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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 112 No. 46 Two Sections

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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THE RACE FOR THE STATE HOUSE IS HEATING UP House Districts 19, 24 soon to be up for grabs

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Jake Wheatley and Ed Gainey have been state House mainstays. The two African American men have more than 25 years combined experience representing majority-African American communities in the Pittsburgh area on the state level in Harrisburg.

But as you know, nothing lasts forever.

Gainey made history, and now he’s en route to the City-County Building, Downtown, in January to serve as Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor. And the New Pittsburgh Courier confirmed that Wheatley is going to become Gainey’s deputy mayor.

That leaves two open state House seats—Gainey’s 24th District seat, and Wheatley’s 19th District

seat. No special election dates have been finalized, but African American candidates for those seats are beginning to emerge.

Washington vying for the 24th District seat

Environmental racism is a topic that isn’t brought up at the water cooler every day—Black communities being disproportionately affected by everything from air pollution, flooding, polluted water, and being in proximity to power plants and factories.

Thirty-year-old NaTisha Washington has become quite the expert in environmental issues. The Wilkinsburg native has, for years, sat down with Black families across the region, hearing their concerns such as basement

AFRICAN AMERICAN CANDIDATES EMERGING FOR STATE HOUSE SEATS—Aerion Abney, left, is vying for Jake Wheatley’s 19th District seat; NaTisha Washington is vying for Ed Gainey’s 24th District seat. flooding, or even bathing in brown water, and came up with solutions to the issues.

Now, she’s decided to take things one step further—she is running for the soon-to-be vacant state

House District 24 seat, the position that Ed Gainey currently holds, but come January, will relinquish to

take the seat as mayor of the City of Pittsburgh.

SEE STATE HOUSE A2

NABHI CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES PRESENTS ITS 2021 AWARDS

Pittsburgh Courier NEW

To subscribe, call 412-481-8302 ext. 136

NABHI CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES HELD ITS ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY ON OCT. 22, with this year’s honorees pictured—George Spencer Sr., Maurita Bryant, Esther Bush, Diarra Jackson, Rod Doss, and Chris Moore. See more photos on Pages A6, B6. (Photos by J.L. Martello)

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RACE FOR THE STATE HOUSE HEATING UP — WASHINGTON WANTS 24TH DISTRICT; ABNEY WANTS 19TH STATE HOUSE FROM A1

Washington, the 2013 Penn State University graduate who majored in landscape contracting design, said merging her knowledge of environmental issues with being a community advocate is the perfect recipe for her to become a state representative.

“If we’re not speaking up for the issues, other people make plans for us,” Washington told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview, Nov. 15. “The community can advocate for themselves instead of just someone telling them how the problem should be solved.”

Washington said she’s always had the notion to help her community; she worked with Jamil Bey (President/CEO of the UrbanKind Institute) as a farm manager and designer, who also helped with youth education pertaining to horticulture in Beltzhoover and the surrounding areas; was the green initiative coordinator for Operation Better Block in

NATISHA WASHINGTON Homewood, meeting with community members about environmental issues and solutions, and helping OBB’s Junior Green Corps high school members better understand the environment; and currently is the environmental justice organizer for One Pa, a civic engagement organization that aims to transform local communities for the better.

Washington told the Courier that watching One Pa work to change policies and programs via voter engagement, political lobbying and a constant informing of residents of underserved communities was the nudge she needed to ultimately get into politics. She said she realized that she can be the person who properly handles complex issues and relay them in a way that lawmakers and residents can clearly understand.

When Homewood residents continuously complained of the basements that flooded in their homes on Finance Street and SEE STATE HOUSE A3

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me, this is not fly-by-night politics,” Abney told the Courier. “You cannot show up for the first time ever at a community meeting just three months before an election and ask people for their vote. That can be seen as disrespectful...I’ve knocked on doors in every part of this district. I’ve taken the time over the years to put in the work and the community leaders here can attest to my efforts.”

Abney, a Manchester resident who lives with his wife and two sons, said his fellow residents care about access to quality jobs, education, health care, public safety and housing. He sees being a state representative as an opportunity to address those conAERION ABNEY STATE HOUSE FROM A2

other areas, Washington helped them with various stormwater projects, which included rain barrels and rain gardens. When it came to residents complaining about the polluted air, Washington helped with obtaining air filters for residents.

She also isn’t afraid to hold various borough council members accountable in the Mon Valley, whom she said aren’t taking many African American residents’ concerns about the quality of the air or water seriously. Washington said that in McKeesport, one family has no choice but to use brownish water for showers, etc. The family purchases bottled water to drink.

“The Mon Valley, some of the most toxic pollution that I’ve seen, and they (council members) are not talking to their residents, they’re not taking their residents’ concerns serious enough,” Washington said.

House District 24 encompasses primarily East Liberty, Highland Park, Lincoln-Lemington, Homewood, Wilkinsburg and East Hills. It’s a district that has been served the past eight years by Mayor-elect Gainey, a person who seemed to always be in the community. Washington isn’t the only person vying for the seat, of which there has not been a date set for its special election. Former Wilkinsburg School Board member Ashley Comans announced prior to the Nov. 2 General Election that she would be running for the seat.

“Natisha has an impressive work ethic,” voiced Gina McMillan, director of operations for Operation Better Block, a former employer of Washington.

“She’s a dedicated worker, very passionate about her work. I believe she would be an asset to the political scene.”

“I’ve always had the passion to help my community,” Washington told the Courier. “That’s been my goal since I was young.”

Abney says this time, the 19th is his

For nearly 25 years and for no pay, Kenneth Abney would volunteer his time in Philadelphia as a youth

track and field coach, propelling African American prodigies into acquiring full scholarships to college.

Aerion Abney never told Kenneth, his father, that watching his father’s dedication to helping other people truly laid the foundation for Aerion to want to help others.

“My dad is a very hard-working man,” Aerion Abney told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “I saw him sacrifice a lot of his time and energy to help young kids.”

Now 33 years old, Aerion Abney continues to help others in his new hometown, Pittsburgh. But he hopes this time, it comes with an official title of “state representative.”

Abney is running for Rep. Jake Wheatley’s soon-to-be vacant House District 19 seat. But he’s no stranger to politics. Abney ran against Rep. Wheatley in the 2018 primary election, where he came up 367 votes shy of Rep. Wheatley’s 2,790 votes. Thus, Abney already has made a name for himself in this arena.

“They (the residents) are going to have a representative in Harrisburg that is going to fight for the issues they care most about,” Abney told the Courier in an exclusive interview, Nov. 15. “I’ll bring resources back from Harrisburg to impact the quality of life for people that live in the district. I will be an accessible state representative for all neighborhoods in the district, not just one.”

Those neighborhoods include the Hill District, Manchester and other parts of the North Side, Downtown, Beltzhoover and parts of the South Side Hilltop.

Abney attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a bachelor’s in communication in 2010 and a Master of Social Work in 2012. He’s a former program officer at the POISE Foundation and currently serves on the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County’s My Brother’s Keeper task force.

“I’m sure there will be folks that are interested in the position (House District 19 seat), but the difference between me and anybody else is, for

Dropping the DIME on life insurance!

Read about it from Damon Carr on page B1.

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021 A3

cerns. But people in the Hill, North Side, etc., also have a feeling of being left out of community development plans, Abney said.

“People want to see respectable development in their neighborhoods but they don’t want to be ethnically cleansed from their communities,” Abney remarked. He said that his open-door policy will give people the opportunity to know what type of investments are being made in their neighborhoods before the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted.

Representative Wheatley is expected to resign from the state House and become deputy mayor under Pittsburgh Mayor-elect Ed Gainey in January. That’s when a date for a special

election for the House District 19 seat will be determined.

“I’m inspired by the people that I meet and their lived experiences and their stories, and their desire to do certain things in their lives,” Abney told the Courier. “Being able to use the platform as state representative, I see how that can help change the realities of struggle for certain people.

Pittsburgh has been really great to me. I came here as a 17-year-old kid not knowing much and I was able to graduate from college, gain employment, get married and have a home and raise a family, and now is my opportunity to give back to a city that’s given so much to me.”

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Allderdice kings of the City League football castle Defeats Westinghouse, 14-0, to claim first title since 2018

ALLDERDICE CELEBRATES ITS 2021 CITY LEAGUE TITLE OVER WESTINGHOUSE, OCT. 30, AT CUPPLES STADIUM

Allderdice is back on top.

Westinghouse held the City League football crown for the past two seasons, and many believed that the Bulldogs, clad in Westinghouse Blue, would cruise over the green-spirited Dragons to win title number three in a row, similar to the Chicago Bulls, who won three straight titles in the ‘90s — twice.

But on this day before Halloween, it was Allderdice that had all the treats, schematically keeping Westinghouse off the scoreboard for the entire 48 minutes, en route to a 14-0 victory.

Allderdice last won the City League title in back-to-back years, 2017 and 2018.

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NABHI CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES AWARDS

NABHI CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES’ JACQUE FIELDER, WITH HONOREE ROD DOSS. Doss is the editor and publisher of the New Pittsburgh Courier. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

HIGHMARK HEALTH’S LESLIE CARTER speaks at the awards ceremony.

THE STORIES ARE IN OUR

C O M M U N I T Y

OLDER PEOPLE WITH ACTIVE LIFESTYLES

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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COMPARING MEDICARE PLANS COULD SAVE YOU MONEY

Medicare Open Enrollment is here. Now’s the time to review coverage and select a plan that meets your health care needs.

(Family Features)—Medicare’s Open Enrollment period gives everyone with Medicare the opportunity to make changes to their health plans or prescription drug plans for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2022. Don’t delay, the Open Enrollment period ends Dec. 7.

Comparing Plans Can Be Easy Medicare plans can change year to year – even your current plan may be changing. Medicare.gov makes it easy to compare coverage options, shop for plans and feel confident about your choices.

You can do a side-by-side comparison of plan coverage, costs and quality ratings to help you more easily see the differences between plans. If you choose a new plan for 2022, you can enroll right there. If your current coverage still meets your health care needs, you don’t have to do anything.

Open Enrollment (Oct.15-Dec. 7) is your chance to compare your choices for the year ahead and to see if you could save money all year long.

Here are some things to consider when shopping for Medicare coverage: Check if your doctors are still in-network and your prescriptions are on the plan’s formulary.

The plan with the lowest monthly premium may not always be the best fit for your health needs.

Look at the plan’s deductible and other out-of-pocket costs that factor into your total costs.

Some plans offer extra benefits, like vision, hearing or dental coverage, which could help meet your unique health care needs in 2022.

Medicare is Here to Help Here are three ways you can compare plans: Find plans at Medicare.gov, where you can see estimates for all your prescriptions.

Call 1-800-MEDICARE. Help is available 24 hours a day, includ-

ing weekends.

Help in your community is also available. You can get personalized health insurance counseling at no cost to you from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Visit shiptacenter.org, or call 1-800-MEDICARE for your SHIP’s phone number.

Many SHIPs also have virtual counseling available.

Medicare Open Enrollment ends Dec. 7. Now is the time to act if you want to enroll in or make changes to your Medicare health or prescription drug plans for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2022. If your current coverage still meets your needs then you don’t have to do anything. Remember, if you miss the Dec. 7 deadline, you will likely have to wait a full year before you are able to make changes to your Medicare coverage.

For more information, visit Medicare.gov/plan-compare or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800633-4227). TTY users can call

Flu shot recommended for people 65 and older (BPT)—As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends people 65 years and older get their flu shot this year, in addition to their currently recommended COVID-19 vaccines.

Health experts across the country urge everyone 6 months and older to get an annual flu vaccine, but for those at higher risk of serious flu complications, including people 65 years and older, getting a flu shot is especially important.

While it is not possible to predict what will happen this season, CDC is preparing for an epidemic of flu this fall and winter as grandchildren are back in school and families begin traveling and socializing once again. The agency is concerned about what this could mean for people 65 years and older.

People 65 and older bear greatest burden of severe flu illness While flu seasons vary in severity, during most seasons people 65 years and older bear the greatest burden of severe flu disease. In recent years it is estimated that between 70% and 85% of seasonal flu-related deaths occurred in people 65 years and older, and between 50% and 70% of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations occurred among people in this age group. Compared to younger adults, people 65 years and older are at higher risk of serious flu illness which is due in part to changes in immune defenses that occur with increasing age.

“Getting a flu shot is the most important thing people 65 years and older can do to protect themselves and their loved ones from flu,” Dr. David Shay, a medical officer with CDC’s Influenza Division, said. “Flu

vaccination can prevent flu and its potentially serious complications and has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who got vaccinated but still get sick.”

Now is the time to get your flu shot October is a good time for people 65 years and older to be vaccinated, but vaccination during November and later is still recommended because flu most commonly peaks in February and significant activity can continue into May. Although people in this age group may not respond as well to vaccination as younger people, studies have consistently found that flu vaccination has many benefits for people in this age group and has been effective in reducing the risk of flu-related medical visits and hospitalizations.

