April 7, 2021 - Pittsburgh City Paper

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How FOSTA-SESTA has impacted Pittsburgh sex workers, including Lena Chen of SWOP PGH

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APRIL 7-14, 2021 VOLUME 30 + ISSUE 14 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Director of Advertising JASMINE HUGHES Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD News Editor RYAN DETO Senior Writer AMANDA WALTZ Staff Writers DANI JANAE, KIMBERLY ROONEY 냖㵸蔻 Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Art Director ABBIE ADAMS Graphic Designer JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Sales Representatives ZACK DURKIN, OWEN GABBEY, NICKI MULVIHILL Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, MIKE CANTON, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA, CHARLES ROSENBLUM Interns COLLEEN HAMMOND, KAYCEE ORWIG National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.

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COVER PHOTO: KAYCEE ORWIG READ THE STORY ON PAGE 4

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THE BIG STORY

MISDIRECTING TRAFFIC

How FOSTA-SESTA has impacted Pittsburgh sex workers

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

W

HEN FOSTA-SESTA was signed into law three years ago by then-President Donald Trump, the bill was championed as a landmark moment in the war against sex trafficking.

It received bipartisan support, with Republicans and Democrats viewing it as a way to rein in illegal online activity and hold websites accountable for allegedly enabling and abetting an industry that exploits millions of people, particularly women and children, worldwide.

CP PHOTO: KAYCEE ORWIG

Lena Chen

But time has shown that the legislation — a combination of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Senate’s Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) — has actually done little to combat the problem. Additionally, it’s being used as a tool to target sex workers by subjecting them to overpolicing, limiting their ability to work, and, in many cases, silencing them altogether.

Sex worker advocates believe problems of FOSTA-SESTA go even further, citing instances where law enforcement has blamed the bill for making their jobs more difficult, as sex traffickers have only gone deeper underground and into darker corners of the internet. Advocates also believe the bill has opened the floodgates for lawmakers to impose more restrictions on free speech online, not just for sex workers, but for everyone.

As a result, FOSTA-SESTA has inspired a movement with sex workers speaking out and demanding protections, and that their industry be decriminalized.

This includes Pittsburgh, where, despite the city’s fairly conservative veneer, is still home to people providing a variety of services to clients, from full-service sex work to phone sex and camming.

Pittsburgh City Paper spoke to various local sex workers to understand how the city fits into what has become a national and, in many cases international problem, as the bill has created a ripple effect into other countries. They described how FOSTA-SESTA changed both their online and in-person communities and their ability to work safely, all while some law enforcement agents have argued the bill actually impedes their ability to crack down on sex trafficking.

Not long after FOSTA-SESTA became law, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Sex Worker Outreach Project was formed.

SWOP PGH is part of a national network using education and activism to end the stigma against sex work. Co-founded

by Jessie and PJ Sage, and Moriah Ella Mason, the volunteer-run group has gone on to become one of the most prominent voices for Pittsburgh-area sex workers.

CONTINUES ON PG. 6

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 7-14, 2021

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MISDIRECTING TRAFFIC, CONTINUED FROM PG. 5

FOSTA-SESTA TIMELINE

2017 Aug. 1

Feb. 26 The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) pushed by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) moves to the U.S. House floor.

^ PHOTO: OFFICIAL HOUSE PHOTO VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Rep. Ann Wagner

A group of U.S. Senators introduces the bipartisan legislation Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) of 2017 to “ensure justice for victims of sex trafficking and ensure that websites such as backpage.com, which knowingly facilitate sex trafficking, can be held liable and brought to justice.”

“I would say that the passage of FOSTASESTA turned my world upside down,” says Jessie Sage, who worked as a sex columnist for City Paper and Pittsburgh Current before stepping away to focus on writing a book. “It made sex work less safe, especially for the most marginalized sex workers, and deplatformed all of us.”

As a result, Jessie and PJ devoted much of their time to sex work organizing.

While Jessie no longer runs SWOP PGH, she and PJ still extensively cover the issue through writing, research, and their Pittsburgh-based podcast Peepshow.

Adrie Rose identifies as a full-service sex worker, and has made sex work the focus of her graduate study research, mainly looking at how websites and financial institutions deal with sex workers. She says FOSTA-SESTA has contributed to breaking down support systems central to sex workers, and not just online. This includes sex workers referring clients to each other, which Rose says is “crucial when you don’t want to get arrested, or you’re trying to stay alive.”

“The simple act of sharing information with another escort can get you charged with facilitation, which is a felony,” says Rose, who has stopped doing sex work during the pandemic due to health concerns. Under FOSTASESTA, she says giving client referrals, money, or even car rides to other sex workers qualifies as trafficking. “So not only did it really erode the way that we exist online, but it’s eradicating our ability to create communities.”

PJ Sage echoes Rose, adding that FOSTA-SESTA has hit the sex work community hard, with many losing online accounts and access to payment

methods, or being shadowbanned, a term referring to when content is hidden from internet searches.

“Not only is it harder to advertise, our political speech is being suppressed,” says PJ, who also researches sex work as a visiting Instructor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. “It’s become harder and harder to communicate and organize with folks in our community. Our posts are constantly taken down. … It’s difficult to simply exist online.”

Rose adds that FOSTA-SESTA has also made relations between law enforcement and sex workers worse. “And already, the police were not really in our corner,” says Rose. “They weren’t advocating for us, they weren’t protecting us.”

In June 2018, Trib Live and other outlets reported that police officers in Allegheny County had been taking sex workers into custody for the firstdegree misdemeanor charge of possessing “instruments of a crime,” in this case, condoms. Reports showed out that in 2017, Allegheny County Police had charged people with both prostitution — a third-degree misdemeanor — and possessing an instrument of crime in 100 cases. In 15 of those cases, condoms were the alleged instrument of crime.

Not long after the news came out, the county police announced they would no longer charge sex workers for posessing condoms.

Many advocates view this type of policing as overreaching and unconstitutional, and Rose claims tactics employed by police on sex workers can be even worse than the reported overcharging.

“Something that no one ever talks CONTINUES ON PG. 8

< PHOTO: OFFICE OF CONGRESSWOMAN ANN WAGNER, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

2018

President Donald Trump signs FOSTA into Law

Dec.

March 23

Feb. 27 Package combining SESTA and FOSTA passes the House of Representatives with a vote of 388–25.

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March 21 FOSTA-SESTA bill passes the Senate with a vote of 97–2.

Craigslist shuts down its “personals” section used by sex workers, adding to similar efforts by Reddit, which amended its content policy to say users may not solicit or facilitate “paid services involving physical sexual contact.”

June 29 April 6 U.S. law enforcement shuts down adult ad website backpage.com.

April 11 FOSTA-SESTA bill signed into law

by President Donald Trump.

Woodhull Freedom Foundation and Human Rights Watch, along with others, file a lawsuit against FOSTA, declaring it unconstitutional.

Social media site Tumblr bans adult content defined as “photos, videos, or GIFs that show reallife human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content — including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations — that depicts sex acts.”

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MISDIRECTING TRAFFIC, CONTINUED FROM PG. 6

about is that, during vice investigations, the police are allowed or even encouraged to pay for sex, have sex with sex workers, and then arrest them,” says Rose. “That’s rape by deception.”

Rose and others point out that FOSTASESTA has made things worse for sex workers in other ways too, especially for marginalized groups. Rose, who is Black, says people of color, especially trans women of color, have always been more targeted by law enforcement.

She adds that technology plays a big role in persecuting marginalized sex workers, especially as websites and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr have been swift to ban certain posts and users under FOSTA-SESTA. “It has become something of an issue where social media sites use algorithms and automated systems to go after sexually explicit content,” says Rose. “A lot of algorithms are already biased because the people that created them are biased. ...

Content moderation is always going to go after marginalized people.”

But some are trying to use technology to benefit sex workers. Lena Chen is a Chinese American performance artist and writer who serves on the SWOP PGH steering committee. She and fellow artist Maggie Oates have been developing a video game called Only Bans, a play on the popular adult video platform OnlyFans. The game, which is being featured this month as part of Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s Freshworks creative residency, is described on the theater’s website as a “digital performance work” that “critically examines the policing of marginalized bodies and sexual labor to empathetically teach people about discrimination faced by

CP PHOTO: KAYCEE ORWIG

Organizers Anny Chen, Lena Chen, and Caroline Yoo stand behind an altar where people brought offers for victims of the Atlanta tragedy during an event in support of Asian American and Pacific Island women and sex workers at the Carnegie Museum of Art on April 1.

sex workers on the Internet.”

Chen, a sex worker and MFA candidate at the Carnegie Mellon School of Art, believes her work could help educate people about the realities of sex work, as well as the implications of FOSTA-SESTA for those working in other arenas.

“It’s more about telling people’s stories,” says Chen. “I’ve participated in a lot of collaborative art projects with other sex workers and sex worker collectives that have to do with the experience of trying to work online in

2019

the post-FOSTA-SESTA environment, which is quite hostile, not just to the sex workers, but also to artists who are dealing with nudity or sexuality, or activists who are dealing with issues of gender or sexual violence.”

Chen also became a fixture at Pittsburgh anti-Asian hate rallies in the wake of the Atlanta spa shootings, which has led many Asian American women to speak out on how they are often seen as objects of fetishization. Chen says this is not uncommon to sex work.

While sex trafficking remains a problem that needs to be addressed, FOSTA-SESTA may not be the best way to tackle the issue, a theory already being observed by law enforcement.

Since its passing, police departments and agencies across the country have expressed frustration with how the law has actually made it more difficult for them to identify and arrest sex traffickers, as the adult sites the law targeted, primarily backpage.com, served as a way to track them. In a story by WRTV Indianopolis from July 2018, a vice cop said his department had been “blinded” by the loss of Backpage, saying the site was a valuable tool to “trap” sex traffickers and pimps.

Instead, critics say the legislation has only served to chill free expression by using sex trafficking as a “boogeyman,” as Rose calls it, to pressure websites into banning users over fears of being shut down. Rose says much of this is due to the spread of misinformation over how sex trafficking works and how it targets victims, which then casts sex workers as a victim or facilitator of sex trafficking.

She says viewing sex workers as victims that need to be saved is part of the problem, as many enjoy what they do and view it as a valuable service.

There’s also the issue of how sex work is defined, with many not recognizing that even the act of watching pornography or going to a strip club qualifies as supporting sex work.

To combat this, advocates are emphasizing the humanity of sex workers. Chen says when she worked as a stripper at a club in Downtown Pittsburgh, she and many of her co-workers were students who saw the work as an opportunity to

2020

Dec. 17 Congressmembers from the House and Senate introduce the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct the first-ever federal study on the health and safety of sex workers. The study includes an analysis of FOSTA-SESTA and its “profound impacts on sex workers, who are frequently among the most marginalized members of our society.”

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JJan. Ja n. 24 Judge for the U.S. Court of A l for f the th District Di t i t off Appeals Columbia ruled that two plaintiffs in the FOSTA lawsuit had “standing” to pursue their constitutional challenge to the statute.

June 19 Law enforcement shuts down CityXGuide.com a site similar to backpage.com.

make a lot of money.

Jessie and PJ Sage do this by working together as a married couple, demonstrating that people in the sex work industry have stable relationships and families. “I think all sex workers challenge stereotypes simply by not being one-dimensional tropes,” says PJ. Jessie Sage says that, in the midst of these crackdowns and harsh penalties, FOSTA-SESTA “does absolutely nothing to protect victims of sex trafficking.”

“It is important to recognize that the law itself doesn’t offer any funding or resources, it is strictly punitive,” says Jessie, adding that it’s driven by morality, and more concerned with policing the internet and banning pornography under the guise of helping trafficking victims.

“By and large, it is an anti-sex work agenda, not an anti-trafficking agenda.”

In a July 2020 article from WHYY, former sex trafficking victim and advocate Melanie Thompson still supports FOSTA-SESTA through the criticism and argued it will help out an end to “an oppressive system that thrives off of other oppressive systems, namely misogyny, patriarchy, and capitalism.”

While FOSTA-SESTA does not appear to be going away anytime soon, lawmakers have made some efforts to address problems with the law. In January 2020, a group of U.S. Congressmembers introduced the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act, which called for the first-ever national study on the health and safety of sex workers in America. In a press release, one of the sponsors, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said the act came from wanting to assess the negative impact of FOSTA-SESTA on sex workers.

On a Pennsylvania level, state Rep. Summer Lee (D-Swissvale) proposed legislation that would decriminalize sex work in Pennsylvania. Introduced in October 2020, the legislation, which Lee created with help of sex worker advocates, is believed to be the first of its kind in the state General Assembly’s history.

“We can no longer ignore the fact that sex work is work, however stigmatized – and that sex workers deserve the same protections as other workers,” Lee said in a press release. “As legislators, it is our duty to serve all of our constituents to the best of our ability, regardless of which profession they are in.”

Until real policy change occurs, however, activists are working together with organizations to better aid sex workers in this dangerous time. SWOP PGH member Nicole Gallagher says the organization has been partnering with Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania and others to deliver safe, welcoming health care and resources to sex workers.

PJ Sage says people should also support organizations working in the sex worker community, naming SWOP PGH and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, as well as TransYOUniting and SisTers PGH. Rose believes that, no matter what, those creating the laws affecting sex workers should actually listen to the people in the community about what they need.

“Part of the issue is that people who don’t know what they’re talking about are doing the most talking,” says Rose. “They’re talking over people with the lived experiences and with the actual knowledge.”

•

Follow senior writer Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP

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Feb. 5 Feb U.S. Senators introduce oduce the SAFE TECH Act to reform Se Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a provision also targeted by FOSTA-SESTA. The act would allow social media companies to be “held accountable for enabling cyber-stalking, targeted harassment, and discrimination on their platforms.” Critics are already saying the bill will do little to protect users and do more to hinder free speech on the internet.

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CP PHOTO: RYAN DETO

The Pennsylvanian building, which sits above Pittsburgh Union train station

.NEWS.

ALL ABOARD

Pa. would see several new and enhanced train service under Amtrak’s 2035 vision plan

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

O

N MARCH 31, passenger train

provider Amtrak released its 2035 Vision plan to expand and improve rail service throughout America, including more than 30 new routes and improving service on more than 20 existing routes.

Pennsylvania is getting a lot of train attention, particularly the eastern half of the commonwealth, and the Pittsburgh area would also see new routes and expanded service, too.

“With a growing and diverse population, a global climate crisis, and longer traffic jams, America needs a rail network that offers frequent, reliable, sustainable, and equitable service,” reads Amtrak’s vision plan.

Broad goals of the plan state that up to 160 new communities would see passenger rail, and 15 more states would see multiple daily trips. Of those, three new routes would serve Pennsylvania cities that currently don’t have any train service: Scranton and Allentown would

connect to New York City, and Reading would connect to Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh would see a new connection to Cleveland, and Erie would see another connection on a route that appears to circle Lake Erie and connect Detroit to Toronto and Buffalo. Currently, there is one train a day from Pittsburgh to Cleveland — as part of the Capitol Limited route from Washington, D.C. to Chicago — but it leaves at midnight and arrives at 3 a.m.

The Pennsylvanian, the route connecting Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and onto New York City, would see “Enhanced Service.” Precise details of the plan are not currently known, but transit experts on social media believe “Enhanced Service” to mean increased frequency. Currently, the Pennsylvanian only arrives and leaves Pittsburgh once a day.

The one Pittsburgh route not seeing any changes is the Capitol Limited, which travels through Pittsburgh from Chicago

to Washington, D.C. Amtrak hasn’t divulged exact stops in between each route, but the inclusion of several new routes in Eastern Pennsylvania would correspond to population growth currently occurring in the Poconos and the Lehigh Valley.

And though Western Pennsylvania isn’t seeing much population growth, more trains traveling from Pittsburgh through towns like Altoona, Greensburg, and Johnstown would boost the economies of those struggling places.

State Rep. Louis Schmitt (R-Blair), who represents Altoona, told the Pennsyvlania Capital-Star on April 2 that increased service between Central Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh would increase ridership demand since residents would then see trains as a viable option.

“The ability to do that daily commute to Pittsburgh would unlock incredible economic potential for central and western Pennsylvania,” said Schmitt.

Without additional federal funds

IMAGE: COURTESY OF AMTRAK

Detail of proposed Amtrak routes in Pennsylvania as part of its Vision 2035 plan.

Dark blue is existing service, orange is enhanced service, and light blue is new service.

dedicated to passenger rail, Pennsylvania has been flirting with expanding rail service for years, but has failed to do so.

Amtrak’s announcement comes on the heels of President Joe Biden’s visit to Pittsburgh, where he unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure plan. The president’s plan includes a proposal for $80 billion in passenger rail funding. According to Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute, Amtrak has previously said their proposal will cost about $25 billion, but it’s unclear if that includes capital costs.

And the passenger rail provider is bullish on Biden’s proposal, saying in a statement that if Congress provides the funding proposed in Biden’s plan.

Amtrak would be able to make necessary improvements, improve trip times, and expand rail service.

“President Biden’s infrastructure plan is what this nation has been waiting for. Amtrak must rebuild and improve the Northeast Corridor, our National Network and expand our service to more of America,” says Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn in a press release. “ ... Amtrak has a bold vision to bring energy-efficient, worldclass intercity rail service to up to 160 new communities across the nation, as we also invest in our fleet and stations across the U.S.” And according to the Capital-Star, the Amtrak proposal was cheered by some community groups and state legislators

from both sides of the aisle.

“Any expansion of passenger rail is smart policy,” Scranton-area Democratic Rep. Mike Carroll told the Capital-Star on April 2. Carroll is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee and said the proposed federal investment is a “wonderful starting point.”

But he and others also cautioned that making any new train routes a reality will not be easy. Funding isn’t the only obstacle to new routes or expanded passenger rail service. While Amtrak owns the rail lines between Harrisburg and Philadelphia — which is currently home to the best train service in the state — most proposals of new routes, or expanded service for new or current routes, would require cooperation with private freight companies like Norfolk Southern, who owns the tracks from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.

In a statement to the Capital-Star, PennDOT spokesperson Alexis Campbell said that Gov. Tom Wolf “strongly supports passenger rail,” but she warned that any new train service would require new and regular state payments.

And there aren’t any strong indicators that Norfolk Southern would be on board, even if regular funding was there.

In an email to the Capital-Star, a Norfolk Southern spokesperson wrote the company “does not intend to participate in this conversation at this time.”

Follow news editor Ryan Deto on Twitter @RyanDeto

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CP PHOTO: KAYCEE ORWIG

Axel’s Original Soft Pretzel from Claussen Cafehaus

.FOOD.

LUNCH WITH A TWIST Claussen Cafehaus pretzel shop brings an affordable and unique lunch option to Bloomfield

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

L

IBERTY AVENUE IN Bloomfield has

a vibrant lunchtime economy.

The thoroughfare is positioned between two large hospitals, and workers, patients, visitors, and doctors need to eat.

All along the avenue, there are scores of different take-out joints serving tacos, soul food, pizza, coffee, Chinese food, and Thai dishes.

Claussen Cafehaus is a new addition to that take-out and lunchtime lineup, and its focus on artisan pretzels and sandwiches is a welcome one.

The new storefront offers four different types of artisan pretzels — including a gluten-free option — and four different types of pre-made sandwiches. Everything is labeled if it’s vegan or gluten-free. Claussen also serves espresso, coffee, matcha drinks, and other beverages. It fits perfectly into that Liberty Avenue vibe: a place to stop in to grab a snack or lunch on the go.

I tried the Axel’s Original Soft Pretzel,

which is made of vegan-friendly ingredients and Pennsylvania-grown whole wheat flour. The pretzel has a good chew and the right amount of salt, as well as a crust you have to tear through with your teeth, which is something I look for in a good pretzel.

It’s still soft, but solid in the middle.

It’s a perfect snack pretzel, and priced moderately at $3.

The Black Pepper & Garlic Twist pretzel has a subtle, but noticeable pepper flavor, and just a small kick of garlic. It’s not overpowering, which is nice considering there is plenty of flavor in Claussen’s homemade dips, which they call hausmade. I sampled the cheese dip and herbed plant butter.

The cheese dip is flavorful with a gooey, dippable texture. It’s not overly reliant on that Velveeta-esque fake cheese flavor. There is some genuine cheddar or something more nuanced in there.

The herbed plant butter is surpris-

ingly buttery. You wouldn’t know it was vegan if they didn’t tell you, but it is pretty solid, and more of a spread than a dip. Grab a knife and load it on for some powerful nodes of garlic and herbs into each bite. Both dips paired best with the Black Pepper & Garlic Twist pretzel, with the hint of pepper balancing out the rich sauces.

CLAUSSEN CAFEHAUS 4615 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield.

Tue.-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat., 9 a.m.-3 p.m. claussencafehaus.com

The Jambon Liberty sandwich was pre-made and wrapped, but very fresh. Black forest ham, swiss cheese, fresh arugula, herbed plant butter, and black truffle mustard were stuffed in

Follow news editor Ryan Deto on Twitter @RyanDeto

12

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

between two artisan slides of bread that tastes like sourdough.

The sandwich was fresh and light with quality ingredients. The herbed butter can be a bit overwhelming at times, but its richness and moisture is also welcomed. The fresh arugula added necessary bitterness and a bit of crunch to the sandwich.

Everything I tried at Claussen was perfectly salty. If you are looking for something sweet, try the cinnamon buttercream or chocolate hazelnut dips for a change of pace. Claussen also offers everything within a reasonable price range. And it’s extremely easy to just pop in for a minute to grab a to-go pretzel or sandwich, and a coffee. The coffee bar offers lattes, matcha, drip coffees, and other staples, including loose leaf tea from Bantha Tea Bar. My cold brew was satisfying and I appreciated the sipper lid (we don’t need straws for iced coffee; it’s not a milkshake).

•

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Central Outreach Wellness Center continues to be a leading force in COVID-19 pandemic recovery entral Outreach Wellness Center is no stranger to the COVID-19 pandemic, as one of the first health organizations to offer drive-thru COVID testing in Pittsburgh.

Central Outreach has also pivoted services when the pandemic started offering our patients emergency HIV medication, PrEP available for all and house calls as needed. As the pandemic has progressed, we have worked to stay at the forefront for our patients and community, with the eventual goal in the process of offering the vaccination. This goal came to fruition in February 2021, when we started administering the Pfizer vaccine to patients in the 1A category. Eventually, it became important to serve our communities with this vaccination opportunity, and on March 20, 2021, Central Outreach Wellness Center vaccinated 112 people for COVID-19 in the Hill District at the Bedford Hill Apartments.

The pop-up clinic was a partnership between Central Outreach, Bedford Hill and 1Hood Media, connecting vaccine resources to people most affected by COVID-19. In an article from Pittsburgh City Paper last July, Black people in Allegheny County twice as likely to get coronavirus compared to white people, writer Ryan Deto highlighted very real demographics for Pittsburgh’s Black community stemming from a report released from the Allegheny County Health

C

Department. This report revealed that Black people in this County are more than twice as likely to contract COVID-19 compared to white people. The report also revealed that 30% of the hospitalizations were among Black people even though they only make up 13% of Allegheny County’s population.

To continue to support these groups disproportionately affected by the virus, this group of organizations will continue the initiative on April 10, from 11am - 3pm at Bedford Hill Apartments, as Central Outreach will return to administer second doses, and more first doses to anyone who was not able to receive a vaccine originally on March 20. More information about the process to receive a vaccination through Central Outreach Wellness Center can be found here.

Delivering the vaccine to the Hill District is part of a larger effort on behalf of Central Outreach to give people access to the healthcare they deserve. On April 6, Central Outreach Erie will have a vaccine event at its office, which qualified people can register for here: https:// forms.gle/BFxKktvJJq7AczYG8. Central Outreach will keep working to serve the people of Western Pennsylvania through competent and compassionate care, and making sure the most affected groups get the care they deserve.

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13

COURTESY OF AFRO YAQUI

Album cover of Maroon Futures

.MUSIC.

SPONTANEOUS FUTURE

BY KIMBERLY ROONEY 냖㵸蔻 // KIMROONEY@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

I

T’S NOT COMMON to hear pipa,

saxophone, erhu, and lyrics in Spanish, English, and the Nahuatl indeigious language all in the same space. But Afro Yaqui Music Collective brings them all together in their second album Maroon Futures.

The music collective’s latest album, available now from Neuma Records, imagines a world after capitalism and without the effects of colonization from Christopher Columbus’ journey to the Americas. The collective, which formed in Pittsburgh in 2016, represents a wide array of cultural backgrounds and musical traditions that are on display in their music. The collective is also well known for its members’ spontaneity and improvisation.

“[We were] constantly calling each other and trying to find out if we could modify things on the fly,” says vocalist Gizelxanath Rodrigeuz. “So it was hectic, but it was also exciting. And now that we can hear the entire product, we’re so, so eager to just show everyone the results.”

Maroon Futures builds on the themes and messages portrayed in the collective’s first album, Mirror Butterfly: the Migrant Liberation Movement Suite.

While many albums contain static performances by nature, there is spontaneity woven into Maroon Futures’ recordings that is reflective of the collective’s performances.

Afro Yaqui has performed the songs on Maroon Futures for years, with each

iteration slightly different from the one before. They tried to combine the original compositions with current versions of the songs. Although the album has roots in jazz music, the six songs blend and defy genres as they stretch for several minutes.

From the first song, “Nonantzin,” which is sung in Nahuatl and is a tribute to Mexico’s Indigenous communities struggling for visibility, Afro Yaqui weaves together cultures and musical traditions that are not often heard together.

“I think you should go into the album expecting to be challenged,” says bassist Beni Rossman. “There are songs that are in awkward time signatures or have weird parts that may just not sit right.”

The challenges range from the 13/8 and 26/16 time signatures and the polyrhythmic meter, to the realities of injustice that the songs’ contents and album’s title ask listeners to consider. The album is partially named for the Maroon communities across the Americas, in which escaped slaves lived with Indigenous people and disaffected white people. These communities formed as early as the 16th century and had to fight against colonists, and Afro Yaqui wants to emphasize that those struggles against colonialism and white supremacy still continue in new forms.

“Even though slavery ended, now we have mass incarceration, now we have police brutality, and now we have CONTINUES ON PG. 16

14

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

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15

SPONTANEOUS FUTURE, CONTINUED FROM PG. 14

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Afro Yaqui in 2019

seemingly random acts of violence against people of color,” says composer and baritone saxophonist Ben Barson.

“And so we feel like we need a new Maroon movement today that’s going to break out of this plantation society that we live in.”

Profits from the album will go towards a radical group of Black community farmers based in Philadelphia who called themselves “urban Maroons.” The park provides free programs to the greater Philadelphia area, from free produce programs to free educational partnerships and health and wellness community programs.

The album’s title also pays homage to Russell Maroon Shoatz, a former Black Panther and soldier of the Black Liberation Army who has been imprisoned since 1972. Shoatz was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2019 and tested

AFRO YAQUI MUSIC COLLECTIVE afroyaquimusiccollective.com

positive for COVID in 2020, and Afro Yaqui is involved in the campaign to free him from prison so he may receive the medical services he needs.

The themes of liberation extend beyond the title of the album into the content of the songs. “La Cigarra,” which translates to “the cicada” in Spanish, is about how cicadas only sing about every 14 years after emerging from underground, which the collective uses as a metaphor for political prisoners, including Shoatz.

Each song has its own connection to political history and contemporary struggles, many of which are personal to

members of the collective. In addition to Rodrigeuz’s connection to “Nonantzin,” “Ya Habibi’’ showcases hip-hop artist and activist Nejma Nefertiti and was written

by Barson, Rossman, and Nefertiti.

“Ya Habibi” was originally performed by the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

Nefertiti’s rendition reimagines the song as what Rodrigeuz calls a “pan-Islamic journey through LGBTQ+ identity” in a hip-hop love song that celebrates Nefertiti’s identity as an LGBTQ+ woman with Iranian, North African, and Indigenous American roots.

“We Refuse to be Used and Abused” was also originally written by a member

Follow staff writer Kimberly Rooney 냖㵸蔻 on Twitter @kimlypso

16

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

outside of the collective, Fred Ho, who was the first to combine Chinese opera with traditional African American music. Ho, as Barson’s mentor, introduced Barson to this kind of musical blending, which Barson says “really opened up space for a lot of new instrumentations and new arrangements.”

Ho’s influence is audible in “Insurrealista,” which features pipa and guzheng in a celebration of female activists, as well as “Sister Soul,” which Barson composed for the erhu and pipa to highlight the talents of Mimi Jong and Yang Jin, respectively. Barson says the song is a tribute to “matriarchy, which is not the opposite of patriarchy.

It’s not like a ruling class of women, but it’s a world where gender doesn’t structure power relations and where we can actually create societies and identities that are as fluid as we are.”

•

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PHOTO: BELLEVUE ARTS MUSEUM

Humaira Abid

.ART.

SEEKING PERMANENCE Humaira Abid explores Pakistani and American cultural taboos in a new exhibit at Contemporary Craft

BY DANI JANAE // DANIJANAE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

H

UMAIRA ABID HAS always been searching for home.

She grew up in Pakistan after her parents immigrated there when they were young. Pakistan, at the time, was one of the top countries taking in refugees. Abid’s childhood was rife with stories of refugees’ struggle to make a home in a new place. In 2008, she moved to the U.S. and became an immigrant herself.

“Whenever I visited Pakistan, friends here would say, ‘Oh, you are going back home.’ So for them, my home was where I was born,” says Abid. “And it started a conversation in my mind: is home where

18

PGHCITYPAPER.COM

you are born or is home where you feel you belong? Because around that time I felt like this was my home too.”

Running in conjunction with Contemporary Craft’s 50th anniversary celebration is the opening of a new exhibit, Searching for Home, from Abid that examines conversations around immigration, displacement, and home.

The show starts on April 9 and visitors can reserve timed tickets now.

Searching for Home seeks to bring the refugee crisis to the center stage.

Jennifer-Navva Milliken, the curator of the show and artistic director of the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia

says that the work focuses on the voices of women and girls who are the most vulnerable when discussing immigration.

Milliken supports and admires Abid and her work. “She’s courageous and she’s not afraid to give form to very, very difficult conversations,” says Milliken.

Being born in Pakistan, Abid’s journey was a challenging one. In her culture, careers like medicine and engineering are seen as the only respectable paths. So when Abid made the decision to go to art school, it was against the wishes of her family. She did try two years of pre-medicine, but struggled.

She says she passed out at the sight of

blood. Abid soon realized that art was her true passion and decided to follow it. Having a non-supportive family was hard.

“I remember my brother came to me and gave me a warning that if women got too much freedom, kids got too much freedom, women [would] start to wear sleeveless clothes and start smoking,” she laughs.

In Pakistan, there were four departments in the fine arts: painting, printmaking, miniature painting, and sculpture. Abid says that her teachers and others warned her not to take sculpture, but she was drawn to it regardless.

PHOTO: AMBER HAMMAD

Humaira Abid

SEARCHING FOR HOME

DENTAL

Opens April 9 at Contemporary Craft. 5645 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

Free, donations accepted. contemporarycraft.org

“There are additional challenges in Pakistan as 3D art is considered idols and worshipping, and it’s confused with religion,” says Abid. “So there was an additional challenge. I got so many warnings that I said, ‘OK, I have to see what’s so tough about it.’ So I took it as a challenge.”

There was also another reason Abid got into sculpture: there was a lack of women’s voices in the field, especially in wood sculpture. In Pakistan, woodworking was often only an art form tied to furniture making or construction. Abid wanted to bring “a woman’s point of view into a male-dominated medium.”

Though she primarily works in wood, she also does miniature painting — two forms of media she was told couldn’t be done together. Abid’s work often defies what she had been told was acceptable, and she takes warnings to not do something as challenges.

Much of Abid’s work features wood sculptures and often red stain. The stain mimics the look of blood for her more emotionally charged pieces. Using the

red stain came after a period of personal struggle for her.

“The very first time I started using red in my color was after going through multiple miscarriages. At that time I had just moved to the U.S. I was trying to have this discussion or conversation with someone or friends, but nobody was willing to talk about this issue,” says Abid. “I remember asking a friend, a close friend; she had personally gone through it as well, and she wouldn’t talk to me about it. She ended up saying, ‘you know, women usually don’t talk about it because once you openly tell about it, people start blaming the woman.’”

Abid adds that topics of personal pain or suffering are avoided in American culture, so she decided to make a whole series about miscarriages. Red, she explained, was not just a color of love.

It is a popular color for wedding dresses in Saudi Arabia, but it is also a color of mourning and death in some African countries. She wanted to bring that duality into the work.

“There is a symbolism behind it,” Follow staff writer Dani Janae on Twitter @figwidow

she says.

Abid’s work often deals with deeply personal topics like miscarriage or molestation. She says that she deals with these topics in her work, not just for her own personal catharsis, but to connect with other people around her that have been affected in similar ways.

“I grew up hiding, not talking about issues,” says Abid. “There were so many taboos, including puberty, sex, even relationships, and, you know, even fertility issues, miscarriages. There were so many topics I saw not being talked about. Not talking about these issues is not resolving anything. So I decided to talk about it.”

Abid says that when she did her series on miscarriages, women and friends who were at first unwilling to talk to her about the subject showed up to her exhibit and cried. “I really feel we’re all made up of stories and not just the stories we tell to others and ourselves, but also the stories we hide,” she says. Telling these stories, especially the ones people want to hide, is important in her work.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 7-14, 2021

19

SEVEN DAYS IN PITTSBURGH

PHOTO: ED DEARMITT FOR THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY

^ Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Ultraviolinistics with Simone Porter

THU., APRIL 8 ART • VIRTUAL While the amount of visible stars in a Pittsburgh sky has changed over the years, they still remain an inspiration and guide for many artists and writers.

Yet as night’s darkness receded due to technological developments with electricity and light, humanity’s relationship with the night sky changed throughout the 19th century.

Learn more about this history courtesy of The Frick Pittsburgh during In Conversation: The Art and History of the Night Sky, where professors and lecturers from Chatham University and Carnegie Mellon University will discuss the night sky through the lenses of art history, astronomy, and history.

7 p.m. Free. thefrickpittsburgh.org

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FRI., APRIL 9 TALK • VIRTUAL 1Hood Media is hosting Black Light, a new endeavor to “shed light on the Black artists and activists doing amazing things with their craft.” This installment puts the spotlight on visual artist Jasmine Green, a political activist and poet born in Pittsburgh. She creates under the brand Black Girl Absolute, and her art focuses on “celebrating Black women, Black girls, and the Black community across the diaspora.”

6-7 p.m. Free. facebook.com/1HoodMedia

SAT., APRIL 10 ART • IRL “... If steel represents the masculine and fiber represents the feminine, how can I reverse their expected gender associations and challenge the status quo?” This is the question posed by

Chicago-based metalsmith and visual artist Sarah Holden with her solo exhibition Cultured Power, opening today at KuratedPgh. The show features a variety of sculpture and jewelry works made from some combination of steel and fiber. By using these materials, Holden sets out to challenge cultural expectations of women and how they rebel against those expectations, especially during the pandemic when many are being forced into caretaker roles. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Continues through May 29. 405 Freeport Road, Aspinwall. Free. Visitors must register for a specific time before arrival. kuratedpgh.com

MUSIC • VIRTUAL Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra music director Manfred Honeck is premiering a new arrangement of Antonin Dvorák’s Seven Gypsy Songs, composed by Honeck and Tomas Ille, in Ultraviolinistics with Simone Porter. The performance will feature Simon Porter on violin, as well as Lorna McGhee on flute. Porter is an

emerging artist from Seattle who has performed with national and international orchestras and symphonies, and she is known for her passionate and lively performances. The performance will also include works by Kreisler, Pärt, and Vivaldi. 7:30 p.m. $15. psofrontrow.org

THEATER • VIRTUAL In honor of Genocide Awareness Month, Prime Stage Theatre and The Holocaust Center of Pitsburgh are presenting an original performance of Miracle in Rwanda. Based on the best-selling book Left to Tell, the one-woman play tells the true story of how author Immaculée Ilibagiza (played here by Rwandan actor and activist Malaika Uwamahoro) survived genocide by hiding with seven other women in a small bathroom for 91 days. Both Ilibagiza and Uwamahoro will be joined by Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather, director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, during a talkback after the opening night performance.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF KURATEDPGH

^ Detail of “Darnley Soot Portrait,” part of Cultured Power by Sarah Holden at KuratedPgh

8 p.m. Recorded links available for purchase Fri., April 16-Mon., April 26. $25 includes performance and talkback; $5 talkback only. primestage.com

SUN., APRIL 11 PLAY • VIRTUAL It’s hard to imagine a better real-life Pittsburgh character to dramatize than former Allegheny County coroner Cyril Wecht. Being one of the most famous pathologists in the world (he worked on the JFK assassination) is just part of his story. Wecht also regularly makes controversial political statements. And for Pittsburgh Playwrights’ new play Cyril, Wecht plays himself. The story, written

by Mark Clayton Southers, is centered on a journalist interviewing Wecht, and it explores new information centered around other less-known murders. The production will be filmed and will be free to view online via Facebook. Donations are accepted.

5 p.m. Free. pghplaywrights.org

MON., APRIL 12 THEATER • VIRTUAL “Black women are the most resilient and resourceful people on the planet,” shares Shaunda Miles McDill, founder of DEMASKUS Theatre Collective.

In conjunction with Post Theatrical, DEMASKUS presents Black Mary, an interactive theater experience showcasing the life of Mary Fields, the first African

American female U.S. Star Route mail carrier. Ticket holders will have the option of choosing from three levels corresponding with different experiences, including two tiers that offer a “satchel of curated items.” 7 p.m. Continues through May 7. $18.65-$100. posttheatrical.org/deliverance

TUE., APRIL 13 FILM • VIRTUAL Film Kitchen returns with another round of locally made short films, all streaming virtually on the group’s Twitch channel. The monthly series serves as a platform for anyone interested in filmmaking with an open submission process. Viewers can donate to the artists via a virtual tip jar. Stick around after the show for a post-screening Q&A with hosts Matthew R. Day of Film Kitchen and Steven Haines of Jump Cut Theater, which will take place over Zoom.

7 p.m. Free. twitch.tv/jumpcuttheater

WED., APRIL 14 LIT • VIRTUAL The Center for African American Poetry and Poetics’ Black Study 2.0: Black Is…Black Ain’t series continues with Sounds and Resounds. The event will feature poets Lillian-Yvonne Bertram and Natalie Diaz, as well as performance artist lê thị diễm thúy.

The writers will engage in a conversation about “sound and boundary,” curated and moderated by Diana Khoi Nguyen.

6 p.m. Free. caapp.pitt.edu • PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 7-14, 2021

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IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-21-1082. In re petition of Erica N Blue for change of name to Eryca N Blue. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 5th day of May, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-21-1751.

In re petition of Samantha Elizabeth Osborne for change of name to Samantha Elizabeth Merar-Osborne.

To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 7th day of May, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-20-10249, In re petition of Asia Anderson and Terrill Weatherspoon parents and legal guardians of Truthe Latrell Anderson for change of name to Truthe Latrell Weatherspoon. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 12th day of May, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-21-1884, In re petition of Alicia Dunmire parent and legal guardian of Taevion Jordan Dunmire for change of name to Taevion Jordan Davis.

To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 10th day of May, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-16985. In re petition of Stephanie Kim Adamczyk for change of name to Stephanie Kim Muczyk.

To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 29th day of April, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER APRIL 7-14, 2021

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