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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 111 No. 49
Two Sections
DECEMBER 2-8, 2020
SUPPORTING OUR OWN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
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Remembering Clifton Pitts
CLIFTON P. PITTS MICHAEL WOODSON JR., DASHAUN WOODSON AND DONNELL WOODSON are the forces behind Quicc Candles, one of the many local Black-owned businesses that are being featured in Downtown Pittsburgh as part of “The Black Market: Holiday Edition.” Roughly 30 Black businesses were featured at 623 Smithfield St. from Nov. 27-29, and nearly 40 Black businesses will be featured at the same location from Dec. 4-6. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)
Black-owned businesses take over Downtown Pittsburgh Part 2 of ‘The Black Market’ occurs Dec. 4-6 by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Fourteen-year-old Michael Woodson Jr. might be the only youngster in Pittsburgh who blended his love for playing sports, playing video games and wanting to make people’s homes smell good into a business venture that benefits him and his entire family. At age 9, Michael Woodson Jr. told his mother, Anita Jones, that they should start a business selling candles to help pay for
SHAYLA HAWKINS is the event planner behind “The Black Market: Holiday Edition,” which is bringing local Black-owned businesses to Downtown Pittsburgh for the holidays. the local sports he played, along with his two younger, athletic brothers, DaShaun and Donnell. Jones and her three sons soon began selling custom-made candles in the
Hill District, Homewood, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, and dozens of indoor and outdoor events where vendors were found. When it came to finalizing on a name for their small business, Michael Woodson Jr. thought of his username on his PlayStation video game system—Quicc06. “Quicc Candles” (pronounced “quick candles”) became the name of their business, and, in Michael Woodson Jr.’s words to the New Pittsburgh Courier, Nov. 27, “we’re poppin’ online, we’re poppin’ at the vending events, we’re poppin’ even though we’re on this quarantine...we’re still trying to make everybody’s houses smell better, and life’s been better than ever.” Michael, DaShaun, Donnell, and their No. 1 motivator, their mother, Anita Jones, were among the 30 Black-owned small businesses that were selling their products during “The Black Market: Holiday Edition,” an event at 623 Smithfield St., Downtown, Nov. 27-29. It was a collaborative by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and Shayla Hawkins Events to push people to shop at Black-owned businesses in Pittsburgh. If you missed the first three-day event, there will be a second “Black Market: Holiday Edition” this weekend, Dec. 4-6, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the same location. There will be upwards of 40 Black businesses inside the spacious facility that
sits just across from the Carnegie Library, Downtown, and next to the P1 “East Busway All Stops” Port Authority bus stop on Smithfield, awaiting your patronage. It’s surely the largest collection of Black businesses in one location in this region for the 2020 holiday season. At the Quicc Candles table from Nov. 27-29, a customer was able to find the white, scented candles with inspirational messages tattooed on them—“Addicted To Peace,” “I Can, I Will,” “I Am Enough,” “If Yesterday Was Heavy, Put It Down,”
and others. “This teaches them interpersonal skills, communicating with people, looking in (customers’) eyes, managing money, advertising, marketing, everything that they could do in business,” Jones said of her sons. “They have the entrepreneurial spirit, they like getting out, they like talking to people and they like their products.” Chatham University graduate students Samantha Parke and Jasmine Kamole were among the SEE BLACK BUSINESSES A2
Tireless civil rights leader dies from COVID-19 by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
When Clifton P. Pitts talked, people listened. Those were just some of the words exuded by Lena Bryan-Henderson, the goddaughter of Clifton “Cliff” Pitts, about the man who spent decades fighting for the betterment of African Americans in the Mon Valley and beyond. “He was a man who had the heartbeat of the community in his hands,” Bryan-Henderson continued. “He could effortlessly organize young, old, Black, White, rich and poor people to advance a cause which he believed would benefit the interest of his community. I witnessed him move mountains with a phone call... he dedicated his life to using his experience, connections and leadership skills to help anyone he could. He can never be replaced.” Pitts died on Nov. 23
from complications of COVID-19. He was 76. At the time of his passing, Pitts was the director of the Mon Valley People’s Action Committee. He had previously served as president of the Duquesne/West Mifflin NAACP, the Concerned Citizens organization and the Western Pa. Black Political Assembly. Pitts also spent 21 years working as the Director of Job Replacement for Allegheny County, then director of the Mon-Yough Action Program and director of the Help Initiate Pride program. “Clifton is one of those people that is not just a statistic,” Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald said during a news conference on Nov. 25. “He is someone who touched a lot of lives and is going to be sorely missed.” Pitts was born Dec. 25, 1943, in Pittsburgh to SEE PITTS A5
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CHATHAM UNIVERSITY GRADUATE STUDENT JASMINE KAMOLE, left, is shown one of the many fashionable purses being sold by Leisa Washington, right, of Lady Di’s Treasures. Lady Di’s Treasures was featured at “The Black Market” from Nov. 27-29.