People 65 years and older should get a flu shot and not a nasal spray vaccine. There are regular flu shots approved for use in people 65 years and older, and two vaccines designed specifically, and only, for use among people in this age group. This includes the high-dose flu vaccine (brand name Fluzone HighDose) and the adjuvanted flu vaccine (brand name Fluad Quadrivalent). Both of these vaccines are designed to create a stronger immune response in people 65 years and older. There

also is some evidence to suggest the recombinant flu vaccine (brand name Flublok Quadrivalent) might also create a stronger immune response in people in this age group.

No one of these flu shots is recommended over another; the most important thing is for everyone to get a flu vaccine every year. If you have questions about which vaccine is best for you, talk with your doctor or another health care professional.

A flu shot protects against multiple flu viruses Flu vaccines are the only vaccines designed to protect against flu and they protect against the four flu viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Flu vaccines for 2021-2022 were updated from last season’s vaccine to better match circulating viruses. Immunity from vaccination fully sets in after about two weeks.

“In addition to getting a flu shot, people 65 years and older should take the same everyday preventive actions CDC recommends for everyone,” Shay said.

“This includes avoiding people who are sick, covering coughs, and washing hands often.”

Additional information about the seriousness of flu and the benefits of flu vaccination can be found on the CDC website or call CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO.

1-877-486-2048. Help is available 24 hours a day, including weekends. If you need help in a language other than English or Spanish, let the customer service representative know the language.

More information about Medicare is also available on the Medicare Facebook page and by following @MedicareGov on Twitter.

Need Help with Medicare Costs?

If you have Medicare and you’re facing challenges paying for health care, you may qualify for Medicare Saving Programs run by your state that can help save you money on health and prescription drug costs. If your income for 2021 is below $18,000, it might be worth contacting your state’s Medicaid program about programs that may be available to you. To learn more, call 1-800-MEDICARE. Protect Your Medicare Card and Help Fight Fraud Don’t let your guard down. Here are a few important steps you can take to protect your identity and help fight Medicare fraud.

Guard your Medicare card and number – Treat your Medicare Number and card just like you would your Social Security card or a credit card. Remember, Medicare will never contact you for your Medicare Number or other personal information unless you’ve given them permission in advance.

Review your Medicare claims – When you receive statements from Medicare, look them over to make sure they’re accurate.

Watch for any services billed to your Medicare Number that you don’t recognize. Ask questions about your statements if you see something you think is incorrect.

Information provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

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Local 6-year-old cancer survivor to light PPG tree on Nov. 19 Zoey Ward, a 6-year-old cancer survivor from Beaver Falls, will light the official tree by the Rink at PPG Place during the annual American Cancer Society Tribute of Light Celebration being held on Friday, Nov. 19, at roughly 5:30 p.m. The event will start a weekend of Light-Up Night festivities being held across the city.

Zoey, who finished her cancer treatments in September, is currently in remission from stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Diagnosed at age 4, she has spent the past two years undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation, two stem cell transplants, and major surgery to remove a tumor. Now finished with her treatments, she is excited to have her port removed so she can once again go swimming.

“The timing for this year’s Tribute of Light Celebration couldn’t be more perfect as Zoey just completed her treatment,” noted her mom, Asterria. “Lighting the tree means the world to us because along this journey we’ve seen some kiddos have amazing outcomes and watched other, unfortunately, gain their wings.”

Zoey will be joined by her mom, Asterria, and her siblings, Zane and Giana. In addition to the official tree lighting, the evening will also feature the annual Tribute of Light Celebration, in which a procession of volunteers carrying specially lighted tributes in honor or memory of cancer patients and survivors, their caregivers and families, and those who lost their battle to the disease will encircle the ice rink.

Live entertainment will be

ZOEY WARD available, and Magic Ice will donate a portion of all skating fees collected that evening to the American Cancer Society.

Asterria added, “Lighting the tree gives us hope!!!

Lighting the tree gives awareness to childhood cancer. Lighting the tree lets the angels who did gain their wings know we are still fighting for them.”

The event is free and open

to the public. Those wishing to learn more, or who wish to purchase a tribute in advance of the evening, can do so by visiting http://main.acsevents.org/ tributeoflight. A limited number of tributes will be available for purchase the evening of the event, prior to the start of the ceremony.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

RELIGION

Center for Urban Biblical Ministry supports breast cancer survivors

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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Praise & Worship ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH 91 Crawford Street Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Sunday Mass 11 AM effective October 3,2021 Rev. Thomas J. Burke- Pastor Rev. C. Matthew HawkinsParochial Vicar Rev. David H. TaylorSenior Parochial Vicar. www.sbtmparishpgh.com

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800

Worship in person or Online on Facebook/YouTube www.ELPC.church Journey Worship..........8:45am Sancutary worship.......11:00 a.m.

Taize -Wednesdays.........7:00 p.m.

The Center for Urban Biblical Ministry of Pittsburgh added their show of support for breast cancer victims and survivors with prayers and words of sentiment offered by Director, Rev. Helen Jackson and staff ministers. A Pink Balloon Release was held on Monday, Oct. 25. (Photos by Courier photographer Jacquelyn McDonald)

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

For rate information, call 412-4818302, ext. 128. We want to feature positive youth from our Pittsburgh church community. Please mail their bio and photo to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or email us: religion@newpittsburghcourier. com

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT CHURCH EVENT! We want to place your event in our Church Circuit weekly calendar!

Send info to:

“In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 REV. WALKER SAYS: I’m going to answer this scripture with Romans 8:28—And we know that ALL things work together for GOOD to them that LOVE GOD, to them who are the CALLED according to HIS PURPOSE. (Rev. A. Marie Walker is servant pastor of St. John Baptist Church in Wilmerding.)

New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh PA 15219

The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

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New Pittsburgh Courier

NFL similar to slavery or false comparison

J. Pharoah Doss B4

BUSINESS

Classifieds

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B5-6

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

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Focusing on financial health: Charting the path toward your next milestone When was the last time you looked at your bank account balance? According to a survey, over 60 percent of Americans check their balance at least once a week.

This habit, if practiced the right way, can put you on the path to achieving your financial goals.

Whether you’re looking to become financially independent, planning for a long-awaited vacation, or saving for a down payment to buy your first home, it’s important to become aware of the tools and skills available to help make your financial journey as smooth as possible.

Let’s talk about the basics first. Managing your money can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. Understanding things like budgeting, saving, paying your bills, and even building your credit score are skills that can help you at any stage of life. Even in difficult times, when so many are facing greater uncertainty around finances and job security, understanding core financial skills can be the difference-maker.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 44 percent of Black Americans said that either they or someone in their family has experienced a job or wage

loss due to COVID. In these situations, especially, it is critical to know how to manage your finances to stay or get back on track.

If you’re unsure of where to begin, how to start making progress, or simply looking to refresh your knowledge, consider the following as you chart a successful path forward and take control of your financial future.

Advice and Tools JPMorgan Chase’s financial goals hub is a great place to start. Start by pick-

ing a goal—save, budget or build credit—and explore advice, offerings and tools that more simply allow you to control your financial future. The Grow Your Savings page, for example, offers an interactive calculator that maps out a timeline to reach savings goals and highlights how the Autosave tool can help you manage a regular savings schedule to stay on track and meet your goals. Other resources, such as budget worksheets, are also available to monitor

and track monthly spending, as well as guidance on using the Credit Journey tool to build and protect credit, and background on low-cost checking accounts designed to provide access for anyone who has had trouble getting or keeping an account in the past.

Reserved Capital for Business Owners Education, reliable support and resources are fundamental first steps to financial literacy, as well as having access to capital.

Through JPMorgan Chase’s Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, we’re working to provide more access to capital to future entrepreneurs, existing business owners and communities who have historically struggled to secure it. JPMorgan Chase is also setting aside funds specifically for Black and Hispanic business owners—stop into your local branch and talk with a Chase for Business representative to see if you qualify.

Equitable Home Lending One way we hope to increase property ownership among Black communities is through our Chase DreaMaker mortgage, which makes applying for your first mortgage or refinancing a current one more attainable with a smaller down payment, and by offering reduced mortgage insurance, more flexibility around your credit score, potential assistance grants and homebuyer education courses.

No matter where you are financially, budgeting and saving are two key habits that can help all of us bounce back from life’s unexpected moments or keep you on track to ensure you meet your goals. That is why JPMorgan Chase is here to help everyone have open conversations about what it means to be financially healthy while providing the support, tools and advice to get there. Financial health is a journey, and we can help you think about a plan for now and the future.

For more resources, information and access to tools that can help you achieve your financial goals and milestones, visit chase.com/ personal/financial-goals.

(Sponsored content from JPMorgan Chase & Co.)

How to pay yourself first

by Megan Kirk For New Pittsburgh Courier

(Michigan Chronicle)— Money makes the world go around, but not having any can pause everyday life. As money is needed for every aspect of day-today functionality, spending and saving habits become increasingly important as adults maneuver through life. Financial emergencies are inevitable and sometimes unavoidable. However, having the proper tools to save for a rainy day can help make these emergencies easier to deal with.

Financial education continues to be spread thin, particularly in Black communities. The widening of the wealth gap, while largely based on institutional racism, can also find some truth in the spending and saving habits as well as incurring debt. Money management is best handled when the money coming in is more than the amount being spent on household and life bills. Creating a budget is a sure-fire way to chronicle income and without it, some find themselves spending more than they can afford.

“The biggest one [mistake] is the failure to establish a monthly budget and to track their expenses and income,” said Willa Williams, co-founder of Trinity Financial Coaching, where she is a financial coach and accredited financial counselor. “When they do that, they are oftentimes not aware of how much they are spending and at times do not keep up with where their expenses are.”

Healing finances is not an overnight feat. It will take unlearning previous bad SEE PAY YOURSELF B2

Dropping the DIME on life insurance!

I recently did a financial coaching session with a single female with no children. She had come across a windfall of money. She was looking to learn how to best invest this money for retirement. As I was doing a cash-flow analysis, I noticed she had life insurance. This whole life insurance policy had a face amount of $50,000 and a cash value of approximately $5,000.

I explained to her that given the fact no one is depending on her income, and being that she’s not trying to leave legacy money to family, friends, pets or charity, her need for life insurance is solely for burial expenses. I suggested that she could get a term life insurance policy at a fraction of the cost then liquidate the $5,000 cash value to add it to her retirement savings. I assured her that she’ll get a much greater return on investment by doing this.

She loved the idea of accessing the $5,000 cash value but didn’t like the fact that term life insurance had a definite timeline whereas whole life insurance was permanent. She stated that with term insurance, she can pay on it for years and in the end never get any money back. I told her insurance is the only financial product we buy and hope we never need. I explained to her that we pay for car insurance, homeowners insurance and other types of insurance and never file a claim. What’s the difference? I then dropped the DIME on life insurance. I also shared the DIME strategy regarding life insurance to my Facebook audience. Below is some of our conversation: Life insurance is to replace the income or economic value of a person who has people depending on them.

When it comes to life insurance a simple way to determine how much insurance is needed is to employ the DIME strategy.

How much is needed? A dime or 10 percent

of your gross annual income. What should you use insurance proceeds for? D.I.M.E ~ Debt payoff! Income replacement! Mortgage payoff! Education cost for the kiddos!

I believe whole life is the best way! Whole life provides investment for me and protection for my family. ~ Choice Damon says: The fact that you have life insurance shows you’re proactive and responsible.

The downside about whole life policies are: They’re extremely expensive, laced with fees, and have a poor rate of return in comparison to comparative saving and investment products. The reason is simple. You have to pay insurance fees plus pay the fees for the investment product they use to earn you money. Then pay more fees including mortality fees, surrender charges just to name a few. It’s better to get term insurance with an insurance company and do your saving and investing on the cheap with a financial company specializing in saving and investing.

Because of the high cost of whole life insurance, people who have it tend to be under insured. I’m a proponent of 20-year and 30-year term life insurance. The monthly savings on premiums can be used to beef up your savings and investing. Cheaper premium, more coverage, better rate of return on saving and investing = Win, Win, Win for you! ******

Damon, you’re correct. The only downside to term is they expire. I have 2 terms: a 20year and a 30-year and a whole life policy.

The term insurance will be expiring soon.

My kids are also getting older. I got them when I was younger so the premiums are not as bad including the whole life. I think diversifying helps as well. ~ Choice Damon says: You can renew, update your policies or simply take out another policy. You’re still young and look relatively healthy. Take out another 20-year or 30-year term policy.

As you know the cost of term insurance is about 15 percent of the cost of whole Life.

Get the term. Save the difference on your own.

Over 20–30 years of saving, you, in effect, become self-insured.

That’s exactly how whole life insurance works. They’re, in effect, making you become self-insured within the policy. Say you have a whole life policy with a face amount of $100,000 and cash value of $30,000. If you die, how much do you think your designated beneficiary will receive? $130,000: Face amount plus cash value of $30,000 or $100,000 face amount? Most people think they’ll get $130,000 - face amount + cash value. They’re wrong!

Designated beneficiaries will get $100,000.

The $30,000 reduces the amount that the insurance company has to shell out. They refer to it as net amount at risk. They’re on the hook for $70,000. If the cash value reaches $100,000, beneficiaries will only receive the $100,000 cash value. They’re forcing you

to self-insure. Let’s say you take out a loan against your cash value or withdraw money from it, the insurance company reduces the face amount by the dollar amount borrowed or withdrawn.

