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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

Pittsburgh Promise looks to increase scholarship rates

‘Coaches’ to work inside Perry, Milliones, Carrick

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY-BOUND—Nicole King Yohe, Nafis Hill, Andrea Stanford, LaToya Warren, and Krista Smalls are among the 28 members of the Academy’s newest cohort. (Photos by Brian Cook Sr.)

African Americans are ready for the illustrious ‘C-Suite’ 28 members in newest cohort

Courier Staff Writer

Andrea Stanford knows Amber Farr, but does she know Charles Carrier?

Tracey McCants Lewis knows Jerome Jackson, but does she know Shannon Austin?

What’s guaranteed to come from the second-ever cohort of The Advanced Leadership Initiative’s Executive Leadership Academy is the “R” word—relationships.

As the group of 28 African Americans in the cohort were formally introduced at an icebreaker event held at Carnegie Mellon

by Ervin Dyer For New Pittsburgh Courier

JEROME JACKSON, AMBER FARR, part of the newest cohort.

Black Central Catholic alumni to discuss hair policy with school officials in March

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that a meeting between Central Catholic High School principal Brother Anthony Baginski, other school officials and African American student alumni will take place in March, after a Black student began an online petition to have the school’s hair policy changed.

While Brother Baginski did not confirm an exact date for the meeting, he informed the Courier that the meeting is scheduled for next month.

“The goal of these meetings is simple: to listen,” read a statement from Brother Baginski, sent to members of the local media. “We want to hear their opinions and voices to ensure we are respectful of the cultural concerns this issue has raised.”

Central Catholic sophomore JD Younger, 15, launched an on-

Perry Traditional Academy and Pittsburgh Milliones 6-12 (also known as University Prep) have some of the highest percentages of African American students at the high school level SEE PROMISE A3 in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district.

They’re also, along with Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12, the district high schools with the lowest percentage of students utilizing the Pittsburgh Promise scholarships.

“It’s absolutely alarming,” Promise Executive Director Saleem Ghubril told the New Pittsburgh Cou- SALEEM GHUBRIL, executive director of The rier exclusively, Pittsburgh Promise. (Photo by J.L. Martello) Jan. 29, about

Pastor of growing church in Haiti seeks to change lives

by Rob Taylor Jr.

SEE C-SUITE B8

the data.

The low percentages are a vital component as to the reason the Promise announced the formation of “Promise Coaches,” a group of professionals whose task is to help students get on the track to becoming eli-

CENTRAL CATHOLIC SOPHOMORE JD YOUNGER, who started an online petition to change the school’s hair policy.

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line petition to garner public support, in the hopes that the private high school would alter the hair policy, which, according to the student/parent handbook, states that “hair must be its natural color, clean, neatly combed,” and “hairstyles with designs, patterns, lines, weaves, spikes, braids, locks, twists or ponytails are not permitted.”

Younger said that one of his friends at school was told to change his twists hairstyle or go home. Younger calls the school’s hair policy “outdated” and “racially biased.”

“Central Catholic is a place where kids from all walks of life in the city of Pittsburgh come together and form a brotherhood,” Younger wrote on the change.org petition.

“I love my school, but I can’t SEE HAIR A7

by faith, not by sight; and another calls upon Mark 9:23, everything is possible for those who believe in God. For Vartan, it’s James 4:7, a verse that is highlighted in his Haitian Creole Bible.

He opens the book with the

(This reporting was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—It’s Monday afternoon and Beddick Vartan sits in a prayer circle in Rendez-Vous Christ Church, in Delmas 75, a community in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

He’s with 13 other young men, they are all participants in Haiti Teen Challenge, a mentoring program run by the church. It provides counseling and Bible lessons, hoping to give the young men the spiritual discipline and strength they BEDDICK VARTAN (Photo by Allegra Battle) need to turn their lives around from ad- frayed edges and reads the diction, abandonment, and gospel, which says: “resist the devil and he will flee abuse.

Each of the men draws from you.”

“Though I’m still changfrom a special Scripture that is used as a personal ing,” Vartan says, “some fortitude. One chooses Mat- challenges will come my thew 11:28, come to me all way. Every time I face who are weary; one leans SEE HAITI B7 on 2 Corinthians 5:7, walk

J. Pharoah Doss on

Multicultural graduations and dreadlocks Forum B6 Forum B6

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

NATIONAL

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Black mayors converge in D.C. for meeting of the minds

MURIEL BOWSER

LORI LIGHTFOOT

As participants in the 88th winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, many of the nation’s African American mayors gathered in the District to discuss strategies and to learn best practices on how to deal with the problems bedeviling their cities.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) serves as the official, non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more and boasts of a membership of 1,407 mayors. They convene an annual winter meeting in the District to meet with members of Congress and the White House during which they highlight issues that plague their cities.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who served as the official host, participated in the organization’s opening news conference on Jan. 22 at the Capitol Hilton Hotel where she kicked off the three-day event and then shared a recent concern in the District: ghost guns.

Ghost guns—weapons assembled without serial numbers or identifying markings—have become a rising concern for Bowser, who says they’re increasingly being used by criminals in the District, adding, “the U.S. Congress needs to act to stop these weapons.”

Steve Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, S.C., also focused on the problem of the weapons.

“We have banned ghost guns in Columbia and the majority of our city council are gun owners,” said Benjamin, past president of USCM. “We believe in responsible gun ownership and I know there are issues we have to resolve with our state but we have done the right thing on this.”

Gun violence emerged as a topic of discussion throughout the conference and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot moderated a panel, “Lessons Learned: Preventing, Preparing for, and Responding to Mass Shooting,” that included nine mayors from cities including Pittsburgh, El Paso, Jersey City and Annapolis where they’ve dealt with multiple killings occurring within a single incident.

Lightfoot, the first Black female mayor of Chicago, said every American seems to

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS

be affected by mass shootings.

“None of us are immune from what has happened,” she said. “It has taken place at various places whether it is at a school, synagogue or a newsroom. It happens so frequently that we have become used to it and that’s not good at all. We need to prepare our first responders and residents on how to deal with this.”

Lightfoot told the Informer that despite Chicago’s homicide rate totaling 490 in 2019, things have improved.

“We are not where we want to be but we have had a decline in homicides for three years straight and we are going to continue that trend. I am very enthusiastic about the direction of our city,” she said.

The mayors also discussed the need for creating more affordable housing.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms moderated a panel, “Achieving Affordable Housing: Local Best Practices,” that brought more attention to the ongoing concern and need. She said that despite her city’s booming economic growth, affordability has become a problem for many longtime residents.

“Atlanta’s redevelopment is fantastic but it is often at the expense of legacy residents,” she said. Bottoms talked about a $1 billion fund that her city’s public and private sector has agreed to build to encourage developers to build more affordable housing.

“This is a priority in Atlanta,” she said.

But the agenda for the mayors also targeted issues often incorrectly considered of little importance to Black communities. As an example, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell participated in a panel regarding infrastructure, including the topic of cybersecurity in her comments.

“Cybersecurity is an infrastructure and cities should increase their budgets for cybersecurity,” she said. “I learned this several weeks ago when New Orleans suffered a cyberattack that temporarily crippled the city government. We have had to rebuild our digital infrastructure. I encourage cities to pay more attention to cybersecurity.”

(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)

Trump re-election bid extends focus to young Black voters, offers cash (Washington Informer Web Staff)—As President Donald Trump continues to rev up support for reelection, his

campaign has extended its outreach to include young Black voters through events that offer cash giveaways.

The nonprofit Urban Revitalization Coalition’s first event in December was held in a predominantly Black community in Cleveland, where prizes included envelopes stuffed with hundreds of dollars.

A second giveaway that was scheduled for this month at Virginia Union SUPPORTERS—A group of young Black Trump supporters wearing University in Richmond hats bearing his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan at- was foiled by university oftend a gun control rally at the Virginia state capitol in Richmond on ficials who refused to host Jan. 20. (Dorothy Rowley/The Washington Informer) the $30,000 giveaway.

Nevertheless, more such events are said to be in the works.

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This Week In Black History

Week of February 5-11 February 5 1866—Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, one of the great White heroes of Black history, offers his famous amendment to the Freedman’s Bureau bill to use land confiscated from former slave owners as well as some public lands to guarantee each adult former slave “40 acres and a mule.” However, even after the Civil War there was enough anti-Black and pro-South sentiment in Congress to defeat the measure 126 to 37. If the Stevens measure had passed, it may have changed the entire course of Black history in America because the former slaves would have had a solid economic foundation upon which to build their new lives and the poverty which plagued African-Americans for the next 100 years THADDEUS STEVENS could have been prevented.

1934—Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron was born on this day in Mobile, Ala. The baseball great and eventual home run king (until Barry Bonds) began his career with the old Negro Baseball League playing for the Indianapolis Clowns before joining the Atlanta Braves in 1954.

1945—Jamaican Reggae legend Bob Marley, is born on this day as Robert Nesta Marley in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica. He used his music not only to entertain but to tirelessly spread Reggae and the Rastafarian religion from Africa to Europe and the U.S. Much of his music deals with the struggles of the impoverished and the oppressed. Marley died from complications due to HANK AARON cancer in Miami in May 1981.

February 6 1820—The first organized emigration of Blacks from the U.S. back to Africa occurs.

Eighty-six free Blacks leave New York Harbor on a ship named the “Mayflower of Liberia.” The group lands on the West African coast on March 9 and joins with ex-slaves freed by Britain to help form what would eventually become the West African nation of Sierra Leone.

1993—Tennis star Arthur Ashe dies on this day after contracting AIDS from a 1988 blood transfusion. Ashe was the first African-American to win at Wimbledon defeating Jimmy Connors in the finals in 1975. Born and raised in Richmond, Va., Ashe was also known for his activism in various social causes. Once asked what type of attitude was required of a champion, Ashe responded, “The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.”

February 7 1871—Alcorn A&M College (later “University”) opens in ARTHUR ASHE Mississippi. The great Black legislator Hiram Revels resigns his seat in Congress to become the first president of the institution, which would grow to become one of the leading Black colleges in the nation. At first it was only open to men but began admitting women in 1895.

1883—Eubie Blake is born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore, Md. Along with Noble Sissle, he popularizes Ragtime music. The genre had its birth in Black bars and whore houses in Southern and Midwestern cities. But Sissle and Blake took it mainstream with hits ranging from the “Charleston Rag” to “I’m Just Wild about Harry” to “Shuffle Along.” Blake died when he was 100 years old on Feb. 12, 1983.

1967—Comedian-actor Chris Rock is born on this day in Andrews, S.C. He is the oldest of seven children.

February 8 1894—Congress repeals the Enforcement Act and thus made it easier for states, especially in the South, EUBIE BLAKE to take away Black voting rights. Originally passed in 1870, the Act had established criminal penalties for interfering with a person’s right to vote. After its repeal, Southern states passed a host of measures including poll taxes, literacy tests and so-called vouchers of “good character”—all designed to block or limit the number of Blacks who could vote.

1925—Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the “Black Moses,” enters federal prison in Atlanta, Ga., after being convicted of what many Blacks felt were trumped up mail fraud charges. Garvey, a master of grandeur and showmanship, had built the largest Black mass movement in African American history by emphaMARCUS GARVEY sizing racial pride, economic empowerment and the building of a Black empire in Africa. Born in Jamaica and having traveled throughout South America, Garvey had become distressed with the plights of Blacks throughout the world and organized the Universal Negro Improvement Association—UNIA—in 1914.

He brought the UNIA to America in 1915 and its growth exploded. At its height, the UNIA had several hundred thousand members and owned businesses ranging from bakeries to shipping lines. Garvey’s rapid growth and increasing power on masses of Blacks are what attracted negative attention from the federal government. After his imprisonment, the organization never recovered. He died in London, England in 1940.

1968—In what became known as “The Orangeburg Massacre” police opened fire on protesting Black students on the campus of South Carolina State University. The officers responded to rock-throwing with a volley of shots, which left three students dead and 27 wounded. The students were protesting a segregated bowling alley near the school’s campus in Orangeburg, S.C. The students killed were Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton and Henry Smith.

1978—Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali and captures the heavyweight boxing championship. Ali regains the title in September of the same year becoming the first person to win the title three times.

February 9 1944—Award winning novelist Alice Walker is born in Eatonton, Ga. She is known for “telling the Black woman’s story.” Perhaps her most famous novel was “The Color Purple.”

1995—Dr. Bernard Harris becomes the first African American to walk in space as part of a joint Russian and American mission.

However, Harris was far from being the first Black person in space.

ALICE WALKER That honor goes to a Black Cuban pilot who flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz 38 in 1980. His name was Arnaldo Tamayo-Mendez.

February 10 1854—Educator Joseph Charles Price is born on this day in Elizabeth City, N.C. Largely unknown today, Price was a world-renowned scholar who founded North Carolina’s Livingstone University. He was also a powerful preacher and orator who raised funds to advance African American education throughout the nation. His basic educational theory was “educate the whole person”—hands, head and heart.

1927—Opera singer Leontyne Price is born Mary Violet Leontyne Price in Laurel, Miss. She first achieved international fame when she was selected to play “Bess” during the European tour of the George Gershwin Broadway production of “Porgy and Bess.” She became a sensation in Europe signing contracts to sing in just about every European language. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in 1961.

1989—Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic Party becoming the first African American to head one of the two major political parties.

1992—Renowned author Alex Haley dies. He was also a biographer and scriptwriter. Haley is perhaps best known for the LEONTYNE PRICE novel “Roots,” which became a major television series and for the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.” Haley was born Aug. 11, 1921 in Ithaca, N.Y. 1992—Heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was convicted in Indianapolis of the rape of beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington.

February 11 1644—Eleven Blacks confront the ruling Council of New Netherlands (later New York) with a petition demanding their freedom. This was probably the first legal protest action

by Blacks in American history. The petition is granted and the Blacks are freed because they had worked off the terms of their indentured servant contracts which were usually for seven years. But these Blacks had worked for up to 18 years.

Shortly after this victory, however, no more Blacks were allowed such contracts but were instead treated as slaves for life.

NELSON MANDELA 1990—Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is released from prison on Robben Island after 27 years. He had been jailed for his militant activities against the then White-ruled South African government and its system of rule known as Apartheid. Mandela would go on to become the first Black and first democratically elected president of South Africa (1994-1999). He enabled a peaceful transition to Black majority rule. Mandela was one of the most respected and admired men in the world. In South Africa, he was known as “Madiba”—an honorary title given to elders in his tribe.

