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OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

Pittsburgh’s Black Veterans illuminate the Hill District ‘Military Tribute Banner Program’ honors local African Americans who served their country

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

No matter if you’re driving up Centre Avenue or driving down Centre in the Hill District, you’re sure to see Pittsburgh’s Black Veterans, illuminating the Hill from Herron to the Hill House.

In towns like Munhall, Sharpsburg and Etna, banners flying on light poles saluting local mostly-White military heroes have become the norm. Now, the Hill District has the same aerial texture, only with African American military heroes.

The local organization No Hero Left Behind spearheaded the efforts of the

more than 30 banners of Black Veterans the New Pittsburgh Courier counted along Centre Avenue. No Hero Left Behind’s partners in the project were the Honorable Edna Council & Family, the Hill District Consensus Group, I Am So Hill Committee, Holly Douglas, Neighborhood Allies, A1 Business Center, New Voices Pittsburgh, Rug Lab, Airborne Promotions, and the Pittsburgh NAACP. Dubbed the “No Hero Left Behind Military Tribute Banner Program,” the plan is to have the banners fly in the Hill District until Veterans Day, celebrated on Nov. 11. In 2021, the program is hopeful in ex-

JEREMY PUGH AND MICHAELLA HOLTS are two of the more than 30 Black Veterans featured on military tribute banners in the Hill District. (Photos of the banners by J.L. Martello)

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Duquesne Light CEO a champion for diversity Hires African Americans for senior-level positions

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Sure, anyone would be excited, even exuberant, about the prospects of leading one of Pittsburgh’s most cherished companies, one that’s been in existence for some 140 years.

That was the case for Steven Malnight, who received his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Notre Dame, an MBA from Dartmouth College’s

prestigious Tucker School of Business, then later worked magic for nearly 15 years at the Pacific Gas and Electric utility company (California) in a variety of roles, including senior vice president, energy supply and policy.

Malnight was named president and CEO of the Duquesne Light Company in April 2019, but then realized that, while his appointment would be instrumental in moving the company forward from a

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AFRICA RISES

tending to communities like Homewood, Garfield, Beltzhoover, the North Side and Wilkinsburg.

Experts predicted that COVID-19 would kill 300,000 Africans. The experts were wrong. Very wrong.

A COURIER SPECIAL REPORT

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

DUQUESNE LIGHT PRESIDENT AND CEO STEVEN MALNIGHT tactical perspective, the company was missing one important component.

“We’re a 140-year-old company and we had not had the kind of priority around diversity and inclusion throughout our history that we needed to SEE DUQUESNE LIGHT A4

Africa, with its second-highest population among the world’s continents, has some of the lowest numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

How can this be?

It’s a question that scientists have been trying to answer. After all, many of them predicted that the continent of Africa would be overcome, overwhelmed, oversaturated with COVID-19, when the virus began its global spread ear-

lier this year.

After all, when the Ebola outbreak hit parts of West Africa six years ago, it killed 5,000 people in Liberia, 4,000 in Sierra Leone, and 2,500 in Guinea. Ebola only killed 11 people living in the U.S. After all, it’s Africa with the unnerving perception of parts of the continent being poor, undeveloped, and lacking proper medical resources, while countries like the U.S. are supposedly known for being rich in medicinal advancement and in

technology.

But it’s Africa that, as a continent with 1.3 billion people, had 1.4 million reported COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 1, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned, while the U.S., the land of the free, the home of the brave, with 970 million less residents, had almost 6 million more reported COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 1.

Europe, the continent with 741 million residents, SEE AFRICA RISES A2

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AFRICA RISES

A COURIER SPECIAL REPORT

Experts predicted that COVID-19 would kill 300,000 Africans.

The experts were wrong. Very wrong.

AFRICA RISES FROM A1

had 5 million reported COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 1.

That’s 3.6 million more cases than Africa’s count, though Europe has 500 million less people.

Other individual countries

such as India and Brazil are lapping Africa on the COVID-19 track. India, who has a similar population to Africa, had 6.3 million reported COVID cases as of Oct. 1, or nearly 5 million more than Africa. And as for Brazil, the South Amer-

ican country with 210 million people, it had a staggering 4.8 million reported COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 1, over 3 million more than Africa.

Only Asia, the most populous continent (4.5 billion residents) and the continent where it’s believed that COVID-19 began (China), has an argument as to why it has more COVID-19 cases than Africa. Asia had 10.5 million reported COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 1.

But for pretty much every other aforementioned country or continent, COVID-19 has affected them much harsher than Africa and its 54 countries.

And the experts just can’t understand why.

Hope those experts aren’t the ones placing your bets at Rivers Casino.

“I look at Africa and I look at the U.S., and I’m more optimistic about Africa, to be honest, because of the leadership there and doing their best despite limited resources,” said Sema Sgaier in a Tampa Bay Times article published Sept. 22.

Sgaier is director of the Surgo Foundation, a privately funded think tank based in Washington, D.C., which has produced datasets on COVID-19 in Africa and other regions.

In the U.S., President Donald Trump compiled an A-list of the country’s most intelligible experts on infectious diseases, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID. But oftentimes, it’s been the president himself publicly clashing and disagreeing with the same experts he brought into the national spotlight. Now, among other things, the wearing of masks in the U.S. has been politicized, with many of President Trump’s supporters refusing to wear masks

at his rallies because the president initially wouldn’t wear a mask himself. On the other side of the aisle, Joe Biden, President Trump’s Democratic challenger for the upcoming Nov. 3 election, always wears a mask (along with most of his supporters), and isn’t holding large rallies in hopes of not spreading COVID-19.

President Trump, as the world knows by now, tested positive for COVID-19 early Oct. 2. After a few days at Walter Reed Medical Center, President Trump, as of Oct. 6, is back at the White House.

It’s an entirely different political climate in Africa when it comes to COVID. John Nkengasong is the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and he has been given the respect by the leaders of Africa’s countries to effectively steer the continent’s residents from the virus.

“It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and this can only be found in African unity,” Nkengasong has said, quoted in the Tampa Bay Times. Nkengasong’s comments were first uttered

by Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

Through the media organization Reuters and other reports, the Courier has found that the “African unity” was on display in combating COVID. Kenya shut down its schools only a week after its first case in the country was reported. Kenya also made incoming travelers undergo a mandatory quarantine and large gatherings were banned. Reuters reported that Nigeria was quick to impose a ban on interstate travel and a curfew, and South Africa introduced a large-scale lockdown in late March, when the coun-

try reported just 400 COVID cases.

“Almost all countries had established testing within a few weeks and this was after only two countries” had reported COVID-19 cases, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa, during a virtual press conference, Sept. 24, viewed online by the Courier.

Dr. Moeti said that 900 WHO staff members in the African region have focused on the continent in its efforts to battle COVID-19. Cooperation from governments to lock down countries early on gave Africa, as a whole, the ability to have a relatively small “first wave” of the virus in March, April and May. Dr. Moeti said that as the governments slowly lifted restrictions over the summer, there had been an uptick in COVID cases.

But it was nothing like the “second wave” that hit the U.S. after President Trump urged many states to lift restrictions and reopen the economy.

Dr. Sam Agatre Okounzi, of the Arua Regional Referral Hospital, in Uganda, said during the same WHO press conference that when the COVID-19 outbreak first started, “there was a near-universal concern for countries that are perceived to be poor, particularly African countries, and those who seem to have weak health systems.” The predictive models “painted a very bleak picture of a severe devastation of lives and economies in Africa. In Uganda, there was panic. In Uganda, it was predicted that by September, there would be 600,000 cases of COVID-19 and 30,000 deaths. But the reality is starkly different. The reality is that by the beginning of September, we had 2,500 cases and 32 deaths. 3-2 deaths.”

Dr. Okounzi said the bleak

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picture painted for Africa concerning COVID was based on European populations, not African populations, as well as “very well-entrenched biases about Africa.” These biases include that the African person is a “person who carries disease,” “Africa naturally being the home of disease,” and that “Africa is a place where this type of disease would flare up most.”

Dr. Okounzi then told the story of a friend, who lived in Italy, wondering to Dr. Okounzi how Africa was being spared of the onslaught of COVID-19, while Italy was being hammered by the virus.

Italy is a country of 60 million people, or about 5 percent of Africa’s population.

Yet, Italy had seen 35,000 deaths due to COVID-19 as of Oct. 1, which, according to numerous reports, was the same amount of deaths the entire continent of Africa had seen due to COVID as of the same date.

The U.S., meanwhile, was up to 207,000 deaths as of Oct. 1; Brazil at 143,000; India at 98,000; Mexico at 77,000; and the U.K. at 42,000.

Some experts believe that there has been an underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in Africa. In South Africa, where a reported 15,000 COVID-related deaths have occurred as of late September, Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology at Johannesburg’s University of the Witswatersrand, believes the number is higher.

“We think roughly 30,000 rather than 15,000 people have died from COVID-19,” Madhi said in a recent webinar, reported by the Associated Press. “We must appreciate that there had been many deaths outside of hospitals.”

As of late Oct. 1, data being kept by Johns Hopkins University on COVID-19 deaths had South Africa’s death toll at 16,866, the most deaths of any African country.

In addition to the unified effort by Africa to slow the virus, some experts believe Africa’s youthful population in many parts and, according to a report by Reuters, a tuberculosis vaccine regularly given to children in Africa, could be factors in the low death numbers.

But facts are facts, and the fact is that Africa has not seen the COVID-19 devastation that many experts and organizations predicted.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa had said in April that 300,000 Africans would die of COVID-19.

But Africa has successfully bucked the trend, proved the predictors wrong, and the national and international media doesn’t seem to be giving Africa its just due.

“You cannot suppress this,” Dr. Okounzi said. “The deaths that have occurred in society are so loud and so visible, that you can only conclude that it must be accurate, and there are very few (cases in Africa).”

Dr. Okounzi added: “COVID-19 has shattered a lot of biases about disease in general but also about Africa.”

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Duquesne Light Company wants to lead diversity and inclusion efforts in the Pittsburgh region DUQUESNE LIGHT FROM A1

have,” Malnight told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview, Sept. 30.

From Day 1, when he took his first seat in Duquesne Light’s big chair, he noticed that there were no African American members of his “executive cabinet.” From the vice president of external affairs, to the VP and chief customer officer, to the chief compliance officer, and everyone in between, there were no signs of diversity.

“This was an issue that the (Duquesne Light) board asked me a lot about when I came here, my views on diversity and inclusion as a company,” Malnight said. “I will say throughout my career, it’s become very clear that if you don’t have a team that is diverse in their thinking and perspectives and can see problems from different angles, because they have different experiences and their background, they can better represent the customers and communities we serve. If you don’t have that around your table, you are not going to get the best ideas. And if you don’t have an inclusive environment where their voices are heard, you’re not going to get to the best solutions.”

African Americans reaching the C-Suite has long

been a problem in the Pittsburgh region. A partnership between Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and The Advanced Leadership Institute has graduated dozens of African Americans in the past year through its Executive Leadership Academy, in an effort to get African Americans ready to advance to high-ranking positions at companies.

And organizations like Vibrant Pittsburgh, led by Sabrina Saunders Mosby, are in constant communication with the region’s top companies, pushing them to diversify their workforce and promote African Americans to C-Suite-level positions.