With a term policy, you get full face amount plus the amount you saved outside of the insurance policy. ****** Damon, you forgot to mention that whole life policies do not pay real/actual “dividends.” If you notice, they parade them as additional income from investments in the policy. But those dividends are not taxable as income at the end of the year. WHY? Because they are not dividends. They are “Over Drafts” and “Over Charges” and only reimbursements are made available, after the company makes money on the client’s money.

If the client needs a loan from the policy, regardless of credit reports, they have to pay the loan back, plus 6-8 percent interest. If you choose not to pay yourself back, the loan amount is subtracted from the face value of the policy, reducing the family benefit.

Whole life policies are chiefly designed to extract money from the client solely for the insurance company’s benefit and enrichment. It’s a disenfranchising product. Then there’s the perpetual commissions given to the insurance agent from the client’s policy. ~ Pastor Peter Joseph Damon says: Excellent points made by pastor. He’s right. Whole life insurance is pushed mainly because it pays a whole lot more in commissions than term insurance.

(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached at 412216-1013 or visit his website at www.damonmoneycoach.com)

BUSINESS

B2 NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Is bankruptcy Don’t fall for the trap—How to tell if you are being gaslit at work right for you?

by Ethan D. Dunn For New Pittsburgh Courier

What type of bankruptcy is right for me? Understanding the difference between a Chapter 7 and a Chapter 13.

Bankruptcy is often seen as a scary proposition. But the truth is, bankruptcy is just another tool you can utilize on your road to success. Understanding the bankruptcy options available to you and what they would mean for you or your business is essential to removing the fear and recognizing what is actually possible in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can generally be understood as having two possible types: Reorganization (Chapter 13) and Liquidation (Chapter 7).

First, let’s get a basic understanding of each.

In Reorganization, you are creating a plan to pay back your debts using a carefully planned budget that allows you to meet your basic needs and use the leftover cash to pay your debts. In order to successfully reorganize, you need to generate enough income to not only pay for basic needs, but also have some money left over that will be used to pay your debts.

The money that is left over will be used to create a plan for repaying your creditors as much as you can afford.

If you put together a budget and it shows that you don’t have any money left over after paying for your basic needs, then Liquidation is an option. In this type of bankruptcy case, you are using your assets to pay your debts. The Bankruptcy Code allows you to keep many of the items you will need for your basic needs, but any items that you are not allowed to keep are sold for cash and that cash is used to pay as many of your debts as possible.

Reorganization is typically what you’re doing when you file a Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. With few exceptions, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy is usually how businesses reorganize (think General Motors) and, although interesting, is not within the scope of this article.

Individuals likely would reorganize their debts by filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In fact, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is only

individuals – companies cannot file a chapter 13.

The Chapter 13 bankruptcy lets you restructure your debts, while providing protection form creditors who may try to garnish your paycheck, levy your bank account or seize property that you own. The plan that you create with your attorney allows you up to five (5) years to repay your creditors as much as you can afford.

A Chapter 13 plan can be intricate as a result of the numerous competing interests of the debtor, creditors, and other interested parties.

However, once the plan is approved by the courts and implemented, your old debts become part of the plan and as long as you make your plan pay-

ments and meet the other chapter 13 legal requirements, you will, with few exceptions, come out of the bankruptcy debt free.

Liquidation, on the other hand, is the form of bankruptcy that occurs in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can wipe out many forms of overwhelming debt, but there are certain types of debt that a Chapter 7 cannot get rid of. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may have to give up [or sell some of the things you own if the law doesn’t protect them.

However, the good news is that in mist cases you are able to keep everything that you own and still get rid of your debt.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most common form of bankruptcy, and, unlike reorganization is a Chapter 13, this type of liquidation usually only takes 3-4 months before you receive a discharge.

Above are just come of the generalities about the types of bankruptcies most people file and there are a number of considerations that go into deciding whether a reorganization or liquidation bankruptcy makes the most sense.

Be sure to talk with your attorney about your income, expenses, assets and debts so that together you can make the best decision for your situation. w (Ethan D. Dunn is a member of Wolverine Bar Association and is the managing member of MAXWELL DUNN, PLLC. A boutique business and bankruptcy law firm.

by Sherri Kolade Michigan Chronicle

You’re being too sensitive.

They didn’t mean it like that.

Toughen up. Don’t overthink it.

Sound familiar?

These are common phrases used by people who gaslight to throw their victims off balance mentally — not to talk of on the job.

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person (or group of people) secretly plant seeds of doubt in the mind of a targeted person (or group) to make them question their own memory, judgment or perception of an event, according to various definitions.

Lansing-based Chelsea Jay, a career coach and employee advocate who is “unapologetic” about her approach to getting people’s careers all the way together, posted about those phrases on LinkedIn because she knows firsthand about being gaslit at a job time and time again.

“This is a prime example of gaslighting,” Jay noted of her examples. “Just a reminder that you are entitled to your feelings, never let any boss/company invalidate them, and toxic behavior in the workplace is not OK. If you’ve been told this once… that’s too many times. You deserve better. Go get it.”

Jay also posted a LinkedIn poll inquiring if others have been gaslit in the workplace.

“Have you ever worked in an environment that made you question your sanity?”

Her question on the professional social networking platform read and (out of 452 votes) 90 percent of her poll-takers have been gaslit on the job; nine percent have not.

Gaslighting is an invalidating experience that is all too common in the workplace, too.

On the job, a gaslighter can be a negative manager, a dubious coworker, a prejudiced workgroup, an angry customer/client, or even a business competitor.

Psychology Today (PT)

reports that “workplace gaslighting can also be the result of systemic, institutional bias, or negative media and social media coverage. A gaslighter may target and victimize groups as well as individuals.”

Workplace gaslighting, according to PT, is different from other forms of job-related issues like: * The difficult work situation is because of a consistent individual, group or institutional bias and negativity, rather than solid proof, strong facts, established cases, and/or proven data. * The harsh work environment creates a negative narrative about the gaslightee (contrary to evidence) and damages the gaslightee’s personal or professional reputation. * The mistreatment persists over a period of time, despite a clear track record of the gaslightee’s positive collaboration, contributions and accomplishments. * When approached on the matter, the gaslighter typically deflects and denies.

“The result of chronic gaslighting is that it can make the gaslightee feel ‘lesser’ as a team member, contributor or provider of product or service,” PT reported. “One may even begin to question one’s

own professional credibility and personal self-worth, wondering if the gaslighter is justified in their judgments and accusations (despite evidence to the contrary). Gaslighting is a form of psychological brainwashing.”

Jay said that a lot of times people worry professionally about their job security and then fall into a trap of pleasing their employers and making sure they are happy while “neglecting their selfworth and happiness.”

Jay said it’s important to always see how the individual feels and be vigilant to pick up on the signs of being gaslit.

“Continue to make your voice heard — continue to speak up,” she said, adding that the biggest thing in the workplace is always finding an ally or allies to “help you raise your voice, thoughts, opinions and ideas.”

She also added that it’s important to note if being gaslit is a common occurrence and if the job is worth sticking around for.

Jay also said that Black employees are often susceptible to being gaslit on the job.

“It is extremely common in the Black community and minorities, period,” she said. “We’re afraid of being

seen as too aggressive if we’re too loud or vocal.”

Jay added that she encourages her minority clients to find an organization that allows one to thrive, embraces their culture and who they are.

“Our job is not to make other people comfortable,” she said.

One of Jay’s clients, Kaljah Adams, a fulltime college counselor and resume writing business owner, said that she has been gaslit at work before.

“To just feel that my experience of what I was going through [was not valid],” she said adding that once at her old job all of her coworkers [except for her] received holiday gifts. “I felt some type of way about it.”

Adams said that her previous job had constantly downplayed her feelings and she left for her new position, which treats her much better.

“I’ve used Chelsea’s services in different aspects,” Adams said adding that her confidence has grown since then. “She gave me a lot of insight and self-worth in the workplace making sure I understood my value and what I bring to the table.”

Famous Amos launches Ingredients for Success Initiative to support Black entrepreneurs (BlackPressUSA)—CHICAGO — Famous Amos, in partnership with the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), announces the launch of its Ingredients for Success Initiative, a grant and mentorship program that aims to provide the necessary tools and resources to help Black business owners succeed.

According to a recent story

by CNBC, there are about 2.6 million Black-owned businesses in the United States, equating to approximately 9.5 percent of all businesses.

Yet nearly 8 out of 10 Blackowned companies usually do not survive the first 18 months. Famous Amos strongly believes that pairing these entrepreneurs early on with financial resources and

mentorship is a key ingredient to contribute to a more positive direction.

“In honor of Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos, we are extremely grateful to partner with the NBCC to help create pathways for Black business owners to thrive,” said Rachna Patel, Senior Director, Distinctive Brands at Ferrara. “Famous Amos remains committed to fostering racial equity through the work that we do as a company and our connection to the communities we serve.”

In its inaugural year, a total of $150,000 has been committed to award three Blackowned businesses, each receiving a $50,000 business grant. Along with the monetary award, grant winners

will receive a complete suite of mentoring and coaching resources and tools provided by the NBCC to help drive sustainable growth and success.

“Our mission is the economic empowerment of Black businesses and communities,” said Charles H. DeBow, III, Executive Director, National Black Chamber of Commerce. “We are pleased to partner with Famous Amos to provide mentorship, as well as the necessary tools and resources to the grant recipients to assist them to not only participate but to succeed in America’s economy.”

Grant applications will be judged by some of the nation’s foremost Black business leaders including Jeffery Beckham Jr., Chief Executive

Officer at Chicago Scholars; Roby Mercharles, vice president of partnerships at The American Dream Fund & Marketplace; Steve Canal, co-founder of Flourysh, ONE Venture Group, Saint Miles and The Baptist Collection; and Mandy Bowman, and founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street.

Businesses must be at minimum 90 percent Blackowned and have been in operation for five years or less.

For official rules and eligibility requirements, and to apply now, please visit https:// famousamosingredientsforsuccess.info/. All entries must be submitted by Monday, November 29th, by 11:59 p.m.

EST.

How to pay yourself first PAY YOURSELF FROM B1

take unlearning previous bad spending habits and replace them with new techniques and ways of thinking about money.

With any habit, it takes effort to overcome and financial habits are no different.

“When making your first steps toward breaking unhealthy financial habits, it is important to intentionally relinquish all of your previous beliefs and limitations about money, and the relationship that you have with it. This will assist in being open and ready to receive and apply the skills that you learn,” said Brittany Harvey, a financial wellness professional. “The

most beneficial step to take for yourself is to seek out people in the community who have the insight and financial resources that you are looking to acquire.

One of the biggest blunders someone can make when making this new mental paradigm adjustment is hesitating to connect with a mentor and financial professional.”

When considering a habit, many would not consider spending and saving to be listed. Habits are typically used to describe a negative practice, but for one financial professional, habits translate to all areas of life.

“According to Oxford Languages, the word ‘habit’ is defined as

“a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. With that definition in mind, invite yourself to reflect on the daily choices that you make and how these decisions are directly affecting the life that you live,” said Harvey. “A ‘bad habit’ is any repetitive act that is deterring you from accomplishing your financial goals. Is it that you have not created and followed a monthly budget? Have you neglected reviewing your financial plan with a professional? Are you spending frivolously? It’s essential to remind ourselves that the daily habits that we choose to foster will determine

the life that we manifest.”

Credit cards can be helpful in establishing and building a credit score. Alternatively, failure to use credit responsibly can have a blowback effect on overall financial wellness.

“A lot of times people will mess up credit by overspending and spending impulsively. Sometimes people look at the available amount on their credit card as cash. It isn’t cash. It’s money which is to be borrowed, but must be paid back,” said Williams. “We have to be very careful about credit.”

Thankfully, steps can be taken to reverse the effects of negative financial habits. Enlisting

the help of a financial coach can help over spenders find balance in their finances and help manage healthy ways to grow the bank account. Allocating funds for self after each pay cycle will grow personal finances and allow for a nest egg.

“Pay yourself first. It makes so much sense because we work very hard and we want to be able to enjoy the fruit of our labor. So, set aside some money for yourself all the time so when you have the opportunity to buy the things you see you want, you can go get it,” said Williams.

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

B3

Dead or Alive

Guest Editorial

Election a warning for Pennsylvania Democrats If Democrats are not careful, what happened in New Jersey and Virginia can happen here in Pennsylvania.

Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race, becoming the first Republican to win statewide office there since 2009.

In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

The race was far tighter than polls had predicted.

President Joe Biden won New Jersey by 16 points and Virginia by 10 points in the 2020 presidential race.

The Nov. 2 election results should be seen as a warning of what could be in store for Democrats in the 2022 midterms in Pennsylvania and across the nation in statewide contests.

Democrats did well in large cities where Black Democrats won the mayor’s seats in New York and Pittsburgh.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a reform-minded progressive prosecutor, won 70 percent of the vote to easily defeat his Republican challenger.

Republican Chuck Peruto was not a serious challenge to Krasner, who mostly ignored his opponent. Krasner could rely on the city’s 7-to-1 Democratic voter advantage.

