Business Branch, 612 Smithfield St., Downtown. The topic will be “How to Start a Food Truck Business.” There will be a panel discussion where attendees will have the opportunity to learn how to start a food truck from local street vendors and Allegheny County Health Department officials. For more information, call 412-281-7141 or visit www.carnegielibrary.org.

2015 Business Conference JULY 25—Onyx Woman Network will host the 2015 Business Conference from 10 a.m.2 p.m. at the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center, 1852 Enoch St., Hill District. Business owners will learn how to make sure the business they run isn’t running them as well as receive advice on business growth and sustainability. Speakers will include Rosemary Crawford, Esq., Arlinda Moriarty, Ola Jackson, Debra Hickman, Dr. Renee Galloway and Jarene Barnes. Vendor opportunities are available and registration is requested. For more information, call 412-731-5159 or visit www.onxywoman.com.

Members’ Orientation JULY 28—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania will host its Members’ Orientation from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Koppers Building, 436 Seventh Ave., Downtown. This is a program for new and existing Chamber members. Individuals will learn the value of being a part of the Chamber’s organized body as well as get an overview of the Chamber and the Chamber Foundation. Reservations are required by July 24 and a box lunch is included. For more information, call 412-392-0610 or email information@aaccwp.com.

Lunch and Learn Series JULY 30— The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host its Lunch & Learn Series at 12:15 p.m. at the Downtown & Business Branch, 612 Smithfield St., Downtown. The topic will be “Small Business Research.” Attendees will learn how the library’s access to comprehensive print materials, e-resources and services for small business startups can help them open their business. For more information, call 412281-7141 or visit www.carnegielibrary.org.

Final Fridays JULY 31—The Hill Community Development Corp. will host its Final Fridays Happy Hour at 5:30 p.m. at Savoy Lounge, 2623 Penn Ave., Strip District. The last Friday of every month through August, the Hill CDC will welcome guests to learn more about their programs and the Hill District community. For more information, call 412-765-1820.

Resume Assistance AUG. 4—The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host its Job & Career: Resume Assistant by Appointment from 6-8 p.m. at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh East Liberty Branch, 130 S. Whitfield ST., East Liberty. Qualified volunteers and staff are available to help one develop a strong resume and cover letter so that they can land that all-important interview. Appointments must be scheduled. For more information, call 412-363-8232 or email eastliberty@carnegielibrary.org. (To have information on Business Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)

New Pittsburgh Courier

SPORTS

C3

JULY 22-28, 2015

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Inside Conditions

Overtime by Bill Neal For New Pittsburgh Courier

:10—Let’s get it poppin’! Ain’t no party like a Pryor party cause a Pryor party don’t stop…Ain’t no party like a Pryor party cause a Pryor party don’t stop!!! And the Pryor party was on, the music and dancing was poppin’, the food was off the hook and “5” count them, five generations of the Pryor family enjoyed a wonderful old school cookout in the home town and my favorite place on earth Donora, Pa. “The divine Mrs. Pryor” as the center piece still looking just wonderful…Brenda. Holding down at her house (Brenda used to always be in the way when she was a little girl…if you know what I mean), Gena and that always radiant smile, and my childhood brother growing up, Gerome. A great time given by a great family to be sure. While I didn’t have a chance to talk with Terrell Pryor I did have the pleasure to talk with his Grandmother for a while and that in and of itself was worth the trip. Our conversation was off the record so I can’t give you details, but I can tell you this…Terrell Pryor the NFL star is in “Grandma’s hands”…and there’s not a better place to be. Love ya Donora—Always will (Mr. Butler out of Belle Vernon, Pa. from one lineman to another it was a pleasure to go toe to toe with ya. You’re not Penn Hills, but you’ll do!) :09—I gotta tell you this, the road trip was made even more special cause me and my partner Vince Neal got to kick it to old sounds on the road. Remember this one… “Does your Mother know about me.” How bout this one “Love Land.” And it’s not a road trip without “Papa was a Rollin Stone.” Peace Out! :08—You know I have to do this for your every year. Do – Not – Worry – About – Your – Pittsburgh – Pirates. They’ll be alright. Of course they dropped two, maybe three to the Lowly Brewers. They left everything they had on the field with St. Louis. They need a minute to get their heads back in the game No Worries! :07—The men’s U.S. Soccer team beat Cuba 6-0 to advance that’s all I can tell ya. And I know that’s more than you already know so shut up! :06—Your Pittsburgh Steelers are “Getting Ready to Get Ready!” “It’s ShowTime Baby!” “Go Super Bowl or Go Home!” That’s enough quotes to get you started…NOW…Are – You – Ready – For – Some – Football? :05—You know I’ve been joking about Tiger Woods troubles for a pretty good run now. But seriously this is getting to be a matter of great concern. The man can’t make the cut at the British Open against a bunch of middle school kids. I would advise you to shut it down Tiger, but even though your game is in the tank your still the No. 1. Draw in the game. They just love to hate ya…I am just sayin’! :04—Now you know that I don’t endorse violence in anyway. Most especially against women. But Rhonda Rouse, the ESPY’s top female athlete of the year better be careful what she says about Floyd Mayweather. His record shows he’ll knock you out too. I am just sayin’ again! :03—Lock in this date…do it and do it now or I’ll start knockin’ somebody out! Saturday, Aug. 15 and Sunday, Aug. 16 the Annual Armon “The Hammer” Gilliam Memorial “Hard Work” Basketball Camp for girls and boys ages 8-16 at the Penn Hills YMCA, only $25 for the weekend; 9:00am to 4:00pm each day. Complete supervision, former college and pro players and coaches – skills & drills – games – discipline and hard work – lunch – t-shirts – certificate – and more hard work…The old school way! Call 412-628-4856 to register right away only 100 spots available. :02—The Top 10 heavy weight fighters listing got a surprising number of hits, about 172 all total. But the names were almost the same across the board with Ali, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier and Tyson leading the pack. :01—While you’re at it lock this in too. Oh please…Just Shut Up and do it. You don’t have anything better to do. The 2nd Annual Pittsburgh City League Hall of Fame Inductions are set for Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Wyndham Hotel in Oakland (Formerly the Holiday Inn) call 412628-4856 for information or to nominate a great City League Athlete. :00—Double Overtime — I’ve gotta a question before I go. When are we going to stop shooting our young people and innocent bystanders? NO…No…No…not the shootings in the hood. I am talking about the national mass murders. Gotcha. huh?!?! Game Over

by Audrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh Courier

MVP—#21 is RB Rahmon Hart, MVP of Perry’s 1989 City League and state champions. (Photos Supplied)

City League’s only PIAA football champs Perry’s “Blue Steel” defense celebrate 25 years of unparalleled success by Smokin’ Jim Frazier For New Pittsburgh Courier

Over the years, we have seen our fair share of David beating Goliath. Upsets are going to happen, and the best thing about them is they occur when you least expect it and these are some of the greatest moments in sports history. When Rahmon Hart PhD was in junior high school, he looked up to Perry High School stars Darrelle Porter, Ricky Cannon, Mike Ragin, and Bobby Goodwine, hoping to one day be in their shoes. Hart took that step years down the road by filling baskets and scoring touchdowns, all while becoming the latest in a long line of Perry High greats. After a stellar senior season on the basketball court and football field capped a tremendous high school career for Hart, and because of that he was named the 1989 City League High School Football Player of the Year. “One of the things that I remember about the State Championship season is the summer before the season Kevin Amin-Griffin (starting quarterback) and I were best friends and co-captains of the team. We spent 90 percent of that summer together. I ran routes and we practiced the freeze option non-stop,” said Hart. “We also engaged in some brutal training sessions that included jogs from Homewood to the North Side of Pittsburgh. Once the season started, we were in world-class shape. That was our strength—nobody was in better cardio vascular shape then we were.” Perry High was an underdog entering the 1989 season and the team had been on a decline. Brashear, led by Jimy Lincoln and Parade All-American Michael Booth won the City in 1987 and 1988 and the pride of the North Side would be lucky to finish in the top 5. “We flew under the radar because we had a lot of first year starters, Mike Coates, Maurice Turner and myself,” said Darnell “Pepsi” Farrow. “Plus, 1989 was one of the greatest years for city teams. Allderdice had Curtis Martin and Tyrone Jay, Peabody had Lamont Coleman, Oliver had Ray Zellars, Westinghouse had Sean Barnes, so nobody rated us very high. Coach Gus Cantanese planted a seed in our heads after the 1st game against Langley and he told us we could win state. After that we were looking for a fight! Looking for that knockout hit and all 11 guys on defense

wanted that big hit.” It was normal for someone to be so emotional that they would be brought to tears before the game—that was symbolic of the type of intensity that Perry played with. It didn’t matter if they were playing the worst team in the league or the very best team in the league—the goal was to absolutely destroy every opponent. As a result, only two teams to score on them all season and nobody scored on them until the 4th game of the year. The Schenley Spartans celebrated like they won the championship and Perry responded like it was the end of the world—even though they beat them 40-6. No other team score on them until the City League Championship game. After winning the City League championship, Perry shutout Greensburg Salem, 23-0, in the PIAA state semifinals. “Once we got to the playoffs, the WPIAL teams thought we were a joke. They mocked us in the local newspapers and questioned our ability to be competitive with the supposedly “mighty AAA” WPIAL teams. This was the absolute worst thing in the world that they could have done,” said Hart. “I recall Coach Catanese crying in his pep talk to us about how we were being disrespected by the local media as we headed into our first WPIAL playoff appearance. We responded by absolutely pounding Greensburg Salem 23 – 0. Many people were shocked after the game—except our fans, coaches, and team. After each hit we could see Greensburg Salem losing some of their spirit. To be honest, some of the hits were downright brutal.” December 7, 1989 was a day that will always be remembered as the day the City League won its first and only PIAA title. Perry upset national powerhouse Berwick, 208, at Hershey Park Stadium. Perry, under Coach Gus Catanese, is still the only City League team to win a PIAA title. It was a game that ended with a dagger when linebacker “Pepsi” returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. Perry had a tremendous defense, nicknamed “Blue Steel.” The Commodores gave up only three touchdowns all season. Berwick was the defending state champion, beating Sean Gilbert led Aliquippa the previous year. Berwick was 14-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country by USA Today and All-American quarterback named Joe Kelchner,

THE 1989 STATE CHAMPIONS

who had more than 50 college scholarship offers. The team, riding a 33-game winning streak, was considered unbeatable. “As we watched the film, we noticed that Berwick weren’t nearly as physical as we were. We had a way of accelerating through our opponents and exploding upon contact—there wasn’t a team that we watched that came close to the type of hits that we put on our opponents,” said Hart. “We also had a way of intimidating our opponents before and after devastating hits. We would let them know that they would be hit hard before the game and we would deliver on that promise during the game. We entered the game overconfident.” Berwick led, 8-0, at halftime, and by 8-6 after three quarters. But with 2:50 left in the game, Perry’s Mike Coates recovered a fumble at the Berwick 7, and Hart scored on a 2-yard run two plays later. Amin hit Kevin Woods with the 2-point conversion pass to take a 14-8 lead. On the final play of the game star quarterback Kelchner threw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Linebacker Darnell “Pepsi” Farrow who raced 100 yards for a touchdown and into the history books. My fondest memories of playing football were at Perry Traditional Academy. We finished ranked #8 in the USA Today even though we beat the #4 team in the USA Today in the State Championship 20-8,” said Hart. “Our games were like college football highlight films. We had the meanest players, the hardest hitters, and we played with complete trust of the guy next to us. Every person on the team was valued and loved— even if they were freshmen. Perry went to Hershey in 1989 without a single star player and a plan to ferociously outwork its opponents. Below are some of the members of the “no name offense” and the “blue steel” defense. Maurice Turner, Chad Skorocki, Joe Woods, Shongo Raines, Michael Coates, Darnell “Pepsi” Farrow, Ted Carter, Kevin Amin Griffin (QB), Lou Clark, Ramon Waldon, Odis Townsend, Dennis Martin, Harry Jackson, and Hart. Perry achieved the impossible dream in 1989 by winning the State Championship and proved that defense wins championships. Nobody wanted to face “The Steel Curtain,” “The Purple People Eaters,” “The Legion of Boom,” “The Fearsome Foursome” or “The Blue Steel”just ask Berwick.

I recently ran into an inebriated Pirates fan in Market Square in Downtown Pittsburgh sporting what appeared to me to be a selfmanufactured button that just simply said, “Pedro must go.” Unfortunately, he seems to represent the tip of the iceberg regarding disgruntled Pedro Alvarez fans. There are beginning to be rumblings, grumbling and mumbling regarding the performance of Pittsburgh Pirates ex3rd baseman and current 1st baseman, Pedro Alvarez. To the credit of Pirates manager Clint Hurdle he has tried as many formulas as “Merlin the magician” to maximize the talent of Alvarez. But unless a miracle happens the erratic performance of Alvarez may ultimately doom the postseason aspirations of the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans. From 2010-2014 Alvarez averaged 23 home runs and 64 runs batted in per season. He also struck out 678 times in 2,063 at bats: that means that approximately every 3 at bats Mr. Alvarez was a strikeout victim. The defensive side of Alvarez may be daunting as well. He averaged 22 errors per season as a basically full time baseman from 20102014, yet he was moved from 3rd base to 1st base in order to lessen the liability of him on defense. However, he has already committed 15 errors in 2015 and the Pirates are just a tad past the first half of the season. He is on pace to commit 28 plus errors at 1st base in 2015. Pedro Alvarez is a congenial, approachable and hardworking young man but his continued performance (or lack thereof) may ultimately doom the Pirates and designate them as the most talented “couch potatoes” left behind when the 2015 MLB postseason begins. I was talking to one of my Milwaukee buddies and he said to me that it would be very difficult to sit Pedro Alvarez because he is such a fan favorite. I also said to him that might be true but even a great and loyal fan base will eventually tire of clubhouse concession speeches when the great teams continue to “crack the bubbly” as they continue celebrate championships. There is no one man that is greater than the sum of the team or at least there shouldn’t be. A very comfortable bed has been made for Pedro Alvarez, yet players like Josh Harrison still must continue to prove themselves over and over, day after day. When Harrison comes back from his injury, I suspect he will feel the pressure (not from his manager) to again prove that he can continue to perform at a high level on an everyday basis. I can’t imagine Pirates manager Clint Hurdle giving Pedro Alvarez the responsibility to play multiple positions because his first two years in Pittsburgh, 2011-2012 when he committed just 17 and 14 errors respectively, his hand to eye coordination seems to have maybe taken a step backwards. The defensive inadequacies of Mr. Alvarez may be due to a physical nature such as a visual perception problem but that that may be a stretch on my part to say the least, because if such a matter was the problem, it would have been uncovered and medically addressed by now. There are risk’s that may be worthwhile taking such as extending a players’ contract after he or she has experienced a significant injury. However, let me pose this question to you. Would you continue to patronize a restaurant that served fabulous looking food only resulting with you experiencing diarrhea every time you ate there? If possessed any amount of logic, you would discontinue allowing the physical appearance of the “victuals” to impact you decision to dine there. Would you continue buying loaves of bread from a manufacturer that featured sexy men and women on the packaging but once you opened it up, the bread was moldy and stale, time after time? I don’t think so. The Pittsburgh Pirates have repackaged and repositioned and have shown great loyalty to Pedro Alvarez by doing so. Now it is time for the Pirates to cut their losses and move on. (Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741.)

New Pittsburgh Courier

CLASSIFIED

C4

JULY 22-28, 2015

SONNY BOY

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

MAINTENANCE/JANITOR

P/T maintenance/janitor person. Some electrical and plumbing knowledge helpful. Must have driverʼs license. Submit resume to St. Benedict the Moor Church 91 Crawford Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 No telephone calls.

DUQUESNE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Duquesne City School District is seeking the following Substitutes: PK-6 Regular & Special Education, Long Term Substitute Teachers. Requirements include a valid PA teaching certificate. ALL candidates must have current Act 151/34/114 clearances. Additional information can be found on the Districtʼs website www.dukecitysd.org. Please send resume and cover letter to Duquesne City School District, 300 Kennedy Avenue, Duquesne, Pa 15110, ATTN: Human Resources/PR. EOE

DIRECTOR OF WOMENʼS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

United Way of Allegheny County United Way of Allegheny Countyʼs Womenʼs Leadership Council (WLC) is a powerful force in local philanthropy, engaged in issues important to women. It is the fourth largest WLC in the country. Reporting to the Vice President of Campaign, the WLC Director is responsible for the overall management of the WLC program, managing relationships and securing support from female donors who are capable of making gifts of $1,000+ annually. This individual will lead an effort to build a movement of women philanthropists through the development and implementation of a plan for growth in membership and fundraising across the county. The Director of WLC will manage a personal portfolio of current donors and prospects, as well as manage one WLC Development Officer. United Way is seeking an experienced, passionate and creative leader to work with WLC members, aligning them to United Way of Allegheny Countyʼs vision and mission, specifically our United for Women Initiative. This individual will develop strategy, lead projects, events and activities related to the WLC. This candidate will be an individual with a rich major gifts fundraising background, who has had progressive and successful development experience and who has a strong track record of successful management. Visit our website at http://unitedwaypittsburgh.org/careers to view job description and apply for this position. Submissions will only be accepted electronically. United Way of Allegheny County is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity.

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Director of Finance

One F/T position avail. Pittsburgh area. Bach.ʼs Deg. in Acctg./Finance required. Must have at least 3 yrs. exp. in supv. & mgmt. of an acctg. dept. Prefer non-profit exp., Strong written & oral comm. skills along with strong presentation skills. Must be able to relay financial info. in a clear/concise manner. Must have strong analytical skills & creative ability. Must be able to establish & evaluate organizational goals while realigning staff & dept. Must be bondable. Coordinates prep., maint., & submission of financial repts. & records, incl. payroll. Resp. for forecasts, estimation & cost analysis. Monitors cash flow. Operates within EDGAR guidelines. Resp. for dept. supervision, training, scheduling, planning, work assignments & evals. Resp. for interviewing, hiring, & disciplinary actions as reqd. Interacts with BOD by providing financial data in supt. of planning initiatives. Prepare & monitor all organization budgets. Monitors all bank accts., travel expenses, investments & defined contribution plan. Coordinates all accounting processes with temp. consulting agency. Coordinates all audits. Prepares all tax returns. Assists CEO with prep. & nego. of contract finances. Oversees/liason to federal & state grants. Dev. strategies to maximize grant funding. Develops, implements, evaluates, revises acctg. policies, procedures & internal controls. Must have knowledge of accrual basis accounting, fund accounting, Quickbooks software, familiarity with database systems, proficiency in MS Word & Excel. Must have reliable means of transportation. Personal exp. with a disability pref. Full bene. pkg. Salary is $50,000 annually based on experience & qualifications. ADA/EOE. Please submit resume by 7/31/15 to: L. Wilson, Human Resources Manager (lwilson@ trcil.org) Fax: 412-731-0959 Three Rivers Center for Independent Living (TRCIL) Services, Inc. 900 Rebecca Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15221-2938 Three Rivers Center for Independent Living (TRCIL) Services, Inc. is committed to Equal Opportunity Employment. COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

AIRLINE SERVICES TECHNICIAN (Mechanic)

The Allegheny County Airport Authority Airport has a position opening for an Airline Services Technician (Mechanic) at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Complete information about this position is available at http://www.flypittsburgh.com/AC AA_employment The advertisement period ends on July 29, 2015. EOE / M / F / D / V

MEDICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OPENINGS ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL

Allegheny County is accepting applications for a wide range of positons at the Allegheny County Jail. Open positions include: nurses, mental health aides, counselors, pharmacy technicians and more! For application requirements and job description check our website at www.alleghenycounty.us/jobs or visit us at our Human Resources office at 102 County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

The Allegheny County Airport Authority Airport has a position opening for a Customer Service Representative at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Complete information about this position is available at http://www.flypittsburgh.com/AC AA_employment The advertisement period ends on July 29, 2015. EOE / M / F / D / V

PPG Industries Inc., a $15 billion leading producer of coatings, optical and specialty materials and glass products, is seeking talented people for full-time openings as Production Operators at its Springdale, PA coatings plant. The position requires experience in a production environment, strong communication and teamwork skills, and basic math skills. High school diploma or equivalent is required. The position entails blending, measuring and procuring raw materials to manufacture industrial coatings. Once completed, materials are packaged for shipment to customers. Starting salary is $14.19/hr. with vacation, holidays and benefits. In approximately 1 year you may reach the full base hourly rate of $17.80/hr. for a Large Work Cell Operator. Applicants must apply on line at www.jobsppg.com When asked to select the location…select Springdale Plant When asked to select the position…select Springdale Plant Production All candidates must apply using this website. Applications and phone calls will not be accepted at the facility. Learn more about PPG at www.ppg.com Applicants must have the legal right to work in the United States PPG prides itself on the quality of its employees and as such, candidates who receive a job offer will be required to successfully pass a hair drug/toxins test and a background check. PPG Industries, Inc. offers an opportunity to grow and develop your career in an environment that provides a fulfilling workplace for employees, creates an environment for continuous learning, and embraces the ideas and diversity of others. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, pregnancy, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability status, protected veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status. PPG is an Equal Opportunity Employer. LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

Estate Notices

Letters have been granted on the estate of each of the following decedents to the personal representative named who request all persons having claims against the estate of the decedent to make known the same in writing to him or his attorney, and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment to him without delay:

Estate of PALKAY, ANNA P. a/k/a PALKAY, ANNE P., deceased of Richland Township, No 03556 of 2015, Arlene Palkay Exec., 17171 Roscoe Blvd., Apt. 108A, Northridge, CA 91325 or to Michael J. Saldamarco, Esq., 908 Perry Highway, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15229.

Estate of RICHTER, ROSALIND, deceased, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, No. 02-15-02988, Barbara Helmrich and Kenneth M. Richter, CoExecutors c/o Tener, Van Kirk, Wolf & Moore, PC, One Oxford Centre, Suite 2100, 301 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or to Nancy L. Rackoff, Esquire, Tener, Van Kirk, Wolf & Moore, PC, One Oxford Centre, Suite 2100, 301 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Public Notices

Public Notices

Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE OPENING OF THE LARIMER POINTE TWO- (2) AND THREE- (3) BEDROOM SITE BASED WAITING LISTS

Effective Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 8:00 a.m., the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) will reopen the Larimer Pointe two- (2) and three- (3) bedroom waiting lists to households that require, and qualify for, a two- (2) or three- (3) bedroom unit. Not all households will be eligible for a two- (2) or three- (3) bedroom unit, as the age, gender and relationships of household members affect the number of bedrooms for which a household is eligible. Families of various sizes can qualify for two- (2) and three- (3) bedroom units, but some restrictions apply. Families may have no less than one- (1) person per bedroom and no more than two- (2) persons per bedroom. Children of the same sex, under the age of eighteen- (18), share a bedroom. Children of opposite sex share a bedroom until the oldest child reaches the age of three- (3). Pre-applications can only be submitted online. HACP will be accepting pre-applications online at www.hacp.org beginning at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 28, 2015. Position on the waiting list will be determined based upon the date and time the completed pre-application is accepted by the online system. If you do not have internet access, internet access is available at all Allegheny County public libraries and HACP will provide limited computer/ internet access at the HACP Occupancy Department, 100 Ross Street, 4th Floor. Printed pre-applications are not available. Additional information is available by contacting the HACP Occupancy Department at 412-456-5030. For those that are deaf or hearing impaired, you can also contact HACP at TDD: 412-201-5384. This event is for the new Larimer Pointe Community ONLY and is completely separate from the HACP Housing Choice Voucher Program. The Housing Authority of the City Of Pittsburgh Occupancy Department 100 Ross Street – 4th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 LEGAL ADVERTISING

PUBLIC NOTICE OPENING OF THE SKYLINE TERRACE TWO- (2) AND THREE- (3) BEDROOM SITE BASED WAITING LISTS

Effective Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 8:00 a.m., the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) will reopen the Skyline Terrace two- (2) and three- (3) bedroom waiting lists for all families that require, and qualify for, a two- (2) or three- (3) bedroom unit. Not all households will be eligible for a two- (2) or three- (3) bedroom unit, as the age, gender and relationships of household members affect the number of bedrooms for which a household is eligible. Families of various sizes can qualify for two- (2) and three- (3) bedroom units, but some restrictions apply. Families may have no less than one- (1) person per bedroom and no more than two- (2) persons per bedroom. Children of the same sex, under the age of eighteen- (18), share a bedroom. Children of opposite sex share a bedroom until the oldest child reaches the age of three- (3). Effective Tuesday, July 28, 2015, ALL Skyline Terrace pre-applications can only be submitted online. HACP will be accepting pre-applications online at www.hacp.org beginning at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 28, 2015. Position on the waiting list will be determined based upon the date and time the completed pre-application is accepted by the online system. If you do not have internet access, internet access is available at all Allegheny County public libraries and HACP will provide limited computer/ internet access at the HACP Occupancy Department, 100 Ross Street, 4th Floor. Printed pre-applications are not available. Additional information is available by contacting the HACP Occupancy Department at 412-456-5030. For those that are deaf or hearing impaired, you can also contact HACP at TDD: 412-201-5384. This event is for the new Skyline Terrace Community ONLY and is completely separate from the HACP Housing Choice Voucher Program. The Housing Authority of the City Of Pittsburgh Occupancy Department 100 Ross Street – 4th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Legal Services RFQ #700-23-15

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Legal Services RFQ #700-23-15 The documents will be available no later than July 13, 2015 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 11:00 A.M., August 3, 2015 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 200 Ross Street, 9th Floor, Board Room Pittsburgh, PA 15219 July 24, 2015 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and login, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

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Legal Notices

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AECOM Technical Services, Inc. Public Notice

Release Date: July 20, 2015 Deadline for Submission: Friday, July 31, 2015, at 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time AECOM Technical Services, Inc. is accepting Letters of Interest and Statement of Qualifications from firms who wish to be considered for SEWER SYSTEM INSPECTION CONTRACT Pre-qualified firms will have the opportunity to respond to a Request for Bid to provide Sewer System Inspection services specifically including the furnishing of all necessary labor, materials, equipment, services and incidentals required and visually inspect by means of closed-circuit television, including, but not limited to, all recording and playback equipment, materials and supplies such as DVDs and hard drives. There is no expressed or implied obligation for AECOM to reimburse firms for any expenses incurred in preparing responses to this request. Additional information and instructions may be obtained by emailing Darby Neidig at darby.neidig@aecom.com or (412)297-4503. COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS

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

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

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

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

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LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Electronic Proposals will be received online at the Port Authority of Allegheny Countyʼs Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org). The submission date for all proposals is 11:00 AM on August 18, 2015 and read at 11:15 AM., the same day, in Port Authorityʼs Public Meeting Room, 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527, for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org) B141198R Wheel Assembly LRV B150428R Pantograph Assemblies B150533AR Dell Compellent Hardware Support Services B150636ACoach Replacement Parts--Cooling B150637A Coach Replacement Parts--Suspension No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on each of the above items at 9:00am on July 29, 2015 in the Port Authorityʼs Public Meeting Room at 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the Port Authority within 48 hours of the scheduled bid opening. These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. Contractor is responsible for expenses related to acquiring a performance bond and insurance where applicable. All items are to be FOB delivered unless otherwise specified. Costs for delivery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidderʼs proposal pricing. Port Authority of Allegheny County hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprise will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. The Board of Port Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

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

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TO PLACE AN AD IN SOUL READERS Call 412-481-8302, Ext. 140 The deadline for all ads to be placed is Monday at 4 p.m. All ads must be paid for in advance. We accept Money Orders, Credit Cards and Western Union “Quick Collect” payments.

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

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Pick up your Courier at these locations Pittsburgh Courier NEW

On Sale Wednesdays WESTERN AREA: GIANT EAGLE #02 1800 MCKEES ROCKS RD GIANT EAGLE #694 GREEN GARDEN PLAZA PLAZA NEWS 2142 SHEFFIELD ROAD STEVIES DAIRY MART 1230 SHEFFIELD ST NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET 1329 TYLER STREET GIANT EAGLE #37 QUAKER VALLEY SHOPPING CENTER CRAFTON BEVERAGE CRAFTON/INGRAM SHOPPING CENTER GIANT EAGLE CRAFTON/INGRAM SHOPPING CENTER SHEETZ #353 5400 CAMPBELL’S RUN RD SHOP N’ SAVE #1686 2103 NOBLESTOWN RD SAFRANS SUPER MKT 429 WALNUT ST GIANT EAGLE #47 100 SETTLERS RIDGE CTR. DR. GIANT EAGLE #74 PARKWAY CENTER MALL SOUTHERN AREA: KEN’S 216 BELTZHOOVER AVE NELSON’S 92 SYLVANIA AVE GIANT EAGLE #61 2021 WHARTON AVE COGO’S 2400 EAST CARSON ST COGO’S 925 EAST CARSON ST DAILY MART 1125 ARLINGTON AVE SHOP N SAVE CARRICK SOUTH EASTERN AREA: SUPER STOP 403 KENMAWR AVE CARL’S CAFE 337 FIFTH AVE COMET NEWS 540 BRADDOCK AVE PUFFS DISCOUNT TOBACCO 1722 GREENSBUR AVE A-PLUS SUNOCO 7403 WASHINGTON ST COGO’S 1050 BRINTON RD COGO’S 2003 S BRADDOCK AVE EDGEWOOD EXPRESS 253 EDGEWOOD AVE BRAD EXPRESS 1101 S BRADDOCK AVE GIANT EAGLE #619 1705 S. BRADDOCK AVE CVS 7406 CHURCH ST SHUMAN’S MARKET 1105 SWISSVALE AVE DUKE’S SUNOCO 825 DUQUESNE BLVD 7-11 KENNYWOOD BLVD GIANT EAGLE #6379 420 EAST WATERFRONT DR GIANT EAGLE—MCKEESPORT 3812 O’NEILL BLVD THE TORN PAGE 474 DONNER RD J & S FOOD MART

625 W GRANT AVE RITE AID PHARMACY 100 WILLIAM MARKS DR GIANT EAGLE 1356 HOFFMAN BLVD BP GAS STATION LYSLE & WALNUT DS FOODMART 929 UNION ST RITE AID PHARMACY 725 LYSLE BLVD EASTERN AREA: WATERWORKS GIANT EAGLE #72 1005 FREEPORT RD— PENN HILLS: DIVINE HAIR STUDIO 10 DUFF RD GIANT EAGLE 9001 FRANKSTOWN RD GIANT EAGLE #78 230 RODI RD SHELL GAS STATION 11835 FRANKSTOWN RD THE SPOT 11675 FRANKSTOWN RD MASH MINI MART 4341 OLD WM. PENN HWY GIANT EAGLE #60 4004 MONROEVILLE BLVD GIANT EAGLE #76 AMES PLAZA, ROUTE 22 GET IT QUICK 500 GARDEN CITY JT RIB SHACK 1 RAQUET LANE DESTINY’S HAIR SALON 408 RODI RD PUFF’S DISCOUNT TOBACCO 10991 FRANKSTOWN RD MIKE’S SPOT 815 UNIVERSAL RD CREAMY CREATIONS 144B JEFFERSON RD SHOP N SAVE 3335 WILLIAM PENN HWY SHEETZ 3457 WILLIAM PENN HWY GETGO 10525 FRANKSTOWN RD CVS PHARMACY 10600 FRANKSTOWN RD SHELL OIL 7619 BAUM BLVD KIWI SUNOCO FRANKSTOWN AVE WILLIAM PENN SMOKE SHOP II 132 NORTH HIGHLAND AVE MARATHON GAS 6680 FRANKSTOWN AVE PENN AIKEN DAIRY 5401 PENN AVE GIANT EAGLE #17 6320 SHAKESPEARE ST HOMEWOOD MARKET 7201 FRANKSTOWN AVE SALIK HARDWARE 607 NORTH HOMEWOOD AVE NEGLEY A PLUS 123 NORTH NEGLEY AVE BAKER’S 7203 HAMILTON & STERRETT AVES DORSEY’S RECORDS 7614 FRANKSTOWN AVE HOSPITAL CORNER 4201 PENN AVE PEOPLES GROCERY 5136 PENN AVE A&M MARKET 5224 PENN AVE A-PLUS MINI MART 7701 PENN AVE WOOD & PENN

902 WOOD ST AL’S FISH & CHICKEN 1000 PENN AVE SAVE A LOT 725 ROSS AVE CVS PHARMACY 520 PENN AVE GETGO 408 PENN AVE QUICK STOP LIBERTY 3349 LIBERTY AVE K-2 CONVENIENT STORE 4900 PENN AVE SHUR SAVE 4120 MAIN ST SHELL GAS 6701 FRANKSTOWN RD UNIMART 5724 ELLSWORTH AVE GIANT EAGLE #77 254 YOST BLVD PUFF’S DISCOUNT TOBACCO 234 YOST BLVD SPEEDY MART 2131 ARDMORE BLVD SQUIRREL HILL NEWS 5804 FORBES AVE MURRAY AVE. NEWS 2024 MURRAY AVE GIANT EAGLE MURRAY AVE & LORETTA ST DISCOUNT TOBACCO & NEWS 1929 MURRAY AVE OAK HILL MARKET 504 OAK HILL DR SULTAN BEY 4601 CENTRE AVE UNIVERSITY OF PGH BOOKSTORE 4000 5TH AVE CVS #4369 4610 CENTRE AVE CENTRAL AREA: RITE AID PHARMACY 100 WILLIAM MARKS DR FORBES TOBACCO 3801 FORBES AVE GET GO #64 4924 BAUM BLVD SCHWARTZ MARKET 1901 5TH AVE SMOKER FRIENDLY 906 5TH AVE HILL DISTRICT: WONG’S MARKET 2170 CENTRE AVE ANN’S MARKET 2316 WEBSTER AVE A-PLUS MINI MART 2350 CENTRE AVE UJAMMA BOUTIQUE 1901 CENTRE AVE K LEROY IRVIS TOWERS 715 MERCER ST SHOP & SAVE SUPERMARKET 1850 CENTRE AVE DOWNTOWN: KWIK-E-MART 204-10TH ST CHICKALOS SNACK BAR 300 LIBERTY AVE—STATE OFFICE BLDG 1ST FL LOBBY 7-11 #167 643 LIBERTY AVE 7-11 #165 SIXTH & PENN AVE 7-11 #170 429 WOOD ST LIBERTY NEWS 604 LIBERTY AVE FABER COE & GREGG HILTON HOTEL—COMMONWEALTH AVE ESTER’S SNAX FEDERAL BUILDING, 2ND FL SMITHFIELD NEWS 115 SMITHFIELD ST

CITY NEWS & ARCADE 422 WOOD ST FABER COE & GREGG 500 GRANT ST FABER COE & GREGG FIFTH AVE. PLACE FABER COE & GREGG 600 GRANT ST NIELSEN’S STORES #09 301 GRANT ST— ONE OXFORD CENTER NIELSEN’S STORES #13 437 SEVENTH AVE— KOPPERS BUILDING 9TH & PENN NEWS-NUMBERS 136 NINTH AVE EXTRA EXTRA NEWS 413 SEVENTH AVE NEAL NEWS 400 CHERRY WAY CVS PHARMACY #4120 610-612 WOOD ST NORTHERN AREA: W. N. GROCERY 1018 NORTH AVE. GIANT EAGLE #25 WEST VIEW PLAZA GIANT EAGLE #45—PINECREEK 9805 MCKNIGHT RD— PINECREEK CENTER GIANT EAGLE #52 132 BEN AVON HEIGHTS RD GIANT EAGLE #67 8050 MCKNIGHT RD NORTH SIDE BEER & BEVERAGE 1304 FEDERAL ST ALLEGHENY GIFT SHOP— AGH HOSPITAL 320 EAST NORTH AVE GIANT EAGLE #652 318 CEDAR AVE 7-11 #158 1001 WESTERN AVE RICHEY’S BARBER SHOP 1207 N. FRANKLIN ST QUIK-IT 820 PENNSYLVANIA AVE RITE AID #3459 802 PENNSYLVANIA AVE MARSHALL SHELL 1500 SPRING GARDEN AVE SWINKO’S MARKET 2535 PERYSVILLE AVE MERCY STREET EXPRESS 6 MERCY ST

Look for our red box WHOLE FOODS MARKET 5880 CENTRE AVE AMTRACK STATION LIBERTY AVE & GRANT ST CITY COUNTY BUILDING 420 GRANT ST CCAC—HOMEWOOD BRANCH HOMEWOOD & BRUSHTON AVE YMCA 11817 FRANKSTOWN RD EAST LIBERTY EBA EAST BUSWAY KINGSLEY ASSOCIATION 6435 FRANKSTOWN AVE. WILKINSBURG EBA EAST BUSWAY

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NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

PEOPLE

VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES—NYOP offers a variety of activities to students throughout the area. Above, some of the youth are pictured with Anthony Jackson, center. (Photos provided by NYOP)

Neighborhood Youth Outreach Program provides ‘the village’ by Paige Mitchell For New Pittsburgh Courier

I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child,” but how many of us truly believe that, or better yet ask yourself—am I being a part of the village and contributing to making the community a better place? The Neighborhood Youth Outreach Program (NYOP) was established in 1994 for that purpose and is currently located in Wilkinsburg. Since the early 1990s, NYOP has provided afterschool programs for youth in surrounding areas. NYOP has had many success stories detailing how this program has turned around the lives of disadvantaged young people and guided them to a better life. “When we ignore the chance to support organizations that positively impact our children, we witness the terrible social skills that destroy the fabric and order of our communities. We need to communicate to support arts education,” said Anthony Jackson,

NYOP program director. NYOP uses an arts-based curriculum that includes instrumental music, singing, dance, art, poetry and photography. All artistic forms of talent are in the Christian content. “We are still in touch with the original students from our program and parenting and that gives us such joy that we had some influence early in their lives. The children that have been in the program since it evolved into an arts program have shown such wonderful growth in confidence,” Jackson said. It was incorporated as a nonprofit organization and is governed by a board of directors. NYOP began as an afterschool program as a ministry of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in 1994. It became a 501C in 2004. The program has evolved through the years into the faith-based arts program that it is today. Today, there are 35-40 youth involved in the program. Over the years the non-profit has thrived with a variety of funding. The ma-

jority of funding has come from generous individual donors, churches, and the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. While there has also been grants received from the Grable Foundation, McCune Foundation and the Dominic Foundation. The outreach program highlights youths’ artistic talents. While the children also receive homework help and life lessons. “We have had many occasions that the children’s lives have been touched by violence and sometimes the artistic classes get replaced with open discussions and ministering to the children.” There is also a reading program provided by the Neighborhood Academy that some of the children are involved with. Twice a year the young people present a showcase of their art through performances to the community. This outreach program provides a safe place, mentoring relationships and positive atmosphere. Relationships are a key piece as to why NYOP continues to grow. School districts continue to cut programs for the arts and

this fills a need for children and their parents. The kids have a safe place to come after school, complete homework, have a meal, work on crafts, have music class and dance class. NYOP is always open for more volunteers. They are currently seeking volunteers for homework help, guest speakers, artist, help with serving snacks and meals, and most importantly, financial help.