Thus, it wasn’t just Duquesne Light that didn’t have Black personnel in the highest positions. But Malnight told the Courier that he wanted diversity and inclusion to be a priority at Duquesne Light.

In July 2019, his first hire was Sara Oliver-Carter, in the newly created position of chief diversity officer.

“I think the team knew that we needed to improve our diversity and inclusion efforts holistically,” Malnight said. “When we found Sara, we recognized that she just has a tremendous background and experience.”

Making sure Oliver-Car-

ter’s title was “chief diversity officer” certified that she would have “significant influence” across Duquesne Light, Malnight said.

In January 2020, Duquesne Light hired industry veteran David Johnson as its VP and chief customer officer, marking the first African American to hold a title of vice president for Duquesne Light in recent memory. Johnson had served as vice president, customer service, for Entergy Louisiana, where he led day-to-day customer service operations and established and maintained relationships with customers and community stakeholders, according to the Duquesne Light website.

Before Entergy Louisiana, Johnson was senior vice president, customer service and economic development, for DTE Energy in Michigan.

A few months later, in April 2020, the company hired Kevin Walker as its VP and chief operations officer. Walker, who is also African American, had served as senior vice president of customer and operations services and nuclear decommissioning at Southern California Edison. Walker is a U.S. Army Veteran who served six years as a field artillery officer during Operation Desert Storm, according to Duquesne

THE BEST CANDIDATES—Within the last 15 months, Duquesne Light has made a number of key hires involving African Americans. Sara Oliver-Carter is DLC’s Chief Diversity Officer; David Johnson, left, is Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, and Kevin Walker, right, is Vice President and Chief Operations Officer.

Light’s website. Walker has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Malnight said there was a national search for both positions, and while the company was intentional in having a diverse slate of candidates for the positions, “in the end, we picked the very best candidates that were there. Dave and Kevin are national leaders in the utility industry with deep experience. They are incredible additions to our team.”

Today, two of the six vice presidents of Duquesne Light are Black. Duquesne Light has one senior vice president, Mark Kaplan, who is White. Kaplan also serves as the company’s chief financial officer.

Malnight told the Courier that while he commended the Duquesne Light team prior to his arrival of “making some good progress” on diversity and inclusion, “my job was to try and accelerate that and move that forward faster.”

An electric utility company is one that reaches just about everyone in a particular market. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, single or married, Black or brown or white, a Pittsburgh native or a transplant; you use electricity.

And you know Duquesne Light, which has 600,000 customers in Allegheny and Beaver counties, and nearly 1,600 employees.

Duquesne Light’s coverage area just so happens to include the second-largest Black collective popu-

lation in the state, behind the Philadelphia area. Allegheny County alone has more than 150,000 African Americans, and another 10,000 in neighboring Beaver County.

“We must have a team that can look to our customers and understand the issues they need, understand the unique experiences they’ve had, understand what they need from us as a company, so that we as a team can come to the best solutions,” Malnight told the Courier.

When Malnight looks at Pittsburgh, his current residence now for about 18 months, he can see that the Steel City wants to thrive.

It wants to be known as a destination spot for technology, innovation and professional upward mobility (along with the Steelers and pierogies). But last year’s Gender Equity Commission Report, by University of Pittsburgh researchers, was a harsh wake-up call to the entire Pittsburgh business community; Blacks in Pittsburgh, as a whole, are suffering.

“Black women and men in other cities have better health, income, employment, and educational outcomes than Pittsburgh’s Black residents,” the report read in its executive summary, obtained by the Courier.

The report also found that “over one-third of Pittsburgh’s Black women live below the federal poverty line,” and “more Black children in Pittsburgh grow up in poverty than 95 percent

of similar cities.”

Malnight told the Courier that in addition to the diversifying of his executive team, he and Oliver-Carter are working to make sure Duquesne Light keeps diversity and inclusion a priority in its hiring practices and overall company culture. He wants Duquesne Light to take the lead in diversity and inclusion among Pittsburgh’s companies.

Those efforts are being noticed. Mosby, Vibrant Pittsburgh’s president and CEO, told the Courier in July that she felt Duquesne Light just “gets it” when it comes to diversity and inclusion.

“After hiring Sara Carter-Oliver almost a year ago in their first-ever (Diversity and Inclusion) executive role, we’ve seen numerous executives of color hired into senior level positions.

The difference,” Mosby told the Courier, “is Sara works directly with (Duquesne Light) CEO Steve Malnight and their leadership team. Having a direct line to the CEO matters and it’s changing the face of leadership.”

“As a company, we are not going to succeed and thrive unless this Pittsburgh region succeeds and thrives.

That means all of Pittsburgh,” Malnight told the Courier exclusively. “From my perspective, we’re trying to lead internally, but it’s also important that we look to how we can lead the way in the community and make a difference in the community.”

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RELIGION

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

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 Worship Online on Facebook/YouTube www.ELPC.church Journey Worship...........8:45 a.m.

Sanctuary Worship...........11 a.m.

Taize -Wednesdays.........7 p.m.

Curious about Quakerism?

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

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

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

PASTOR BARBARA GUNN celebrates her 20th pastoral anniversary at Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 90 Port Perry Rd., North Versailles, Sept. 20. It’s her 31st year as a pastor. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

The 20th Pastoral Anniversary for Rev. Barbara Gunn

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The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

THE PASTORAL ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE—Charmaine Odom, Erica McLeod and Yawatta Sayles. Pastor Gunn is seated.

HEALTH

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Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved.

Do you have a COVID-19 story to tell?

ESTHER BUSH

Stories As Hurricane Katrina unearthed the vulnerabilities of New Orleans’ working poor, COVID-19 has similarly revealed the cracks within the United States’ system, especially at this time when our society expects more from those who often have the least resources and little or no safety net.

While many people in the United States have adopted behaviors to minimize the spread of COVID-19 during the past seven months, our dependence on certain sectors of the workforce to keep ALL people in the United States well has become increasingly clear. The bare bones approach to everyday activities has made us come to realize how much we rely on grocery store workers, transportation providers, people who care for children and the elderly, medical and safety personnel and others, a majority of whom are African American and “their family’s primary income earners.”

Stress on these workers mounts daily—from the pressure of providing for the family, concerns of finding and affording safe child care when schools and daycare centers are closed and the chronic worry of remaining protected, while relying on public transportation to go to work often in settings with groups of people or the public at large. The stress is magnified as months of cautious behavior has caused us to limit our human interactions, and, therefore, has greatly reduced the number of opportunities to simply tell the story of what we are going through.

A new approach being taken by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine creates an outlet for these stories not only be told but to be captured so that the experiences may potentially benefit others.

As referenced in this page’s overview, Dr. McTigue, associate professor of medicine at Pitt’s School of Medicine, explains, “Telling stories empowers people and helps them understand that their voices can be heard. My hope is that if we use community members’ stories as entries to conversations between them and researchers, it will help to establish a level of trust in a relationship that can move forward and be productive. Patients have such powerful lived experiences.

Researchers have technical and literature-based experiences. When you put them together, there’s wonderful potential for learning new things. We’re hoping that storytelling can help form these relationships.”

To people making their way through these challenging days, I urge you to consider participating in Pitt’s Story Booth project. It will do you a world of good to just simply talk about these past months. Your sharing of what you are going through, how you are coping and what you are feeling might be the key to the development of more meaningful assistance for others in similar situations. At a time when people can most benefit from telling exactly what they are going through and feeling, having those stories heard by researchers might also benefit our entire community—a rare win-win opportunity during these very trying times.

Has the global COVID-19 pandemic been especially hard on you? Have you gotten the virus, cared for someone who has had COVID-19 or been forced to make tough decisions between your health and your job? If so, you are not alone. Many people

have been affected by the virus and have stories to tell about their experiences—especially the caregivers among us.

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, it has become increasingly clear that the definition of essential caregivers includes more than health care professionals. People who work in grocery stores, food service, hospitality, child and elder care, retail, security and health care are also frontline workers— people who have been deemed essential to the economy or to the basic functioning of everyday life. These industries have been hit hard by COVID-19—either because of job loss or risk of exposure to the virus. Many of these essential jobs are held by African American women—67% of whom are, according to the Center for American Progress, their family’s primary income earners. Some caregivers have to go to work to support their families, which also increases their potential exposure and puts their families at risk. The stress on these caregivers has been intense, and many of them have a story to tell about their experiences in the past several months.

Story Booth is a research project that collects people’s stories and lived experiences. The project started in 2016 as a way to collect people’s personal stories about health experiences and share them with researchers.

“The mission of Story Booth is to promote patient-centered research,” says Kathleen M. McTigue, MD, MPH, MS, associate professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “We wanted to make it easier to foster the development of research that addresses questions patients feel are important. Stories are just so powerful. They are an incredible way to communicate; they can cross cultures, and they’re a way to convey very technical information without using very technical language.”

People who volunteer to share their stories with Story Booth often record them over the telephone and agree to allow researchers to listen to the stories.

The idea is that if researchers know what topics people think are important, researchers will design studies around those topics. Then, those studies can, hopefully, generate findings that may better people’s health.

Dr. McTigue, also associate

is a very stressful time.

“People talk about how tremendously difficult it is to be struggling with this major health problem at the same time the country and the health system are also struggling with learn-

KATHLEEN M., MD, MPH, MS

StoryBooth—Caring during COVID When [the pandemic] hit and we were told to shelter in place, it hadn’t hit me yet. I was still going to the store without a mask or gloves, but then I started to see the shelves emptied of hand sanitizer, hand soap, toilet paper, etc. I hadn’t really felt the impact of it. I was in shock. Then, I started wearing gloves, a hat, a double mask, and I was really scared—really petrified of people and of being in public spaces. But I had to go out and get necessities. I also have an 80-year-old mother who lives on the other side of town. She definitely couldn’t be going out shopping, so I had to be the one to do it. One time, I had just come from dropping off groceries to my mom and had to drive back across town to get home and unload my groceries. At the time, they didn’t know whether the virus could last on packaging, so I put my groceries on the floor and used bleach mixed with water to wipe everything down before I put it away. I just broke down.

It was a lot. I had to remember everything I touched before I got into the house and then everything I had touched once I got inside the house and clean it all. It was overwhelming. I think I had a panic attack or something. Then, I would go to the grocery store and have to tell my mom that they had run out of a lot of things and we were just going to have to take what we could get. It took about until the middle of May before I felt like I had a groove. But then I started seeing people without masks because they thought [the pandemic] was over. People stopped social distancing. We opened up way too early. I just need to do whatever I have to in order to keep myself and my mother safe.

It still scares me when people get too close or they’re not wearing masks or wearing them appropriately. I wonder when I’m going to snap out.

—adapted from a Story Booth recording of a woman’s experience living through the COVID-19 pandemic as someone who is HIV positive and caring for her aging mother professor of epidemiology at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, explains that 72% of storytellers have expressed an interest in getting involved in health research as partners who help guide the research process.

Story Booth researchers support team-building by introducing storytellers and researchers with shared health interests.

She says, “Telling stories empowers people and helps them understand that their voices can be heard. My hope is that if we use community members’ stories as entries to conversations between them and researchers, it will help to establish a

level of trust in a relationship that can move forward and be productive. Patients have such powerful lived experiences. Researchers have technical and literature-based experiences.

When you put them together, there’s wonderful potential for learning new things. We’re hoping that storytelling can help form these relationships.”