While Krasner and incumbent City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, who was uncontested, cruised to victory, Republican Kevin Brobson won a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, beating Maria McLaughlin, a Democrat. Brobson will fill the seat of retiring State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Saylor, a Republican. The current court includes five Democrats and two Republicans.

Brobson will join a court that has been at the center of major political disputes in the past year, handling cases over the contested 2020 presidential election, as well as the legality of how Gov. Tom Wolf used his authority to respond to the global pandemic.

The election results in New Jersey and Virginia could be a sign that Democrats and Republicans will have a fierce battle trying to replace Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey and in other statewide races. After serving two terms as governor, Wolf is not eligible for re-election.

Toomey, who has sometimes disagreed with former President Donald Trump, has decided not to run for re-election.

On the national level, Biden and congressional Democrats must work together to pass the president’s economic agenda. Inertia in Washington is hurting Biden in the polls and Democrats nationwide.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats must present strong candidates with a clear message if they hope to get the large turnout needed to win the midterms.

(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

Founded 1910

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

Rob Taylor Jr.

Ashley Johnson

Office Manager

Managing Editor

Sales Director

John. H. Sengstacke

Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Following the example of my good friend, Dick Gregory, I read as much as I can from as wide a variety of sources available to me. An important email from the National Trust for Historic Preservation crossed my desk regarding the encroachment of a public highway upon an historic African American settlement and cemetery. Fortunately, “the State of Maryland has announced plans to avoid ground impacts to this historic site.” (https://savingplaces.org/stories/ hope-for-historic-black-cemeterythreatened-by-highway?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=weekly#.

YYQy-ZgXCUl) Understandably, I was relieved to learn that Maryland modified any plans that would have led to the desecration of the final resting place of so many of our ancestors. Had it not been for the occasional, but inappropriate, disturbance of African American graves and cemeteries, I would have had nothing to fear. My reflection caused me to think of the times African Americans—living and dead—have been degraded, demeaned, and/or had their human remains desecrated at the altar of American Racism.

An election and two court trials loom large in my reflections. The racism of the Governor-Elect of Virginia and his supporters, and the trial of the accused murderers of Ahmaud Arbery and the trial of accused Wisconsin murderer, Kyle Rittenhouse, consumed a good portion of my thoughts.

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary Glenn Youngkin, a Trump acolyte, orchestrated a not-so-subtle gubernatorial campaign that exploited the prejudice, fears, and racial hatred of thousands of Virginians. Polling indicated that, as expected, jobs and the economy were the number one issue among voters. Labeled by The New York Times as an “unlikely issue,” education ranked number two among Virginia voters. The crux of the education issue was Critical Race Theory.

Professional educators weigh-in by confirming that CRT is not taught in Virginia public schools (K-12). What has set these ‘good’ Virginia voters off is the discomfort they and their children feel when forced by textual confirmation to take an honest and critical look at the brutality and inhumanity of their ancestors’ conquest of this nation. Youngkin has pledged to eliminate CRT “from day one.” This informs me that “Black History” and other records of White inhumanity will either be revised to soothe the guilt of a White audience or eliminated from the curriculum entirely. Among their outrageous justifications is that Black History makes African American youth feel like “victims.”

Youngkin’s proposed remedy for the imaginary CRT brings to memory the words of the Father of Black History, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”

While judicial trials seek the elevation of justice, the two trials I referenced leave questions about that in my mind. In one, the case of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a jury has been seated that reflects what I call “Georgia Justice.” The jury in that trial is composed of eleven Whites and one African American.

In the history of southern jurisprudence, that composition is known as the “15-minute acquittal.”

In the other trial, the judge has ordered that the two people shot and killed and the one person wounded could not be referred to as “victims.”

As a student and practitioner of the law, I find it difficult to identify persons killed by an underaged assailant who crossed state lines with a weapon he unlawfully possessed as anything except victims.

Any objective observer understands that contemporary information is being shaped to justify the oppressive acts of an antagonistic White America. Our legitimate appeals and demands for justice and equity fall on deaf ears. Things done to us or those who support us are, more than ever, considered in good order.

Degradation and desecration remain the order of the day. This cannot continue without our response.

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

Lesson for Dems in Virginia defeat: Give voters something to vote for (TriceEdneyWire.com)—Election Day in Virginia was a major defeat for the Democratic Party. It could signal a much bigger disaster in 2022 if Democratic officials do not learn the right lessons and do not deliver on the promises they have made to voters.

Every election is complicated. There is no single explanation for Republican Glenn Youngkin’s upset victory. But there are plenty of warning signs.

Going into the election, it was clear that there was an enthusiasm gap. In other words, Youngkin’s Republican supporters were more excited about voting than former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Democratic backers. One big reason was the feeling that Democrats pulled out all the stops last year to elect President Joe Biden and give Democrats majority control in Congress—but that hasn’t led to passage of a jobs and infrastructure bill or voting rights protections.

In fact, the day after the Virginia election, Republican senators used filibuster rules to block debate on a voting rights bill for the fourth time this year.

At the same time, Republican state legislators are putting more voting restrictions in place and creating more corrupt partisan redistricting plans that will give them far more power than they have earned—often at the expense of Black voters. That’s why religious and civil rights leaders have been getting arrested at the White House in growing numbers while demanding that President Biden do more to lead Senate Democrats in dismantling the Republican blockade on voting rights and democracy protection legislation.

But that hasn’t happened yet. That failure to get things done helps explain why Democratic voters in Virginia were less fired up about the election

Ben Jealous

Commentary than Republicans.

There were other things at work.

McAuliffe made a clumsy statement about parental involvement in education that Youngkin’s campaign and supporters exploited in dishonest ways.

That was cynical, and some might say, typical, campaign politics. It probably helped Youngkin win more suburban and urban votes.

And that points to another warning sign. Youngkin was apparently able to drive a lot of independents and White women into his camp by embracing what is a national right-wing political strategy: to inflame fear and anger among parents over the supposed threat of “critical race theory.” Critical race theory is an academic field that examines the existence and impact of structural racism. Right-wing groups and politicians have turned it into a political weapon by claiming that school boards and teachers are part of a Marxist plot to destroy America by making White kids feel guilty about American history and current inequality. Youngkin, who talked about “unity” on the campaign trail, ran with this divisive strategy, promising to ban “critical race theory” from Virginia’s schools “on day one.”

Youngkin’s success points to multiple dangers ahead.

For Virginians, his victory and Republicans’ takeover of the House

of Delegates means that advances in voting rights, access to health care, and common-sense gun regulation that were made under Democratic leadership in recent years are threatened with reversal. Youngkin told activists that once he was elected he could go “on offense” against reproductive choice.

And for the rest of us, the outcome in Virginia means that Youngkin’s playbook will be used by more politicians to bring us far-right politics disguised with a cheery smile and rhetoric about protecting children—a strategy that has long been used to smear the LGBTQ community and is now being turned against honest teaching about the racism in our past and present.

If too many voters fall for that—or too many of us stay away out of frustration over the lack of progress—we will give more power to the same politicians who are devising new ways to keep Black people away from the ballot box and leave us underrepresented in the halls of power.

We can’t let the 2022 elections be dominated by bogus culture war issues drummed up by right-wing politicians.

They must be about making economic opportunity, health care, and quality education available to all Americans, no matter their color or where they live. They must be about protecting our democracy and right to vote.

The Virginia campaign showed us that campaigning against the lingering threat of Donald Trump is not enough to win an election in which he’s not on the ballot. Failing to make the case that electing Democrats will make people’s lives better will leave the door open for next year’s campaigns to become about something else.

(Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way.)

Race, justice and our courts

by Dr. John E. Warren A number of actions taking place in our courts today are confirming what we as Black people have always known and experienced, namely, a dual system of justice in America. One for Black and people of color, and one for White people.

Consider the following current events as supportive proof of this statement.

For those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6 in what we now know was an “insurrection” with intent to kill, we have seen those people identified and charged get light sentences.

Consider the White grandmother who posted all kinds of proud photos at the “rally” and received a sentence of “community service”. Others got less than a year in prison time where maximum sentences were available.

Consider now the Kyle Rittenhouse case under way in Kanosa, Wisconsin for the shooting of three people and the killing of two following the protest of the police shooting of Mr. Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse drove out of his way to

attend the protest with an AK-47 assault rifle. Charged with murder by the prosecution, we have an old White judge who decides that those shot and or killed can not be called victims but must be called “looters”, even though they were not on trial. This action in and of itself was prejudicial.

Now the judge has gone two steps further. First, he excused Rittenhouse’s bail violation by not informing the court that he had moved. Such actions

by Blacks and people of color have led to bail revocation and lockup.

Second, the Judge’s most recent blasting of the prosecution with such personal hostility in front of the jury certainly should be considered prejudicial and suggests that the judge is unfit to continue presiding over this trial. Consider the defense motion to “declare a mistrial with “prejudice”, which, if granted, would be the same as an acquittal.

The people of Wisconsin should file complaints against the judge with the State Judicial Tenure Commission and should ask the judge to either

remove himself or request to have him removed. If he were Black, the process would already be underway. It appears that where prosecutors are finally seeking convictions of such crimes of Whites against people of color, the judges are making more leniency available.

Let us not forget the Arbery trail in Georgia, where the three White men accused of the murder are saying they had a right to kill Mr. Arbery under an old Civil War statute allowing the murder of Black folks. And let us not forget the importance of jury selection, which so often eliminates people of color as much as we so often seek to find ways not to serve.

Yes, our courts are still racist, even at their best. The disproportionate number of Blacks incarcerated offers a sobering statement of facts. If we are to be a nation of laws, then those laws must apply to everyone equally.

Clearly Lady Justice has not been blind when dealing with people of color.

So let’s get involved as watchmen and help her do right.

B4 NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

Good news for who?

Unemployment going down for everybody but Black folks (TriceEdneyWire.com)—Despite rising inflation and legislative drama, some economists are touting the latest jobs numbers as a cause for celebration. And there is good news in the recent jobs report. Job growth exceeded expectations, adding nearly 100,000 jobs from last month (bls.gov). Wages increased. But Black folks didn’t get the same gains that others did. The unemployment rate is trending down for everyone but Black folks. So, while the overall unemployment rate dropped from 4.8 percent to 4.6 percent, the Black unemployment rate remained at 7.9 percent. The President who “has outback” backed out of the issue of economic equity.

Am I being unfair? The racial unemployment gap is as old as our post-enslavement reality. It is, perhaps, unrealistic to expect President Biden to alter a racist, predatory capitalistic economic structure that yields unequal results for Black folks. At the same time, when a “brother” says he got your back, you want to see results. So far, few results. Is that why some Black Virginians stayed home instead of participating in a tight election with significant national consequences?

Just as COVID-19 blew the lid off our nation’s flaws and inequality, so will the aftermath of COVID continue to highlight our nation’s inequality in education, health, and

Julianne Malveaux

News Analysis employment. Black folk are still the last hired, first fired. Even as some employers say they are desperately seeking workers, they aren’t desperately seeking Black folks.

The Black unemployment rate, as always twice the White rate, is a testament to that.

The Build Back Better legislation will create some jobs and repair some infrastructure. Still, will enough of these gains be targeted to those African Americans who have been historically sidelined and further impacted by the violent treatment of Black folks in our nation’s history? Some unenlightened White folks are resisting any notion of closing, like the White farmers who don’t even want pennies to be offered to Black farmers who have lost much of their land because of the racism that permeated the documented racism of the Department of Agriculture (https://www.thenation.com/ article/society/black-farmers-pigford-debt/).

The Black folks who worked so hard to get the vote out aren’t seeing the expected return on investment. All this talk of good news leaves some Black folks feeling “some kind of way” as if we have been used and discarded. And President Biden and Vice-President Harris are juggling aggrieved Black people and entitled White people who ignore history. The pushback to “critical race theory,” which is taught in no k-12 school, nor any undergraduate college, is a way of saying that too many White people don’t want to deal with our nation’s second original sin (the first is the expropriation of American Indian land, the second being the brutality of enslavement). Whatever the Biden-Harris team is juggling, they risk alienating their base if they don’t do more for Black folks.

Where is the good news for Black folks in these recent economic reports? It’s not in the unemployment rate nor in the wages creeping up for some, not for others. It’s not in the uneven ways that inflation affects us. It’s not even in the Build Back Better infrastructure legislation, which may or may not have a positive impact on Black cities and Black clean water when Republican legislatures will decide who gets what from BBB (https://www.washingtonpost. com/national/a-mississippi-citys-watersystem-is-collapsing-the-federal-infrastructure-bill-could-help-save-it-but-only-if-the-state-cooperates/2021/11/06/ db291b16-3669-11ec-9a5d-93a89c74e76d_ story.html). The legislation would be more potent if cities, instead of states, were prioritized, since we know that the pandemic affected urban dwellers more than cities.

I was sitting with a young activist, counseling the patience that many sowed into me decades ago when I was an angry baby girl activist. I was told then that it was going to be an evolution, not a revolution. I resisted that advice saying that things could immediately change if we demanded it. Not. We can’t flip the script right this minute.

But we can’t give up.