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Pittsburgh Promise looks to increase scholarship rates PROMISE FROM A1

gible for Promise scholarships.

The initiative was made possible by a $2 million investment to the Promise from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

Beginning next school year, four coaches will be assigned to work inside Carrick High School, and two coaches each to work inside Perry and Milliones. Ghubril told the Courier that the organization wanted to track the effectiveness of the program in Carrick, Perry and Milliones first before expanding it to Westinghouse.

In 2018, just 18 percent of Milliones’ high school graduates used their Promise scholarship; at Perry, it was 11 percent. Carrick’s percentage was 38 percent.

Compare that with the schools that have the highest Promise scholarship usage rates, like CAPA and Sci-Tech, which hover around 70 percent, Ghubril told the Courier, with Allderdice and Pittsburgh Obama not far behind.

Over the next four years of the Promise Coaches program, Ghubril hopes the percentages at Carrick jump by two-thirds to 62 percent, double to 36 percent at Milliones, and triple to 33 percent at Perry.

“Our data tell us that the Promise usage rates in certain high schools is very low,” Ghubril said at a Jan. 29 news conference in the Hill District, “and our study of best practices across the country show that investment in coaching at the high school level and in certain colleges ends up transforming that outcome.”

Ghubril said that while the Carrick percentage of 38 isn’t anywhere as low as Perry and Milliones, there’s a growing student immigrant population at Carrick which, he feels, can be better served with Promise Coaches.

The coaches, to be hired by the Promise and begin a three-month training process in June, will focus on five areas while at the

three high schools: Help students determine their interests and skills; determine the resources (including financial) available to the students; determine the best options available to the students post-high school (four- or two-year institution, trade or technical school, military, entrepreneurship); keep students abreast on what’s happening professionally in the Pittsburgh region’s marketplace; and help students develop professional skills that can be used in the workplace.

The coaches will serve all students beginning in the ninth grade or earlier at the three schools, with an emphasis on those who are below, or at risk of falling below, Promise eligibility. To be eligible for the Promise scholarship, PPS students must have at least a 2.5 GPA and have an attendance rate of at least 90 percent. They must also have been enrolled at a Pittsburgh Public School or one of its select charter schools, continuously, since the ninth grade.

Students who have been enrolled in a Pittsburgh Public School since Day 1 of the ninth grade and who have met the academic and attendance requirements are eligible for up to $20,000 in college scholarships from the Promise. To utilize the scholarship, students must attend a post-secondary school in Pennsylvania.

Ghubril said it’s important that the coaches are familiar with the culture of the students and schools served. He said that during the selection process of the coaches, preference will be given to those with a bachelor’s degree, who are PPS graduates and also received a Promise scholarship.

“They know the system, they know the city,” and they know the culture, Ghubril said. “To me, that is the ideal candidate.”

To provide ongoing intensive support to the coaching cohort, the Community College of Allegheny County and Carlow University combined were awarded

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$1.9 million by the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

Ghubril applauded both Carlow and CCAC for their continued partnership with a number of Promise students being enrolled in those schools over the years.

“We are thankful that the missions of CCAC and Carlow University compel them to take risks on students that other institutions may not,” Ghubril said in a statement provided to the Courier. “This new partnership will deepen our collective work and widen the pathways to opportunity before our students.”

The Promise hired Amy Yearwood as the Promise’s new director of college and career success. She will head the Promise Coaches initiative.

“When the Promise approached us with this idea, it was an immediate and easy ‘yes,’” Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent

Anthony Hamlet, Ed.D., said at the Jan. 29 news conference. “For one, this provides ample opportuni-

ties for our students, but also we want to make sure we are able to access students who normally don’t

have the supports in place, but also need additional support. It’s what we call equity.”

SALEEM GHUBRIL (Photo by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

The 6th Annual Pittsburgh City League High School All Sports

HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS

PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY ACTIVIST RICK ADAMS receives the MARY SKINNER accepts the Dr. Helen Faison Memorial Community JOHN BYRD accepts the Carl Kohlman Memorial Community Sports Pete Diemperio Legends Award, along with co-winner and commit- Service Award. The award was presented by committee member Service Award. The award was presented by former Pitt basketball tee member Bagumba Lowery. oand City League Hall of Fame member Henri Chatman. star and City League Hall of Fame member Darrelle Porter.

THE 2019 CITY LEAGUE STUDENT ATHLETES OF THE YEAR are inducted into the Future Stars Division. The award was presented by Leslie K. Toombs, center. The ceremony took place, Nov. 2, at the 20th Century Club. 2

BOB ALLEN OF KDKA-TV accepts the Eddie Jefferies City League Media Award. The award was presented by Kevin McDaniels.

NARRON JACKSON, one of the City League’s all-time great basketball stars, is inducted into the Hall of Fame. His close friend, Courtney Wallace, was unable to attend, but was also inducted. Wallace was also a City League basketball legend.

ONE OF THE CITY LEAGUE’S ALL-TIME GREAT STUDENT ATHLETES, SARA WEINERT, is inducted into The Great Hall. She accepts the award from committee member Kevin McDaniels.

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‘Too Heavy For Your Pocket’ tells the story of the Freedom Riders Play runs Feb. 7-23 at Pitt’s Falk School

by Genea L. Webb For New Pittsburgh Courier

New Horizon Theater newcomers Brenden Peifer and Hope Anthony are ready to sink their teeth into the meaty, yet relatable roles of Tony Carter and Evelyn Brandon in the production, “Too Heavy For Your Pocket.”

“It’s such a strongly written play because it’s so ensemble-based and it’s tough to pick out one main character from my perspective,” Peifer said. “The story is about Bowzie Brandon but the three other characters that are involved are just so heavily involved, and the dynamic between their relationships was so fascinating that to me it didn’t seem like there was any sort of supporting role. Everybody is their own leading man or woman.”

The main character of Bowzie Brandon is being played by Maurice Redwood, who was last seen in New Horizon Theater’s “Front Porch Society.” The character of Sally-Mae Carter is being played by another New Horizon newcomer newcomer, Jadah Johnson.

As for Peifer, he was born in Virginia, but now calls Pittsburgh home after graduating last April from Pitt with a bachelor’s in acting. In preparation to portray Tony Carter, Peifer studied his own grandfather’s mannerisms to give the character depth.

THE CAST—Left to right, it’s Maurice Redwood, Jadah Johnson, Hope Anthony and Brenden Peifer (Photo by Lionness Photography)

Laurents/Hatcher Foundation award.

“The audience is used to us having a real historical piece in February. We had ‘Detroit ‘67’ and ‘The Ballad of Emmett Till,’ so this play is about the Freedom Riders and it fit into our Black History Month production,” New Horizon Theater Chairperson Joyce Meggerson-Moore said. “I hope that the audience will walk away with keeping the history alive. Some people might think it’s not important, but I think it’s important that people remember the history and want to keep it alive for themselves, their children and their grandchildren.

A lot of the people that were in the Civil Rights Movement were young people. I think Dr. King was only 26 years old when he started. People will see that they can depend on young people to pick up the mantle.”

“Too Heavy For Your Pocket” will be performed at the University of Pittsburgh’s Falk School, 4060 Allequippa St. Tickets for in “Too Heavy For Your Pocket.” the production are $20 general admission and $15 for seniors and students.

Special rates are available for groups of 10 or more (each member of the group deep South. When 20-year- must attend the same perold Bowzie Brandon gives formance). up a life-changing college Parking is available at scholarship to join the the Veterans Adminismovement, he’ll have to tration hospital. Parking convince his loved ones passes can be obtained at and himself that shaping the entrance to the theater. his country’s future may Tickets can be purchased be worth jeopardizing his through brownpapertickown. ets.com, Dorsey’s Digital The production is being Imaging or by calling 412directed by Herb Newsome 431-0773. (who just finished his one“February, the month man play, “Break it Down” itself, can be cold and for New Horizon Theater dark, but people will enjoy last month). It is written seeing the reenactment of by the Tennessee-born Black History events and Jireh Breon Holder, who they want to know and regraduated from Yale member that these things School of Drama in 2016. have happened,” Megger“Too Heavy For Your son-Moore said. “They will Pocket” snagged the 2017 enjoy seeing this.”

‘I think every mother...who has that fire in them...will really get into this show.’

“I spoke with my grandfather a lot because he was alive in the ‘60s and he was a plumber and a construction worker, and when I got this role I felt like I knew this man and this role is going to sort of be like paying homage to the blue-collar side of my family history.”

Peifer said his grandfather worked tirelessly to provide for his family, which allowed his daughters to go to college. “And that translated to me,” he said.

The play’s themes about love and family are what drew in Anthony, who plays Evelyn Brandon.

“The play itself is so wonderful, how it opens up about family and love and freedom and what’s your version of freedom and what’s your version of success,” she said.

To prepare as the feisty Evelyn Brandon, Anthony looked to the strong women—in particular, her mother—who raised children alone.

“I’ve never had a child but I know many strong women who have gone through it and on top of that, dealing with hormones, what’s happening in society, and how much stress they go through,” Anthony said. “My own

mom is a single mom so I closely have watched her through life do her thing.

I think every mother, every person who has that fire in them and wants to change the world will really get into this show.”

Anthony, who’s from the West End, graduated from Point Park University in 2015 with a musical theater degree.

Opening Friday, Feb. 7 and running through Feb. 23, “Too Heavy For Your Pocket” is set in the summer of 1961 when the Freedom Riders were embarking on a courageous journey into the

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, to speak in Pittsburgh, Feb. 6 The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, Ilyasah Shabazz, will be the featured speaker at 1 Hood Media’s “Children of the Movement” community event, Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in East Liberty.

Shabazz has years of

experience as a college professor, and more than 20 years of experience as administrator and implementer of cultural and community outreach initiatives. She promotes higher education for atrisk youth, interfaith dialogue to build bridges between cultures for young leaders of the world, and participates on interna-

tional humanitarian delegations.

Professor Shabazz was a member of the U.S. Interfaith Leadership Delegation to Mali, West Africa, and received a personal letter of acknowledgement for preserving “her father’s proud legacy by working to secure equality in our time and for generations to come,” from former

President Barack Obama.

The “Children of the Movement” community conversation also features Jasiri X of 1 Hood Media, Hill Community Development Corporation CEO Marimba Milliones, City of Pittsburgh Group Violence Intervention leader Rev. Cornell Jones, and Poise Foundation COO Karris Jackson.

ILYASAH SHABAZZ

‘SWEAT THE TECHNIQUE’ Iconic hip-hop artist Rakim converses with Pittsburgh crowd

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

The Source Magazine billed him as “the greatest lyricist of all-time,” and, in the hip-hop world, you won’t find too many who would argue with that.

Rakim, the Long Island, N.Y., native, captivated the hip-hop world in two ways.

He pioneered the use of compound rhyming by using words that have two or more syllables in one rhyme, which is evident in the legendary album “Paid in Full.”

But Rakim also blessed the mic with lyrics of cognizant self-awareness, according to The Source, due to his roots with the Nation of Islam and involvement with the Five Percent Nation of Gods and Earths.

Rakim spoke at a Jan. 15 1 Hood Media event at the Andy Warhol Museum, where The God MC spoke to a crowd of more than 200

supporters.

He told a story that most in the crowd had never heard—as a youngster, Rakim used to tell his father how nervous he would get before he played football games. Rakim said he would feel “butterflies.” His father’s response? “It’s not nervousness, it’s consciousness.”

And Rakim said he’s taken that food for thought and kept it with him his entire career. Whether it’s what he called the “hard part,” writing the rhymes, or what he called the “fun part,” performing onstage, the nerves were no longer a factor because it was Rakim consciously realizing the prime opportunities that were before him.

As most hip-hop fans know, Rakim’s career skyrocketed, with legendary singles “Eric B. Is President,” “Paid In Full,” “Follow the Leader,” “I Ain’t No Joke,” “My Melody,” and

RAKIM, second from right, with Bakari Kitwana, Paradise Grey and Jasiri X, at 1 Hood Media’s event, “A Conversation with Rakim,” Jan. 15 at the Andy Warhol Museum. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello) “Move The Crowd.” elations on Creativity From At the event, Rakim signed the Lyrical Genius.” copies of his new book, 1 Hood Media’s Jasiri X “Sweat The Technique: Rev- told the New Pittsburgh

RAKIM, right, with Zerahiah Israel.

Courier his prime takeaway from the event was how Rakim was “intentional about putting conscious-

ness into the music, and how we have the opportunity as artists to do that today.”

MIA JENNINGS AND HUSBAND, BRANDON JENNINGS, with an artistic piece Brandon created called, “Who is God,” giving the piece to Rakim.

Soul Take Champions Live!

With Kevin Cameron and Bill Neal!

Hear current and past episodes now at www.urbanmediatoday.com

MAISHA HOWZE, author of the book, “W.A.S.H., Time To Do YOUR Laundry,” with Rakim.

RELIGION/METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Black Central Catholic alumni to discuss hair policy with school officials in March HAIR FROM A1

ignore this issue. The fact that kids have to worry about being able to express themselves while getting an education is a problem. We don’t need regulation, we need education. If more education was done on this issue, we can start to break down the stigma that our

have built. We value each student’s abilities and talents, but our strength is in holding the community above the individual, which is why we enforce uniform dress and grooming standards. While we recognize each student’s individuality and culture, our policies aim to bring all of our stu-

A7

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

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Central Catholic High School alum Brian Cook Sr. will be one of the participants in the meeting between alumni and school officials. hair is unprofessional.”

The change.org petition has nearly 74,000 signatures as of Feb. 3.

“Students come to Central Catholic from more than 50 different school districts, creating a community of individuals of varying backgrounds,” Brother Baginski said in a statement first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette three weeks ago. “We are very proud of this community that we

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

www.cathedralofhope.com

Worship on Sunday: Journey Worship...........8:45 a.m.

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

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

dents together so they can focus on their education and growth as young men.”

Brother Baginski said there would be no changes to the hair policy for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

Brian Cook Sr., a Central Catholic alum who will be part of the group of Black alumni meeting with school officials in March, said in a Feb. 3 statement to the Courier that he is “looking

“The goal of these meetings is simple: to listen. We want to hear their opinions and voices to ensure we are respectful of the cultural concerns this issue has raised.”

BROTHER ANTHONY BAGINSKI Principal, Central Catholic High School

Curious about Quakerism?

CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL forward to these discussions as we take a look at the policies for the 2020-21 school year.”

Generally, certain policies, such as those dealing with hairstyles, that a private school may adopt are agreed upon by the student and parent(s) prior to the student attending the school. But in the case of Younger and across the

country, there are some students and families who still challenge the policies.