In more recent stories submitted to Story Booth, people have shared stories about COVID-19—being ill with the virus, trying to access testing and trying to keep themselves or their loved ones healthy. The most common theme is that this

ing how to adapt to it,” says Dr. McTigue.

Frontline caregivers in the health care field also have an opportunity to be involved in the nationwide Healthcare Worker Exposure Response and Outcomes (HERO) registry.

According to Dr. McTigue, the HERO registry is a collection of health care workers—doctors, nurses, respiratory technicians, people who work at front desks in hospitals or outpatient clinics, in food service or in hospital housekeeping—anybody in the course of their job who might be exposed to a patient who has COVID-19.

“Researchers hear what people in health care settings are worried about in this age of COVID-19,” says Dr. McTigue.

“They’ve also built in a story-telling component. One of those most exciting parts is that anyone who joins the registry is able to learn about opportunities to get involved in COVID-19-related research. We’re hoping this is a way to help our local health care workers get access to studies that are addressing COVID-19 in various ways, including preventive trials.”

Dr. McTigue wants people to know that it is an important time to be involved with research.

“The only way we can find out what’s being done right and what people are worrying about is to actually talk with people, which is what the Story Booth is trying to do,” says Dr. McTigue.

“We want to find ways to protect people who are at the highest risk for getting COVID-19, are going out every day to take care of others and who could really benefit the most from research—whether that’s to help them deal with stress or find vaccines to avoid infection.”

(To learn more about Story Booth, visit https://www.crhc.pitt.edu/ PaTHStoryBooth/index.aspx. To find out how to become involved with the HERO registry, visit https://heroesresearch.org/)

How do I vote with a mail-in ballot?

Because of COVID-19, many people are deciding to complete mail-in ballots instead of in-person polling. You can request a mail-in ballot at VotesPA.com or by calling 1-877-votespa. Once you’ve received your mail-in ballot, open it up, and check out the materials. Inside, you’ll find: 1. Your ballot 2. An envelope in which to place your ballot, also known as the secrecy envelope 3. A larger mailing envelope in which to place the smaller/secrecy envelope that should hold your ballot. On the outside of the larger envelope, fill out your return address and then sign and date it in the spaces provided.

Does your mail-in ballot envelope include each of those items? Great! If not, contact your county election office. Allegheny County can be reached by visiting www.alleghenycounty.us/elections or calling 412-350-4500.

How to: mail-in ballot video here: https://tinyurl.com/y8xtgd33 You can mail your ballot or drop it off at the Allegheny County elections office on the sixth floor of the County Office Building (Room 601) at 542 Forbes Ave. (downtown). You can also drop it off at several county-wide satellite early-voting locations, like the South Park Ice Rink and CCAC Homewood, on Oct.

10-11, 17-18 and 24-25. These satellite offices will also provide the opportunity to apply for, complete and turn in mail-in ballots at the same time.

To be counted, your completed mail-in ballot must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, and received by your county election office by 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.

All county polling places will be open on November 3 should you decide to vote in person.

For the first time, you will need an ID or a bill in your name. If you have already requested a mail-in ballot and now want to vote in person, bring your mail-in ballot with you to your polling place.

(Image Credit: VotesPA.org)

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OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Pittsburgh’s Black Veterans illuminate the Hill District

‘Military Tribute Banner Program’ honors local African Americans who served their country BANNERS FROM A1

“The Military Tribute Banners are a small way we can acknowledge the sacrifice many of our neighbors have made serving our community and our country,” Christina Flewellen-Howze, co-founder of No Hero Left Behind, said in a statement. “Our local veterans and active duty service members are our true heroes, and this program allows Pittsburgh to proudly honor them all representing a new image contradictory to social perceptions throughout the region.”

Flewellen-Howze co-founded No Hero Left Behind with her husband, Eric Howze. Both are Post 9/11 Military Veterans. Eric Howze’s story is well-documented, experiencing extended periods of homelessness after serv-

ing in the military, before turning the obstacles into opportunities, and now giving back to homeless veterans and making sure Black Veterans in Pittsburgh are appreciated for their service to the country.

When one heads into the Hill District on Centre Avenue from the Oakland/ Shadyside area, you’ll notice the banners of Black Veterans Myron Little and Mager Ely Sr., near the historic Lavelle Real Estate offices on Centre and Herron avenues. A little further up are the banners of Andre Patterson and Craig Williams Sr. The banners continue along Centre, as you’ll find Eric Howze’s banner on the corner of Centre Ave. and Kirkpatrick St., across from the Carnegie Library. A bit further up is the banner of Christi-

na Flewellen-Howze. The banners end near the Hill House Building, with Terrence Bennett. Interspersed between Herron and the Hill House are the banners of Michaella Holts, Jeremy Pugh, Louise Walker, James Ballard, Saloam Bey, Edward Sneed, Gail Manker, and others.

Manker, a freelance photographer for the New Pittsburgh Courier, served six years in the Army beginning in 1980.

She learned photography while in the Army—“84 B,” as she was known. She spent two years at the U.S. Army post Camp Zama, in Japan, three years at Fort McClellan, in Alabama, and a stint at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. After the Army, she later moved to Pittsburgh.

She told the Courier that during her time in the

Army, it was “peacetime,” during the Cold War, but Manker was well aware that at any time, she could be called overseas.

“You didn’t live with fear,” Manker told the Courier. But Manker and her colleagues were always prepared for anything.

The demographics of the U.S. Military have been diversifying. In 2004, minorities made up 36 percent of the active duty forces. Fast forward to 2017, and that percent has increased to 43. In 2017, African Americans made up 51 percent of all minorities on active duty, and 16 percent of all active duty forces. With roughly 1.3 million current active duty military forces, Blacks account for about 208,000.

Photos of the banners by Courier photographer J.L. Martello

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

METRO

OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

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Christina Flewellen-Howze, co-founder of No Hero Left Behind: “Our local veterans and active duty service members are our true heroes, and this program allows Pittsburgh to proudly honor them all representing a new image contradictory to social perceptions throughout the region.”

THE BANNER OF ERIC HOWZE, an Army Veteran and co-founder of No Hero Left Behind, on Centre and Kirkpatrick in the Hill District.

(Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

A10

OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

New Pittsburgh Courier

Princeton’s self-incrimination of racism: exact or exaggeration?

J. Pharoah Doss B6

BUSINESS

Classifieds

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B4-5

OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

B

JASON LOTT, top left, is co-owner of Ink Division. Cheryl Stasinowsky of Mary’s Vine is pictured at bottom left. Kamahlai and Maurice Stewart are the owners of House of Soul Catering.

(Photos by Jay Manning/PublicSource)

COVID-19 threatens Mon Valley’s emergence from economic decline, but small business owners remain hopeful

by Matt Petras PublicSource

When word spread of the first coronavirus outbreaks, Cheryl Stasinowsky didn’t know what it would mean for her business Mary’s Vine, a wine bar in Rankin that she runs with her family. She didn’t imagine states would begin to shut down businesses. Still, she started to see fewer and fewer customers show up for wine.

“On a night when we normally would have a full house, we maybe had 10 all night,” Stasinowsky said.

“We had to start letting our employees go earlier, and they weren’t getting tips,” she said. “Reservations were canceling like it was just nothing. Just cancel, cancel, cancel.”

Mary’s Vine only opened for business in late August, about seven months before the virus hit the United States hard.

“March was supposed to be the month we were finally gonna come out the other end of the whole thing and finally start breaking even because we had built up our customer base and it was going really well,” Stasinowsky said. “And we lost a ton

of money in March.”

Central to the elevator pitch for Mary’s Vine is its unique atmosphere, nestled inside a renovated church. The business was not prepared to offer takeout food during the shutdown, Stasinowsky said, so the family has been on unemployment while offering takeout wine for a few hours on Saturdays. While the family business has received federal aid from the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, it hasn’t made up for all the lost business.

“I don’t have sour grapes against anyone because the governor’s doing the best he can. Everyone’s trying to do the best they can, but no one’s ever done this before so they don’t even know what the best is,” Stasinowsky said. “It’s hard for all of us.”

Stasinowsky’s story feels familiar to many business owners and residents in Mon Valley towns like Rankin, Braddock, Homestead and West Mifflin, where the pandemic has halted progress toward a revitalized business landscape in areas often defined by decades of economic decline. And it’s bars and restaurants that are

being hit the hardest due to the increased health risks associated with these sorts of gathering places.

Many Mon Valley business owners and community leaders believe the pandemic won’t squander the progress that’s been made in recent years.

Still, with no end to the pandemic and a shortage of aid money, the Mon Valley area is left with yet another daunting economic challenge.

Throughout the shutdown and ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19, Stasinowsky said they’ve felt supported and welcomed by the Rankin community.

“All we can do is figure out how to come out of this better instead of worse,” Stasinowsky said. “That’s our whole goal. How do we come out of this better?”

Restaurants hit the hardest Running a catering business during the pandemic has provided unique challenges for Kamahlai Stewart, who serves the Munhall community with House of Soul Catering, a business she’s run with her husband for nearly three years. Catering used to account for about 80 percent of their business, with takeout representing

the other 20 percent. Now, it’s more or less reversed.

“Whereas one catering order normally would be a huge benefit … we have to really, really work six days a week to get up to what one catering [job] was,” Stewart said.

Stewart currently employs six people after having to lay off four due to the pandemic.

“We’re still walking through it,” Stewart said of their business demand. “We’re slow, not a pace we’d normally be at this time of year.”

There aren’t many other places to order food nearby, she said, and they emphasize offering employment opportunities for youth. While the pandemic has made running the business harder, she’s looking forward.

“With prayer, we have to just be optimistic about it and push through it,” Stewart said. “We have got to overcome.”

Jasmine Sims used to make food for people from her former home in McKeesport, and she did so well that she opened Mon Valley Kitchen, a breakSEE BUSINESS OWNERS B2

You might be ‘Broke’ or end up ‘Broke’ if…

I liken social media to stand-up comedy.

You can test various jokes or ideas and get instant feedback. When I returned to writing, my first published article was, “How can you be Bored and Broke?” I shared the article on social media. The article did numbers. I’ve shared several articles and memes since then. I have yet to duplicate those numbers. Recently I shared a meme on social media. It was titled, “Why some People stay Broke?”

This meme did so well and sparked so much conversation within a group of 78,000 members they took it down. This experience made me look back at various subject matters that I posted on social media. I notice, every time I mention the work “Broke,” it generated massive feedback—both positive and negative.

What’s a writer to do? “Double-Up and Double Down!” I mentioned the word “Broke” twice in the title of this article.

When I was a kid, we used to joke around saying, you might be ghetto if….We’d name something funny we’ve observed that you can only appreciate in the hood.

We’re going to do something similar in this article. But first let’s define “Broke” and distinguish it from “Poor.”

Ric Edelman said “Broke” is a matter of the wallet. Poor is a matter of the mind.

You can fix broke. Poor? Not so much. To be broke is to be completely out of money.

You can earn a high income, spend it all and be broke. Being in debt is worse than being broke. When you’re broke, you simply need money. When you’re in debt you need money to pay the debt only to end up broke. Regardless of your income level, if you’re a non-saver you’re going to eventually end up BROKE. Saving is the cornerstone of financial stability. Not

saving is stupid. You cannot out-earn stupidity. That should be obvious, but it’s not. So, we’ll delve deeper. You might be broke or end up broke if you don’t identify and fix what I’m about to list below.