When we hear this economic good news, we must resist the celebration and remind our allies that as long as there is a racial economic gap, there should be no economic celebration. The so-called progressives excited about Biden gains need to ask themselves why Black folks remain sidelined and why the racial economic gap is acceptable.

And they need to be as vocal about these gaps as they are about climate change and other vital issues. Who get to live economic good news?

Good economic news is only tepid news for Black folks.

(Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, and Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Cal State LA. Juliannemalveaux.com)

FORUM

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

NFL similar to slavery or false comparison?

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and filmmaker Ava DuVernay co-produced a Netflix miniseries about Kaepernick’s life. One episode depicted the NFL draft as no different than a slave auction. During this scene Kaepernick’s voiceover stated, “What they don’t want you to understand is what’s being established is a power dynamic.”

Kaepernick didn’t explain what he meant by “power dynamic”. He simply expected the audience to assume, as he does, the term is synonymous with inequity, which it is not. He also expected the audience to assume the hierarchical structure of a business and the employer/employee relationship is unjust, i.e., master/slave, which it is not.

Since we live in an image-conscious society, the NFL draft/slave auction juxtaposition shocked many Netflix subscribers. But the slavery/sports comparison isn’t new, writers have done this for decades to create controversy in order to promote their work.

Back in 2006, NPR’s Ed Gordon interviewed two authors with controversial book titles.

The first author was former NFL player Anthony Prior. He wrote The Slave Side of Sunday. Ed Gordon opened the interview by dismissing the football field/slave plantation comparison to get to the real complaint—the power dynamic. Gordon said, “Many people are going to say it’s hard to compare slaves to guys who are making millions and millions of dollars annually.

But you suggest, in spite of all that, players have no say.”

Prior responded, “They have no say.

Understand … Human life is priceless. But as an athlete or slave, you can put a price

J. Pharoah Doss

Check It Out tag on their value. But when their value is diminished, they’re thrown away just like slaves are thrown away on a plantation.

You either lynch them [or] cut them.”

Prior wanted the public to believe that since professional football players have no say in whether or not they are cut from a team, their situation is similar to slaves who have no say in whether or not they are lynched. Since Ed Gordon dismissed the football field/slave plantation comparison from the beginning, I guess Prior had to over exaggerate, but Prior’s over exaggeration didn’t stop there. He also said, “There’s athletic slavery going on in the Black community today. It’s a fundamentally imposed characteristic that says, without sports as a rite of passage you will amount to nothing.”

Here Prior wanted the public to believe that unrealistic expectations imposed on young people are a form of slavery, but false comparisons like these got Prior media attention and helped him sell his biography.

The second author was New York Times sports columnist William Rhoden. He wrote Forty-Million-Dollar Slave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.

This book gave a historical account of the exploitation and exclusion of Black athletes in all sports. The title came from a fan who

heckled a Black NBA player by saying that, at the end of the day, the player was nothing more than a forty-million-dollar slave.

Rhoden used the heckle as a book title because he felt that’s how Black athletes are viewed. He also explained, “There were a lot of slaves, particularly jockeys and trainers, who made a lot of money. One guy, Charles Steward, made so much money training horses that he had to have an agent, and we’re talking about in the early 1800s. But the fact remains he was still a slave. There were jockeys who were making money, and they finished the race and found out they had been sold to another plantation.”

Here, Rhoden responded to those that criticized his title by claiming million-dollar athletes can’t be compared to penniless slaves, but his example is still an over exaggeration because Rhoden suggested that an athlete being traded to another team is like a slave being sold to another plantation.

Obviously, the slave was sold because he was owned by his master. The million-dollar athlete was never owned by the team.

Ownership was actually the real grievance of both authors.

Rhoden said, “When you don’t own it, when you don’t own the enterprise … You can kind of be treated like chattel.” Prior expressed a similar sentiment when he stressed the fact that the majority of NFL players were Black, but there were no Black owners.

But if the “power dynamic” and the resulting employer/employee relationship is fundamentally unjust, what difference would Black owners make?

There were Black slave owners too.

Reform the filibuster and end the assault on voting rights now (TriceEdneyWire.com)—“It’s not that the filibuster itself is inherently racist, but it has been the favorite tool of racists. It is the preferred choice of Southern conservatives, in whatever era and whatever party, who are trying to slow down civil rights and trying to deny equal protection for African Americans.” – Princeton University Historian Kevin M. Kruse Unlike the right to vote, there is nothing sacred about the filibuster.

It’s not in the Constitution. It never was part of Framers’ vision for the Senate and is not enshrined in any law.

For the first 141 years of our nation’s history, Senate rules did not provide for a process to end debate and force a vote on a measure. “Filibuster,” derived from the Spanish filibustero—a pirate or plunderer —first was used in the 1850s to describe efforts to prevent Senate action on a bill.

It wasn’t until 1917 that the Senate adopted a rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster, a process known as cloture. In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds to three-fifths, or 60 of 100 Senators.

Over the last half-century, the Senate has carved out more than 160 exemptions from the filibuster, many of which are in common use, on matters involving trade, foreign policy, defense, budget reconciliation, judicial confirmations, and health care.

But not voting rights. In fact, the primary use of the filibuster in the 20th Century was to block civil rights legislation.

It’s time to dispense with the filibuster

Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal —at the very least, with regard to voting rights.

Republicans this week blocked the Senate from taking action on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It was their fourth filibuster of voting rights legislation this year and its second in just two weeks.

Just a single Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, was willing to allow the Senate even to begin debating the bill.

The 117th Congress will be remembered for overseeing the systematic dismantling of American democracy and the desecration of our most sacred Constitutional right. The racially-discriminatory voter suppression that has run rampant through the states is unconscionable; the Senate’s abject failure to contain it is unforgivable.

For most of the 56 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, protecting access to the ballot box was a bipartisan issue. The original bill passed the House and Senate with the support of overwhelming majorities of both Democrats and Republicans.

Since then, Congress has reauthorized the special provisions of the Act five times, each time with bipartisan majorities and each

time signed by a Republican President.

The most recent reauthorization in 2006, passed the Senate unanimously, including the votes of nine current members of the Senate who have consistently blocked debate on voting rights this year: Richard Shelby of Alabama, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Thune of South Dakota, and John Cornyn of Texas.

Sen. Cornyn this week defended his vote citing “huge improvements and advances made in minority voting strength.” Texas recently enacted one of the nation’s most restrictive voting laws that specifically target voting methods popular among voters of color and adopted new voting maps that dilute the voting power of diverse communities.

More than 250 new laws in 45 states enacted since the 2020 election will make it harder for 55 million Americans to vote.

Even more concerning are the initiatives to subvert elections entirely by stripping local election officials of their authority and granting partisan politicians the power to overturn election results.

These are not “huge improvements.” They are a shameful erosion of democratic principles and a stain on our nation’s soul.

This must end. It must end now. The National Urban League implores every Senator to examine his or her heart, to hear the voices of the martyrs who bled and died to claim the right to vote, and to be guided by the better angels of their nature.

Congress should remove ‘blood thirsty’ Rep. Gosar for fantasy about murdering AOC, President Biden (NNPA)—The Congressional Black Caucus is leading the call for sanctions against Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar after tweeting a video depicting him striking New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword.

The Arizona Republican’s fantasy of butchering the congresswoman continues as he appears to attack President Joe Biden in the reimagined video physically.

“A creepy member I work with shared a fantasy video of him killing,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez shared on Twitter, while also noting that institutions “don’t protect women of color.”

During the 90-second video, Rep. Gosar shares an altered version of a Japanese anime series, shots of border patrol officers and migrants.

The animated characters’ faces are replaced with Congressman Gosar and Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert are pictured fighting other characters. Rep. Gosar’s character viciously attacks and strikes Ocasio-Cortez in the neck with a sword.

“This dude is a just a collection of wet toothpicks anyway,” the New York representative remarked.

“White supremacy is for extremely fragile people and sad men like him,

Stacy M. Brown

Commentary whose self-concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn’t open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself.”

Twitter flagged the tweet with officials noting that it violated the platform’s rules concerning hateful conduct. They declined to remove the tweet but placed a “public interest notice” on the message. “[Twitter] determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” a spokesperson stated.

But Caucus members said they would seek harsh discipline for Congressman Gosar.

“This man should not serve in Congress,” Rep. Ilhan Omar stated. “Fantasizing about violently attacking your colleagues has no place in our political discourse and society.” Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) called Gosar’s action “sick.”

“In any workplace in America, if a

coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired,” Lieu wrote on Twitter. Noting that Gosar and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are ardent supporters of former President Donald Trump, California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell called the Republicans “blood thirsty.”

“These blood-thirsty losers are more comfortable with violence than voting. So keep exposing them,” Swalwell demanded.

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also weighed in.

“Rep. Paul Gosar has no business being in Congress. [Republicans] are repeatedly glorifying violence,” Schiff stated in a national television interview.

Activist Barbara Malmet also expressed outrage.

“Gosar must be removed from Congress right now,” Malmet insisted. “Hopefully [Rep. Ocasio-Cortez] has extra protection from the crazies.”

Writer and producer Matthew Sheffield called Rep. Gosar a racist and Christian supremacist and denounced the media’s coverage of the foolishly contrived “Sen. Ted Cruz vs. Big Bird” faux controversy.

“America’s elite media is obsessing over fake anger at Big Bird [instead of Rep. Gosar’s actions],” Sheffield wrote.

New Pittsburgh Courier

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NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Help Wanted

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SOFTWARE ENGINEER Aurora Innovation, Inc. seeks positions in Pittsburgh, PA. Software Engineer to develop scalable backend solutions for creating maps for autonomous vehicles.

Software Engineer in Motion Planning to research/ develop algorithms/code for autonomous vehicle planning modules. Software Engineer II to support software dev. and config. of autonomous vehicles (25% domestic travel).

Engineering Manager to oversee design of software apps (15% domestic travel). Mail resumes to Mary Ellen Mahoney: 50 33rd Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201

GRANTS AND FUNDRAISING MANAGER The Grants and Fundraising Manager is a full-time, exempt position, located in the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s (PEC) Pittsburgh Office.

For more information, please visit our website at www.pecpa.org.

COMPUTER/IT: Argo AI seeks Engineering Manager II’s to work in Pittsburgh, PA (or remotely from any location within the continental US) to architect & develop cutting edge software for our autonomous vehicle, large scale cloud simulation applications, and tooling. Degree & commensurate exp. req’d. Apply online at www.argo.ai/careers/open-positions/ ?gh_jid=3611069 SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Vision Benefits of America (VBA) seeks a Full Stack Software Developer in Carnegie, PA responsible for building and enhancing different on-premise and Microsoft Azure Cloud applications and designing and building software applications using HTML, CSS, Angular, Typescript, Javascript, WebApi, C#, and SQL in both Microsoft SQL Server as well as Oracle PL/SQL. Email resumes to HR@vbaplans.com.

SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking a DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT: Complete job description and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org Deadline 4:00 PM, November 17, 2021 EOE LEAD PERFORMANCE ENGINEER American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.’s Pittsburgh, PA office seeks a Lead Performance Engineer to work closely with Development, Quality, and Business teams to ensure that our site and applications are available to take orders all day, every day.

Send CV with cover letter, references, and salary requirements to: American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., Attn: Sarah Lauterbach, Re: Lead Performance Engineer, 77 Hot Metal Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.

CHIEF PROGRAM AND POLICY OFFICER UNITED WAY OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA PITTSBURGH OFFICE The Chief Program and Policy Officer (CPPO), reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, has overall strategic and operational responsibility for ensuring an integrated approach to United Way of Southwestern PA’s regional community impact efforts. The CPPO leads efforts to advance United Way’s strategic goals, which include meeting basic needs, moving individuals and families to greater financial stability and building success in school and life. The CPPO mobilizes community leadership and partnerships to address policy and systems change.

This leader is a key part of the senior leadership team and works collaboratively to drive the overall strategy for the organization. The CPPO oversees the development and application of approaches for advancing collective action, including convening partners, building coalitions, forging common agendas, facilitating public policy efforts, organizing community awareness campaigns, initiating, and implementing grant making strategies, leveraging resources, and integrating strategies to reduce racial, gender, and ability inequities throughout the Community Impact portfolio. Coordinate activities for seeking and securing foundation, government, and related funding to support United Way’s work, with a strong emphasis on PA 2-1-1 Southwest.

The work of the organization changes as we continuously seek to have greater impact. Must be flexible and able to adapt to short- and long-term shifts in job duties.

Master’s degree in public administration, non-profit management, social work, or the equivalent. Ten years of progressively more responsible management experience in philanthropy, nonprofit sector, government, or similar fields.

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

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

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS… THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

WOMEN’S CENTER & SHELTER OF GREATER PITTSBURGH (WC&S) is a comprehensive domestic violence program hiring a wide variety of positions right now. If you’re energized by survivor-centered advocacy, go to wcscanhelp.org to learn more and apply. Competitive wages, comprehensive benefits package, and a supportive environment!

YOUTH PROGRAM MANAGER Love the outdoors? Love working with kids? Join Venture Outdoors as our new Youth Program Manager!

Job duties include managing youth programs, recruiting and training staff, grant writing and more.

