The Northside Chronicle
July 2020 Est. 1985
Volume 36 Issue 7 - FREE -
The Community Newspaper of Pittsburgh’s Historic Northside
Defund the police: What does it mean and can it work? By Jazmine Ramsey In the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the nationwide protests against police brutality (Pittsburgh has been protesting for four weeks straight), there is a question that has been hanging around the air for quite some time. Can Americans survive without law enforcement and are they better off without it? One solution that has been brought to the table: defund the police. What does “defund the police” mean exactly? It means to redirect funds from police departments to other government agencies in a local municipality. Activists and academics have been arguing for years that reforming a broken system will not be enough. In order to make the Black and Brown communities feel safer, it may be necessary to abolish the system and start from scratch. Some supporters want to redirect some of the funds from police departments to other areas, such as school and social services. Others view this as an initial step to disband the police and create a different model of public safety altogether. Both viewpoints present an idea that can change the way public safety works. Richard Garland, assistant professor of public health at the University of Pittsburgh, director of the Violence Prevention Initiative in the Center for Health Equity, and an activist, was a supporter of the black liberation group MOVE. He was incarcerated when police dropped a bomb on MOVE’s rowhouse in West Philadelphia back in 1985. Eleven people died and 250 people were left homeless. Despite this, Garland does not believe defunding the police is the answer. “Am I a proponent of… looking out for our own community by policing our own community? There’s a certain eleSee Police, Page 9
INSIDE
Photo courtesy of Little Sisters of the Poor
Little Sisters of the Poor residents Kay Canyock (second from left), 100, and Mary Sahayda (front right), 103, celebrate their birthdays with a special vehicle parade outside of their nursing home. The parade included decorated cars full of their family members, the nursing home's staff and volunteers, and a bagpiper. Full story on Page 3.
Juneteenth in the Northside A presentation was held at the Avery College historical marker on East Ohio Street as part of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh's virtual Juneteenth Freedom Day Walk.
By NSC Staff
Photo courtesy of the Allegheny City Society
Charles Avery, founder of Avery College, believed education could improve America's race relations.
- 'New Normal' Business Operations, Page 8
STORIES, COLUMNS, - The Culture Guide, Page 12 FEATURES & MORE - Mindfulness to Prevent Violence, Page 14
A presentation was held on Friday, June 19 by Rev. Dr. Johnnie Monroe, former Pittsburgh Presbytery Northside pastor, to highlight the history of Avery College on the Northside. Avery College, founded in 1849 by Pittsburgh abolitionist Charles Avery, provided African Americans with a free liberal arts education including the subjects of science, literature, and languages. Avery believed that education could improve race relations in America. Monroe’s presentation on Avery College was a part of a greater celebra-
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tion: a virtual Juneteenth Freedom Day Walk, presented by Stop the Violence Pittsburgh. Attendees ‘made the rounds’ to various historical markers throughout Pittsburgh to learn about the city’s African American history. Juneteenth, which takes place on June 19, commemorates the effective end to slavery in the U.S. It’s already declared an official holiday in many states throughout the U.S., but this year, with the continued momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, there’s been a robust push to declare it a national one. n
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