Myopic Perspective—Woe it’s me!

The little man can’t get ahead. Nobody wants to see me win. Poor is a state of mind. You have to fix your “stinking-thinking.” You are what you think.

If you think that you’ll be broke and miserable the rest of your life you’re right.

You’ve accepted the status quo and refused to do anything about it.

Too lazy to work— You don’t work, you don’t eat—so says the Bible. If you’re of sound mind and able body and you refuse to work because you don’t feel like it, WOE! It’s YOU! Your ability to work is your greatest asset. Your income generated from working is your largest wealth-building tool. If you’re avoiding working because you don’t want to pay child support or you think some “captain save a chick” is going to rescue you, apply for Social Security Disability; you’re mentally unstable. Good luck with getting approved.

Fishing for compliments—You go girl! You’re the man! We all love compliments. Are compliments worth our financial stability? Suze Orman said, “People spend more than because they feel less than. There’s nothing wrong with having nice stuff as long as you act your wage and ensure there’s money left over to

save after you pay your bills.”

Dreads the B-word—People think they’re limited and restricted by budgets.

What limits and restricts you is your income, not your budget. A budget is a spending saving and investment plan. If you want to spend more, save more, and invest more, you need to earn more. Easier said than done, right? It requires less effort, blood, sweat, and tears to reduce expenses than it does to increase income.

A budget allows you to prioritize your money, life, and time.

Saving isn’t a priority—Money you save today is your future goals, future lifeline, or future paycheck. Money talking.

If you save me today, I’ll save your tomorrow. Yet the average person saves less than $.05 for every $1.00 earned. No savings equals no financial stability. Low savings equals no financial security. Inability to save means you’re doomed to financial ruin.

Debt is hazardous to your wealth— Credit increases your purchasing power but reduces both your standard of living and your net worth. When you use credit, you pay more because of interest. When you use credit, you allocate a portion of your income to payments for an extended period of time. Hard to save when you owe. Use credit wisely? NO! Use credit only when absolutely necessary! Broke people consistently pay interest. Wealthy people consistently earn interest. You may think they’re wealthy. They should

earn interest. They became wealthy by avoiding debt and saving money, earning compound interest instead of subjecting their hard-earned income to a lifetime of payments.

Those are the major keys to staying broke or ending up broke. Following are other reasons you might be broke if: • You own a car you can’t afford • You own a house you can’t afford • You don’t invest in yourself • You don’t have any goals • You’re an impulsive shopper • You buy liabilities instead of assets • You don’t have an emergency fund • You blame others for your financial demise • You purchase financial products you don’t understand • You don’t separate wants from needs • You have poor spending habits • You don’t seek to understand personal finance • You spend more than you earn • You don’t consistently save or invest • Your money seems to magically disappear with nothing to show for it • You make emotional purchases and confuse fun for happiness • You’re not properly insured Who wants to be broke? Nobody! Heed the advice. Identify areas where you may be falling short and fix it. Those of us who are 40 and over, we made our fair share of financial mistakes. Our working years are numbered. We don’t have time to keep repeating these mistakes and expecting our mistakes to fix them.

(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached at 412-216-1013 or visit his website @ www.damonmoneycoach.com)

B2

BUSINESS

OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

COVID-19 threatens Mon Valley’s economic emergence BUSINESS OWNERS FROM B1

into a big St. Patrick’s Day party on a Saturday. There fast place in West Mifflin, were rumblings of shutalmost a year ago. downs, but they hadn’t Though Mon Valley Kitchheard anything concrete. A en has always primarily few days later, bars were offered takeout, actually ordered to shut down, getting her hands on inand then non-life-sustaingredients proved difficult ing-businesses. They shut when the pandemic first hit. down until the county went Simple, essential items like green months later. bread, milk and eggs proved “It’s funny, me and my dad hard to come by at first, … we were still in there, making food like French just me and him, doing toast more difficult to make. construction, maintain“It was pretty hard,” Sims ing the building. We never said. “Being in the food intook down the St. Patrick’s dustry, food is pretty much Day decorations,” Deasy the thing we sell. ...I had to said, laughing. “It was St. revise the menu a few times Patrick’s Day for like two to accommodate what I can months there.” get from the stores.”

The businesses have been Now, Sims has been able able to re-open in a limited to get the ingredients she capacity. If you want to do needs to offer the standard some axe throwing, for exmenu. ample, you have to make a Business has been coming reservation, come in a small back, but it’s not nearly as group and wear masks. Inconsistent as before. Somestructors don’t stay close to times, there will be a rush the customers for as long as of orders, which can be difbefore and lots of hand sanficult to keep up with, Sims itizer is available. said. She feels nervous “We’re fortunate with the about the pandemic, but building being so big that she’s trying to think posiwe don’t have to be right on tively. top of people,” Deasy said.

“I feel like, if you just try to Owning the building take every precaution that means rent payments hayou can and just try not to ven’t been draining money. think about it too hard, just The business had about 50 go about your day, this panemployees before and now demic will pass,” Sims said. they have 25 or fewer, he Getting back on track said. Deasy said they’re opKAMAHLAI AND MAURICE STEWART, owners of House of Soul Catering.

(Photos by Jay Manning/PublicSource) Chuck Starrett said he’s erating at about 25 percent seen a lot of success in the of what they were before, past four to five years from term decline, and it’s been diffi- ly, things were bad for decades, came, we were kind of hoping this which pretty directly cornew businesses in the Mon Val- cult to work out of that,” Starrett and they’ve been rising out of the was going to blow up into a new relates to the numbers of customley. He heads the Enterprise said. “So, a lot of the businesses ashes.” kind of neighborhood with a lot ers who have been coming.

Zone Corporation of Braddock, a in those communities, particularStarrett points to Ink Divi- of stuff going on. There’ve been a “We set our own destiny right nonprofit that assists business- ly the steel-related and industri- sion, an apparel print shop in few new businesses come, but not es in Braddock and a few other al, trucking and all of those, they Braddock, as an example of a quite at the volume we expected now. I am hopeful for the future,” Deasy said. “And every week, it is nearby neighborhoods. left a long time ago.” new business bringing fresh en- it to happen.” promising. There is a percentage “There’s been a positive moFresh, new businesses have ergy to the Mon Valley. It opened Over in Homestead, Joe Deasy more people every week.” in Braddock about seven years and his father completely shut He still feels excited about being ago, co-owner Jason Lott said. down their entertainment com- in Homestead.

“We were just excited about plex holding Pittsburgh VR, Ace “It’s a main street primed for a what we were hearing about this Axe Throwing and Escape Room resurgence,” Deasy said. “I was location at the time, and we were Pittsburgh in mid-March. just maybe a little too excited, that massively growing,” Lott said.

“When it first started, it was I thought maybe it would happen “It was out of my house, and my just kind of like two weeks of to- in five years. Maybe it’s about ten family couldn’t even get around tal terror because we didn’t know years. But I think we’ll get there.” in the basement or the garage so what was going to happen when (Matt Petras is a freelance reporter we had to find something pretty the orders came through to shut and educator based in the Pittsburgh quick, and it was just available, down all non-essential business- area. He can be reached at matt456p@ quick, we thought the area was es.” gmail.com or on Twitter @mattApetras.) cool, we liked what was happenThey put thousands of dollars ing. [Now-Lt. Gov. John] Fetterman was the mayor. It was exciting.”

At the start of the pandemic, they kept their 12 employees on payroll, but laid them off after three weeks.

“When it first started, it was just kind of like two weeks of total terror because we didn’t know what was going to happen when the orders came through to shut down all non-essential businesses,” Lott said. “We didn’t really have a plan for anything like that happening.”

They emailed local bars and restaurants and offered a deal to help them produce T-shirts for their businesses. This ended CHERYL STASINOWSKY inside of Mary’s Vine, a wine bar that opened for busiup bringing in enough money to ness in August 2019. bring back three of Ink Division’s employees, and they’ve rebounded enough since to bring everymentum taking place,” Starrett cropped up in the past several one back to work. said. “And we were really looking years, exemplifying the sort of Lott loves running the business at 2020 as being a big year.” fresh entrepreneurial spirit the in Braddock, citing a lot of local The Enterprise Zone Corpo- Mon Valley needs, he said. De- customers and plentiful traffic ration, founded in 1985, helps spite the pandemic, he feels like from a main, heavily trafficked businesses in Braddock, North the area is still moving toward street. Still, he can’t speak for evBraddock, Rankin and Swissvale revitalization. eryone, he said, and acknowledgreceive financial assistance “By and large, other than the es the neighborhood has issues through sources like loans and restaurants, I can’t think of any to overcome, such as a lack of tax credits. local businesses that have closed common amenities like a super“Of course, since the late 1970s, since the COVID hit in March. market. you’d have to say there’s been a So, it hasn’t been a devastating “Honestly, there’s still not a ton JASON LOTT, co-owner of Ink Division, an apparel print shop in Braddock. decline. It’s been a steady, long- impact,” Starrett said. “Clear- down here,” Lott said. “When we

Piston Group appoints former Toyota president to board of directors The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Piston Group Chairman and CEO Vinnie Johnson today announced the appointment of Wilbert W. James Jr. to the company’s board of directors. James is a retired executive of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America.

James served as the seventh president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) with more than 10,000 team members at Toyota’s largest automotive manufacturing plant globally. TMMK produces the Camry (America’s best-selling car); Avalon; and the only domestically manufactured Lexus (ES 350) in addition to fourand six-cylinder engines, axles and die components.

James also served as manufacturing executive champion for quality, morale and policy and diversi-

ty initiatives for all of Toyota’s 14 North American manufacturing facilities at various points in his career and was a charter member of Toyota’s Diversity Council.

“Wil’s career achievements, leadership experience and industry knowledge are unquestionable and will be a tremendous asset to the Piston Group’s continued growth and expansion in the automotive industry’s global market,” said Johnson. “We truly appreciate his lifelong commitment to quality, performance and diversity; and thank him for joining our board of directors.”

James’s career spanned over 30 years with Toyota. He is most proud of leading TMMK to its Platinum J.D. Power Award for initial quality with Lexus in its initial launch year while attaining Best in

Class Quality with Camry in 2016. TMMK went on to receive the Silver and Bronze J.D. Power Awards with Camry Best in Class in 2017.

Throughout his career, James served on numerous community, economic and educational boards including the National Urban League, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky State University and North Carolina A&T School of Engineering among others. James currently serves on the boards of Atkore International, Cornerstone Building Brands and Columbia Forest Products.

James holds degrees from Old Dominion University, and honorary degrees from the University of Kentucky and University of Pikeville and has been recognized in Savoy’s “Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Cor-

porate America” on numerous occasions.

Piston Group, comprising of Piston Automotive, Irvin Automotive Products, Detroit Thermal Systems, and AIREA, is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. It designs, engineers, assembles and manufactures a wide variety of automotive parts and systems. AIREA is an office design studio and furniture dealer. Piston Group was founded in 1995 by industry magnate and former NBA champion Vinnie Johnson, and is one of the largest private, minority-owned automotive suppliers in North America.

Today, Piston Group employs nearly 10,000 people at more than 20 locations across North America.

Last year, the firm posted revenues of $2.9 billion.

WILBERT W. JAMES JR.

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

B3

Good vs. necessary

Guest Commentary

What’s really up with the Trump presidency?