Interested individuals can submit their resume before November 29 at www.ventureoutdoors.org/ about/employment-opportunities/.

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We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Interested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to: Missy Ramsey Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 MRamsey@portauthority.org EOE LEGAL ADVERTISING

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Legal Notices

Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

Estate of MR. BASIL J. VECCHIONE , Deceased of 236 Locust Drive, Moon Township, PA 15108, Estate No.: 02-21-07437, Ms. Sandra Baird, Executrix, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth AVenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108 Estate of ROSE M. LOBELLO , Deceased of 811 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108, Estate No.: 02-21-07889, Ms. Rosalie L. Richards, Administratrix, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth AVenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108

Estate of CAROL A. MARIANO A/K/A CAROL ANN TWARDY MARIANO, Deceased of Scott Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No.: 02-21-08083, Daria M. Adajian, Executor, 50 Central, Unit #1207, Sarasota, FL 34236 or to Robin L. Rarie, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Effective Monday, 11-15-2021 through Wednesday, 12-15-2021 at 5 p.m. the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, (HACP) will hold a public comment period regarding proposed changes to the Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan, ACOP and Moving to Work payment standards.

Please visit the HACP website at www.hacp.org for details.

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.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Design, Launch and Coordination of a Countywide Juvenile Pre-Arrest Diversion Initiative. Due Date: 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

For more details and submission information, visit: w w w . a l l e g h e n y c o u n t y. u s / Human-Services/Resources/ Doing-Business/Solicitations-(RFP/ RFQ/RFI).aspx.

Erin Dalton Director

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

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

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NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS! Estate of JOSEPH A. MILANO, Deceased of Mount Lebanon, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-21-07777 ,Margaret Milano , Executor, 808 Northstream Parkway, Point Pleasant, NJ 08742, or to Aubrey H. Glover, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of MS. VIRGINIA LEE MARTIN , Deceased of 1245 Merrick Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15226, Estate No.: 02-21-07444, Ms. Dinelle L. Steiner, Executrix, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth AVenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108

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LEGAL ADVERTISING

Estate of SHIRLEY M. BOUR, Deceased of Forward Township, Pennsylvania, Estate No.: 02-21-07868, Diane Korber & Linda Buono, Co-Executors or to Travis J. Dunn, Atty, 6 Clairton Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15236

TRANSIT DATA INTERN Port Authority is seeking a Transit Data Intern to, during the academic year, conduct data analysis projects assisting Port Authority in determining how to best deploy transit resources across the system.

Essential Functions: •Assist the Transit Analysis team through applying data manipulation, analysis and visualization skills to ongoing projects.

•Analyze ridership patterns to inform service decisions.

•Assess effectiveness of service changes, including monitoring ridership per trip, on time performance, and ridership by geographic area.

•Develop interactive maps and dashboards that allow end users to explore transit data and discover insights.

•Assist with internal and external reporting and data requests as needed.

•Institute back-end data management processes such as automated Extract-Transform-Load operations and developing functions for commonly used data preparation techniques.

Job requirements include: •At minimum, candidates must be in their Junior or Senior year of study in a public policy, data analysis, computer science or related degree program, or a similar master’s or PhD program Recent graduates of same programs will also be considered.

•Data manipulation skills, including ability to retrieve data, clean it, join to other datasets, and export in a clean format.

•Strong data visualization skills that communicate a clear message to the end user.

•Intellectual curiosity and the ability to identify and solve problems independently.

•Interest and familiarity with public transit (even just as a rider) and the desire to make public services better for everyone.

•Ability to work independently.

•Excellent communications skills.

•Planning and organization.

Preferred attributes: •Candidate enrolled in or recently graduated from a master’s degree program in public policy, data analysis, computer science or related field.

•Knowledge of a coding language such as R or Python.

•Knowledge of a dashboarding tool such as Tableau or PowerBI. •Knowledge of a spatial analysis tool such as ArcGIS.

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ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NOVEMBER 8, 2021 The Office of the County Controller of Allegheny County, Room 104, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA., will receive separate and sealed Bids until 11:00 A.M. prevailing local time, Wednesday, December 8, 2021, and a representative of the Department of Public Works will open and read the Proposals in the Conference Room 1, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA., one-half hour later, 11:30 A.M., for the following: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS RECONSTRUCTION OF LONG RUN BRIDGE NO. 3 WITHIN WHITE OAK BOROUGH COUNTY PROJECT NO: LG03-0410 As a prospective bidder please note the following general Project information regarding Pre-Bid Information, Bidding Requirements, and Contract Conditions. See the Project Manual and Drawings for detailed information, responsibilities and instructions.

PRE-BID INFORMATION: View the Proposal, Specifications and Drawings at the Office of the Contract Manager, Room 504, County Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA. Please adhere to all COVID-19 safety procedures. The non-refundable charge for the Proposal and a disc containing the Specifications and Drawings is $107.00 including sales tax. The Contract Manager will accept only check or money order to the “COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY” in that amount and WILL NOT ACCEPT CASH OR EXTEND CREDIT. Prospective bidders may request to have their bid documents mailed. An additional fee of $16.05 for handling costs for each requested proposal must be paid in advance. The fee must be received at the office of the Contract Manager prior to mailing of any documents.

Interested bidders planning to purchase bid documents or attend the public bid opening are advised to follow Self-Monitoring and Social Distancing guidelines when entering the Allegheny County Courthouse or County Office Building.

Interested bidders should also be aware that when entering either the Allegheny County Courthouse or County Office Building, they must follow CDC Guidelines.

BIDDING REQUIREMENTS: The County requires prequalification of bidders, including subcontractors, as specified in Section 102.01 of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Specifications 2020 Publication 408, 2020 Edition, Change No. 2, Effective April 9, 2021 on this project.

Submit bid on the supplied Bid Forms in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders and General and Supplementary Conditions; include the following documents with the Bid Form, ALONG WITH ONE COMPLETE PHOTOCOPIED SET OF PROPOSAL: •Bid Security - certified check or surety company bond on County’s form to the order of/or running to the County of Allegheny in the amount of five (5%) percent of the Bid as evidence that you, the Bidder, will accept and carry out the conditions of the Contract in case of award. The County will accept only bonds written by Surety Companies acceptable on Federal Bonds per the current Federal Register Circular 570. Federal Register Circular 570 is available for inspection in the Contract Office, Room 504, County Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

•Bidder Certification of Pre-Qualification, Classification and Work Capacity.

•List of Subcontractors •Statement of Joint Venture Participation •MBE and WBE Goals Attainment Certification - (ONLY NECESSARY IF YOU CAN NOT MEET THE SPECIFIED MBE AND WBE GOALS) •Work Sheet Required Amount Performed by Contractor (Non Federal Project) •MBE/WBE Subcontractor and Supplier Solicitation Sheet •MBE/WBE Subcontractor and Supplier Commitment Sheet THE COUNTY WILL REJECT BIDS THAT DO NOT INCLUDE THE EXECUTED DOCUMENTS SPECIFIED ABOVE WITH THE BID FORM. You may not withdraw your bid for a period of Sixty (60) days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. The County Manager reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding.

CONTRACT CONDITIONS: In accordance with the provisions of the “Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act” of August 15, 1961, P.L. 987, as Department of Labor and Industry, the prevailing minimum wage predetermination requirements as set forth in the Attachments apply to this Project.

For technical questions, contact Kristen Hash, Project Manager, at 412350-2480. For contract related questions, contact Carla Lane, Contract Manager, at 412-350-5914.

Project completion is to occur by September 14, 2022.

The County of Allegheny County hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises / women business enterprises [MBE/WBE] will be afforded the full opportunity to submit bids on the grounds of race, sex, color or national origin in consideration for an award. It is a condition of the bidding process/contract that all responsive bidders/contractors shall follow the minority business enterprises/women’s business enterprises [MBE/ WBE] procedures set forth in the project manual/contract documents.

Chelsa Wagner Controller County of Allegheny

To place a display ad in the New Pittsburgh Courier call 412-481-8302 ext. 128 or 129 COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS… THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

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

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

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Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 21-08 Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) is requesting proposals for the performance of the following service (“Contract Services”): PENSION PLAN ACTUARIAL SERVICES The work under the proposed Agreement(s) consists of a full range of pension plan actuarial services to include, but are not limited to: (1) certifying all calculations related to individuals retiring, (2) providing an actuarial repot for the plans, (3) providing a projection of estimated employer contributions, (4) providing GASB75, GASB67, GASB68 or other calculations, (5) modifying actuarial assumptions, and (6) providing information and recommendations pertaining to changes mandated by law that will affect the pension plans and/or the funding.

The required services will be issued on a work order basis as they are approved to proceed by Authority.

The Agreement will be for a four-year period with the option to extend the term of the Agreement up to two additional years at the sole discretion of Authority.

A copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be available on or after November 10, 2021 and can be obtained by registering at the Port Authority ebusiness website: http://ebusiness.portauthority.org and following the directions listed on the website. Please note that Proposers must register under the ebusiness category(ies) of PROFESSIONAL – Professional Services and PSBSPA Pro Benefit Wages Pension for this RFP. Proposers may also register in other categories for any future RFPs issued by Port Authority. If you have specific questions regarding this RFP, please contact Catherine Terrill at (412) 566-5188 or via email cterrill@portauthority.org.

An Information Meeting for interested parties will be held at 9:30 a.m., prevailing time, November 23, 2021 via Microsoft Teams video conference and/or conference call to answer any questions regarding this RFP.

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Bids/Proposals

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Bids/Proposals

NABHI AWARDS 2021

To join by Microsoft Team video conference: • https://bit.ly/21-08_InfoMtg To join by Microsoft Teams call-in number: • (412) 927-0245 United State, Pittsburgh (Toll) • Conference ID: 295 759 323# Electronic proposals must be both received, and time stamped by a representative of the Purchasing and Materials Management Department through Authority’s Ebusiness website at or before 2:00 p.m., prevailing time, December 14, 2021, at http://ebusiness.portauthority.org. Proposals received or time stamped by a Purchasing and Materials Management Department representative through Authority’s Ebusiness website after the advertised time for the submission of proposals shall be non-responsive and therefore ineligible for award. Each Proposer shall be solely responsible for assuring that its proposal is timely received and time stamped in accordance with the requirements herein.

This Contract Services may be funded, in part, by, and subject to certain requirements of, the County of Allegheny and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The proposal process and the performance of the requested services will be in accordance with guidelines and regulations of the FTA “Third Party Contracting Guidelines”, FTA Circular 4220.1F, as amended, and all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Port Authority of Allegheny County, in compliance with 49 C.F.R., Part 26, as amended, implements positive affirmative action procedures to ensure that all Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (“DBEs”) have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts financed, in whole or in part, with federal funds, if any, provided under or for the proposed Agreement. In this regard, all recipients or contractors shall take all necessary and reasonable steps in accordance with 49 C.F.R., Part 26, to ensure that DBEs have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontracts for, the Contract Services.

Port Authority of Allegheny County, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, also requires that certified Diverse Businesses, (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontract for, the Contract Services. In this regard, all Proposers, and the Contractor, shall make good faith efforts, in accordance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, to ensure that DBs have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontracts for, the Contract Services.

Further, proposers and the Contractor shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, national origin, sex, sexual origin, gender identity or status as a parent in the award and performance of contracts or subcontracts for these Contract Services

HONOREE ESTHER BUSH. Bush just retired after 27 years GEORGE SPENCER SR. Spencer is President/CEO of the as President/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh. Greater Pittsburgh MAD DADS. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

Port Authority of Allegheny County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

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

Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 a.m. on November 30, 2021 and will be read at 11:15 a.m., the same day, at Port Authority’s Heinz location (Please contact the respective Contract Specialist for Tele-Conference dial-in information for the Bid Opening), for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org)

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Bid Number B21-04-26R

Bid Name Uninterruptable Power Supply Enclosure Panels

No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held via tele-conference on each of the above items at 10:00 a.m. on November 16, 2021. Please contact the respective Contract Specialist for Tele-Conference dial-in information. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the Port Authority within five ( ) usiness days of the scheduled id opening.

These contracts may be sub ect to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations.

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

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

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

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance obby, 41 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on November 30, 2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Pittsburgh Whittier K-5 Play Area Upgrades General Prime Pittsburgh Brashear High School Finish Floor Replacements and Miscellaneous Work General Prime Project Manual and Drawings will b e av ailable f or pu rc h a s e o n November 1, 2021, at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

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HONOREE MAURITA BRYANT. Bryant was former assistant police chief for the City of Pittsburgh and former assistant police superintendent for Allegheny County.

DIARRA JACKSON WON THE AWARD GIVEN TO PROMISING YOUTH...

ACHIEVE!

School Choice Guide New Pittsburgh Courier November 17-23, 2021

Life Male STEAM Academy changes trajectory of African American males

by Renee P. Aldrich for the New Pittsburgh Courier

Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

This quote is one that Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church Pastor, Rev. Dr. Darryl Canady and his wife, Minister Taleeta Canady, fully embrace when it comes to their attitude about starting the LIFE Male Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics

(STEAM) Academy, a one of a kind school, in the Greater Pittsburgh area, that welcomed its first set of students this Fall.