In August 2018, then-11year-old Faith Fennedy was asked to leave class at her Catholic school outside New Orleans because administrators said her braids violated school rules. A day later, the school asked another student, Tyrielle Davis, to leave school for the same reason, according to an NBC News report.

The mothers of both Fennedy and Davis sued the Catholic school, claiming that the ban on hair extensions unfairly and disproportionately affected Black students. A judge subsequently blocked the school from enforcing its policy.

A few weeks ago in Texas, a private school told high

school senior DeAndre Arnold he couldn’t participate in his school’s graduation ceremony if he didn’t cut his dreadlocks hairstyle.

With Arnold and his mother not budging, Arnold was surprised with a $20,000 college scholarship from Shutterfly on the Ellen Degeneres Show by vocalist Alicia Keys.

Reached by phone on Feb. 3, Pittsburgh NAACP President Richard A. Stewart Jr. told the Courier that he supports the upcoming meeting between Central Catholic administration and Black student alumni.

“That’s the way you handle it, individuals doing it the right way,” Stewart said. “Sitting down and having an intelligent discussion.”

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

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

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext.

128.

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

Send info to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh PA 15219 Or Email us! religion@ newpittsburgh courier.com

The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

BUSINESS New Pittsburgh Courier

The good often die young

Faye Williams B3

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Classifieds

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B4, B5

B

Jason S. Jones starts consulting company to help local businesses

by Diane I. Daniels For New Pittsburgh Courier

7 tips for using credit cards safely (StatePoint)—Credit cards are a useful tool for managing personal finances and building credit, but they also expose you to a number of risks—including identity theft and credit card fraud.

Thankfully, experts say there are many simple, proactive steps you can take to help protect yourself when using a credit card. Here are seven tips for guarding your credit.

1. Monitor your credit reports.

To identify any suspicious activity, periodically request and review your credit reports and your children’s from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These companies will provide you with a free credit report once per year.

Consider requesting a different agency’s report every four months at no charge for more frequent monitoring. If you see any signs of identity theft, credit card fraud or other scams, contact the credit bureaus right away.

2. Activate fraud alerts. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion also offer free credit fraud alerts.

When a potential creditor sees a fraud alert on your credit file they will take additional steps to verify your identity before authorizing new credit. Fraud alerts last for 90 days but can easily be renewed. You only need to contact one credit bureau to set alerts – that company will notify the other two.

3. Freeze your credit. Placing a freeze on your credit reports will prevent anyone from opening new account in your name. You will need to contact all three credit

bureaus to freeze your reports.

Not that it may take several days to lift a freeze if you need to apply for credit. Also, credit freezes do not prevent fraudulent transactions on your existing credit accounts.

4. Review credit card statements carefully. Check your statements as soon as you receive them to make sure there are no fraudulent charges. Contact your card issuer if you see anything suspicious.

5. Enroll in bank notification programs. Most banks offer a credit card notification program which will alert you to account charges over a preset amount.

6. Protect your passwords.

Change logins and passwords monthly, use password generators and sign up for two-factor authentication. Security experts recommend a minimum of 14 characters for creating a secure password.

7. Shop online carefully. Avoid making payments or accessing financial information on unsecured wireless networks, such as those at coffee shops, hotels and restaurants. Your phone should be treated like your computer: password protect it, too.

A Certified Financial Planner professional can help you protect your assets from this type of risk and pick up the financial pieces if your information falls into the wrong hands. To find a CFP professional near you, visit www.letsmakeaplan.org.

With a few simple tools and a bit of diligence, you can safely use and continue to build your credit.

For more than a decade, Jason S. Jones has worked for businesses and organizations that have prepared him for entrepreneurship.

He has worked for financial institutions, business development organizations and nonprofit groups assisting individuals develop and prosper. He’s helped entrepreneurs to get on their feet. He describes his skills as all-encompassing—supervision, project management, administration, budgeting, business analysis, consulting and training.

So, with nearly two decades of professional knowledge and acumen, in September 2019 Jones decided to test the waters in entrepreneurship himself.

And after securing a few consulting clients, in January 2020 JS Jones and Still Consulting officially became a reality.

His first secured contracts include The Forbes Funds, Venture for America and the Homewood Children’s Village.

Jones, 37, a Peabody High School graduate, classifies JS Jones and Still Consulting as an in-depth business development small boutique firm. One of its specialties is helping nonprofit organizations think more entrepreneurial. In today’s time, he says, companies need to be more self-reliant and not so dependent on funds from foundations.

“Nonprofit leadership has to UNLEASING HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT—Jason S. Jones, owner of the know that foundational support new JS Jones and Still Consulting, is prepared to utilize his wealth of knowlis not going to be available for- edge to develop nonprofits and entrepreneurs in the Pittsburgh region. ever and being prepared to be a sustaining organization is key,” household with a mother that es at Peabody I was exposed to Jones told the New Pittsburgh often worked two jobs. His people that were accepted into Courier in an exclusive inter- community environment often Harvard and people who went view. “The goal of this company thrived from desperation where to jail for life. Nor was I as preis to help nonprofits and busi- people did things out of neces- pared for college as others.”

J o n e s ’ nesses of younger all sizes because they “The goal of this company is to help nonprofits and brother was killed at the all need the same type of businesses of all sizes because they all need the same age of 24. assistance— type of assistance—strategic planning, business devel- Their mother died 10 strategic p l a n n i n g , opment, customer relations, how to raise and generate months later. business de- capital, and building acquisition.”

Jones atvelopment, JASON S. JONES tended the customer rePenn State lations, how to raise and generate capital, sity, not particularly what they New Kensington and Behrend wanted to do. campuses along with the Uniand building acquisition.”

“I have lived in Highland Park, versity of Pittsburgh before obJones’ life and work experiences have directed his path. on Lemington Avenue and in taining his Bachelor of Science Reflecting on his younger years, Homewood,” Jones said. “Even SEE JONES B2 he grew up in a single-parent though I had positive experienc-

BLACK AMERICA’S HOUSING CRISIS With more renters than homeowners, homeless population jumps 12 percent

by Charlene Crowell For New Pittsburgh Courier

No matter who you are, or where you live, there’s a central concern that links consumers all over the country: the ever-rising cost of living. For many consumers, the combined costs of housing, transportation, food, and utilities leave room for little else from take-home pay.

From Boston west to Seattle, and from Chicago to Miami and parts in between, the rising cost of living is particularly challenging in one area: housing. Both homeowners and renters alike today cope as best they can just to have a roof over their families’ heads.

The nation’s median sales price of a new home last September in 2019 was $299,400, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Even for an existing home, the St. Louis Federal Reserve noted its median price in December was $274,500.

For renters, the cost of housing is also a serious challenge. Last June, the national average rent reached $1,405, an all-time high. But if one lives in a high-cost market like Manhattan, Boston, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, a realistic rental price is easily north of $3,000 each month.

Now a new report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) finds that the American Dream of homeownership is strained even among households with incomes most would think adequate to own a home. From 2010 to 2018, 3.2 million households with earnings higher than

$75,000 represented more than three-quarters of the growth in renters in its report entitled, America’s Rental Housing 2020. “[F]rom the homeownership peak in 2004 to 2018, the number of married couples with children that owned homes fell by 2.7 million, while the number renting rose by 680,000,” states the report. “These changes have meant that families with children now make up a larger share of renter households (29 percent) than owner households (26 percent).”

To phrase it another way, America’s middle class is at risk. Consumer demographics that traditionally described homeowners, has shifted to that of renters. And in that process, the opportunity to build

family wealth through homeownership has become more difficult for many—and financially out of reach for others.

“Rising rents are making it increasingly difficult for households to save for a down payment and become homeowners,” says Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a JCHS Research Associate and lead author of the new report. “Young, college-educated households with high incomes are really driving current rental demand.”

Included among the report’s key findings: •Rents in 2019 continued their seven-year climb, marking 21 consecutive quarters of increases above 3.0 percent; •Despite the growth in high-income

White renters, renter households overall have become more racially and ethnically diverse since 2004, with minority households accounting for 76 percent of renter household growth through 2018; and •Income inequality among renter households has been growing. The average real income of the top fifth of renters rose more than 40 percent over the past 20 years, while that of the bottom fifth of renters fell by 6 percent; “Despite the strong economy, the number and share of renters burdened by housing costs rose last year after a couple of years of modest improvement,” says Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. “And while the poorest households are most likely to face this challenge, renters earning decent incomes have driven this recent deterioration in affordability.”

This trend of fewer homeowners has also impacted another disturbing development: the nation’s growing homeless population.

Citing that homelessness is again on the rise, the JCHS report noted that after falling for six straight years, the number of people experiencing homelessness nationwide grew from 2016–2018, to 552,830. In just one year, 2018 to 2019, the percentage of America’s Black homeless grew from 40 percent to more than half—52 percent.

That independent finding supports the conclusion of the Department of Housing SEE CRISIS B2

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FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

BUSINESS

Black America’s housing crisis CRISIS FROM B1

and Urban Development’s report to Congress known as its Annual Homeless Assessment Report.

While some would presume that homelessness is an issue for high-cost states like California, and New York, the 2019 HUD report found significant growth in homeless residents in states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, and Washington as well.

According to HUD, states with the highest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people were New York (46), Hawaii (45), California (38), Oregon (38), and Washington (29), each significantly higher than the national average of 17 persons per 10,000. The District of Columbia had a homelessness rate of 94 people per 10,000.

And like the JCHS report, HUD also found disturbing data on the disproportionate number of Black people who are now homeless.

For example, although the numbers of homeless veterans and homeless families with children declined over the past year, Blacks were 40 percent of all people experiencing homelessness in 2019, and 52 percent of people experiencing homelessness as members of families with children.

These racial disparities are even more alarming when overall, Blacks comprise 13 percent of the nation’s population.

When four of every 10 homeless people are Black, 225,735 consumers are impacted. Further, and again according to HUD, 56,381 Blacks (27 percent) are living on the nation’s streets, instead of in homeless shelters.

The bottom line on these research reports is that Black America’s finances are fragile. With nagging disparities in income, family wealth, unemployment and more – the millions of people working multiple jobs, and/or living paycheck to paycheck, are often just one paycheck away from financial disaster.

Add predatory lending on high-cost loans like payday or overdraft fees, or the weight of medical debt or student loans, when financial calamity arrives, it strikes these consumers harder and longer than others who have financial cushions.

And lest we forget, housing discrimination in home sales, rentals, insurance and more continue to disproportionately affect Black America despite the Fair Housing Act, and other federal laws intended to remove discrimination from the marketplace.

The real question in 2020 is, ‘What will communities and the nation do about it?’

For Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor of African-American studies at Princeton University and author of the new book, “Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership”, federal enforcement of its own laws addressing discrimination and acknowledging the inherent tug-ofwar wrought from the tension of public service against the real estate industry’s goal of profit, there’s little wonder why so many public-private partnerships fail to serve both interests.

In a recent Chicago Tribune interview, Professor Taylor explained her view.

“You don’t need a total transformation of society to create equitable housing for people,” said Taylor. “We have come to believe that equitable housing is just some weird thing that can’t happen here, and the reality is that we have the resources to create the kinds of housing outcomes that we say we desire.”

“The way to get that has everything to do with connecting the energy on the ground to a different vision for our society—one that has housing justice, equity and housing security at the heart of it,’ Taylor continued. “The resources and the money are there, but there’s a lack of political will from the unfortunate millionaire class that dominates our politics… I think, given the persistence of the housing crisis in this country, we have to begin to think in different ways about producing housing that is equitable and actually affordable in the real-life, lived experiences of the people who need it.”

Amen, Professor Taylor.

by Rick Miller

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

What is considered a bad credit score?

For New Pittsburgh Courier

Your credit score is one of the most important pieces of your overall financial equation. However, it’s certainly not the only piece.

Lenders will rely on your credit score. They use it to determine how much risk they would assume by giving you a loan.

Your score is just a starting point. Your credit report may five lenders a reason to believe you are more credit worthy than your score suggests.

There are many factors that can impact your credit score. Late payments, judgments, and credit inquiries can be a drag on your credit score. A long credit history with few or no delinquencies will strengthen your score. It will help you get the most competitive interest rates.

There is good news. If you are one of the more than one third of Americans who boast a “sub-prime” credit score, you may still be able to qualify for a loan or line of credit.

There is also bad news. Have a low credit score? You are probably going to wind up with higher interest rates if you do qualify for a loan.

Is your score not where you’d like it to be? There are plenty of things you can do to bring it up.

Lenders want to lend you money. So, they intentionally built a system that encourages second and even third chances. All you have to do is make the most of the chances you get.

We researched and reviewed the 5 best companies in the industry. They will help you dispute items on your report and improve your credit score.

What is a bad credit score?

The most utilized scoring method to qualify creditworthiness is the FICO score. It was created by the Fair Isaac Corporation. Your FICO score can range from 300 to 850. Higher scores indicate a lower credit risk.

A bad FICO score is in the eye of the beholder. However, Experian has a chart that labels score ranges and breaks out the percentages of Americans in each category.

More than 37 percent of all eligible American borrowers have a score that is either very poor or fair. Fewer than 20 percent of eligible borrowers have a score above 800.

A “very poor” score, below 579, may prevent you from even qualifying a loan or line of credit. A “fair” score, between 579 and 669, may require (Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s commuspecial conditions such as collateral nications deputy director. She can be reached at charlene.crowell@ or deposits in order to secure approvresponsiblelending.org.) al for a loan.

There are other scoring systems beyond FICO. However, the principles and metrics are all very similar.

If your FICO score is low, your score is most likely going to be low under any other system, too. If you aren’t sure what your FICO score is, there are several ways to find out.

One way to learn your credit score is to apply for a loan. In most cases, the lender will tell you score when you apply. It surprises many people to learn that each of the three credit bureaus must provide a copy of your credit report upon request once per year, free of charge.

However, this will not include your FICO score. That will be available for purchase when you request a copy of your report. A good place to go to request your credit report is through

this page.

What factors impact my credit score?

The most important factor that affects your credit score is your payment history. That accounts for 35 percent of you FICO score. You should always make sure to make

your payments on time.

If you feel like you might fall behind and a late payment starts to look like a possibility, you should call your lender and try to work something out. You may be surprise at how willing they might be to work with you.

They might be able to help you avoid a late payment on your credit report.

It’s worth noting that one or two late payments is not going to sink your credit score. If you have an otherwise long credit history with no blemishes it won’t have too much of an impact. However, if you are just starting out and you have a late payment or two right out of the gate, it might be quite damaging and may take a while to recover.

The most critical factor is the amounts you owe, that includes “sub-factors” like credit utilization and how many accounts have balances.

Do you have a lot of maxed out credit cards or new installment loans that you just started making payments on? That will likely have a negative impact on your credit score. Conversely, if you don’t owe much money and you have lots of available credit on open credit lines, that would help improve your score.

The remainder of your FICO equation is spread between: Length of credit history Credit mix New accounts The length of credit history can help your score if you’ve been borrowing for a long time. Conversely, your score will be lower if you are a relatively new borrower.

Your credit mix relates to whether or not you have a healthy balance of accounts. That balance should include credit cards, secured loans like mortgages or car loans, and retail accounts.

Lenders will also deem you to be riskier if you have an unusually high amount of new loans or credit cards open. That is especially if you haven’t been borrowing for very long.

What is life like with bad credit?

There are several reasons bad credit can hurt your day-to-day life. One drawback is obvious.

The lower your credit score, the less likely you are to qualify for a loan or line of credit. A car loan or mortgage is likely a pipe dream if you have a score in the 400’s or eve 500’s.

A bad credit score can also be costly.

If you have a score that’s high enough to qualify for a loan, but not high enough to qualify for a competitive interest rate, you might wind up paying thousands more in fees and interest that you otherwise would have if you had a higher credit score when you originally applied for the loan. There

are some lesser known pitfalls that often accompany bad credit as well.

For example, prospective employers might want to check your credit as part of a background check.

A bad score could cause them to see you as a “risky investment” just as a lender would. A bankruptcy could prohibit you from obtaining a security clearance.

That could be a huge obstacle if you are trying to get a job working for the government, as either an employee or a contractor.

Landlords often pull credit reports as a part of a background check when you apply to live somewhere. A bad credit report can hurt your chances of securing a mortgage or lease. Therefore, bad credit can make it awfully hard to find a place to live.

How can I improve my credit score?

Fortunately, there are many ways to improve your credit score. If you’re looking to improve your score, you can take proactive and passive measures to get your score into the ‘good’ range.

The first thing you should do is examine your credit reports carefully, and try to locate any mistakes. If you do find any mistakes, or even something that might be a mistake, you should dispute it and ask for the entry to be removed from your record.

This forces the bureaus to go through a series of verifications and validations, and at least creates an opportunity for removal.

If you have any unpaid judgments or liens you should pay them as soon as possible. The sooner you pay them in full, the sooner your score will improve.

If your score is so low that it’s hard to even qualify for a traditional loan, which could therefore hinder your ability to rebuild your credit history, you may want to consider a secured loan or credit card.

Most local banks and lenders will work with you to lend you money that’s secured by a deposit in a savings account. The bank may then help you out by agreeing to report your timely payments to the credit bureaus.

A secured credit card is a special type of credit card that is also backed by a deposit you pay upfront. The credit limit on a secured card is usually equal to the amount of the deposit you paid. You can use it to mend your credit until you become eligible for a better, unsecured card.

Again, you should make sure they report to all three credit bureaus because you want to make sure they reward you for your successful record of payments.

There are several strategies that you can implement to improve your credit score, but sometimes it can be hard to figure out where to start. You may want to consider seeking the help of a reputable credit repair company, as they are typically Staffed with experts who know how to best attack any given situation.

They can identify items to dispute, and dispute them for you. They can help you decide which secured loans or lines of credit make the most sense for you. This option obviously costs money, but it may save you big in the long run.

Consulting company to help businesses JONES FROM B1

degree in Organizational Leadership and Master of Science degree in Strategic Leadership from Mountain State University in Beckley, W.Va. His career path has included working at Laurel Savings/First Commonwealth Bank and Fifth Third Bank. He also served as Business Education Director at Bridgeway Capital, Chief Loan Officer at Christian Evangelistic Economic Development, Community Development Divisional Manager/Vice President at Woodforest National Bank and Director of Entrepreneurship/ Vice President at Idea Foundry. For four years he also owned and managed the Diva Den, a full-service beauty salon located in Garfield.

Very passionate about community and education,

Jones strives to be a champion for “our people. I have a rich understanding of financial education, loans and literacy. People champion for everyone else and I am the person that champions for our communities, our people.”

As an entrepreneur, his goal is to help businesses strive and be successful. “Ultimately, I want to provide the same access to opportunity that White counterparts have to capital and technical assistance.”

Encouraging people to dream and realize that entrepreneurship is possible no matter the idea or industry, Jones’ advice is to research and educate yourself. “Never stop learning even if you are a startup or well-established. There are always new ways to do things or to leverage capital.”

He also suggests surrounding oneself with an advisory team or board—a good team that consists of a lawyer or business attorney, a banker, CPA and two mentors. Try having one person in the industry you’re in, and the other from the outside. Jones said that’s important because the person on the inside understands the business, and the person from the outside questions and challenges you to think out loud.

Throughout his life, he says, he has been fortunate to have good people and mentors guiding him throughout his career, such as his grade-school English teacher, Lauren Hefflin, Mikey Boyer for giving him his first banking position, and Jada Grandy-Mock who also provided guidance while he worked in banking. Other professional and

business mentors he credits are Fred Brown, CEO of The Forbes Funds, Greg Spencer, CEO of Randall Industries and Dr. John Wallace, professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Homewood community leader.

Jones, the father of two daughters, one son and one child on the way, is striving to be the best he can be, he told the Courier. He is excited about the future of his business and looks forward to assisting in the development of nonprofits and entrepreneurs.

Jones currently serves on the Micro-loan Committee for the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, and sits on the board for Homewood Children’s Village, Venture for America, and the Robert Morris College Economic Development department.

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

B3

Kobe Bryant, once a basketball wunderkind, remembered as a #GirlDad

Guest Editorial

Blacks take note—even 75 years after liberation, Jews recount horrors of Auschwitz It’s been 75 years since Russian armies swarmed the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz where over one million Jews suffered untold torture before being herded into gas ovens and killed. Men, women and children all died at the whims of the evil German Third Reich under Adolf Hitler’s command.

Days ago, many Jews, now much older, who survived, returned to pray, to mourn, to remember and to share the story with their families. But most importantly, they told the tale of the evil they experienced, doing so in order to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again.

In many ways, the history of the Jews, even before Hitler’s rise to power with his desire to wipe out the Jewish race, has great similarities to the pain, suffering and humiliations that Blacks would experience after being kidnapped from Africa and brought to America for the chattel slavery industry. But while the Jewish communities emphasizes retelling their stories for future generations, and passing on lessons learned, African Americans remain more inclined to forget what happened to their forefathers and foremothers when slavery in the U.S. was at its height.

Truth be told, even with Black History Month, many Blacks avoid any conversations about the past, save for viewing a few documentaries or attending a few local observances. In recent months, some Blacks have ventured into unknown territory with the 400th anniversary of Jamestown when several dozen Blacks found themselves thousands of miles from home with no way to return.

Perhaps that’s a start. But is it enough? If nothing else, we have long realized that unless we are aware of our history, we are prone to repeat it— the good, the bad and the ugly.

What do your children know about their grandparents or great-grandparents? Can you trace your family’s history to the plantations of the South, if indeed that’s part of your family’s legacy? Have you ever considered the breadth of the African continent and the contributions Blacks have made to the world for thousands of years—a lengthy story that often is only retold on a few pages, if any, in many history books?

We may be unable to share the names and stories of those who came before us and suffered as slaves—free labor that built this nation and helped America establish itself as one of the world’s most powerful and profitable countries.

But we were there. And we must never forget.

(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)

Founded 1910

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

Rob Taylor Jr.

Jeff Marion

Office Manager

Managing Editor

Circulation Consultant

John. H. Sengstacke

Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—“The kid we had first seen as spoiled—bickering with established stars next to him to whom we thought he should have shown deference—we saw now as an avuncular figure generously sharing his knowledge of the game with younger players who grew up idolizing his talent…We watched him step into the role of a retired athlete, not commentating on TV, but lending his energy, fame and wealth to foundations to help people in need—kids at risk, veterans struggling to transition to civilian life, and the homeless.”— Kevin B. Blackistone The Census is one of the most powerful tools the African American community has to claim our rightful voice in the political, legislative and social institutions of our nation.

The sudden death of a beloved public figure in the prime of his life is always a shock. When Kobe Bryant took the basketball world by storm in the mid-1990s, anyone could have predicted he’d leave his mark on the game. Many could even have predicted he’d transition into a successful business career, as so many former pro athletes have done.

Few could have predicted one of the key ways that Bryant is being memorialized on social media, with the hashtag #GirlDad. Several years ago, ESPN’s Elle Duncan, who was pregnant at the time, encountered Bryant backstage at an ESPN event, and the discussion turned to children.

“I would have five more girls if I could,” Bryant told Duncan. “I’m a girl dad.”

That he died alongside one of his four beloved daughters compounds

Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal the tragedy of his passing immeasurably. Gianna, nicknamed Gigi, was the daughter he considered most like himself—fiercely competitive and passionately in love with the game of basketball.

He told ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, “The best thing that happens is when we go out and fans would come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me, and they’ll be like, ‘You’ve gotta have a boy, you and V gotta have a boy. You gotta have somebody to carry on your tradition, the legacy.’ She’s like, ‘Oy, I got this.’”

“I’m like, ‘that’s right. Yes, you do, you got this.’”

Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa, and daughters Natalia (“Nani”), age 17; Bianka (“B.B.”), age 3, and Capri (“Coco”), age 7 months.

Nani is an avid volleyball player.

It is sadly ironic that Bryant used helicopters as a frequent mode of transport because, he said, it allowed him to spend more time with his family.

He credited his love for his daughters with changing his view of women in sports. He became a champion of women’s basketball, both college and professional, often using his immense social media following as a platform

to promote it.

In one of his final interviews, he insisted that some of the WNBA’s top players—Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Elena Della Donne—could play in the NBA. And he wasn’t just a cheerleader for women in sports. As a coach to Gigi’s youth basketball team, he was actively helping to create the next generation of stars. The helicopter crashed en route to a youth basketball tournament, and the other six passengers included two of Gianna’s teammates, their parents, an assistant girls’ basketball coach, and the pilot.

Bryant was more than just an extraordinary basketball player. The first guard ever to enter the NBA directly from high school, he was seen as a bridge between the old guard, represented by Michael Jordan, and the new, embodied by LeBron James.

Just the day before he died, Bryant tweeted his congratulations to James on breaking Bryant’s record career total of 33,643 points.

His career represented a change in the way players controlled the path of their own careers, orchestrating a deal among teams that landed him with the Lakers, his preferred franchise.

He will be included on every list of all-time great athletes, of those who transformed the game. But to be remembered as a devoted father, and an unapologetic champion of opportunity for his own children and everyone else’s, is his unique and loving legacy. Our hearts go out to Vanessa Bryant and her daughters, as well as the families of all the others lost in the crash.

The good often die young (TriceEdneyWire.com)—My brother died a month ago. His death left an ache in my heart that has not yet gone away. Then came the helicopter crash and my heart broke again. Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and 7 others died in the crash. The night before, LeBron James surpassed his scoring record. Kobe immediately sent congratulations to LeBron.

That’s the way Kobe was. He’d moved on from his own playing days and was encouraging others to achieve their personal best.

Kobe was one of the greatest players of all time. No matter who scores more in the future, that is the way many of us will remember him.

Though he’s gone, there’s no question that his place in the Basketball Hall of Fame was pre-determined and well-deserved. No matter the achievements of future great players, Kobe owns a place on the list of basketball’s greatest. When he was on the court, his invincibility was infectious. We felt invincible because we knew he was going to give his best and his best so often meant a victory for his fans.

Kobe said, “If you do the work and work hard enough, your dreams will come true.” He had an extraordinary work ethic which he demonstrated by scoring 81 points in a game! Kobe’s fans had grown accustomed to seeing his high scores and magical plays, and we’ll never forget the thrills his

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary

ment to supporting the aspirations of young people, stands in stark contrast to the antagonistic, belligerent conduct of our so-called national leader. The possibility Kobe projected into the lives of those he mentored was the polar opposite in behavior to the thousands of lies, meanness of spirit, profane language and evil actions so easily expressed by the occupant of the White House.

Well-deserved tributes came immediately from Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq lamented, “There are no words to express the pain I’m going through with this tragedy of losing my niece Gigi and my brother. I’m sick right now.”

Then came tributes from Michael Jordan and President Barack Obama.

Barack, a basketball enthusiast, said, “Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.”

My heart goes out to all the families that lost loved ones in the tragedy where nine people lost their lives.

Kobe was a big advocate for women’s sports. May his support bring new life and equality to women’s sports in memory of both Kobe and Gianni.

playing gave us.

As Rev. Al Sharpton said, “You don’t know when your end will be, but make sure you live your life so you know what others will say about you when your time comes.” Kobe did that.

In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Kobe was asked, “Do you think your daughter will want to play professionally?” Without pause, Kobe said, “She does for sure.” I can understand why when Kobe was asked when was he going to have a boy to carry on his legacy, Gianna stepped up and patted her chest to say girls can carry on legacies. She was well on her way to doing that. When the crash occurred, her Dad was on the way to her game!

I wasn’t surprised to hear the heartfelt love and respect Kobe commanded. Fans and competitors made clear the esteem in which they held him and the depth of the loss his absence would create. All made clear the pain (E. Faye Williams is president of the Naand profound sadness that his loss had brought to them. His commit- tional Congress of Black Women.)

Let’s not censor Dr. King’s life even as we glorify him (TriceEdneyWire.com)—As another year passes with celebrations marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, I worry about the dangers of neutering Dr. King’s life, turning him into a “dreamer” who became a martyr. We shouldn’t forget that Dr. King was a leader, a man of conscience and of action.

He sought to transform America and that forced him to be a disrupter—and to bear the wounds of being unpopular in a just cause. With segregation the law of the land and voting rights suppressed, Dr. King understood the only way change would come would be by disrupting an unjust system.

He believed in nonviolence, but not in passivity. One of my favorite quotes of Dr. King was when he was asked what his favorite demonstration was.

“This week’s,” he responded, even as he planned for the next week’s demonstrations. Dr. King opposed those who equated quiet with peace.

We were told to be quiet at the back of the bus, quiet in the face of oppression. He understood that true peace came only with justice, and justice could not be achieved without disruption. He was not an idle dreamer; he was clear about wanting to amass power. He emphasized the drive for the Voting Rights Act, to protect the power of the vote, because that would give African Americans the power to change their conditions.

Consider the 2016 election, where Donald Trump lost the popular vote nationally, but won the electoral college

Jesse Jackson Sr.

Commentary by the margin of less than 80,000 votes in three key states—Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In Michigan, 10,704; 22,177 in Wisconsin; 46,765 in Pennsylvania. In each state, eligible African American voters could have changed the election if they had turned out to vote. In 2020, Dr. King would be leading efforts to register new voters in numbers larger than those margins as a measure of their power.

There are more 18-year-old voters than 81-year-old voters. If they register and vote, they can change the course of history. Dr. King was fearless in the cause of justice. He realized early that the war in Vietnam was an unjust folly that would not be won. The cost of that war was draining the funds from the war on poverty at home. He came out publicly against the war in a dramatic speech at Riverside Church, publicly criticizing the Democratic president, Lyndon Johnson, with whom he had worked to achieve the end of segregation and the Voting Rights Bill.

He was savaged by the establishment media, criticized by leading lib-

erals. Black leaders spoke out against him. At the height of the controversy, he was seen unfavorably by threefourths of whites, and as “irrelevant” by a majority of blacks. The FBI intensified its covert operations against him, deeming him a national security threat. He was deluged with threats of assassination. He knew he would spark a fierce reaction but realized that he had no choice but to speak.

The Vietnam debacle would divide the country and eliminate any hope of rebuilding at home. Dr. King, of course, was proved right. He was right about the injustice of segregation and of efforts to suppress voting rights.

He was right about the need for economic justice in the United States, for basic economic rights that would extend to people of all races. He was right about the need for a war on poverty rather than war abroad. And he was right that the Vietnam War was a costly, unjust debacle that could never be won. Many more knew that he was right, but too few had the courage of their convictions, the courage to speak out, the commitment to action to make things better.

Let us not censor Dr. King’s life even as we glorify him. What made him remarkable wasn’t his dream, but his willingness to sacrifice, to act, to work to make that dream real. Those who would seek to emulate Dr. King would be well advised to launch voter registration and get out the vote drives. Use the power that he helped provide to build even more power, and more justice.

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DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL GIVING

LIVE-IN RESIDENT ADVISOR (5 week program)

Pittsburgh Public Theater seeks an experienced, energetic, driven leader to spearhead its institutional giving program. The position is responsible for moving all corporate, foundation and government funding prospects and donors through the gift cycle. Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree; minimum 5 years of progressive development experience; proven success in the area of institutional giving; exceptional writing and communication skills. For more information and to apply see https:// ppt.org/ppt_home/about/workwith-us/employment.

FANNY EDEL FALK LABORATORY SCHOOL University of Pittsburgh 4060 Allequippa Street Pittsburgh, PA 15261 www.falkschool.pitt.edu

Falk School, a coeducational K-8 laboratory school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is seeking a full-time educator to work with children with a range of disabilities, beginning August 2020.

Salary range is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Falk School, which is a department in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh, offers excellent benefits.

To apply and to view the complete position announcement go to https://www.join.pitt.edu under faculty positions.

Review of applications will begin February 1, 2020, and continue through April 1, 2020, or until the position is filled.

The University of Pittsburgh is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and values equality of opportunity, human dignity and diversity. EEO/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled.

INDEPENDENCE AHEAD MOBILE TRANSITION AGE YOUTH PROGRAM

Pressley Ridge, one of the 2019 Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Top Work Places, is hiring for it’s Independence Ahead Mobile Transition Age Youth program working in the community with transition age young adults who have mental health needs. Using a coordinated team approach, we help young adults with their mental health needs as well as building community and independent living skills so that they can transition into adulthood living successfully and happily as a member of the larger community. We have a current need for the following positions in this program: Service Coordinator, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Peer Support Specialist. Pressley Ridge offers assistance with licensure supervision and other individual career goals. All staff within the Independence Ahead program are also provided evidence supported training on working with young adults, trauma-informed care, and co-occurring competencies. Employees at Pressley Ridge enjoy free medical benefits for individuals, retirement plan with company match and give, annual educational benefits (up to $1500 per year),and ample paid time off including their birthday. To learn more and apply online, visit www.pressleyridge.org/careers and search for Transition Age programs in the West View Park Pittsburgh area. Pressley Ridge is an equal opportunity employer.

TRANSITION AGE (YOUNG ADULT) COMMUNITY BASED SPECIALIST

Pressley Ridge, one of the 2019 Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Top Work Places, is hiring for Transition Age (Young Adult) Community Based Specialist for its YVLifeSet Program. The specialist is responsible for providing services to address the needs of young people, ages 17-21, who are transitioning out of care and need individualized skill development and support to transition successfully into adulthood, specifically obtaining and maintaining safe and suitable housing, continuing their education, learning independent living skills, obtaining and maintaining employment, building a support system, and remaining free from legal involvement. Our community based specialists receive high quality supervision, training, and professional development. Pressley Ridge offers assistance with licensure supervision and other individual career goals. The community based specialist will be implementing an evidence-supported model that provides hands-on training in a variety of evidence-based practices such as Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

Employees at Pressley Ridge enjoy free medical benefits for individuals, retirement plan with company match and give, annual educational benefits (up to $1500 per year),and ample paid time off including their birthday. A Bachelor’s degree in human services or related field and 1 year of experience in counseling or case management is required. To learn more and apply online, visit www.pressleyridge.org/careers.

Pressley Ridge is an equal opportunity employer.

SONNY BOY

Provide supervision of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s student residence to maintain a safe and supportive living environment during the 5 week Intensive Summer Program. Full description and to apply: https://bit.ly/38KUxVt

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HOMEBUYER & FINANCIAL COACH

NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania, a non-profit, HUD-certified housing counseling agency helping people prepare to purchase homes they can afford, seeks a Homebuyer & Financial Coach with strong interpersonal and customer-service skills. The Homebuyer & Financial Coach evaluates each customer’s financial situation and provides unbiased guidance at each stage of their financial wellness and/or homeownership journey. This position offers significant professional development opportunities to allow the Homebuyer & Financial Coach to obtain all relevant certifications within 18 months. Position is fulltime and requires some evening and weekend hours, with travel to various work sites, trainings, and partner meetings. For details and how to apply, see our post on Nonprofit Talent’s job board: https://jobs.nonprofittalent.com/ job/homebuyer-financial-coach/ ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice

ATTENTION:

If you worked through LOCAL 3 IRON WORKERS UNION between 1946-1989, please contact Asbestos Investigator Sherry Day at (734) 878-5236 or sherry@ SLDinvestigations.com. We are looking for people that worked with our deceased client.

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NOTICE OF PRESENTATION OF PETITION REQUESTING ORDER FOR POSSESSION IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL DIVISION

In Re: The Condemnation by the County of Allegheny, of a Certain Parcel of Land, located in the Township of Stowe, Allegheny County, owned by Alexander Nichol, Required to Stabilize the Slope Supporting McCoy Road North of Dunn Street Civil Division – GD 19-015695 Names and Addresses of Condemnee: Alexander Nichol, his heirs, successors and assigns, addresses unknown.

Name and Address of Condemnor: Allegheny County, (“County”), 101 Courthouse, 436 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Identification of Parcel of Land: Tax Parcel Identification No. 73-L128, 1,077 square feet of Substitute Utility Easement, Plans-Miscellaneous Volume 178, Page 43, estimated just compensation: $1,300.00 TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Sections 307 and 522 of the Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Code, 26 Pa. C.S.A §§ 307 and 522, the County of Allegheny will, on March 5, 2020 at 9:30 a.m., present to the Motions Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Civil Division, a Petition Requesting Order for Possession Upon Condemnor’s Tender of Estimated Just Compensation to the Department of Court Records. The identity of the Motions Judge then presiding can be ascertained in the City County Building located at 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 on the date of presentation either in the Department of Court Records/ Civil Family Division located on the 1st floor or in the Assignment Room located on the 7th floor. At the time of presentation, the County will request the Court to authorize the payment into Court of the County’s estimate of just compensation, as identified above, and the entry of an Order granting the County possession of the subject property.

The County’s Petition including a proposed schedule of distribution and proposed Court Order may be viewed in the Department of Court Records/Civil Family Division prior to the date of presentation. Any moneys which the Court may direct be paid into Court will be held by the Department of Court Records/ Civil Family Division until further Order directing payment of said amounts to the Condemnees and/ or persons entitled thereto pursuant to 26 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 521 and 522.

Andrew F. Szefi, County Solicitor

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NOTICE OF PRESENTATION OF PETITION REQUESTING ORDER FOR POSSESSION IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL DIVISION

Estate of JOHN J. MCCABE A/K/A JOHN JOSEPH MCCABE, deceased of Bethel Park, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania No 02-20-00399 John E. McCabe, Executor, 5553 Fera Drive, Bethel Park, PA 15102 or to Aubrey H. Glover, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER LLC, 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017.

Estate of LORETTA RAMSEY (deceased) December 13, 2019 of 8601 Bricelyn Street, Apt. 503, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Rosemary Washington, Extr., 167 Conestoga Road, Penn Hills, PA 15235.

Estate of NANCY J. SINCLAIR a/k/a NANCY JANE SINCLAIR, Deceased of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania No. 02-20-00445. Jeffrey A Sinclair, Executor, 1234 Union Street, #2, Bridgeville, PA 15017 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC, 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017.

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NOTICE OF INCORPORATION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a corporation is to be or has been incorporated under the Business Corporation Law of 1988, approved December 21, 1988, P.L. 1444, No. 177, effective October 1,1989, as amended.

The name of the proposed corporation is: S E Leonard Inc. And has been delivered to the Secretary of State for filing. The initial registered office of the corporation is located at: 1301 Wilson Rd. Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA 15236.

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NOTICE OF PRESENTATION OF PETITION REQUESTING ORDER FOR POSSESSION IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL DIVISION

In Re: The Condemnation by the County of Allegheny, of a Certain Parcel of Land, in the Township of Stowe, Allegheny County, of Anna C. Nichol and Helen Nichol, Needed to Stabilize the Slope Supporting McCoy Road North of Dunn Street Civil Division – GD 19-015173 Names and Addresses of Condemnees: Anna C. Nichol and Helen Nichol, their heirs, successors and assigns, addresses unknown.

Name and Address of Condemnor: Allegheny County, (“County”), 101 Courthouse, 436 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Identification of Parcel of Land: Tax Parcel Identification No. 73-L130, 1,088 square feet of Substitute Utility Easement, Plans-Miscellaneous Volume 178, Page 43, estimated just compensation: $1,300.00 TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Sections 307 and 522 of the Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Code, 26 Pa. C.S.A §§ 307 and 522, the County of Allegheny will, on March 5, 2020 at 9:30 a.m., present to the Motions Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Civil Division, a Petition Requesting Order for Possession Upon Condemnor’s Tender of Estimated Just Compensation to the Department of Court Records. The identity of the Motions Judge then presiding can be ascertained in the City County Building located at 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 on the date of presentation either in the Department of Court Records/ Civil Family Division located on the 1st floor or in the Assignment Room located on the 7th floor. At the time of presentation, the County will request the Court to authorize the payment into Court of the County’s estimate of just compensation, as identified above, and the entry of an Order granting the County possession of the subject property.

The County’s Petition including a proposed schedule of distribution and proposed Court Order may be viewed in the Department of Court Records/Civil Family Division prior to the date of presentation. Any moneys which the Court may direct be paid into Court will be held by the Department of Court Records/ Civil Family Division until further Order directing payment of said amounts to the Condemnees and/ or persons entitled thereto pursuant to 26 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 521 and 522.

Andrew F. Szefi, County Solicitor

In Re: The Condemnation by the County of Allegheny, of a Certain Parcel of Land, Located in Stowe Township, Owned by Violet W. West, Required to Stabilize the Slope Supporting McCoy Road North of Dunn Street Civil Division – GD 19-015696 Names and Addresses of Condemnees: Violet W. West, her heirs, successors and assigns, addresses unknown.

Name and Address of Condemnor: Allegheny County, (“County”), 101 Courthouse, 436 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Identification of Parcel of Land: Tax Parcel Identification No. 73-L126, 1,097 square feet of Substitute Utility Easement, Plans-Miscellaneous Volume 178, Page 43, estimated just compensation: $1,300.00 TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Sections 307 and 522 of the Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Code, 26 Pa. C.S.A §§ 307 and 522, the County of Allegheny will, on March 5, 2020 at 9:30 a.m., present to the Motions Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Civil Division, a Petition Requesting Order for Possession Upon Condemnor’s Tender of Estimated Just Compensation to the Department of Court Records. The identity of the Motions Judge then presiding can be ascertained in the City County Building located at 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 on the date of presentation either in the Department of Court Records/Civil Family Division located on the 1st floor or in the Assignment Room located on the 7th floor. At the time of presentation, the County will request the Court to authorize the payment into Court of the County’s estimate of just compensation, as identified above, and the entry of an Order granting the County possession of the subject property. The County’s Petition including a proposed schedule of distribution and proposed Court Order may be viewed in the Department of Court Records/Civil Family Division prior to the date of presentation. Any moneys which the Court may direct be paid into Court will be held by the Department of Court Records/Civil Family Division until further Order directing payment of said amounts to the Condemnees and/or persons entitled thereto pursuant to 26 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 521 and 522.

Andrew F. Szefi, County Solicitor LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

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Sealed bid proposals are hereby solicited for the Community College of Allegheny County, 800 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15233 (412.237.3020) on the following items: Bid Proposal No. 1062 – Cable Relocation Project – Allegheny Campus A mandatory pre-bid meeting and site-visitation will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. The assembly point will be the OCS Lobby, 800 Allegheny Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Park in the lot directly across from Wendy’s (buzz in at the gate).

Due date: 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Thursday, February 20, 2020 The CCAC Purchasing Department publishes all bids and RFPs via the CCAC website at https://www.ccac. edu/Bid-RFP_Opportunities.aspx.

It will be each vendor’s responsibility to monitor the bid activity within the given website (“Bid and RFP Opportunities”) and ensure compliance with all applicable bid documents inclusive of any issued addenda.

Failure to incorporate any applicable addenda in the final submittal may result in the rejection of your bid.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

The Community College of Allegheny County is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and encourages bids from Minority/Disadvantaged owned businesses.

INVITATION FOR BIDS

The URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY of Pittsburgh will receive bids from qualified contractors for the demolition and site grading of one structure: a 3-story commercial building located at 1601 Broadway Avenue; in the Beechview neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh, and all work incidental thereto required to complete the 1601 Broadway Avenue Demolition & Site Grading Contract, until 11:00 a.m. prevailing time on Tuesday, the 25th day of February, 2020, at its office, 9th floor, 412 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219, at which time all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud in the August Wilson Conference Room.

Contract documents will be available after 10:00am on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, only on Public Purchase. Paper copies will not be available for pickup. Contract documents will not be mailed.

A certified check or bank draft payable to the order of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, negotiable U.S. Government Bonds (at par value), or a satisfactory bid bond, executed by the Bidder and an acceptable surety in a dollar amount equal to 5% of the total bid, shall be submitted. Each bid submittal must include the Bid, Non-collusion Affidavit of Prime Bidder, Bid Bond, Statement of Bidders Qualifications, and Certification of Minority and Women’s Participation with Exhibits.

Wages paid on this project shall not be less than the minimum wages determined by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry as set forth in the contract documents.

The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. The Contractor must assure that applicants and employees are not discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, disability, ancestry, national origin, age or sexual preference, gender identity, gender expression, political and/or union affiliation.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh requires that all bidders complete and submit Certification of Minority and Women’s Participation with Exhibits.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh reserves the right to reject any or all bids or to waive any informality in the bidding.

Bids may be held by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days from the date of opening of bids for the purpose of reviewing the bids prior to awarding the Contract.

URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF PITTSBURGH Greg Flisram Executive Director

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 AM on February 24, 2020 and will be read at 11:15 A.M., the same day, at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527), for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness. portauthority.org) Bid Number Bid Name B1912106 115 LB. Steel Rail B1912107 Bombardier Propulsion System Circuit Card Repair or Replacement B200101A Connectbands B200102A Equipment Cleaner No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on each of the above items at 10:00 am February 12, 2020 at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, PA). 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 (5) business days of the scheduled bid opening.

These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation.

The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations.

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

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LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT Port Authority of Allegheny County REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 20-03

Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) is requesting proposals for the performance of the following service (“Contract Services”): Professional Safety Consulting and Safety Management System Support Services The work under the proposed Agreement consists of furnishing a highly experienced on-call consultant to provide professional safety consulting and safety management system support services to Authority that will include, but not be limited to, safety and regulatory compliance and assistance; accident/incident investigation and reporting; and review and revision of safety plans, programs, rules and procedures (Contract Services). The Contract Services will support Authority’s ongoing transition from a System Safety Program Plan to a Safety Management System-based Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan by July 2020 per Federal Transit Administration regulations and related Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Rail Transit Safety Review Program safety standards and procedures.

The Agreement will be for a three (3) year period with the option to extend the term of the Agreement up to an additional two (2) years, at the sole discretion of Authority.

A copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be available on or after January 28, 2020 and can be obtained by registering at Authority’s ebusiness website: https://www.portauthority.org/business-center/procurement/ bidder-registration/ and following the directions listed on the website.

Please note that Proposers must register under one or more of the following ebusiness Professional Services categories for this RFP: •ENGPM – Eng. Project Management •ENGPS – Engineering •ENGSC – Eng. Systems/Communications •PSLEG – Pro Legal Proposers may also register in other categories for any future RFPs issued

by Authority. If you have specific questions regarding this RFP, please contact Jerimaine Ward at (412) 566-5147 or JWard@PortAuthority.org.

An Information Meeting for interested parties will be held at 2:30 p.m., prevailing time, February 6, 2020 in the Fifth Floor Neal H. Holmes Board Room of Authority’s Downtown Pittsburgh offices, 345 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 to answer any questions regarding this RFP. A call-in number has been set up for the Information Meeting. The dial-in information is as follows: •Toll Free Number: 1-866-602-6731 •Conference ID #: 3648880# Hard copy proposals must be both delivered to, and time stamped by a representative of the Purchasing and Materials Management Department at or before 2:00 p.m., prevailing time, March 2, 2020 at the Purchasing and Materials Management Department, Port Authority of Allegheny County, 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222-2527. Proposals received or time stamped in the Purchasing and Materials Management Department 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. The proposal process and the performance of the requested services will be in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Authority, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, require that certified Diverse Businesses (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontracts 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 also 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.

Authority reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, in its sole discretion.

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!

B5

SONNY BOY

NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNFICANT IMPACT AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS

February 5, 2020 City of Pittsburgh-Office of Management and Budget 200 Ross Street 2nd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2211 This notice shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by the City of Pittsburgh.

REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS On or about February 24, 2020 the City of Pittsburgh will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to release Federal funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended for a real estate project. The development, Givner Building is a rehabilitation of an existing non-residential building to include mixed use- and affordable housing comprised of (2) ground floor retail spaces, and (6) affordable Housing units. Four (4) of the units will be made affordable to tenants at or below 50% AMI and two (2) units at or below 80% AMI. The location of the building is 627 North Homewood Avenue in the City of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood.

The developer of the project is Operation Better Block, Inc. The Federal funding sources include $115,000 of 2019 HOME Funds, $165,000 of 2018 HOME Funds, $35,000 of 2019 CDBG funds, $63,000 of 2016 CDBG Funds as well as non-federal funds to include $350,000 in Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Keystone Grant Funds.

The projected cost of the development is $2,319,085.

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The City of Pittsburgh has determined that the project will have no significant impact on the human environment. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required. Additional project information is contained in the Environmental Review Record (ERR) on file at 200 Ross Street, 2nd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 and may be examined or copied weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENTS Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to: Whitney Finnstrom City of Pittsburgh, 200 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 255-2211 All comments received by February 22, 2020, will be considered by the City of Pittsburgh prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which Notice they are addressing.

ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION The City of Pittsburgh certifies to HUD that William Peduto in his capacity as Mayor, City of Pittsburgh, consents to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied. HUD’s approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the Urban Redevelopment Authority to use development funds.

OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS HUD will accept objections to its release of funds and the City of Pittsburgh certification for a period of fifteen (15) days following the anticipated submission date or its actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on one of the following bases: (a) the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer of the City of Pittsburgh; (b) the City of Pittsburgh has omitted a step or failed to make a decision or finding required by HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 58; (c) the grant recipient or other participants in the development process have committed funds, incurred costs or undertaken activities not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before approval of a release of funds by HUD; or (d) another Federal agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality. Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development Division The Moorhead Federal Building 1000 Liberty Ave.-10th floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Potential objectors should contact HUD to verify the actual last day of the objection period.

William Peduto Mayor City of Pittsburgh

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

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Bids/Proposals

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DOCUMENT 00030-AA ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

DOCUMENT 00030-AA ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Separate and sealed Proposals will be received at the Allegheny County Airport Authority, Pittsburgh International Airport, Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370 until 1:00 P.M. prevailing local time, MARCH 4, 2020, and bids will be publicly opened and read by the Airport Authority in Conference Room E, Pittsburgh International Airport, Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370, one half hour later, for the following: ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY PROJECT NUMBER 22E1-19 (ELECTRICAL) BUILDING 478 (HANGAR 1) AND BUILDING 479 (HANGAR 2) UPGRADE PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER 22G1-19 (GENERAL) BUILDING 478 (HANGAR 1) AND BUILDING 479 (HANGAR 2) UPGRADE PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER 22M1-19 (MECHANICAL) BUILDING 478 (HANGAR 1) AND BUILDING 479 (HANGAR 2) UPGRADE PROJECT AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT A pre-bid conference will be held in the Conference Room E, Fourth Floor, in the Landside Building, Pittsburgh International Airport, at 1:00 p.m., on FEBRUARY 13, 2020. Plans, specifications and bid documents for the above referenced projects will be available for purchase on FEBRUARY 13, 2020, at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages, as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, must be paid on these projects.

Proposals must be made on the Authority’s form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’.

The non-refundable charge for the Bid Documents and a Disk containing the Plans and Specifications is $150.00; mailing can be arranged for an additional $75.00 charge.

This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP). Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: https://www.dotsbe.pa.gov/PAUCPWeb/paucp/ viewHome.do The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding.

No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh. com under doing business with us – business opportunities or call 412472-3543 or 412-472-3677.

Christina A. Cassotis Chief Executive Officer ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!

Separate and sealed Proposals will be received at the Allegheny County Airport Authority, Pittsburgh International Airport, Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370 until 1:00 P.M. prevailing local time, March 11, 2020, and bids will be publicly opened and read by the Airport Authority in Conference Room C, Pittsburgh International Airport, Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370, one half hour later, for the following: ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY PROJECT NUMBER 54G1-18 (GENERAL) ENERGY PLANT/POWER SUBSTATION ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT 54M1-18 (MECHANICAL) ENERGY PLANT/POWER SUBSTATION ROOF REPLACEMENT AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT A pre-bid conference will be held in Conference Room C, Fourth Floor, in the Landside Building, Pittsburgh International Airport, at 10:00 a.m., on February 13, 2020.

Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages, as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, must be paid on these projects.

Proposals must be made on the Authority’s form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’.

The non-refundable charge of $150.00 for the Bid Documents and the Plans, and Specifications through the bidding platform Submittable at www.acaacapitalprograms. submittable.com. Please note that Submittable does not support Internet Explorer 11. Submittable recommends the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.

This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP). Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: https://www.dots be.pa.gov/PAUCPWeb/paucp/ viewHome.do The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding.

No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh.com under doing business with us – business opportunities or call 412-472-3543 or 412-4723667.

Christina A. Cassotis Chief Executive Officer ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

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

LEGAL NOTICE

PROJECT NUMBER 20AG01 (GENERAL) PROJECT NUMBER 20AE01 (ELECTRICAL) PROJECT NUMBER 20AM01 (MECHANICAL) PROJECT NUMBER 20APF01 (PLUMBING & FIRE PROTECTION) EARLY SITE ACCESS BID PACKAGE at PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ATTENTION: DELAY OF BID OPENING DATE TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN: Notice is hereby given that the bid opening date for the aforementioned project that was scheduled WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2020, has been changed so that the bid opening date for this project will now be WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020.

Planholders will have until JANUARY 31, 2020 to submit in writing any questions related to the project.

Any bids for the referenced project received on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2020, will be returned unopened to the bidding party.

Separate and sealed Proposals will be received at the ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY, PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, CUSTOMER SERVICE ROOM, IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO CONFERENCE ROOM E ON THE 4TH FLOOR MEZZ OF THE LANDSIDE TERMINAL, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370, until 1:00 P.M. prevailing local time.

Bids will be publicly opened and read by the Airport Authority one half hour later.

For further information call 412472-3677, 412-472-3543 or 412472-3779.

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, on February 18, 2020 until 2:00 P.M. local prevailing time for: Pgh. Brashear H.S. Various Asphalt and Concrete Repairs General Prime Pgh. Brookline PreK-8 Masonry Restoration Asbestos Abatement Prime – REBID Pgh. Carmalt PreK-8 Humidity Control and Ventilation General, Mechanical, and Electrical Primes Pgh. Dilworth PreK-5 Finish and Miscellaneous Work Asbestos Abatement Prime – REBID Pgh. Greenfield PreK-8 Restroom Renovations Asbestos Abatement Prime – REBID Pgh. Milliones 6-12 Masonry Restoration & Window Replacement Asbestos Abatement Prime – REBID Pgh. Minadeo PreK-5 Unit Ventilators and Air Conditioning Asbestos Abatement Primes Various Buildings Carbon Monoxide Detectors Phase II Mechanical, and Electrical Primes Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on January 20, 2020 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.

KICKIN’ IT AT STANLEY’S LOUNGE

SHAWNY WILSON, PORTIA FOXX, TAMMY WASHINGTON, MERECEDES WILLIAMS, AND TYLER THOMPSON, celebrating Williams’ seven years in business as a film critic in Pittsburgh. Stanley’s Lounge is located on Frankstown Road in Homewood.

B6

FORUM

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020 ` NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Everybody’s got the right to live (TriceEdneyWire.com)—More than nine hundred people crowded into the Church of the Epiphany, an Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. They had gathered to hear Rev. William Barber, the dynamic and prophetic co-leader (with Rev. Liz Theoharis) of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. They came, not only to hear Rev. Barber but also to sing and bond and listen to poor people tell their own stories.

This late January gathering is one of many that the Poor People’s Campaign is having all over the country, leading up to a Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 20, 2020. With 43 state coordinating committees actively working in communities, Barber and Theoharis are planning to peacefully “take it to the streets” in downtown Washington, and to make the statement that “everybody’s got the right to live.”

To assert that everyone has a right to live seems obvious. But many of those who live in poverty have to fight to live. The poor have to scramble to eat, to afford medication, to find an affordable place to live. They have to watch their neighborhoods being decimated by gentrification, as rising housing costs push long-time residents out.

As many as 45,000 people a year die because they don’t have health insurance. And more than 10 percent of the US population is “food insecure,” which means that they

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary either skip meals, eat less at meals, or cannot afford nutritious food.

One in six children is food insecure.

Several of the poor people told their stories, while Congresswomen Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Sheila Jackson Lee , D-Tex., and Brenda Lawrence, Mich., among others, listened to the harrowing personal narratives from homeless people, a deaf student whose financial aid was cut when her father got a small raise, a woman who was arrested and incarcerated in front of her children when she sold food on the street, and many more. The audience was urged not to clap but to shout supportively, “Somebody is hurting our people, and we won’t be silent anymore.”

Poverty is trauma. Poverty can be the source of enormous stress, and perhaps even some mental illness (though you don’t have to be impoverished to be crazy!) Poverty or near-poverty impacts 140 million people, nearly half of us. ReverendBarber says we must have “righteous indignation” about poverty.

Instead, we seem to accept poverty as something we can do nothing about. We walk by homeless people on the street, drive past homeless encampments under freeways.

Some of us roll up our noses and are appalled by the odors that some homeless emit without wondering why there are odors and whether there are places where they can get showers or a bath. Some of us find the homeless “unsightly” and lobby to have them moved from visible commercial corridors and upscale neighborhoods to places where we don’t have to look at or think about their plight. But homelessness is the most visible manifestation of poverty. And when we endeavor to render the homeless invisible, we are also attempting to eliminate the scourge of poverty. Dr. Martin Luther King once called poverty “an abomination” and compared it to cannibalism. Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Dr. King’s birthday, but there were too few mentions of poverty.

Indeed, while some of the presidential candidates have paid attention to economic structure, fewer have candidly discussed ways they would reduce or eliminate it. Speeches and debates go by with nary a mention of poverty. The candidates who choose to ignore poverty seem to forget that poor people vote. Or perhaps they are counting on poor people to be absent from the polls, especially when some forms of voter suppression require voters to incur additional costs to vote. Between 2016 and 2018, hundreds of polling places were closed, and if some have their way, there will be even fewer in 2020. Our electoral system is biased against Black people, Brown people, poor people.

(Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author, media contributor and educator.)

Not guilty! And not

simply because of GOP brute partisan politics The universal conthe ballot box. Removsensus on why the al by anything other Senate Republicans Earl Ofari Hutchinson than an election, was and some Democrats extreme, and would be won’t convict Trump widely viewed as exis this. It’s merely a tra-legal. case of naked, raw, McConnell, GOP hard-nosed partisan senators and Trump politics, with a heavy scream this at pracdose of fear. No mattically every turn. ter how much more That impeachment than a few GOP senators detest him, is a political hit job by the Democrats on he’s the GOP’s titular head. They must a President that they couldn’t beat at the toe the line on impeachment out of party polls in 2016 and can’t beat in 2020. Here’s loyalty, political largesse, implacable op- where the fear of abuse of the process come position to the Democrats, and paralyz- in. A conviction of Trump could open wide ing terror of Trump retaliation. Certain- the gates for going after any future sitting ly, the political optic of that is glaring president that the opposing party deems to when GOP senators and House reps’ rail be a bad president. Since there is no allelong and loud against the impeachment gation that Trump could be hauled into a process. But that’s political theater and court and charged with an actual crime in bombast. his wheel and deal with the Ukraine over The blunt truth is that convicting a sitting Biden, that makes the charges and the reapresident poses far too many dangers to the son for dumping him even more vague and democratic process. Senate Majority Lead- hazy; and thus seemingly a political hatcher Mitch McConnell gave some hint of that et job by the Democrats. A future Demoin between his strictly partisan vow to scut- cratic president could just easily find his tle impeachment. He branded it ‘weaponiz- or herself saber rattled with impeachment ing impeachment.” And railed, if it’s Trump with the catch all charges of abuse of power today who goes, who will it be tomorrow? and Congress. Conviction sets that dubious This is a disingenuous complaint and an precedent. almost nonsensical argument. Trump’s unThere’s no assurance that if the script ethical, illegal and constitutionally prohib- were flipped and the Democrats conited act to use a foreign power to sabotage trolled the Senate that they could musa political rival is virtually undeniable. ter the two-thirds vote needed to convict.

The two articles of impeachment against This is a high bar. In the Trump trial him: abuse of power and abuse of congress there’s absolutely no guarantee that all are squarely within the guideline of what 47 Democratic senators will vote to conare impeachable offenses. How many oth- vict him. The odds are that a handful er presidents in the nation’s history other of Democratic senators almost certainthan Nixon have been that blatantly crime ly will vote not to convict him on one prone? or both of the articles of impeachment But it’s still the process itself and the po- against him. The reasons are the same. tential and abuse of it that makes it almost Conviction brings the risk of jading the impossible to convict a president. The GOP political process, stirring voter rage and had absolute control of the Senate when cynicism, deepening political polarizaClinton was impeached in 1998. It did not tion, and the ease of waging political convict. Ten GOP senators flatly said they vendettas using threats of impeachment wouldn’t vote for conviction. True, Clinton and conviction. was a popular president, and some of the SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts senators came from states that Clinton gave a strong hint of the high stakes game won. They took the inevitable glance over of impeachment and possible conviction. their shoulders at possible voter backlash He quickly shut down any question of refor a conviction vote. However, the senators vealing the identity of the Ukraine whisalso made clear that the offenses simply tleblower. This along with the narrow didn’t warrant ousting a sitting president down of testimony and documents admitfrom office. ted are strong signals that impeachment Almost nothing will. The Founding Fa- is to explosive a minefield for most senthers were deeply wary of ever having to ators to fully tread through. Trump will take that drastic step with the nation’s top be found not guilty. In part for the reason executive. They warned when wrangling everyone says: brute partisan politics. over putting a mechanism in the Consti- But in greater part for the same reason tution for getting rid of a sitting president Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton weren’t who abused the office of the extreme dan- convicted. Too many senators just see too ger of using impeachment and conviction much bad precedent in ousting a sitting as a malicious weapon to cajole, threaten, president.

(Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political intimidate, and ultimately remove a president of the opposing party they didn’t like, analyst and lecturer on the Electoral College at West want, or had a vendetta against. If that Los Angeles College Extension. He is the author happened, this would hopelessly taint the of the forthcoming What’s Right and Wrong with the established process of getting rid of a bad Electoral College (Amazon Kindle). He is a weekly or bad behaving chief executive; namely at co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One.)

Commentary

Multicultural graduations and dreadlocks

My daughter graduautomatically felt he ated from college last was racially profiled year. Her school had J. Pharoah Doss and harassed. Was the two ceremonies. The student of color’s com2019 commencement plaint legitimate or exand the 2019 multiculaggerated?) tural graduation. InBut this discussion trigued by the latter, might have overlooked I checked the school’s something significant. website to get more What if the organizdetails. The multiculers of these additional tural graduation was hosted by the Office ceremonies weren’t just celebrating overfor Inclusive Excellence. Their stated pur- coming difficulties on campus, but it also pose was to celebrate the achievements of implied overcoming difficult experiences graduating seniors while celebrating the before college? variety of cultures at the university and For example, a teenage boy in Texas has provide the graduates with a sense of en- been barred from his high school graducouragement as they embarked on their ation ceremony unless he cut his dreadnext journey in life. locks to comply with hair length rules.

I thought—that’s nice—but I wondered (The student used to tie up his hair with if an office for “inclusive excellence” was a clips and rubberbands to comply with bit much (considering the enormous cost of school policy, but a new rule banned male higher education). Then I recalled a 2017 students from wearing hair adornments.) headline from a conservative news outlet The story made national headlines. Critstating: Harvard University is segregat- ics stated the school’s policy was crafted ing graduation ceremonies based on race. by a school board in a majority-White The report claimed Harvard was holding a town and the policy is rooted in racial “Blacks-only graduation.” insensitivity. Senator Cory Booker inThe report was inaccurate. troduced federal legislation to ban disIt was Harvard’s Black students that crimination based on hair texture and planned the additional ceremony, not the hairstyles commonly associated with a university. A spokesperson for Harvard’s particular race or nationality.

African American Student Union stated I think the school can keep their ban on the event was the first of its kind at Har- hair adornments for males, but make an vard, and pointed out other elite universi- exception for accessories that enabled stuties held similar events to provide a sense dents to comply with the hair length polof solidarity among students who felt mar- icy. That would solve the problem. But ginalized. Other reasons for the separate until there is a change in the school’s polceremony were to celebrate “Black excel- icy, the student with the dreadlocks has lence” and to “highlight the struggles and two choices. He can cut his hair and walk resilience it took to get through” because across the stage on graduation day with outer pressures of society made the already his classmates or he can keep his locks at challenging coursework even more difficult their present length and skip his gradufor students of color. ation ceremony. No matter the outcome, Even though the conservative news outlet it’s a difficult situation the student has to mischaracterized Harvard’s additional cer- overcome before he arrives on any college emony, it started a discussion (among con- campus. servatives) about whether or not the “outer I think the organizers of additional colpressures of society” faced by students of lege graduation ceremonies aren’t just celcolor during their collegiate careers were ebrating students getting through college, legitimate or exaggerated. (For example, but getting through America’s entire educampus security asked a student of col- cational system. What the conservative disor to show his ID and the student of color cussion lacked was totality.

Check It Out

Barbara Reynolds

Commentary

Republicans have coronated Trump as king (TriceEdneyWire.com)—So now with the Republican-controlled Senate’s rush to acquit Trump in this rigged impeachment trial, Trump will soon be free to continue using foreign countries or any other illegal acts to ensure his re-election in 2020.

What the Republicans have done is to coronate Trump a King who now has the green light to operate above the laws of our democracy without any consequences.

So without any checks and balances, the Trump one party rule is free to continue as the most criminal White supremacist enterprise in our nation’s history.

Once Trump declared that if he shot someone in the middle of Broadway, nothing would happen and unfortunately, he was correct. In fact, this expected acquittal without witnesses is like declaring all crimes are legal as long as the King and his Republican court are the perpetrators. And of course, somehow, these antics always usually benefit his Russian benefactors.

For openers, as a result of this sham trial and acquittal foreign countries—as well as U.S. businesses—can be cajoled, intimidated, extorted, bribed to force compliance with Trump’s all-out scorched earth plan to retain the throne. In our new system of one party rule, there are no enforceable laws to stop Trump. Also, he will continue raiding public funds to cut Medicaid, food stamps and housing funds while he sprinkles the money like fairy dust over the heads of his billionaire compatriots.

If it were not for a few brave whistle blowers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff, the independent GAO and the Democrats who valiantly exposed Trump’s crimes, his wrong-doing would have just remained that underground shadow government that Trump, Rudy Giuliani and their cronies operate to enrich themselves and keep their Boss in power. “They were all in the loop,” Trump knew everything,” according to Lev Parnas, a Giuliani aide who has been speaking to news sources. He, of course, was among the many first-hand witnesses, who the Senate did not allow as witnesses, an unheard of practice in all but sham trials.

But the worst infraction was not allow former national security advisor John Bolton to speak, a first hand witness with a new soon to be published book that reportedly said he was a witness to the illegal taxpayer funds being used as a weapon to force Ukrainian officials to help Trump.

One spot to watch is what House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has said, “all roads lead to Russia.” In 2016, Trump publicly called upon Russia to find thousands of his opponent Hillary’s e-mails and reports show that they hacked into cores of strategic websites and used fake websites to create chaos in tightly contested voting sites.

So now with all the rigmarole, it should not be forgotten that the Ukraine mess where U. S taxpayers funds were used to try to force Ukranian military officials to “dig up dirt,” on his main rival Joe Biden also had a pro-Russian benefit.

Witnesses before the House of Representative, such as the acting chief Ukraine envoy, testified that Russia was the chief beneficiary of Trump’s decision to hold up military aid to Ukraine. “Our holding up of security systems that would go to a country that is fighting aggression from Russia for no good policy reason, no good substantive reason, no good national security reason is wrong,” said former ambassador William Taylor.

Aside from Trump acting as if he is more of an agent of Russia’s Putin than president of some of his own citizens, there is so much a king can do that a president who is accountable to legalities could not do. First of all, Trump can and will use any means to stay in office and fuel his private agenda. That could mean starting wars, draining tax funds from states trying to correct voting irregularities, diverting funds from the military to build his wall, cutting off Obamacare that helps the non-rich afford health coverage, raiding budgets for the homeless, the hungry, the sick to continue the transference of wealth to his Billionaire club.

In addition, he can continue purging from the Executive Branch, the Diplomatic Corps and the military all who dare not kowtow to his demands. Recent tapes show that Trump ordered Parnas “to take her out,” a reference to Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanivitch who was criticizing Trump’s move to stop the much needed aid to Ukraine. Some noted that phrase has been associated with Mafia activities and the ambassador, herself, said she felt threatened.

There of course, is still one cliff-hanger.

About 70 per cent of those polled said they wanted the GOP controlled Senate to allow crucial witnesses and documents.

And If the public still remains unwilling to be governed by a monarchy rather than a democracy, the Trump kingdom can still come down.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

METRO

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

B7

Pastor of growing church in Haiti seeks to change lives HAITI FROM A1

temptation, I remember that verse. I run from the devil so he can stay away from me.”

Vartan, 26, has done a lot of running. Just after his birth in northern Haiti, he was sent to live with an aunt when his parents separated. She took him to church, but by 16, Vartan began drinking and hanging out in nightclubs. By 22, he was addicted to marijuana. It was so bad he began to rob his family to buy drugs. If they didn’t give him money, he threatened to kill them. He soon found

himself homeless. It didn’t help when his father, with whom he had reconnected, died. In grief, he smoked more marijuana to numb the pain.

His aunt refused to give up. She sent Vartan to a detox facility. He stayed two months but left, still wanting to use drugs. Finally, a family friend told the aunt about Haiti Teen Challenge and its outreach and ministry to young men.

She convinced her nephew to register.

By this point, Vartan says, he was ready “to see a change in life,” but wasn’t

THE HAITI TEEN CHALLENGE PRAYER CIRCLE

BEDDICK VARTAN (Photos by Allegra Battle)

sure how he would respond to faith-based outreach.

He felt rejected earlier by churches because of the way he dressed and his past.

Nevertheless, he enrolls in Haiti Teen Challenge.

The day before he goes, he spends it drinking and smoking weed. He enters the program high. The program is 18 months and participants are separated from their family and given a series of counseling, chores, and Christian

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PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY ADVERTISEMENT

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

Separate sealed Bids for the Work as listed hereinafter will be received at the Purchasing and Materials Management Department of Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) Heinz 57 Center, 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222-2527 until 1:30 p.m. on March 6, 2020 and will be publicly opened and read immediately thereafter at the same address. Each Bidder shall be solely responsible for assuring that its Bid is both received and time stamped by a representative of the Purchasing and Materials Management Department at or before the advertised time for submission of Bids. Bids received or time stamped in the Purchasing and Materials Management Department after the advertised time for the submission of Bids shall be non-responsive and therefore ineligible for Award.

SOUTH HILLS VILLAGE RAIL CENTER PIT RESTORATION AND PARKING GARAGE RESTORATION GENERAL CONTRACT NO. SHV-20-01-G PLUMBING CONTRACT NO. SHV-20-01-P ELECTRICAL CONTRACT NO. SHV-20-01-E The Work of this Project includes, but is not limited to, the furnishing of all supervision, labor, material, tools, equipment, and incidentals necessary for the performance of concrete and drain repairs, structural steel repairs, painting, and removal and replacement of rail, emergency pull chord system, compressed air piping, electrical system including lighting, conduit, wiring and related appurtenances, removal of hot water piping, floor protective coating, concrete floor repairs, and pavement markings at the South Hills Village Rail Center Maintenance Facility. Additionally, the project includes expansion dam replacement and concrete repairs at the South Hills Village Parking Garage.

Bid Documents will be available for public inspection and may be obtained on or after February 5, 2020 at Authority’s offices at the following address: Port Authority of Allegheny County Purchasing and Materials Management Department Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527 Bid Documents are available for purchase as follows: Bid Documents are available in an electronic form on compact disk upon payment of $15 per CD. Payment shall be by check or money order (NO CASH), payable to “Port Authority of Allegheny County.” No refunds of payment will be made.

Upon request, Bid Documents can be mailed upon receipt of payment in full. Should the purchaser wish to have the Bid Documents delivered via special delivery, such as UPS or Federal Express, the purchaser shall provide its appropriate account numbers for such special delivery methods.

This Project may be funded, in part, by, and subject to certain requirements of, the County of Allegheny and/or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Authority, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, require that certified Diverse Businesses (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts for this Project. In this regard, all Bidders 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. Bidders shall also not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, national origin, sexual origin, gender identity or status as a parent in the award and performance of contracts for this Project. If aid is required to involve DBs in the Work, Bidders are to contact Authority’s Director of Employee Relations and OEO at (412) 566-5262.

The Bidder’s attention is directed to the following contacts for Bidder’s questions: Procedural Questions Regarding Bidding: Cindy Denner - Authority (412) 566-5117 email: cdenner@portauthority.org All other questions relating to the Bid Documents must be submitted by mail or email to: Port Authority of Allegheny County Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 Attn: Cindy Denner email: cdenner@portauthority.org In addition, the Bidder’s attention is directed to the following schedule of activities for preparation of its Bid: 9:00 am Pre-Bid Conference (MANDATORY) February 14, 2020 Port Authority of Allegheny County

South Hills Village Rail Center

2nd Floor Conference Room

1000 Village Drive

Pittsburgh, PA 15241

(Attendance is mandatory)

Pre-Bid Site Tour (MANDATORY)

[immediately following the Pre-Bid Conference]

– All participants must provide and wear Safety

Vests and Appropriate Footwear. Transportation

will be provided from the Rail Center to the

Parking Garage 1:30 p.m.

Bids Due March 6, 2020

Purchasing and Materials Management Department Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids

studies to help them begin to think differently about their lives and their place in society. Vartan resists the teachings, at first.

After six months, he says he began to feel at ease and not feel like he wanted to “escape” and go smoke. He says he found “belonging,” because all of the young guys had similar stories and backgrounds. In fact, he says, their stories of overcoming encouraged him.

Building Leaders of Integrity for Haiti The executive director of Haiti Teen Challenge and the founder of Rendez-Vous Christ Church, Pastor Julio Volcy, knows all about overcoming.

He grew up in the Montagne-Noire area of Haiti, about 20 miles from Delmas 75. And, he remembers the tough times when his own family spiraled into “misery” when his father left. He saw the poverty his mother went through. “I hated it,” he said.

He also saw the generational pattern of abandonment. His grandfather and great-grandfather had walked out on their families. He determined he would work hard and make a difference. At 12, he mopped floors in a mission house, earning a $1 a week.

He plucked oranges and grapefruit from his grandmother’s trees and sold them at the market.

But, at 12, something else was also happening to Volcy. Based on his experiences in Vacation Bible School, a spiritual awakening was taking root. It was deepened at age 16, when he met a North American man visiting Haiti. The man influenced Volcy’s decision to live an honest life. At 19, Volcy started a small Bible study group to teach literacy in his home village. It later became a not-for-profit organization, Hope Outreach International, which his wife currently leads.

At 23, he moved to America, where he earned a doctorate in Biblical Studies and became a pastor, leading a church in Bradenton, Fla. By the early 2000s, two things are driving Volcy’s life: his desire to be a good husband and a leader in his community. He uses the pillars of faith and service to encourage personal growth in young people and participation in community.

He believes if they practice both, they can create change in a nation struggling with poverty, corruption, and inequality. Before the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which killed an estimated 300,000, people, Volcy became involved with Haiti Teen Challenge and launched a branch in Portau-Prince to organize leadership trainings for young men.

After the earthquake, he found himself returning to Haiti every other week to engage the project. Nine years ago, he and his family decided to resettle in their homeland.

In the years since, Volcy, working with Haiti Teen

Challenge, has helped more than 200 Haitian youth become the role models he knows Haiti needs to rebuild its communities. “I knew in order for Haiti to be the country we want it to be, we needed to create role models, …to create leaders of integrity,” Volcy says.

When he notices that alumni of Haiti Teen Challenge—and other young people—are struggling with being accepted in churches because of the way they dressed or their backgrounds, he creates Rendez-Vous Christ Church, which provides a welcoming environment.

Today, Rendez-Vous church, which has two campuses in Port-au-Prince, is one of the fastest-growing congregations in Haiti. Its mix of music, deliberately short services, community outreach, and mentorship programming attracts thousands of young men and women looking for new beginnings.

The Teen Challenge model Haiti Teen Challenge, a nonprofit, has new beginnings, too. It now has a program for young women as well. In each cycle of enrollment there are about 45 young men and 21 young women who participate, says Erick Pierre-Val, a minister with the church and director of the Teen Challenge’s men’s program.

They live in separate housing near the church.

The curriculum, which combines Christian discipleship with life-skills training and vocational education, is loosely modeled after the U.S. Teen Challenge, which was developed about 60 years ago for at-risk teenagers in New York City. Participants go through an 18-month highly structured, residential program that features two phases.

According to Pierre-Val, the first 12 months focus heavily on Bible study, as students develop an understanding that they have purpose and value. During this time, he said, Teen Challenge staff members help students work through the trauma of being homeless, abused, neglected, or addicted.

During his year with Haiti Teen Challenge, Vartan woke every morning at 6. It kicked off a day of devotionals, exercise, and service to the house and other participants. Vartan says he found support to break away from his former friends and find new ones. In the dormitories, eight guys share a room to hold each other accountable.

Vartan says he believes Haiti Teen Challenge works because there is structure and an accountability to rules, much of which was missing from his aunt’s home.

After a year, they enter transition, preparing to re-enter society. They start by seeing their family one day a month, then for a weekend, then for a week.

Rendez-Vous church is rooted in service to the community, and so is the

work they do preparing the young people for a changed life. The Teen Challenge participants feed local street children, administer a sports camp, provide home repair services to local single mothers, participate in neighborhood cleaning projects, teach Bible classes, and help rebuild recreational facilities in the neighborhood, giving young people a safe, clean space to gather.

A path forward Vartan will soon graduate from the program and re-enter his community. He has aspirations of returning to school and becoming an agriculturalist, studying farming and vegetation.

Vartan is also looking forward to starting a family and being married. “I don’t have the feeling I want to be a single man,” he says.

He’s also been able to renew his relationship with his aunt. “She has confidence in me now,” he says.

“She’s ‘mother’ and aunt to me now.”

According to Pierre-Val, the church and Teen Challenge organizers help the youth find scholarships to university, vocational, and technical schools to support their professional preparation.

Ninety percent receive scholarships when they finish the 18-month curriculum. Some train to become diesel mechanics or enter other skilled trades like construction. Others go into nursing.

Before they enter higher education or trade school, students participate in business workshops and internships. They also learn practical skills like personal finance, and even first aid, so they can become first responders in their communities.

Re-entry isn’t easy for graduates, however. Young people face difficult challenges, many of which Volcy and others in his generation never experienced.

Crime, drugs, political destabilization, poverty are more severe. Disadvantages and inequality have worsened, Volcy says.

In the 1980s, the major cities weren’t overcrowded, many people had regular electricity and the streets were clean, Volcy recalls.

Now, on urban streets all over Haiti, trash routinely accumulates in piles, and no sanitation service comes to collect it.

Drugs have hit communities hard, Volcy, 44, says.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t know what drugs looked like, I only saw that on pictures. Now, anybody can have access.”

The hard times don’t just disappear when they graduate from Teen Challenge, Volcy says. But he says he believes if Haiti Teen Challenge and Rendez-Vous church can get the young people to change themselves, then the youth can change the country.

“One youth at a time,” Volcy says, “we are strengthening them to face inequality and poverty.”

(Ervin Dyer is a writer based in Pittsburgh, and contributor to the New Pittsburgh Courier.)

B8

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020

METRO/SPORTS

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

THE MEMBERS OF THE NEWEST COHORT of the Executive Leadership Academy. (Photos by Courier photographer Brian Cook Sr.)

African Americans are ready for the illustrious ‘C-Suite’ 28 members in newest cohort

relationships and connections the 25 members of the inaugural cohort created.

And in the business world, relationship-building is evC-SUITE FROM A1 erything.

“Wow, what a bond they’ve University’s Tepper School of Business on Jan. 24, created,” Frazier said to the TALI founding director and crowd of 150. “When we Highmark Health Senior talk about creating a comVice President of Commu- munity, a network within nity Affairs Evan Frazier the community, that gives noted he underestimated people a sense a belonging.”

It’s a good bet the same how many interpersonal type of bond will be created with Stanford, Farr, Carrier, Lewis, Jackson, Austin and the other 22 members of the second cohort.

“I cannot tell you how amazing it is to be here looking at all of you. What a vision come COHORT MEMBERS SHANNON AUSTIN, true,” Frazier BRYAN STOUT said.

The vision is to build a pipeline of African American executive leadership in the Pittsburgh region.

The Executive Leadership Academy is a seven-month development program, divided into eight, two-day sessions that include academic instruction on executive leadership, executive coaching for cohort members, and a professional sponsor for each cohort member. Professors at Carnegie Mellon University provide the academic instruction, and the development program is held at CMU. The second cohort is expected to complete the program in July.

“African Americans represent only one percent of executive leadership in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and our goal is to significantly improve that number. That’s why we are very excited about the 28 individuals that have been added to the cohort,” Robert Young, managing director of TALI, said in a state-

ment provided to the New Pittsburgh Courier. “Along with last year’s members, that brings the TALI cohort community to over 50 African American executives and mid-level managers.”

Could Stanford, the current assistant county manager for Allegheny County, become a future CEO? “Sure, why not?” she answered, in an exclusive interview with the Courier.

“The statistics…are pretty staggering of the lack of high executive leadership roles that African Americans in our region are filling, so there are obvious deficits that need to be addressed. I think the TALI program is one step to fill those gaps.”

Farr, the director of One Northside, which aims to better the city’s 18 North Side neighborhoods, feels that the Executive Leadership Academy will give her a leg up with networking and a continuance of advancement in the field of philanthropy.

As new cohort members like Krista Smalls, Bryan Stout and Stephanie Herring looked on, Regina Scott, a member of the inaugural cohort, told the crowd how her involvement

last year gave her the confi- Carla Biaggi, Bobbi Britdence she needed to realize ton Tucker, Richard Butler, that she, too, could one day Dr. Elizabeth Carter, Rhonbe in executive leadership. da Curry, Jeff Davis, AuAnd a few months after her dric Dodds, Leslie Britton completion of the Executive Dozier, Nafis Hill, Ayana Leadership Academy in the Ledford, Aaron Lockhart, summer of 2019, she moved Chinedu Okorafor, Maisha closer to her goal by attain- Sturdivant, LaToya Warren, ing the position of director Joe Washington, Tishekia of community programs Williams, Lucius Williams, and engagement for Gate- and Nicole King Yohe. way Health.

“We want to make sure “Opportunities that are there are opportunities for being created through this growth and advancement effort are unprecedented, for African Americans,” which is a testament to the Frazier said, “so they don’t quality of the cohort, cur- feel they have to go to Washriculum, and The Advanced ington (D.C.) and Baltimore Leadership Initiative,” said and Atlanta and Chicago; Greg Spencer, a founding that they can grow here (in board co-chair of TALI and Pittsburgh) professionally.” president and CEO of Randall I n d u s t r i e s. “ C o h o r t members have already experienced advancement, and we are expecting no less from the 2020 cohort.”

Other cohort members include; COHORT MEMBERS CHINEDU OKORAFOR, L i n c o l n TISHEKIA WILLIAMS Acholonu,

Mahomes worked his magic to get Andy Reid a Super Bowl victory First and foremost, this article is about the participants of Super Bowl LIV and it has many layers. If your scalpel is not at the ready, I suggest that you read the all of the other regurgitated journalistic banter at your “googling” disposal.

The game itself was played this past Sunday, Feb. 2.

The entertainment glamour was provided by J-Lo and Shakira. It was more than a halftime show, it was a sexy, sensuous and Latino-themed spectacle that made me envious that I was not a native Puerto Rican.

The glory was provided

by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes made sure that in the end, all of the smack-talkers got smacked and all of the naysayers got played. It took the Chiefs until the last six minutes and some change to tomahawk and karate chop the San Francisco 49ers into submission by the score of 31-20. But alas, this victory was in the making more than 20 years ago.

From a personnel perspective, Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid had this plan on his blackboard more than two decades ago. Mahomes provided the final brushstrokes for this more-thantwo-decades masterpiece.

Before Lamar Jackson, before Deshaun Watson, Before Dak Prescott, before Vince Young, Andy Reid was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, when in the 1999 NFL Draft, he

chose Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb as the third pick in the first round. Reid was prophetic. Reid has almost always leaned toward a mobile dual-threat QB. Ladies and gents, he visualized in his mind’s eye that linebackers and defensive linemen

in the heart of “cheatgate,” “spygate,” “Belicheat” can’t wait and never will have a clean slate.

Were Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb cheated out of a Super Bowl victory? I say yeah, because this was after New England stole (allegedly) a Super Bowl from the St. Louis Rams. The Eagles lost by a field goal and many people claimed that McN a b b choked.

Well, it’s easy to choke when the opposition knows what plays you are going to call before you call them. The first year that the cheaters (allegedly) won in Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots defeated the Rams by the score of 20–17. It was New England’s first Super Bowl championship.

The San Francisco 49ers were ordained to win Super Bowl LIV partially based on the fact that the Niners supposedly had Jimmy Garoppolo, a former apple of Bill “Belicheat’s” eye, leading them as well as a “legion of doom and gloom” defense poised and supposedly ready to protect Jimmy and his offense from all challengers. However, the apple from the tree of Belicheat wasn’t quite ripe or ready to compete against Patrick Mahomes, the red, ripe, fat, juicy and glistening apple on the Andy Reid tree of excellence waiting for harvest. The football gods have decided that Andy Reid was not going to be denied and cheated twice by the master alchemist or his protégé.

Inside Conditions

Aubrey Bruce were getting faster and quicker and that the era of the robotic and slow-footed signal-caller was quickly becoming passé. He was roundly criticized by many with the same age-old criticism that when threatened, Black quarterbacks would always rely on their legs rather than their arms. They would always be more instinctive and improvisational than intellectual and cerebral when it came to directing an NFL offense.

Reid put that myth to rest. Why? Well, because during his time with the Eagles, McNabb led the team to eight playoff appearances (2000–2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009), five NFC East division championships (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006) and five NFC Championship games (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2008). All without cheating (allegedly) but in Super Bowl XXXIX the Patriots defeated the Eagles by the score of 24–21. The game was played on Feb. 6, 2005. 2005? That was