Black people should NOT vote for President Donald John Trump on November 3, 2020! In this series we will examine some of the reasons why. We especially want to address those Blacks who inexplicably cannot seem to see beyond the deception that is characteristic of the Trump “regime.”

Trump, the 45th president of the United States, is one of the most enigmatic and destructive presidents we have ever experienced, and he is impacting American democracy in unexpected ways.

Trump has been able to circumvent democratic conventions with impunity. His personality can be described as crass; he behaves like a bully, he makes fun of handicapped people, he boasts about grabbing the private parts of females, he is a serial adulterer, and he has thumbed his nose at almost every established convention related to his office.

It has been shown that he worked with a foreign government to help himself get elected. In December 2019, the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment against Trump due to charges of the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate, however, acquitted Trump in February 2020. The technical charge was based on allegations that Trump unlawfully solicited help from Ukrainian authorities to influence the U.S. election, and it is almost certain that this strategy is ongoing.

Trump lied about his knowledge of the lethality of the Covid-19 virus. Early on, he called it a “hoax,” and subsequent to that time has refused to institute an effective national policy to help curtail the pandemic which, to date, has resulted in the infection of over seven million Americans and over 204,000 deaths! He recently admitted that he did, in fact, know that he misled people, but did it to keep from creating fear in the population.

Donald Trump has a stranglehold on the Senate. In fact, it has come to be called “Trump’s Senate.” No one seems to have the strength or will to oppose him. It is as though they all have backbones made of jelly.

Some observers have opined that it is reminiscent of the time when J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), used the modus operandi of gathering “dirt” on people in order to control them. Is this how Trump is holding some members of his party in check? Others attribute the Senate’s inability to stand up to Trump as hypocrisy connected with a need to stay in power.

These are just a few of the reprehensible qualities attributed to Trump, who has been known to say (paraphrased) that he could shoot and kill someone on 5th Avenue and people would still support him!

There seems to be growing numbers of African Americans who have vowed to vote “down ballot” in order to demonstrate opposition to Biden. Among excuses they give are that Biden opposes “reparations.”

They also oppose Kamala Harris’ record as California’s Attorney General and accuse her of being against Black men, relishing in their incarceration. They also don’t like the fact that she is married to a White man, and that she is not 100 percent Black.

Some high profile Black celebrities are encouraging Blacks to withhold their votes from the Democrats because the party has taken Black votes for granted without adequate reciprocity. That last point may be true, but TIMING is everything. This issue should have been addressed early in the campaign and not at this critical juncture.

These Black critics highlight all of the peccadillos of the Democrats, but don’t seem to have any demands for Trump! They are apparently uneducated when it comes to the damage that an autocratic society would bring, and lack sufficient understanding of the differences between autocratic and democratic governance.

Observers note that Trump’s love affair with the autocratic governance style is what a second Trump term might portend. Whatever the case, the curious timing of the Democratic ticket’s opposition promises to be extremely short-sighted and self-sabotaging. They do not know what sociological devils they are summoning!

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TriceEdneyWire.com—“It may be good to you, but it’s not good for you” is one of the first thought-provoking sayings I can remember spoken by elders. Being young and naïve, when I asked about where the statement originated and its’ meaning, elders would only say, “I didn’t make it up!” Like sayings passed forward by ancestors, its meaning was situational and, with a manipulated explanation, could relate to a variety of circumstances.

Despite its warning, many friends (and, sometimes I) would only seek that thought to feel good. Many who read this can say the same thing. Most of us proceed through life looking only for good, often to the detriment of long-term outcomes. Other courses create stress and challenges we mostly desire not to face.

Rather than situations, we must frequently evaluate good in a person. This is much more difficult than evaluating situational good; situations are less complex and lack feelings. For the considerate person, personal offence is not easily delivered, but we sometimes have no alternative. Thus, we are led to our evaluation of Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.

I only know what I’ve read about Barrett. I cannot attribute motives to that which cannot be explained by word or action. Readings on Barrett describe her as a “Good Mother.” This evaluation is based on her being the mother of seven children, including two adopted children of color from Haiti and one develop-

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary mentally challenged child with Down Syndrome.

Barrett has been identified as a devout Catholic. Much of her life is centered around her church. She attended law school at The University of Notre Dame and later served as a law school professor there.

She distinguished herself as an accomplished attorney and served as law clerk for (the equally devout Associate Supreme Court Justice) Antonin Scalia. She was later appointed as a judge on the 7th Circuit of the US Federal Court.

Her accomplishments notwithstanding, Barrett is not being considered as a good mother, good professor, or a good Catholic. She is being considered for the skills, ability, deliberations, and the sensitivities she brings as a nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. What must be considered is her fitness for the position opposed to how she is considered among her friends.

As much as freedom OF religion, the First Amendment gives us freedom FROM the imposition of religion. Barrett is known to have referred to abortion as “always immoral” and, based on her own prin-

ciples, has twice ruled to restrict abortion access. These actions foreshadow her inclination to reverse Roe v. Wade and impose state directed reproductive control over the lives of women and the reintroduction of associated back-alley abortion consequences.

In November, SCOTUS will have to decide the Constitutionality of the ACA. Barrett has already criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’ upholding the Affordable Care Act as judicial overreach. Should she decide, as expected, against the ACA, during our current pandemic millions of Americans will lose healthcare benefits and loss of protections for pre-existing medical conditions.

Her conservatism strongly suggests her support of positions against immigration, environmental protections, LGBTQ+ rights, voting protections, limits on corporate power, and Civil and Women’s Rights. If confirmed, at 48 years old, she would be the youngest Associate Justice and positioned to potentially influence SCOTUS decisions for the next 30 years.

Barrett may be a good person to her family and associates, but she is not what is necessary for our contemporary society, a society resistant to the regressive reversal of achieved progress. The patently political and hypocritical confirmation process that drives her nomination may be inevitable, but, when power is regained, I support a response in-kind to address the injustice of this action.

(E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women.)

Bamboozling pursuers of equity and social justice in higher education and elsewhere Paulo Coelho indicated, “The world is changed by your example not your opinion.” When it comes to higher education, we add the following: if the upper echelons/offices of the academy speak about equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice but don’t reflect it in their hiring praxis, then they are nothing more than a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” When the implicit curriculum of society’s most impactful producers of ‘knowledge’ does not align with the explicit curriculum, then the result is the status quo— inequity, exclusion, ethnocentrism and injustice.

Throughout the summer of 2020, we often heard from dreary, pessimistic, Blacks who had “been in the storm too long.” They decried, “We’re in the same place we were years ago and, in some ways, things have gotten worse for Blacks! We still have growing wealth, health, employment and educational disparities between Blacks and Whites.

Lynchings haven’t stopped and I’m so sick and tired of being sick and tired about all that has been and is still being done to us!”

In response to the violent abuse that sparked the recent urban insurrections, there has been considerable governmental, corporate and educational executive level “clanging” regarding equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice, but it remains to be seen whether we are in the midst of a sea change in race relations or, once again, the language and actions of appeasement—whether, after a year from now, systemic racism will continue to run rampant. To help prevent the latter outcome, what follows is an outline of past practices used to bamboozle the pursuers of equity and social justice.

The bamboozlement begins with the fact that The Powers That Be understand Frederick Douglas’ statement, “Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” Several steps then follow to achieve the nefarious goal of sustained oppression. With each step, a few examples are offered to highlight what transpired before and after this summer’s urban insurrections.

STEP 1: Tyranize until, the oppressed declares “no more” Leading up to this summer’s revolt, The Powers That Be had [1] attacked the Voting Rights Act and, in other ways, engaged in voter suppression; [2] systemically increased the wealth gap while keeping Black unemployment proportionately greater than Whites; [3] retarded Black home ownership; [4] as with the Coronavirus’ disproportionate impact, permitted health disparities to run rampant; [5] elected as President a lying, blatant racist; [6] allowed White-supremacist organizations to grow; and [7] permitted

Jack L. Daniel and Stacy Johnson

Commentary police violence against Blacks to reach the level of shameless murder in the streets. Finally, a video-taped murder of a Black man by police officers became the spark for the oppressed to engage in the summer of 2020 rebellion.

STEP 2: Throw pacifying SOP to the oppressed Proverbial wisdom holds that “a drowning person will grab a straw.”

Thus, for example, after years of the worst form of slavery known on earth, the not completely freed slave eagerly undertook the former slave master’s oppressive sharecropping as well as conformed to the “evangelicals” who came to make Christians of them, to teach them trades and not also to help the slaves become intellectuals. Similarly, after decades of civil rights struggle and the world witnessing the brutal murders of Blacks, it was a hopeful sign when a few corporate heads put millions into “diversity initiatives” and educational institutions, at all levels, hired an array of diversity and inclusion officers.

However, none of these appeasement initiatives will halt systemic racism in real time.

STEP 3: The oppressed are invited to educate the oppressor about oppression Like the lion allegedly not realizing the harm she/he was doing by eating other species’ new born animals, the oppressor tells the oppressed that she/he would like to be “born again.” In the immediate, instance, there were so many Zoom town hall meetings regarding systemic racism that one could have watched daily for hours. There was a plethora of executive statements deploring systemic racism along with pledges for institutional steps to improve.

Anyone in need of race-related sensitivity training could find a session, free of charge, as select members of the oppressed were invited into the Big Houses to expound on things such as diversity, inclusion, systemic racism, anti-racism, White girl tears, micro and macro-aggressions. Still others told gut-wrenching, low-down blues stories about the pain and anguish they feel daily while being oppressed. Naively, some of the oppressed believed they had succeeded as evidenced by them declaring to one another, “Wow, I’m telling you, she/he (member of The Powers That Be) really gets it! I think we have a chance to improve.” In reality, at best they had obtained a temporary balm to ease their deep and enduring pain —a smaller scenario of what transpired when a flashy, record-setting $12 million settlement for Breonna Taylor’s family was not followed by

an indictment of police officers for her murder.

STEPS 1-3 take approximately 3 months, depending on the extent of the urban insurrections and whether some additional bamboozling is needed by doing things such as presenting “Black entertainment specials” that take folks off the streets.

If the bamboozlement works, then the result is the situation which an older civil rights leader described as, “The new Black leaders got payed and the masses got played.”

The language and actions of appeasement are momentarily confused with fundamental change, that, in real time, systemic racism will be destroyed. Then, The Powers That Be settle in for “4 more years” or more depending on their oppressive skills, including whether they can re-elect POTUS 45. Eventually, when the next blatant public racist act occurs, the oppressed will again feel exhausted given the realization that they are no further from the “plantation” than when the 13th amendment was passed.

They will agonize anew realizing that mass incarceration, red lining, gentrification, underfunded urban schools, health disparities, and low Black college enrollments remain.

If anyone doubts the foregoing bamboozlement scenario, then the following challenge is offered. Pick an educational, private, or governmental institution. This time next year, ascertain whether the selected entity has achieved, for example, a 10 percent or greater increase in hiring Blacks, promoting Blacks, or any other indices that would reflect systemic change as opposed to short-term pacification. Find one institution in which the White executive officers and their White senior administrators assumed diversity, inclusion and equity responsibilities instead of hiring Black and/or other oppressed folk to do so.

To avoid once again being sick and tired of being sick and tired, we must heed the words of John Lewis, i.e., “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. …I appeal to all of you to get into this great revolution that is sweeping this nation. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and hamlet of this nation until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 is complete.”

We must also heed the words of Joy Reid, i.e., “Stop expecting justice from this system. Vote in better political leaders and change the system. As it stands now, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not held even close to equally by every American.

The only way to change that is to change who governs us.”

(Jack L. Daniel is Vice Provost and Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black) (Stacy Johnson, Ph.D. is Lecturer, The University of Texas San Antonio.)

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9 4 8 DIRECTOR OF EQUITY & INCLUSION Port Authority is seeking a Director of Equity and Inclusion, the Director of Equity & Inclusion is a new role at Port Authority. This will be the inaugural position in creating an equity-focused team that will initially create a program for employees that will support and encourage equity in their internal and external business dealings, and will grow to encompass land use, planning decisions, technology considerations, and other business areas to extend the concept of equity. his position reports to the hief Human esources fficer (CHRO) and works closel with the irector of Emplo ee elations ffice of E ual pportunity and Director of Employment & Development and their respective teams. The Director of Equity & Inclusion will ensure that equity and inclusion programs and policies are in line with the Port Authority’s strategic plan and objectives. Understanding external and emerging trends and transferring these to the agency’s cultural environment and to the diversity of the workforce is key.

Working with the CHRO, the Director of Equity & Inclusion analyzing existing programs and policies and presenting recommendations for improvements or enhancements that promote and encourage equity throughout the Port Authority. This position develops and promotes training programs to enhance employee understanding on inclusions issues.

This role acts as a HR consultant for equity issues and is tasked with, and should go beyond, ensuring the organization follows appropriate legislation and employment law regulations and best practices around bias and inclusion with regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, protected veteran status, or disability.

Essential Functions: •Under the direction of the CHRO and in partnership with the HR management team, driving all the work streams associated with the agency-wide Equity & Inclusion (E&I) strategy and program development. Work with the CHRO and the HRIS Specialist in maintaining and enhancing the measurements associated with the strategy. This long term plan will start with a focus in Human Resources and should grow to impact a broad variety of agency functions •Researching and advising on E & I issues and making recommendations for enhancing programs, policies, and training workshops and developing a comprehensive E&I program. The Director of Equity & Inclusion is dedicated to the continual enhancement of equity, diversity, and inclusion policies and best practices.

•Supporting the development and implementation of learning activities to educate varied employee groups, including represented, non-represented, managerial, supervisory and front-line personnel, about inclusion and unconscious bias, e.g., providing consultation and coaching to managers and supervisors to improve cross-cultural communication.

Job requirements include: •Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Human Resources, Business or a related discipline.

•Minimum of eight (8) years of experience leading diversity programs.

•Minimum of two (2) years of experience developing and conducting diversity and inclusion training.

•Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a culturally diverse workforce and provide leadership in organizational change.

•Knowledge and proven expertise on “leading practice” diversity initiatives.

•Effective interpersonal skills.

•Effective oral and written communication skills.

•Demonstrated project and time management skills.

Preferred attributes: •Master’s Degree from an accredited institution.

•Diversity and Inclusion experience in the Transportation Industry is preferred.

•Diversity and Inclusion experience with a represented workforce is preferred.

•Diversity and Inclusion experience with a government agency is preferred.

e offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. nterested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to: Robyn Taylor Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 RTaylor@portauthority.org EOE DIGITAL AND WEB SPECIALIST Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation UPMC is hiring a full-time Digital and Web Specialist to support Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.

Apply by following these steps; visit http://careers.upmc.com and enter 051703311 in the “Search Keyword/ Job ID” field and click o. E E isability/Veteran.

BOROUGH MANAGER The Borough of Homestead located in Allegheny County and comprised of approximately 3,569 residents and 0.6 square miles seeks a full-time manager.

The Borough Manager shall be the Chief dministrative fficer of the Borough under the direction of the seven-member Borough Council. The Borough Manager shall be responsible to Council for the administration of all Borough affairs placed in the Manager’s charge. The manager will oversee ten full-time personnel with various departments including, Administration, Code Enforcement/ Building Inspection, Parking and Public orks. esired ualifications include but are not limited to bachelor’s degree, managing skills, (more than 5 people), organizational skills, personality skills and financial skills.

Applications will be taken until the position is filled. Send a cover letter, resume and three professional references to Borough of Homestead, Attention: Personnel Committee-Borough Manager Selection, 221 East 7th Avenue, Homestead, PA 15120.

Salary to be negotiated with experience.

SENIOR PROJECT ANALYST U Benefit anagement Services, Inc. seeks a Senior Project Analyst in Pittsburgh, PA to create and develop complex relational databases to extract, sort, and report large volumes of data related to marketing and business analytics for health management software. Create algorithms and design database environments to enhance reporting capabilities and business intelligence on pricing and competitor services. Collect, update, and merge disparate information to create gap analysis studies to identify areas where business can improve features, functionality, services, or pricing of product offerings. Organize and analyze data for strategy decision-making.

Develop and recommend business changes or new products or modifications based on data anal tics.

Reqs: Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Management Information S stems, or a related field plus two years of experience in conducting data analysis for business intelligence or Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related field plus five years of experience in conducting data analysis for business intelligence. Experience can be gained before, during or after degree program. Apply by following these steps; visit http://careers. upmc.com and enter 2000028D in the “Search Keyword/Job ID” field and click o. E E isabilit eteran

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DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES Location: This position has a hybrid location, working several days in the ittsburgh office and several da s at Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA. The exact schedule can be determined once hired.

To Apply: Submit cover letter and resume to wpcjobs@paconserve.org and list HR Director in the subject line.

Deadline to apply is 5:00 pm Friday, October 23, 2020.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is seeking an experienced Director of Human Resources who will be responsible for administration, management, planning and development of all Human Resource functions for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (Conservancy), ensuring legal compliance and implementation of the Conservancy’s mission. The Director of Human Resources is responsible for human resource management for the Conservancy, including EEO regulatory compliance, recruitment and selection, compensation, wage and salary administration, benefit administration, performance management, employee relations, corrective action and disciplinary issues and termination.

Required Skills/Abilities •Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills – including the ability to make presentations to the general public and peer audiences.

•Excellent facilitation and coaching skills - must have the ability to work well inter- and intra-departmentally.

•Excellent organizational skills – must be able to demonstrate prior success at executing projects in a timely manner and in achieving results on schedule. Must be able to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

•Strong planning skills – must be able to develop and implement tactical plans from established strategic goals.

•Excellent computer skills in a Microsoft Windows environment.

•Training/development background preferred.

Education and Experience •Eight (8) years experience in public or private human resource management; OR •A bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field, and five (5) years’ HR generalist experience; OR •A master’s degree in human resource management or related personnel human resource field OR •Any equivalent combination of experience and training that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

•Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification strongly preferred.

Physical Requirements •Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

CO-TEACHER POSITION Urban cadem of reater ittsburgh Charter School is seeking a Co-Teacher position for grades K-5. Please submit a resume and ALL clearances and references to 437 Turrett Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. NO PHONE CALLS please

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION BUSINESS CORPORATION Michael J. Saldamarco, Esq., Ste. 100, 908 Perry Hwy, Pittsburgh, PA 15229; NOTICE IS HEREBY E that Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for a business corporation which has been incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988. The name of the corporation is VIOLET PUBLISHING, INC.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Department of Computational and Systems Biology (DCSB) to develop a cutting-edge research program and lead collaborative research initiatives on the development and use of computational models in the area of Cancer Systems Biology using enomics Bioinformatics/computational approaches, or dynamical systems and quantitative measurements at high resolution. Applicants are kindly requested to upload a cover letter, curriculum vitae, writing sample, sample course syllabi, teaching evaluations, research statement, teaching statement, and list of three references combined in a single file to Careers at Pitt at the University of Pittsburgh’s Talent Center, Requisition No. 20003954 at www.join.pitt. edu. The University of Pittsburgh is an ffirmative ction, E ual pportunity Employer and values equality of opportunity, human dignity and diversity. EOE, including disability/ vets.

BLACK STUDIES TEACHER POSITION Urban cadem of reater ittsburgh Charter School is seeking a Black Studies Teacher position for K-5.

Please submit a resume and ALL clearances and references to 437 Turrett Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

NO PHONE CALLS please

FACILITIES MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN, ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS (DAY AND EVENING) C.A.D., CULINARY, ELECTRICIAN, WELDING, AND HVAC/R Pittsburgh Technical College is seeking ualified applicants for the following positions: •Housekeeping, P.T. Evenings, work e perience in related field.

•Facilities Maintenance, F.T. Experience Four years f.t. work e perience in related field •C.A.D. Instructors for AET& MET Programs Associate degree required, Bachelor’s preferred •Culinary and Pastry Chef Instructors Associate degree required, Bachelor’s preferred ACF, CCE, or CEC preferred but not required •Electrician Instructor Electrician journeyman experience or licensure required •HVAC/R Instructor, EPA Universal Certification required Must pass criminal background check.

Immediate opening at our North Fayette campus near Robinson Towne Center. Apply to www.ptcollege.edu (Employment with PTC) or www.workforptcollege.com .

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Estate of PATRICIA ANN PAPPATERRA A/K/A PATRICIA A. PAPPATERRA , Deceased of McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Estate No. 02-20-04148, John Edward Pappaterra, Executor, 3175 E. Winged Foot Drive, Chandler, AZ 85249 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of KENT G. TAYLOR, SR., Deceased of Pittsburgh, PA. Estate No. 04043 of 2020, Raja Taylor, Administratrix, 220 Seneca Street, Turtle Creek, PA 15145 or to Thelma C. Spells, Esquire Atty. 1533 Bidwell Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Estate of RONALD C. DAVIS, Deceased of South Fayette Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Estate No. 02-20-04544, Sandra R. Corbett, Executor, 124 Valley Crest Drive, Cecil, PA 15321 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, ATTY; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Orphans’ Court Division, Estate of Rudolph L. Davis, deceased, O.C. No. 1987 of 2020: Notice is hereby given that on August 26 2020, it was decreed nisi that, pursuant to the petition of Creative Solutions Investments LLC, fee simple title to the interest of Rudolph L. Davis, deceased, in the real estate located at 5462 Black Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, is in Creative Solutions Investments LLC. The Estate hereby request all persons having claims against the estate of the decedent to make known the same to Daniel Friedson, Esq. attorney for Creative Solutions Investments LLC, who is located at 1818 South Braddock Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218, and all parties of interest in said real estate contact Daniel Friedson, Esq. without delay. If no e ceptions to the decree are filed within three months of the above date, the decree shall be confirmed absolutel .

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING FOR COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY 2020 ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE Notice is hereby given that Allegheny County, Pennsylvania will hold public meetings on October 7 at 2:00 PM, October 8 at 5:00 PM, and October 20 at 5:00 PM, 2020.

All meetings will be conducted virtually via Zoom. Residents may access these meetings via internet links provided by the County, via its designated consultant, and by the ouncil of overnment ebsites.

The links will allow residents to register for their chosen Public Hearing date and access the meeting via a follow-up zoom e-mail.

Wednesday October 7, 2020 – 2:00 PM Link: https://zoom. us/j/93804733648?pwd=TjQrZnhiQ0s3Rm1yU0toTnU5NWg1Zz09 Thursday October 8, 2020 – 5:00 PM Link: https://zoom.us/j/95472371681?pwd=MnJIekNDV0hyeUZKQlBDaGoweTRvdz09 Tuesday October 20, 2020 – 5:00 PM Link: https://zoom.us/j/99580592016?pwd=OUNvbHY0VktERGJUZ3RXc2dMcVBzdz09 The meetings will be used to solicit the views and comments of individuals and organizations concerning any impediments to fair housing choice in Allegheny County (not including the City of Pittsburgh, the City of McKeesport, and the Municipality of Penn Hills) and what steps should be undertaken to affirmativel further fair housing. he primary focus of the meetings is fair housing issues in Allegheny County.

All interested residents and agencies/organizations are encouraged to attend these virtual public meetings and they will be given the opportunity to present oral or written comments concerning any impediments to fair housing faced by residents of Allegheny County. Written comments may be addressed to Mr. Nathan Wetzel, Project Manager, Allegheny County Economic Development, 112 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, or via email at Nathan.Wetzel@AlleghenyCounty.us.

Nathan Wetzel, Project Manager Allegheny County Economic Development Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

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NOTICE OF INCORPORATION E S HE EB E that a corporation is to be or has been incorporated under provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988., approved December 21, 1988, P.L. 1444, No. 177, effective October 1, 1989, as amended. The Articles of Incorporation of A LOVING TOUCH HOME HEALTH AND ADULT CARE, INC have been filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State. The initial registered office of the corporation is located at: 322 Mall Plaza Blvd #142, Monroeville Pa 15146

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CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY E S HE EB E that a ertificate of rgani ation was filed with the epartment of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for a limited liability company formed under the Limited Liability Company Law of 1994. The name of the company is: PICKLEBALL DEPOT US LLC, Javier Infantas, hone , asa rande rive., Pittsburgh PA 15237

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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH PUBLIC NOTICE OF REVISED 2021 UTILITY ALLOWANCE The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), in accordance with federal law and regulation, is proposing revisions to its Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standard Schedule.

The revised 2021 Utility Allowance schedule is available for review and comment from September 30, 2020 to November 4, 2020 on the HACP Web Site: www.hacp.org. Printed copies of the revised utility allowance can be obtained by contacting the H E ecutive ffice at 456-5012.

A Public Hearing to receive public comments on the revised 2021 HACP Utility Allowance will be held on Wednesday, November 4 2020 at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. via Zoom: 10:00 a.m. via zoom: Meeting ID: 951 7225 1024 Passcode: 490733 (US) 1-301-715-8592 Passcode: 490733

THE WASHINGTON COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY will receive separate, and sealed bids for the following prime contract bid with the Authority: LINCOLN TERRACE ADMIN BLDG ROOF REPLACEMENT LINCOLN TERRACE 266 NORTH LINCOLN STREET WASHINGTON, PA 15301 WCHA 2020-G13 CONTRACT; A/E PROJECT # 2110 certified check or bank draft pa able to the Washington County Housing Authority, a US Government Bond or satisfactory Bid Bond executed by the Bidder and acceptable sureties in the amount e ual to ten percent (10%) of the bid shall be submitted with each bid.

Bids will be received no later than 1:30 PM EDT, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020 at the Washington County Housing Authority, 100 Crumrine Tower, Franklin Street, Washington, PA 15301 at which time the bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. Bids will be held by the Housing Authority for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days prior to the contract award.

A Non-Mandatory Pre-bid Meeting will be held at 1:30 EDT, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 onsite at incoln errace, orth Lincoln Street, Washington, Pa 15301. an ecification and contract documents may be examined at these locations: Bid Documents are being distributed, with twenty-four hour prior notice of pick-up, by F. L. Haus Company, 921 Ridge Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, by phone (412) 231-7700 or fax (412) 231-7709. All prime bidders are REQUIRED to buy the full set of plans and specifications. ontact . . Haus Company for cost of plans and specifications. ree e amination of said documents is available at the office of an ian Johnston ssociates and enns lvania Builders E change.

Submit all re uired documents in a sealed envelope clearly marked: WCHA Lincoln Terrace: Administration Building Roof Replacement The work to be performed under this contract is a Section 3 ro ect under Provisions of the Housing & Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended, and must, to the greatest extent feasible, provide opportunities for training and employment for lower-income residents of the pro ect and contracts for work in connection with the pro ect be awarded to business concerns which are located in, or owned by, Washington County residents. Particular attention is directed to re uirements of E ecutive rder 11246, 11625 and 12138, as well as Section re uirements, as set forth in the Specifications.

The Authority reserves the right to reect an or all bids for an reason s what so ever and to waive informalities in the bidding.

5:00 p.m. via zoom: Meeting ID: 993 8466 5386 Passcode: 419474 (US) 1-301-715-8592 Passcode: 419474 Written comments on the proposed revisions to the HACP Utility Allowance must be addressed to: “Attention: HACP Utility Allowance” at HACP Housing Choice Voucher Department, 200 Ross Street, 7th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 and must be received by November 4, 2020. nce approved, the final revised HACP Utility Allowance will be effective January 1, 2021.

If you are a person with disability and need an alternate means of reviewing this information, please contact the Disability Compliance ffice at to discuss the options available LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

THE WASHINGTON COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY will receive separate, and sealed bids for the following prime contract bid with the Authority: VALLEY VIEW TERRACE APARTMENT RENOVATIONS VALLEY VIEW TERRACE 518 DAWSON STREET CANONSBURG, PA 15317 COMMISSION # 4019 certified check or bank draft pa able to the Washington County Housing Authority, a US Government Bond or satisfactory Bid Bond executed by the Bidder and acceptable sureties in the amount e ual to ten percent (10%) of the bid shall be submitted with each bid.

Bids will be received no later than 11:00 AM EST, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2020 at the Washington County Housing Authority, 100 Crumrine Tower, Franklin Street, Washington, PA 15301 at which time the bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. Bids will be held by the Housing Authority for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days prior to the contract award.

A Non-Mandatory Pre-bid Meeting will be held at 11:00 AM EDT, MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 onsite at Valley View Terrace, 518 Dawson Street, Canonsburg, Pa 15317. an ecification and contract documents may be examined at these locations: lans and Specifications ma be viewed at the following Plan Rooms: leveland Builders E change, ittsburgh Builders E change, onstruction Journal, onstruct onnect, and hio alle onstruction Emplo ers ouncil. containing PDFs of all bid documents may be obtained through the office of the Architect, Shaeffer & Madama, Inc., 57 Fourteenth Street, Wheeling, WV 26003 upon receipt of a $25.00 non-refundable payment and valid email address. For more info, contact susieb@shaeffer-madama.com.

Submit all re uired documents in a sealed envelope clearly marked: WCHA Valley View Terrace: Valley View Terrace Apartment Renovations.

The work to be performed under this contract is a Section 3 ro ect under Provisions of the Housing & Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended, and must, to the greatest extent feasible, provide opportunities for training and employment for lower income residents of the pro ect and contracts for work in connection with the pro ect be awarded to business concerns which are located in, or owned by, Washington County residents. Particular attention is directed to re uirements of E ecutive rder 11246, 11625 and 12138, as well as Section re uirements, as set forth in the Specifications.

The Authority reserves the right to re ect an or all bids for an reason(s) what so ever and to waive informalities in the bidding.

STEPHEN K. HALL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY Sealed bid proposals are hereby solicited for the Community College of Allegheny County, 800 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15233 (412.237.3023) on the following items: Bid Proposal No. 1076 – 32 Channel Inline Mixer for Music Program Due date: 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Monday, October 12, 2020 The CCAC Purchasing Department publishes all bids and RFPs via the CCAC website at https://www.ccac. edu/Bid-RFP_Opportunities.aspx It will be each vendor’s responsibility to monitor the bid activity within the given website (“Bid and RFP Opportunities”) and ensure compliance with all applicable bid documents inclusive of any issued addenda. Failure to incorporate any applicable addenda in the final submittal ma result in the re ection of your bid.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to re ect an and all bids.

The Community College of Allegheny ount is an ffirmative ction E ual Emplo ment pportunit Emplo er and encourages bids from inorit Disadvantaged owned businesses.

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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) FOR PRESSLEY HIGHRISE COMMUNITY ROOM & CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT, AMP-17 HACP IFB NO. 600-28-20 THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH will receive sealed bids for the Pressley High Rise Community Room & Corridor Improvement – AMP 17 The construction work is estimated to begin in February of 2021.

Bid Documents will be available on or about Monday, October 5, 2020 and may be obtained from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s webpage, www.hacp.org. Bidders may register on the website and download the bid documents free of charge. Electronic versions of the Bid Documents, including bid forms, pro ect manual, and drawings can be picked up in person, (by appointment) Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Steve ra iani, ro ect anager 724-651-7169 A Pre-Bid Conference and Site Visit will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.: Pressley St. High Rise Community Room 601 Pressley St. Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Bidders shall come prepared to review all aspects of the construction site necessary to prepare a bid.

Bids will be received at: HACP Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Attn: Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement until 10:00 a.m. November 12, 2020 at which time and place all bids will be received.

HACP will also accept online submissions for this Invitation for Bid in addition to accepting submissions at our oss Street office. or respondents wishing to submit online, please access the instructions provided in the pro ect manual to submit the bid digitally. In addition to the electronic submittal above, The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the bid opening time of 10:00 AM on November 12, 2020 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Sealed bids may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. All bids must be received at the above address no later than November 12, 2020 at 10:00 a.m., regardless of the selected delivery mechanism. THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH reserves the right to waive any informality in, or re ect an and all bids. o bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60 da s subse uent to the opening of bids without the consent of the HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. he ontractor will be re uired to compl with all applicable E ual Emplo ment pportunit re uirements for Federally Assisted Construction Contracts. The Contractor must ensure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sexual preference, handicap or national origin.

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

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

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.

Pittsburgh’s Black men know where to get their news.

The New Pittsburgh Courier, THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

B6

OCTOBER 7-13, 2020

The perfect storm for disaster— COVID, winter and economic slowdown (TriceEdneyWire.com)—On October 2, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the last unemployment report we will see until after the election. Based on this report, Congress and the Senate must pass the HEROES Act that would give individuals, cities, and states much-needed relief from the corona recession, which continues. Some would say we don’t need those funds because we are in the middle of an economic recovery, but winter is coming. COVID is currently unchecked in ten states and close to containment in only four— Alaska, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and Vermont.

With more people gathering inside during the winter, we are likely to see more COVID cases. We are not prepared. There seems to have been some progress in developing a vaccine, but most experts say the vaccine will not be widely available until mid-2021.

Winter also ushers in the flu season, and hundreds of thousands of people

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary need flu shots and may not be able to get them. While the flue is neither as contagious nor as lethal as COVID, God bless the person who gets them both!

Without a vaccine, the coming of winter puts pressure on small business owners and others and will have some economic consequences.

In September, the unemployment treat dropped from 8.4 percent to 7.9 percent, which seems like progress until you realize that the drop in the unemployment rate happened because almost 700,000 people dropped out of the labor market. The lower unemployment rate means that things are getting better for fewer people. The longterm unemployed, who have been out of work for more than half a year, has increased to 2.4 million. Of course, unemployment rate differentials remain.

The unemployment rate was 7 percent for Whites and 12.1 percent for African Americans. While that unemployment rate gap is as constant as structural racism, it is frustrating to find policymakers behaving like Black unemployment is supposed to be higher than the white rate. Otherwise, why have Democratic and Republican leaders done little or nothing to address that gap and close it.

Ten million fewer Americans had jobs in September than in pre-COVID February, and just last week, two airlines said they would lay off 32,000 people.

If the HEROES Act does not pass, there may be even more without work.

States and local governments are laying people off because they don’t have the revenue stream they projected at the beginning of the fiscal year. Public servants will be cut—teachers, municipal workers, transportation services, sanitation services, and other services.

And the pace of job creation is slowing —in July, the economy generated 1.78 million new jobs; in August, 1.49 million. Last month the economy created only 661,000 new jobs, less than half as many as the previous month. If there was a job creation momentum, it is slowing.

Congress can prevent this by passing the HEROES Act. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, negotiating for the Democrats, has trimmed the Democratic request from $3 trillion to $2.2 trillion, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin seems less flexible, offering $1.6 trillion.

They say they are moving closer to an agreement. Tell that to someone who doesn’t have a paycheck.

Just like the coronavirus has hit people unevenly by race and income, so has the economic downturn. Those with more income recover more quickly and hurt less, but the lower-income people recover far more slowly. One in five of the workforce is teleworking. How many are low-income people?

Business on Capitol Hill goes on as usual, except for the fact that so many Senators have been exposed to COVID (along with the President and close advisors) that they will not do any legislative work until October 19. However, they may still hold hearings on Amy Comey Barrett, who 45 has nominated to the Supreme Court. Mitch McConnell will rush through confirmation for Barrett, but slow walk aid for others.

His priority is partisan control, not the people.

Partisanship won’t do much for McConnell if the confluence of winter, job loss, and COVID hit the economy. Legislators were surprised by COVID and its economic impact in March. If they ignore this now, with the coming storm, it’s because they really don’t care.

FORUM

Princeton’s self-incrimination of racism: exact or exaggeration?

In 2019 Princeton J. Pharoah University received the HEED (Higher Education Excellence in Diversity) award.

The coveted prize is given annually to U.S. colleges and universities—where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work done every day across their campuses—by the magazine INSIGHT Into Diversity.

Princeton was recognized for their efforts to recruit historically underrepresented and first-generation college students. Princeton’s undergraduate class of 2023 is 49.5 percent American students of color, 24 percent are low-income students, and 16 percent are first-generation college students. The financial package for these students does not require borrowing, it’s built on grants that don’t have to be repaid, and 82 percent of recent seniors graduated from Princeton debt-free. Princeton started a transfer program aimed at “well-prepared students” who are U.S. military veterans and community college students. Princeton University’s mentoring program also provides first-generation and low-income students with mentorship to help them succeed.

Afterwards, Princeton told the press, the university was “extremely proud” to have received a national award for “excellence in diversity and inclusion.” However, one year later, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would investigate Princeton for institutional racism.

What happened?

Well, in May 2020 Nicholas Johnson, a student from Canada, became the first Black valedictorian in Princeton’s 274-year history. Johnson stated that he felt empowered and the honor was significant to him because of “Princeton’s historical ties to the institution of slavery.” Did the Department of Education discover Princeton systemically restricted Black Americans from becoming valedictorians?

Of course not. This was another proud moment for Princeton.

Then, weeks later, on May 25, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, but the initial response to Floyd’s death was unlike anything in the recent past. The officer involved was immediately fired. There was universal condemnation of the officer and a national consensus that the officer committed murder. However, activists, protesters, and, eventually, rioters took to the streets across the country, but these elements weren’t advocating for justice for George Floyd. These elements attempted to extract everything that could be gained from the national consensus

and demanded everything from defunding the police, to the resignation of local officials, to the end of capitalist exploitation.

At this point, corporations donated money to social justice causes to avoid being labeled complicit with systemic racism and universities denounced institutional racism to prove they were reckoning with their racist past. But Princeton’s president went further and admitted his university was currently a racist institution.

This forced the Department of Education into action because, by law, schools that receive federal funds can’t be openly racist. The Department of Education informed Princeton’s president from the time he took the position in 2013, Princeton University has repeatedly represented itself to be in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in exchange for over $75 million of taxpayer funds. During this time Princeton made material nondiscrimination and equal opportunity representations to students, parents, and consumers in the market for education certificates. Based on Princeton’s admitted racism the Department of Education is concerned Princeton’s nondiscrimination and equal opportunity assurances, from 2013 to the present, have been false and in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Department of Education would open an investigation.

In response, Princeton stated that it’s unfortunate the Department of Education believes that grappling honestly with the nation’s history and the current effects of systemic racism runs afoul of existing laws and they look forward to explaining why their statement is consistent with the law. Other universities have criticized the Department of Education for pursuing the Princeton matter, because Princeton’s diversity and inclusion initiatives demonstrate the opposite of what Princeton’s president believes to be true. But the Department of Education is determined to figure out exactly what or who is fraudulent at Princeton.

If Princeton’s president is right about the persistence of racism on his campus, then the university should pay back the money it took from the federal government under false pretenses, plus return the HEED award. But if Princeton’s president was exaggerating so the university could be recognized and admired for their courage to be self-examining, he should resign for seeking false adulation.

Doss

Check It Out

Trump promises ‘Platinum Plan’ for Black Americans (NNPA)—In an on Black commuattempt to win Black Lauren Victoria Burke nities during his voters that have four decades in been elusive for the Washington.

Republican Party for “Biden should many cycles, Presinot be demanddent Donald Trump ing your support; announced a “Platihe should be num Plan,” of Black begging for your Economic Empowerforgiveness,” ment.

Trump told a Trump unveiled the plan during crowd of supporters on September an Atlanta rally with less than six 25. “No one in politics today has weeks left until Election Day on done more to hurt the Black comNovember 3rd. Currently, Presimunity than Joe Biden,” Trump dent Barack Obama’s former Vice added. Trump may have in part President Joe Biden in leading in been referring to Biden’s authorthe polls in many key states in the ship of the Clinton Crime Bill of presidential contest.

1994, or more formally, the Violent Trump’s proposals for Black Crime Control and Law EnforceAmerica include prosecuting Antiment Act. The “tough on crime” law fa and the Ku Klux Klan, making was a driver of mass incarceration Juneteenth a holiday on the federal through the 1990s as it incentivized level and proposals focused on Black incarceration. wealth. Trump’s proposal related to Trump won 8 percent of the Black improving Black economic standelectorate in 2016 as he defeating included an investment of $500 ed Hillary Clinton. Clinton won billion in Black communities. Trump the popular vote by close to three million voters but Trump won the did not disclose how he would pay electoral college map. for such a plan.

Current polling shows that Biden Because of the COVID-19 pandemis ahead of Trump with Black voters ic, which has caused over 200,000 by a very wide margin: 83percent to deaths and 50 million to file for un8 percent. The introduction of his employment, budgets on the federal plan for Black America is likely an level are expected to be tight in the attempt to win the support of Black coming years. voters in what could be a close presTrump attacked his Democratic idential contest. rival, former Vice President Joe (Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent Biden, as he announced his proposal saying that Biden “inflicted” damage journalist for NNPA.)

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 St. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219 You may fax your letter to 412-481-1360 or via email to letters@newpittsburghcourier.com

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Glenn Ellis

Commentary

Cold and flu season during COVID-19 (TriceEdneyWire.com)—“Both COVID-19 and flu can spread from person-to-person, between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Both are spread mainly by droplets made when people with the illness (COVID-19 or flu) cough, sneeze, or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.”

This statement from the CDC reminds us that, not only should we remember that we are still in the middle of a deadly pandemic, but we are also at the beginning of the 2020-2021 flu season.

Because this is the first cold and flu season in the U.S. during the global pandemic, healthcare providers aren’t sure how our immune systems will react.

Truly, many of us, have reached our breaking points after more than 6 months of cabin fever; COIVD fatigue; social distancing; face masks; promises of vaccines, and a long list of other COVID-related things. It is becoming increasingly harder to accept all of the public health restrictions and the mandates that are actually winning the battle of taking away life, as we once knew it. Nevertheless, we cannot afford to forget how dangerous a period we are going into.

Don’t place all of your eggs in one basket, thinking that a vaccine on the horizon will come to our rescue, and save the day; realistically it would well into 20120 before there could be enough vaccines for everyone. Regardless of all of the, almost giddy, scientific and political rhetoric, there are still a lot of questions. A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center demonstrates how this sordid history and ongoing structural inequity could affect clinical trial participation: Even if a Covid-19 vaccine were available today and proven effective, only 54 percent of Black adults would be willing to take it, compared to 74 percent of White adults. The statistics would likely be equally dismal for participation in Covid-19 vaccine trials.

In spite of us being in the next wave of COVID-19, we are facing the start of the annual flu season. In the United States, most of the time flu activity doesn’t reach its peak until sometimes between December and February, but the ravages of the flu can last as late as May. The overall health impact (e.g., infections, hospitalizations, and deaths) of a flu season is scary to say the least. Like most others in the public health field, the thought of a flu season during the coronavirus pandemic is chilling.

Hospitals and clinics already under strain from COVID are fearing an onslaught of new respiratory infections, including influenza and another seasonal health issues that can cause serious illness in young children and the elderly CDC estimates that in the United States each year, the flu results in between 9 million - 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 - 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths!

We see what’s happening with the number of people infected with COVID-19 (over 6 million), and the number of deaths (almost 195,000), in just 6 months! You do the math on what it could look like when COVID-19 and the flu are on the prowl for a source of survival (you and me).

Let me begin by first reminding you all that a global pandemic, from a virus that is diabolical, and comes like a thief in the night with an endless appetite for victims to devour. It doesn’t behave like any other virus we’ve ever seen. It spreads through our respiratory system because there are receptors in our noses and throats— but then it goes through your entire body: blood vessels, the heart, every organ could be targeted.

Promising research from University of Manchester in the UK, suggests that the “common cold”, which is a member of the coronavirus family, having some degree of immunity also does not mean that people definitely won’t get by infected by COVID-19. At the very least, they may still experience mild symptoms, for example, as their immune system fends off the virus, any pre-existing immunity is limited.

COIVD-19, Flu, and Colds all are infectious viral diseases. They are all viruses that can often spread to others by people, who are sick, before they, either, begin showing symptoms, have very mild symptoms, or by those infected who are considered asymptomatic, meaning they never develop any symptoms, but are highly contagious.

As the weather gets colder, we’ll start spending more time indoors where it’s easier to spread viruses, like the flu and COVID-19. Since we don’t know how the flu will interact with COVID-19, it’s best to do all you can to keep yourself and loved ones healthy and do everything possible to reduce the spread of the flu.

It’s not as hard as you think. Just keep your primary goal in mind at all times: Take care of yourself; be as informed as possible with credible information; and know the symptoms of cold, flu and COVID-19.

Practice the healthiest habits you can, such as getting plenty of sleep and managing stress, as well as preventive care set up your body for success when confronted with incoming threats —whether it’s the common cold, the flu and even COVID-19. Just a few lifestyle changes can better prepare your body and immune system.

(The information included in this column is for educational purposes only. I do not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a replacement form of treatment for physical, mental or medical problems by your doctor either directly or indirectly. Glenn Ellis, MPH is a Visiting Scholar at The National Bioethics Center at Tuskegee University and a Harvard Medical School Fellow in Research Bioethics and Narrative Writing.)