With a mission that states, “Our mission is to prepare all male scholars for college success and career readiness. We will also serve as a catalyst to increase the presence of African American males in the STEM pipeline,” LIFE Male STEAM Academy, located at 777 Penn Center Blvd, Suite

102, in Wilkins Township, is a male academy that focuses on equipping “male scholars with the skills necessary to succeed” in the 21st century. Currently, the school serves grades 6th and 7th, but plans to add a new grade each school year. They are projected to fully serve K-12 students by the 2030-2031 school year.

Of starting such a school to serve all of Pittsburgh that carries an ambitious mission, Pastor Canady says, “I

did it, because I didn’t know I couldn’t.”

Upon entering the school, the first thing you see on the walls of the vast reception area, in the royal colors of gold, purple, and white, is a lion and shield with a crown over the lion’s head. Its intent is to represent, not only to the students, but to all who enter, that those who attend this school are young kings, with crowns that they are expected to grow into.

Four years after his arrival in Pittsburgh, where he came to become the senior pastor of Rodman, Pastor Canady was directed to a vision from God, for him and his wife, that would not only change their lives, but was destined to change the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of young African-American boys in the Pittsburgh region.

He says, “I call it the ‘911 Call’ because God came to me on Thursday, September 11, 2014…

He came on the backdrop of the Men’s Revival (which) we were hosting at Rodman, after I took over the pastorship.

I saw a need for men to step up and become the priests, providers and protectors of their families. So, we began “March Madness” men’s revival every Monday in March.” He continued, “These services were bringing in 300-400 men and were beginning to draw younger men. We SEE STEAM PAGE 2

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The Power of School Choice Choosing the right school for your child is an important decision for your family. The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School welcomes students from all backgrounds. More than a quarter of the school’s nearly 11,000 pupils are minorities, and they’ve found a better educational experience at PA Cyber.

PA Cyber offers students an alternative education where they can select when, how, and where they learn.

PA Cyber’s virtual doors are open to any schoolage child in Pennsylvania and does not charge families for tuition. Not only does PA Cyber’s flexible schedule allow students to enjoy extracurriculars and explore personal interests, but teachers and staff are

KLERE KADO AND VERITEADY THOMPSON round out their online education at PA Cyber with cheer, gymnastics, and Girl Scouts. They also wrote a book with their mother called “It’s Time to Comb Your Hair.” readily available to provide personalized assistance. Each student receives a laptop, printer, and textbooks to support the educational process. Additionally, students will not run

out of fun field trips to attend and clubs to join.

The school maintains a network of ten offices statewide that serve as hubs for enrollment, onboarding, and enrichment activities. Two of-

THIRD GRADER TREY KEMP learns about tree species during PA Cyber’s “Trees of PA” summer club.

fices are in the Pittsburgh area— one in the South Side and another in Warrendale.

Every student should have access to a school that challenges and

supports them. Tanisha Singleton and Rahim Thompson from Philadelphia chose PA Cyber for their children.

“It is important for my daughters to attend a school that is inclusive

of the Black culture throughout the school year,” says Tanisha.

To learn more about PA Cyber, visit pacyber. org. (submitted by PA Cyber Charter School.)

Life Male STEAM Academy changes trajectory of African American males STEAM FROM PAGE 1

would mentor them, I’d baptize them and many would join the church.

Regrettably, on more than one occasion, a few weeks later, they were getting shot.”

He said, God told him that he had to provide a pipeline and begin to help these young men to see some other options; he should create an avenue where that could become a conduit to change this paradigm and start early to grab these young men and hopefully save them from such a fate. It took seven years to complete.

LIFE Male STEAM Academy is the name of the school that was given to Pastor Canady, that night, and it kept him from sleeping, at all, as God laid out the

plan--providing what the mascot should be, as well as the concept.

Pastor Canady said, initially, the plan was for the curriculum to be focused on STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics), but he decided, later, to add the Arts component, making it STEAM. The essence of the title is LIFE (LIVING INTELLIGENTLY FULFILLING EXPECTATIONS). And everything in the school is designed for the students to see themselves living out that acronym.

Co-founder Taleeta Canady is a former high school guidance counselor, middle school English language Arts and Social Studies teacher, and currently serves as the Minister of Congregational Care at Rodman.

Pastor Canady shared that when he came to her about what God had revealed to him, she declared that they had found their joint purpose and they proceeded with the vision.

In addition to God, it is Pastor Canady’s own experience in high school that has helped guide him on this mission. He was traveling down a path that was not heading in the direction of college, when he was approached by an African-American guidance counselor who poured into him and helped him realize that a college education was obtainable.

Pastor Canady says, “I applied at only one school, Morehouse, and when I saw the various notables strolling SEE STEAM PAGE 4

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FOUNDERS—Rev. Dr. Darryl and Taletta Canady (Photo provided)

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ACADEMY SCHOLARS

Life Male STEAM Academy ACADEMY LEADERS—Jim Chavis, head of school, and LIFE STEAM FROM PAGE 2 Male STEAM Academy Founder Rev. Dr. Darryl Canady stand with a display promoting the “Wells of Life”. (Photos by Jac- around campus, I begin to see new possibilities for queline McDonald). myself— seeing folks that looked like me changed my entire prospective of what I could become. This is what I’m trying to bring to this school--getting these boys to see what they can become.”

A STEAM curriculum is the focus of the school because Pastor Canady, and his wife, recognize that in this 21st Century, it is the sector where the jobs are and will be. “As is represented by the universities that are throughout Pittsburgh, such as Carnegie Mellon University, the top-rated artificial intelligence university in FOOD SERVICE EMPLOYEE Natausha Pettis preparing for the world, and the Unilunch. versity of Pittsburgh for engineering and medical advancement,” he says, “this city is a front runner in the technical and medical fields, and we believe we need to take advantage of what’s right in our Founded 1910 back yard.” He believes that young African-American scholars need to see Rod Doss themselves as doctors, enEditor & Publisher gineers and scientists.

The school’s location is not by chance, Pastor Stephan A. Broadus Canady shared. “We are Assistant to the Publisher not just a building, we are a campus where there are

Rob Taylor Jr. Managing Editor Ashley Johnson Director of Sales

The New Pittsburgh Courier acknowledges Graphic Designer Warren King for his contributions to the Courier’s 2021 School Choice Guide.

engineering firms, architecture firms, and medical firms. Therefore, the boys come to school every day seeing what’s going on around them as further evidence of what possibilities exist for them.”

LIFE Male STEAM Academy is a standout from other schools of its kind. In addition to its main concept, another element that separates the school from others is its health and wellness center. The center consists of African American health care providers including a medical doctor, a male RN, and licensed clinical social worker on the campus. Currently in a partnership with GINN group and CVS Health, they are the first charter school in the country to have this health and wellness center. It is because of this that they are recognized as the Flagship SMART MODEL school, which is in development, right now.

The culture of the school is four-tiered. Every student is referred to as “Mr.” and as Young Kings and Scholars, so that when they come to school, they are in an environment where they can learn and have a mindset that

allows for learning. Also, each student must wear blazers, shirts and ties every day except Fridays.

Pastor Canady shared that some scholars are so into the attire that they wear their dress attire every day. Additionally, there is a promotion of what is called the “Wells of Success”; it is that every successful scholar is “well-dressed”, “well-spoken”, “well-connected”, “well-led”, “well-traveled” and “well-read.”

Lastly, LIFE Male STEAM Academy is committed to developing the whole child, the whole family and the whole community. The premise being, if you help the child and don’t help the family—the needs/trauma they’ve experienced, etc.—then you haven’t

done enough to win the battle. To meet that commitment, the school has an active assess and care team. The teams work hard to identify and address risks, and solve problems, in real time.

They have the capacity to address, mitigate and, ultimately, eliminate barriers to learning, which too often can interfere with a student’s education process.

The Academy’s executive and administrative staff includes: Malcolm Thomas, dean of students; Jim Chavis, head of school; Dr. Charlene Hill Coleman, director of human services; Lauren Moneck; Dr. Christopher Conti, medical director of the Health and Wellness Center; Van Lee, RN; and Mauri Tate.

DR. CHRISTOPHER CONTI, Academy Health and Wellness Center Medical Director

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A CLASS ACT—Representatives from the Penn Hills Class of 2001 presented school supplies to Penn Hills Elementary School administrators. Pictured, from left: Elementary School Principal Kristin Brown; Class of 2001 representatives, Erin Pavlock and Ashley Johnson; and Penn Hills School District Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hines. (Photos by Matthew Herdman of Penn Hills School District)

Penn Hills Class of 2001 gives back to students in need It is no secret that teachers often go above and beyond, especially when it comes to providing school supplies. Too often, teachers use their own funds to provide

much needed supplies for their students and classrooms. In an effort to give back to their district, the Penn Hills Senior High School Class of 2001 recently held a

School Supplies Drive for the teachers and students of Penn Hills Elementary School; and, on Nov. 8, representatives from the class presented those items to Penn Hills

Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hines and school’s principal, Kristin Brown.

The class of 2001 president and reunion planning committee chair, Brooke Luthultz, said

she is thankful to everyone who participated and hopes that this will also encourage other graduating classes to give back to the community and kids of the future.

The donated items were collected during the Class of 2001’s 20th Class Reunion, which took place on Sept. 25 at Narcisi Winery, in Gibsonia.

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Bringing tomorrow’s teachers of color to Pittsburgh today

by Melissa Rayworth, Kidsburgh Earlier this month, four young women arrived in Pittsburgh for a visit that could shape their future careers—and in the process, may also impact the lives of all students in the region.

Educators have known for many years that representation matters: Research has shown that learning from even one Black teacher between grades three and five decreases the likelihood that Black students will drop out of high school, and increases the likelihood that these students will attend a four-year college.

But students in Allegheny County often go their entire school career without learning from even one teacher of color. During the 2019-20 school year, data examined by the think tank Research for Action showed that 42% of all schools in Allegheny County had zero teachers of color. That’s 112 schools in the Pittsburgh region without a single teacher of color.

These numbers echo the lack of educators of color statewide: In 201920, the data shows that half of Pennsylvania’s public schools only employed white teachers.

This problem, of course, isn’t new: Research for Action found that from the 2013-14 school year through the 2019-20 school year, the percent of students of color in Pennsylvania increased from 30.5% to 35.8%. But in that same timeframe, the percent of teachers of color in Pennsylvania only increased from 5.4% to 6.0%.

This impacts students of color, and it also means that many white students don’t learn from or learn about people of color in their communities.

So while a visit from

PICTURED FROM LEFT-Dr. Chuck Herring, DNaiscia Ennis, Jovanna Joseph, Dr. Katina January-Vance of Howard University, Daejah Parks-and Jasmine Montgomery (Photo courtesy of Kidsburgh) just four young women—all undergraduates at Howard University studying elementary education—may seem like a small thing, it’s the beginning of something meaningful. These “preservice” teachers make up the inaugural cohort of an innovative program called OTIS: Operation Teacher (of Color) Irrigation System, which aims to change these problematic numbers.

The program is the brainchild of South Fayette School District’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Dr. Chuck Herring.

He came up with the “irrigation system” concept to convey that the Pittsburgh region doesn’t need one narrow pipeline—especially given all the negative connotations that “pipeline” now carries in the world of education. Instead, Herring aims to “flood the region” with talented teachers of color from around the country by introducing them to Pittsburgh while they’re in college.

It all began in Wash-

ington, D.C., just weeks before the pandemic erupted in early 2020.

On Feb. 29, 2020, Herring found himself spending Leap Day at the NEMNET career fair for teachers of color.

After 25 years as an educator in the Pittsburgh region, he was eager to inspire young teachers at this event in the nation’s capital to consider a career in southwestern PA. Herring is a font of positive energy and a skilled public speaker. His natural enthusiasm should have made it easy to sell the idea of applying for teaching jobs in Pittsburgh. But the students and early-career teachers that he met that day had outdated visions of industrial-era Pittsburgh.

No matter how much he spoke about Pittsburgh’s “eds and meds” evolution, Herring remembers, “I couldn’t get anyone to understand what we have here in Pittsburgh.”

They needed to actually see Pittsburgh and experience it.

“Life is show and tell,” Herring says. But if you’re going to inspire someone and convince them to launch their future in a part of the country they’d never considered before, you definitely “need more show than tell.”

So even as the pandemic shut down schooling worldwide, Herring began mapping out a method for doing the showing.

More than 18 months later, OTIS finally kicked into gear earlier this month. The four preservice teachers arrived on a Thursday and were picked up at Pittsburgh’s airport in a yellow school bus.

They were warmly welcomed at South Fayette’s middle school for meetings with teachers and administrators, and even cheered on the school’s football team that Friday night. But their visit included more than just a sense of what life inside a K-12 school in a Pittsburgh suburb looks like.

These future teachers ventured out into the region’s learning ecosystem, visiting the Univer-

sity of Pittsburgh’s Center for Urban Education for a sit-down with Dr. T. Elon Dancy, the Center’s executive director.

They also visited Carlow University, where several administrators and professors made time to speak with them, including the university’s president, Dr. Kathy W. Humphrey.

“Dr. Humphrey is a Black woman,” Herring says, “and she is just amazing. … You talk to her and she just has this presence. So for these 20-year-olds, they have an opportunity to talk to someone who 40 years ago was where they are, and now look at where she is. That was really powerful and impactful.”

These kinds of meetings will continue on the group’s next visit, likely in the spring of 2022.

But life for teachers, as for all people, is made up of much more than work. So Herring plans to invite church leaders and other Black community members, including Black hairstylists, to meet with the group during future trips.

“We’ll bring them to people who are of their culture,” Herring says, so that they can make connections and really envision themselves teaching and living in Pittsburgh.

Assuming funding is available, this group of future teachers will continue making regular visits for the next two years. And hopefully, more cohorts will be formed to bring more preservice teachers of color to the Pittsburgh region. Howard University generally sends students to international locations for their months of student teaching, but one goal is to have OTIS participants do their student teaching in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Herring is the first to acknowledge that the dearth of teachers of color in the Pittsburgh region won’t be shifted through easy solutions or quick fixes.

But attracting new teachers of color to this region—and inspiring these future teachers to tell others what they’ve seen here—is an important step. And small shifts can have a meaningful impact.

“If we had close to 10% teachers of color,” Herring. says, “it would be more than enough to really start helping all students.”

This article is part of a series for “Tomorrow” powered by Remake Learning.

“Tomorrow” explores – through virtual events, grantmaking, and storytelling – what we can do today to make tomorrow a more promising place for all learners. Follow along or share your hopes for today’s young people using the hashtag #RemakeTomorrow and tagging @ RemakeLearning. Learn more about Remake Learning here. And read more “Tomorrow” articles published on Kidsburgh.

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Environmental Charter School tackles real world problems As the world changes and becomes increasingly more complex, society will need global citizens that are equipped with skills that allow them to be flexible thinkers, creative problem solvers, and effective leaders.

At ECS, students experience a multi-disciplinary, “out-the-door” learning approach rooted in real-world problems that build active, engaged, and empathetic citizens. Through the dedication of faculty and staff, student to teacher relationships are foundational in the classroom and connect families to ECS’s mission to educate each student to high academic standards using innovative curricula that will foster knowledge, love of, and respect for the environment and preserve it for future generations.

The exploration of diverse perspectives and the integration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in ECS’s curriculum builds and supports systems thinking, social growth, and dexterity in analysis.

ECS’s campuses are nestled in the East End of Pittsburgh and allows for a unique mix of urban environments with locations close to bus and bike routes and two campuses residing near Frick Park. ECS is dedicated to providing a unique academic space and a place for all students to flourish and thrive while encouraging them to take a deep dive into the examination of the built, social, and natural environments.

-Jon McCann, Founding Principal and CEO

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Shady Side Academy: How We Lead At Shady Side Academy, every day is an opportunity to grow into the leaders of tomorrow.

At all four campuses, Shady Side teachers create active learning environments and instill effective collaboration skills in our students.

They cultivate strong leaders who solve problems, adapt to change, motivate others and make a positive impact on the world.

Our youngest students learn through purposeful play, exercising their imaginations while developing critical social and cognitive abilities. Students participate in dynamic learning activities, deepening their understanding of the curriculum and enhancing their love of school.

Interdisciplinary learning opportunities instill confidence and creativity, such as our Fourth Grade Greek Museum, where students conduct research, write speeches, design costumes and practice public speaking.

In our Middle School, we present a challenging curriculum with

an emphasis on inquiry, global awareness and responsibility.

Students develop as communicators and as scholars – gaining valuable writing skills and effective study habits. Teachers encourage students to innovate and experiment with new solutions regardless of the outcome, giving them the independence and freedom to take intellectual risks.

Senior School students complete a rigorous curriculum that prepares them to excel in college, and have the opportunity to pursue individual passions through independent studies, senior projects and our Social Innovators Program. In addition to traditional leadership roles, Shady Side gives students a voice in the school and allows them to lead alongside faculty members, for example, as voting members of the Academic Policy Committee and academic department associates.

Learn more at www.shadysideacademy.org.

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Pittsburgh-area school brings mental health support to all of its students and teachers

by Melissa Rayworth Kidsburgh

As the only high school guidance counselor for the small community of Clairton, Maureen Shaw knows her students. She communicates with their families. She’s aware of the trauma they face—the pressures of poverty and social injustice, and all the instability those circumstances can bring.

She knows that these teens need support that they often don’t receive.

Shaw has been at Clairton City School District for 17 years— the entire lifetime of the high schoolers she now counsels. Along the way, she’s gotten to know the adults working in her district, and she knows they need support, too.

The pandemic only made life more stressful for teachers in small districts with limited funds.

Through a Remake Learning grant and a partnership with AHN’s Chill Project, students, parents, and teachers at Clairton City School District are learning mindfulness-based exercises to help identify and cope with stress.

Clairton lies just 15 miles south of the increasingly revitalized city of Pittsburgh. But the surrounding hills seem to isolate this community where the economic shock of the steel industry’s decline still reverberates.

When Shaw came across a 2020 study by the Black Girls Equity Alliance, the worrisome data it revealed was all too familiar: Pittsburgh, the study found, refers more youth into the juvenile justice system than 95% of cities its

PHOTO COURTESY OF REMAKE LEARNING. size. And those referrals are even more racially disproportionate in Pittsburgh than in other cities.

The study recommends that schools hire counselors and psychologists, and train educators to offer culturally-responsive social-emotional learning.

Instead of criminalizing students’ behavior, isn’t it better to offer these children mental health support and the behavioral skills they need to manage their challenging lives?

That all made perfect sense to Shaw. She could imagine a future where all students and staff would have their behavioral health needs addressed through prevention and intervention, effectively dismantling major barriers to learn-

ing and growth.

Shaw also spoke with Dr. Will Davies, director of AHN’s Chill Project, and she knew his approach could help her students. The Chill Project uses mindfulness-based exercises to equip students, teachers, and parents with a common language and shared skills to identify, discuss and react positively to stress.

The more she learned about this, Shaw says, “the more it became, ‘Why can’t we do this?’”

Community-Wide Collaboration Until now, the answer had been a lack of funding. Clairton’s administrators care deeply about students and their families, Shaw says. But even with a supportive administration, how can you put an innovative

program in place when you don’t have spare money in your school budget?

The key, as so often is the case, was collaboration.

Earlier this year, with encouragement from Davies and from Remake Learning, Shaw applied for and received a Moonshot Grant to bring systemic behavioral health to Clairton.

Through the Chill Project, “the students and every staff member—the teachers, the support staff, the paraprofessionals—we’re all learning mindfulness.

We’re all taking the classes,” Shaw says.

As they learn new skills for coping with their own challenges, adults and students are also learning to under-

stand each other better.

The mindset is shifting from “what is wrong with you?” to “what has happened to you?”

There’s another benefit: This growing social-emotional knowledge helps students feel more comfortable seeking out mental health support. The district is already seeing strong demand for mental health services.

When this project was in the planning stages, Shaw says, “my first thought was ‘I hope we’re going to fill the caseload.’”

That hasn’t been a concern. A mental health therapist now works in the district five days a week, along with a supervisor for the program who also sees patients.

Both are busy, and more therapists are being

hired.

Data and Documentation Clairton’s program has another component that leverages the Pittsburgh region’s learning ecosystem: Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University are documenting the work and its impact.

CMU’s research will offer solid data that can help Clairton as it continues pursuing funding and can also show other communities how they might benefit from a similar approach.

With all of this underway, Shaw is hopeful. But she isn’t slowing down her efforts to make life better for the Clairton community.

Currently, she’s busy planning year two of this project, which will include bias awareness training and further support for teachers.

“I’m passionate about getting the kids what they need,” she says, “but we can’t forget teachers.”

If teachers aren’t being taken care of, she says, “then maybe they have a short fuse. Or they might end up in power struggles with the kids” that lead to disciplinary referrals where peaceful resolutions could have been possible.

Addressing this problem helps everyone.

“If teachers are not well,” Shaw says, “they can’t teach well.”

Tomorrow Campaign stories dive deeply into the many facets of learning innovation. As we do, we invite you to share your hopes for today’s young people via social media using the hashtag #RemakeTomorrow, and tagging @ RemakeLearning.

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Remake Learning’s Moonshot Grants offer over $1 million to make wildly innovative ideas a reality

by Melissa Rayworth Kidsburgh

What could the world of learning look like in 10 or even 20 years?

The team behind Remake Learning’s Moonshot Grants began asking that question at the start of this year. Their goal was to fund ambitious new ideas that could make that preferred future come true.

But rather than require applicants to prove the likely outcomes of their ideas, they requested the opposite: Think boldly, they said. Try something completely new. Use the signals of change we see around us to dream up powerful, collaborative projects that haven’t been tried before. Along the way, center equity and justice to ensure that all students will benefit from the learning of tomorrow.

After announcing grants of nearly $500,000 in their first phase of giv-

ing last spring, Remake Learning has announced a second round of funding this week totaling another $590,000.

Among the recipients: 1Hood Media will develop the 1Hood Media Academy for Youth Art and Activism. In the spirit of the Moonshot Grants, this project will challenge traditional notions of positive youth development, cultural literacy, and student success through creative and activist expression.

The program will be participant-led, giving young people a meaningful voice in shaping what and how they’ll be learning. 1Hood’s co-founder and CEO, Jasiri X, says the organization has welcomed young people into their decision-making process for several years, and it’s a central aspect of this new project.

“Young folks are going to come up with their own creative ideas. They’re not going to do things the way

PHOTO COURTESY OF REMAKE LEARNING that we do it,” he says. But those valuable, creative ideas will go unheard unless young people are “actually helping to make the decisions on the direction of the programming.”

Another funded project: Butler Area School District will launch a project called “Growing a Green Future.” In Butler, some students live in rural areas and are actively involved in farming, while others live in the city of Butler—which is effec-

tively a food desert.

In order to bring fresh food to the entire community while teaching environmental science, farming and business skills, and community cooperation, the Growing a Green Future program will use acreage at one of Butler’s rural elementary schools for farming fresh produce. Students across the district will collaborate on growing and selling the food.

“We have a very big

geographic area in our district and being able to have multiple buildings working towards the same common goal for our community’s good is really exciting,” says Butler superintendent Dr. Brian White.

The round-two grant recipient organizations will join the Moonshot cohort and meet with one another to further develop their ideas through professional learning and community building. Though each organization will be building their own project, the group will collaborate and encourage each other to think boldly.

Since 2020 began, “educators have been surviving and trying to thrive, and people have done the best that they can with what they have,” says Dorie Taylor, Moonshot Grants project manager and co-producer of Remake Learning Days Across America.

“Thinking boldly at this

time may be asking a lot.

It might be scary. It might be exhilarating,” Taylor says. But it’s also deeply necessary if we’re going to make the most of this moment.

The grantees tell Remake Learning they feel ready to create something powerful.

“It’s cool to begin to say, ‘OK, well let’s shoot for the moon’ and kind of see what happens,” Jasiri X says. “As far as the young people we interact with, we feel like we can create this safe space where artists and activists feel they can be their full selves.

What will come out of that is the creativity and the new thinking that we need to get out of the situation we’re in right now.”

Support for Moonshot Grants is generously provided by The Grable Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, The Richard King Mellon Foundation, and The Benedum Foundation.

Propel Schools: Where our scholars defy expectations All children deserve the opportunity to succeed in school, despite any challenges they may face.

Propel Schools rejects

ties that might otherwise be inaccessible to them.

Families value Propel Schools for its individualized learning environ-

I chose Propel Schools for my son because I felt that, at his other school, he was not being challenged enough. I brought him to Propel and he is exceeding ever since.

– A PROPEL MOTHER the idea that poverty or ethnicity determines life outcomes. That is why Propel’s 13 public charter schools provide each scholar with resources, support and opportuni-

ment, small class sizes, and its committed, caring educators.

Propel’s K-2 Reading Initiative ensures our scholars are reading at or above grade level by

PROPEL SCHOOLS EDUCATORS work hard to support each scholar’s individual learning needs. the time they complete second grade. With a secure foundation of learning, Propel scholars then benefit from our STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and

math) integrated curriculum that is enhanced by partnerships with local organizations such as Carnegie Mellon University, Grow Pittsburgh, Verizon, Pittsburgh CLO

and PPG Industries.

“I chose Propel Schools for my son because I felt that, at his other school, he was not being challenged enough. I brought him to Propel and he is exceeding ever since,” said one mother.

From our free afterschool program to our in school social-emotional support, everything is focused on supporting scholars in overcoming barriers to learning and achievement.

Propel high school scholars can participate in the Career Pathways program in which they will graduate from high school with up to 31 college credits at no

cost. Currently, the Career Pathways program includes nursing and IT with more career being added.

The right school can be the difference between a life defined by limitations or by achievement.

At Propel Schools, our educators redefine school so that our scholars can defy expectations.

Our enrollment process is based on a blind lottery system. Families can apply for the 20222023 school year before December 31, 2021.

Come check us out at www.propelschools.org/ apply.

12 NOVEMBER 17-23, 2021

ACHIEVE! SCHOOL CHOICE GUIDE 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER