It takes a Village

In her 2018 book How Change Happens: Why Some Social Movements Succeed While Others Don’t, Leslie R. Crutchfield summarized some of social movements’ success factors as follows: “A movement’s grassroots are its everyday people, the ‘rank and file,’ in contrast to the leaders or the ‘elite’ (p.25). “Winning movements are fueled by energy that materializes from the bottom up” (p. 12). “As we examined a range of social and environmental movements surging since the 1980s, it became irrefutably clear that those with strong and robust grassroots—measured by both size and intensity of the base—win” (p. 23). There is support for the foregoing conclusions when one considers the Civil Rights Movement. 

Notwithstanding the litany of famous 1960s civil rights leaders, legal segregation fell when grassroots people [1] marched as if they were marching around the ancient city of Jericho; [2] risked their lives by “sitting in” at segregated facilities; [3] boycotted buses and businesses; [4] engaged in the late 1960s urban rebellions after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and, in turn, enabled civil rights leaders to negotiate with the “powers that be.” In addition, we should never forget the following examples of grassroots’ enablement:

• Films      such as “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks” highlighted the      leadership roles of Ms. Parks. However, it was a 13-month grassroots bus boycott that eventually      led to the Supreme Court ruling regarding segregation on public buses      being unconstitutional. 
• Martin      Luther King Jr. and former Congressman John Lewis are well known civil      rights icons, but significantly King was joined by 250,000 grassroots people      for the 1963 March on Washington. It was with the support of more than 600 grassroots folks that      Lewis marched across the Pettus Bridge in 1965. 
• During      the 1995 Million Man March, the leaders were buttressed by more than a      half million grassroots people. 
• Across      the nation, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, many grassroots supported students      led successful insurrections at historically White institutions of higher      education.

A personal example will amplify the significance of grassroots/leader relationships. In 1969, I became the first Chair of the Black (now Africana) Studies Department at Pitt. Having been part of the Pitt grassroots Black student/community movement, I knew in no uncertain terms that my primary mission was to [1] get Pitt to hire faculty members who would advance scholarship, teaching and service related to the Black Diaspora; [2] academically advise Black students; and [3] do all I could 24/7 to advance the causes of Black grassroots folks through the use of Pitt resources. As a Department Chair, the grassroots empowered me to “speak truth to power,” to in no way “go along to get along.” 

My hiring, based on grassroots demands, was significantly different from a hypothetical person who might be hired in 2023 with a portfolio such as “Vice Chancellor for Food Services.”  The “Vice Chancellor for Food Services” could be hired by the “powers that be” to make the College’s food services cost effective and, at the same time, provide high quality food for the students housed in the College’s dormitories. 

Although the College CEO, like others during times of crises such as the murder of George Floyd, publicly pronounced support for diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice, the “Vice Chancellor for Food Services” might not have a grassroots’ mandate emanating from the descendants of Africans enslaved in America. As such, the Vice Chancellor would be doing her/his job, for example, if none of the contracted vendors turned out to be Black owned and operated, but it turned out that the major contracted firm was “diverse,” i.e., headed by two women, one White and the other Hispanic.  

During 2023 and beyond, the struggle related to descendants of Africans enslaved in America as well as other equity and social justice movements could become stifled by a few spectacular, “first” hires of “diverse” senior level people who are not anchored by grassroots but, rather, owe their allegiance strictly to the senior administrators who hired them. Moreover, even when a member of the Black race is hired as well as anyone else, what matters most comes down to their values, beliefs, commitments, character, experience, etc. emanating from as well as the extent to which they are empowered by the grassroots. Indeed, unless steps are taken to prevent grassroots disconnects as evidenced by the following story, a much larger danger looms for equity and social justice movements.  

For centuries, the Forest Village kept shrinking because of the Patriarchal Company’s (PC) wanton deforestation. However, the trees kept supporting the PC which gaslighted them into believing that it was “inclusive” as evidenced by the PC planting a token number of new trees. However, one day for mere campfire wood, several PC workers chopped down an almost 1000-year-old Bristlecone type of pine tree. This total disregard for the Forest Village’s elder prompted a few woke trees to begin a “trees lives matter” movement. 

After the PC’s CEO made diversity and inclusion speeches; appointed a new Deputy CEO for Tree Preservation; and planted a few saplings, for a year the PC did not cut any trees. Members of the Forest Village were lulled into complacency until one day several young Forest Village guards saw what would surely contribute to their community’s complete demise. A PC worker was approaching with an axe blade made from a substance similar to Wakanda’s Vibranium. As the young trees cried hysterically upon seeing the blade’s effectiveness, one of the Forest Village elders said with great sadness, “Look at that handle the PC worker is using. She/he used to be one of us! Let there be no new axe handles in 2023!”

Within weeks, “trees lives matter” became a powerful grassroots movement. During the last negotiation with the PC administration, it was agreed that the PC would implement a Comprehensive Green Policy to be implemented by the Tree Owned and Operated Sustainability Company. Two years later, guided by the philosophy of Ujamaa (collective economics), the PC was purchased by the Tree Owned and Operated Sustainability Company! 

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

December 23, 2022

The Pittsburgh Scholar House is launching the Wayfinders Program, an innovative approach to connecting highly motivated single parents to transformative post-secondary educational opportunities in the region. Set to run from January to June 2023, the Wayfinders Program will create an inclusive community of scholastic support for parents seeking a better quality of life for themselves and their children. Participants who successfully enroll into a degree program at the end of the six-month engagement period will be supported with potential scholarship opportunities, academic coaching, professional mentorship, transportation and childcare access, and other supports designed to cultivate social capital and foster economic mobility through the successful completion of their degree program. The application opens October 25, 2022, and is accepting applicants through Friday, November 18, 2022. A virtual information session will be hosted on Thursday, October 27th from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

The Pittsburgh Scholar House is a local nonprofit dedicated to building a scholastic community of single parent college students interested in earning two-year and four-year degrees to disrupt the poverty cycle, and create a cycle of generational prosperity, while fostering high quality early learning outcomes for their children. This two-generational (2GEN) approach is designed to create empowered partnerships with highly motivated, single parents facing economic insecurity as they seek increased levels of post-secondary educational attainment, early learning access, and social capital cultivation to ignite economic mobility and garner a better quality of life for themselves and their children.

“The Pittsburgh Scholar House is committed to increasing access to high-quality, affordable post-secondary education opportunities for single parent families in the region. The Wayfinders program will provide structural support and motivation to help current and prospective college students with parenting responsibilities achieve their highest aspirations while caring for their children,” said Dr. Diamonte Walker, CEO of Pittsburgh Scholar House. “We view this as a mutually accountable partnership where families are set firmly in the driver seat to reshape their economic destinies from one generation to the next.”

The organization is working with partners across the higher education, early learning, community and economic development, banking, healthcare, human services, corporate industry, and philanthropic sectors to replicate the outcomes of the Pittsburgh Scholar House’s parent organization, Family Scholar House in Louisville, Kentucky. This innovative approach creates a well-coordinated community of practice to achieve collective impact with the aspirations and needs of parenting students at the forefront. These collaborative efforts are designed to empower families as they seek to build the social, economic, and educational pedigree necessary to achieve greater levels of economic security.

The Pittsburgh Scholar House is seeking to recruit 20 families into its first Wayfinders cohort slated to begin in January 2023. The curriculum will focus on providing parenting scholars with economic empowerment, two-generational family engagement, early learning outcomes for their children, and standards of academic excellence as they pursue a degree. Cohort participants are provided with the guidance and support needed to enroll in a two or four-year degree program, finish a degree program in which they are currently enrolled, or receive specialized workforce training for in-demand job skills. The program is available to participants at no cost.

 “It is critically important that we improve access to higher education and remove barriers to degree completion for parenting students,” stated Karina Chavez, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education and Pittsburgh Scholar House Board Member. Chavez added, “PCHE is proud to partner with the Pittsburgh Scholar House to create holistic economic and social outcomes for families striving for a brighter tomorrow”. 

The Pittsburgh Scholar House is supported by all 11 colleges and universities that make up the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education (PCHE) and funding partners at The Heinz Endowments, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, and PNC Foundation.

The Northside Community Development Fund today announced that it is now supporting all of Allegheny County under the new moniker of “Neighborhood Community Development Fund.”  

Located in Pittsburgh’s Northside, the Neighborhood Community Development Fund serves as a conduit between local communities and the resources they seek – growing and revitalizing neighborhoods through small business support, residential housing and commercial building projects. Previously, this work was concentrated primarily in the Northside neighborhood.

 Under its new name, the Neighborhood Community Development Fund will continue to support existing clients, while also aiding those in neighborhoods beyond the Northside and throughout Allegheny County to develop their communities. The organization conducts its work by connecting local business owners and community development organizations with loan opportunities, grant applications, educational resources and strategic counsel.

“We’ve been proud to work as a trusted neighbor for so many in the Northside community for more than 20 years,” said Mark Masterson, executive director, Neighborhood Community Development Fund. “And now, we’re taking that same approach to communities all across Allegheny County to promote economic opportunity and revitalization.”

 Since the onset of the pandemic, the Neighborhood Community Development Fund has offered loan payment deferrals and loan forgiveness to most of its loan customers. The Neighborhood Community Development Fund also worked with the Pennsylvania CDFI Network to distribute more than $250 million in grants to small businesses, 50% of which went to historically disadvantaged businesses.

Additionally, the Neighborhood Community Development Fund connected local small businesses with Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program loans – helping more than 400 small businesses to receive these SBA loans.

For more information on the Neighborhood Community Development Fund and its services, please visit: NCD-Fund.org.

 The centers will provide technology access and digital literacy to community members of all ages.

Neighborhood Allies and Verizon officially announce three new Pittsburgh-based learning centers to come online in the next year. These will provide community members of all ages with digital skills and entrepreneurship training, STEM education, and workforce development opportunities through advanced technology and educational resources.

Neighborhood Allies is excited to collaborate with the YMCA and the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC)’s Homewood-Brushton Center locations, who will host a youth and adult space respectively. The location of a third site in a different part of Pittsburgh will be determined in the coming months. These are part of the Verizon Community Forward initiative, first announced earlier this month, which offers exploratory digital learning opportunities for STEM related career pathways with a focus on job skills.

The program will provide K-12 students with STEM Education, adults with digital literacy training, and both high school students and adults with workforce development and entrepreneurship learning opportunities. Programming will be provided by the Homewood Children's Village, YMCA, and CCAC, as well as other local providers. In anticipation of the Centers’ opening, registration is open for interim Fall programming at LevelUp412.org, which features courses ranging from coding and video game design to robotics, 3D printing, and a host of digital literacy skills.

"Neighborhood Allies' commitment to advancing equity and economic inclusion in Pittsburgh means ensuring that all residents have expanded opportunities to succeed," said Presley Gillespie, President of Neighborhood Allies. "In partnership with Verizon, we are striving to close the digital divide that exists along socioeconomic and racial lines by providing the access, knowledge, and training needed to enter into tech-based careers."

"Now more than ever, it's imperative that under-resourced communities have the skills and access to technology they need to be prepared for today's digital workforce,” said Alex Servello, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility. “Together with Neighborhood Allies, Verizon is deepening its investment in the local community by creating physical spaces which offer members of the community access to STEM education, workforce development, and digital literacy with the goal to help prepare youth up to adults for jobs of the future.”

STEM-inspired skill-based learning through initiatives such as Verizon Community Forward can drive economic empowerment and is central to Verizon’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, Citizen Verizon. Launched in 2020 to move the world forward for all, Citizen Verizon leverages technology, innovation and resources to address the world’s most pressing issues across digital inclusion, climate protection and human prosperity. As part of Citizen Verizon, Verizon plans to exceed $3 billion in its responsible business investment from 2020-2025 to continue helping vulnerable communities bridge the digital divide.

 June 22, 2021… A new arts funding initiative created by The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy will award 75 micro-grants of $1,000 to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) artists to assist them in their work. Applications are open through July 23. Funding for the program is provided by The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Mac Miller Fund.

Grants will be practice-based, so that recipients have the freedom to use the awards on whatever they choose. The program is open to artists who live in the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Mercer, Lawrence, Somerset, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland.

“This program is yet another wonderful example of how the fund is channeling Mac Miller’s spirit in the Pittsburgh region and the rest of the country,” Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Lisa Schroeder said in announcing the grants program. “As his fame skyrocketed, he shared his musical artistry generously – allowing people to internalize it however they would choose, and he reached out broadly.”

The BIPOC Micro-Grant Program does the same, Schroeder said, by giving artists maximum freedom in use of the grants and inviting applications from across southwestern Pennsylvania and its bordering counties. “While there is much more work to be done in supporting racial diversity in our region’s arts community, we are grateful to the family of Mac Miller and our Center for Philanthropy staff for collaborating to develop such a powerful program.”

A selection committee that will include BIPOC artists will be confirmed soon with member information posted on The Pittsburgh Foundation website. The brief application is available online and applicants will be informed of decisions by Sept. 1.

“The BIPOC Artist Micro-Grant program is a way for the Foundation to carry forward Mac Miller’s creative and artistic legacy and his family’s vision for helping artists, particularly younger artists, recognize their full potential,” said Kelly Uranker, vice president of the Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy.

The Mac Miller Fund was established at The Pittsburgh Foundation in 2018 by the family of the late Malcolm McCormick (Mac Miller) to honor the Pittsburgh native and nationally known rapper and producer. 

The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy is one of only a few centers in the country offering expertise to donors to help them determine how to meet philanthropic goals through grantmaking and nonprofit management, personalized education sessions and guidance on multi-generational giving.  

Source: The Pittsburgh Foundation

In her job, Pittsburgh native Simone, is dedicated to helping young people succeed in school as an integrated school specialist, making sure students who might not be making the grade have the necessary tools to excel academically. She is also a dedicated mom of a teen son, who keeps her busy but thankful. 

Reflecting on her life, Simone says that she is especially grateful for the two blood transfusions she received that literally saved her life. "I was Diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia (SC) Disease. Born with the disease, and diagnosed at 15 months old. I spent a lot of my childhood in and out of hospitals, in severe pain and depleted of energy due to low blood counts. Individuals with Sickle Cell often rely on transfusions to reduce anemia, increase blood flow, and decrease/eliminate excruciating pain. Blood transfusions can also help Sickle Cell patients reduce the risk of a stroke. The blood transfusions that I received helped alleviate crippling pain and prevent other complications that could have taken my life."

Knowing the critical need for blood donations in the African American community, Simone is hoping that her story will encourage other's to donate. "In the black community one in 500-600 black children are born with sickle cell anemia. As with most illnesses that affect blacks disproportionally, research for a cure is grossly under funded. Donating blood helps to ensure that we have as high of a quality of life as possible. It’s imperative that we do our part to save ourselves."

One way you can make a difference here in Pittsburgh, Simone, encourages you to participate in the WAMO VIRTUAL BLOOD DRIVE - Saturday, April 24, 2021 - Friday April 30, 2021.

 See information below for the event.    

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore, get wisdom. 

And in all your getting, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7

Typically, generational wealth refers to material things of significance passed on from one generation to the next.  This type of generational wealth provides succeeding family members with a foundation that enables them to avoid “starting from scratch” or having to “lift themselves up by their bootstraps.”  Instead, these generational wealth recipients are provided a “head start” that enables them to not only cope with acquiring basic necessities such as food, shelter and health care but also to actualize themselves as human beings.  

Imagine the privileged position you would be in if, for example, your parents made it possible for you to graduate from college not only free of debt but they also gave you a new car as a graduation gift.  Consider the economic advantage you would have if you also enjoyed the number one American wealth generation act, i.e., you inherited a mortgage-free multi-bedroom home.

Unfortunately, the well-known fact is that the foregoing type of generational wealth is one of the key disparities many Blacks experience as a result of systemic racism.  As noted on September 28, 2020 by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,  “…the typical White family has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family…  In the 2019 survey, White families have the highest level of both median and mean family wealth: $188,200 and $983,400, respectively…  Black families' median and mean wealth is less than 15 percent that of White families, at $24,100 and $142,500, respectively…”   

To be sure, living in a capitalistic society, Blacks must not only understand but also practice the rudiments of the American/international financial system.  At the same time, we must not forget that, as the “passport for the 21st century,” education and the wisdom related to its use are critically important types of generational wealth.   Otherwise, the material aspects of generational wealth become a matter of “easy come, easy go.”  For an example of the latter, we need look no further than a current national leader who received hundreds of millions from his father and, today, he has debt in the hundreds of millions!  Lest Blacks are appropriately educated, they might not only lose ground in terms of material wealth, but also their pursuit of equity and social justice.  

We must heed the wisdom articulated by Carter G. Woodson when he wrote, “If you can control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.”

A Black person, for example, could sit on the Supreme Court for years, but if she/he is miseducated, then that person might attack laws designed to assist Blacks as well as members of other oppressed groups.  It will be they who will lead the attack on laws that aid the LGBTQ community.  

Lacking wisdom and, at the same time, properly miseducated a Black elected attorney  general might purposefully fail to have a grand jury indict White police officers who murdered an innocent Black woman and, instead, obtain an indictment for one White police officer who wantonly shot bullets into the apartment of a White person.

Profoundly miseducated and, without generational wisdom, such a Black person might be the first to come to the rescue and wipe “Karen’s tears” after she was nationally criticized –even if Karen had called the police to arrest the Black person because she “looked suspicious” as she was getting into her recently purchased 2020 car.  Another such miseducated Black might be the one to hug “Karen” after she was found guilty of murdering their uncle and, still  another, might straighten the wrinkle in “Karen’s” dress when she rises to be sentenced in court.  

Lacking generational wisdom, the proximity to power along with a big title and big salary (for a Black person) could cause miseducated folks to become classic “house Negroes.” To appreciate just how far those without wisdom might go and squander Black equity and social justice generational wealth, please read the September 28, 2020 New Pittsburgh Courier Digital Daily article “Ten of the most noteworthy House Negroes in America.” Therein, you will note the detrimental deeds of Clarence Thomas, Daniel Cameron, Jason Whitlock, Candace Owens, Terry Crews, Kanye West, Charles Barkley, Stacy Dash, Diamond & Silk, and Herman Cain.

If we are to end the cycle of “being sick and tired of being sick and tired” and, instead, make consistent, significant, incremental progress when it comes to Blacks acquiring freedom, justice and equality, then we must not squander the generational wisdom of those who came before us.  We must not only “say their names” but also acquire the wisdom of ancestors such as James Baldwin, Daisy Bates, Mary McLeod Bethune, Gwendolyn Brooks, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Toni Morrison, Myrlie Evans-Williams, Fannie Lou Hammer, John Lewis, Audre Lorde, Martin Luther King, Jr., Pauli Murray, Rosa Parks, Bayard Rustin, Carter G. Woodson, and Malcolm X.  

Regarding a bit of generational wisdom from Audre Lorde, always remember that “… survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.”

Lest the foregoing type of generational wisdom is internalized, years from now after yet another urban insurrection stimulated by racist abuse, Black folks will be babbling, “We had a Senior Vice President for…, and an Executive Associate for…, and a Special Counselor for…, and it seemed we’d make so much progress.  But here we are again, having made so little progress over so much time.”  Truly, “my people are destroyed” not only for lack of material wealth, but also lack of knowledge, understanding and wisdom!  

Jack L. Daniel

Co-Founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

October 13, 2020

The Community College of Allegheny County will celebrate the dynamic life of Dr. Ralph Proctor Jr., educator, author, civil rights activist and nationally recognized expert on African American history, culture and art. The event, open to the CCAC community and the public,  will be held on Friday, March 15, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Foerster Student Services Center auditorium on Allegheny Campus. Members of the CCAC community, including Dr. Proctor’s colleagues and friends, will join his family for the remembrance ceremony.

A beloved CCAC professor and academic advisor for 23 years, Ralph Proctor was born in the historic Hill District of Pittsburgh. An active participant in the Southern and Pittsburgh-based Civil Rights Movement, he pioneered the use of oral history, using it as the basis for his doctoral dissertation, “Racial Discrimination against Black Teachers and Professionals in the Pittsburgh Public School System.” A veteran of the United States Army, Proctor earned his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. He was among the first Black producers/hosts of one of several local Black-oriented television shows that aired during the turbulent 1960s. He later produced and hosted other local television and radio programs in the Pittsburgh area. His book “Song of the Hill,” a memoir and tribute to the special place and culture known in Pittsburgh as “The Hill,” is an account of his early life and an intimate portrait of a community that has long been the focus of authors and playwrights.

A former vice president and chief diversity officer of the Community College of Allegheny County, he was a popular professor of Ethnic and Diversity Studies at CCAC. Proctor was also a professor/lecturer at a number of local institutions of higher learning, including the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Carlow University, Chatham University, La Roche University and Carnegie Mellon University.

OBIT From The Courier

DR. RALPH PROCTOR PASSED AWAY ON FRIDAY MORNING, FEB. 2, ACCORDING TO HIS SON.

In the “Something Peo­ple Might Not Know About Me” section of the CCAC website that hous­es Ralph Proctor’s bio, he said that “despite a very public life…I really am quite introverted and rather shy.”

Well, that “introverted” and “rather shy” person met with Dr. Martin Lu­ther King Jr., participated in the civil rights move­ments of the ’50s and ’60s, wrote three books, host­ed radio and television programs like WQED’s “Black Horizons,” spent decades giving public speeches, created Diver­sity, Equity and Inclusion programs and traveled ex­tensively through Africa.

And still, that doesn’t seem like anywhere near enough to describe Ralph Proctor, Ph.D., and his ac­complishments.

Dr. Proctor died on Fri­day morning, Feb. 2, ac­cording to his son.

“Brother Proctor was the consummate fearless war­rior for justice,” said Ron­ald Saunders, President of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH (Associ­ation for the Study of Af­rican American Life and History), in a statement to the New Pittsburgh Cou­rier. “He would tackle Jim Crow and racism regard­less of where it reared its ugly head, whether it was at the University of Pittsburgh, the United States Military, WQED or any other venue. Brother Proctor had great love for Black people and traveled the African continent col­lecting art from various nations and tribes.”

Saunders told the Cou­rier he grew up with Dr. Proctor in the Hill Dis­trict, as they both attend­ed Robert L. Vann Elemen­tary School and Herron Hill Jr. High School. Dr. Proctor attended Schenley High School.

Dr. Proctor earned a B.S. in Psychology in 1965 and his doctorate in History in 1979, both from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Proctor was a teacher and later, assistant dean in Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences from 1968 to 1973. Dr. Proctor was the host of WQED-TV’s “Black Horizons” community affairs show from 1968- 1971. He was the author of three books: “Racial Discrimination Against Black Teachers and Black Professionals in the Pitts­burgh Public School Sys­tem—1834-1973,” “Voices From the Firing Line; A Personal Account of the Pittsburgh Civil Rights Movement,” and “Song of The Hill; Life, Love, Lega­cy.” Dr. Proctor also was hired as executive director of the Kingsley Association in 1978 and served for nearly 20 years.

In 2001, Dr. Proctor be­came a professor in ethnic and diversity studies at CCAC (Community Col­lege of Allegheny County), later becoming chairman of the entire program at the school. But that wasn’t all. He created the Office of Institutional Diversi­ty & Inclusion at CCAC and served as its first vice president, under then- CCAC President Dr. Stew­art Sutin. Dr. Proctor also said in his CCAC bio that he proposed to the CCAC Board of Trustees that the school construct a new sci­ence building on its main campus named after an African American icon, K. Leroy Irvis, the former Pa. Speaker of the House. The K. Leroy Irvis Science Center now sits on Ridge Avenue.

Dr. Proctor also was a nationally-recognized col­lector of African art, of which he donated some of the collection to the Uni­versity of Pittsburgh’s Af­rican Heritage Classroom Committee in 2013.

“Ralph Proctor repre­sented an era in Black Pittsburgh that was emerging from the ashes of America’s racial oppres­sion to the realization of its promise,” expressed Samuel Black, Director of African American Pro­gram at the Heinz Histo­ry Center, exclusively to the Courier, Feb. 6. “Ralph had a fire of determination and belief in equality that carried him into different areas of community and work. Typical of the Black leadership shown by Pitts­burgh legends Martin Delany, Mal Goode, and Cum Posey, Ralph Proctor excelled in several profes­sions, all seemingly for the benefit of himself and the community. He was a Hill District vanguard, proud and honored with the badge of being from and living in the Hill.”

Born in 1938 and raised on Wylie Avenue, Dr. Proc­tor has said that so many publications or books have inaccurately portrayed the history of the Hill Dis­trict. In an interview with the online publication Next Pittsburgh in 2023, Dr. Proctor said that the City of Pittsburgh “stig­matized” the entire Hill District to “justify urban renewal” such as build­ing the Civic Arena in the Lower Hill and displacing thousands of residents.

“There was a time when the Lower Hill, of course, had drunks. Had drug addicts. Had crime,” Dr. Proctor said in the Next Pittsburgh article. “But they didn’t talk about what else was going on in the Lower Hill, that it was essentially a United Na­tions where people of all colors, creeds, nationali­ties, got along beautifully.”

He discussed his view­point of the Hill in his book, “Song of The Hill.”

Black conducted a series of oral histories with Dr. Proctor in the summer of 2022. “The two were in­separable—Ralph and the Hill,” Black told the Couri­er. “He had a chance to not hold back, talk about the community and the Black struggle in Pittsburgh. We laughed at times but most times it was serious con­versation. Through it all I learned so much about Pittsburgh, The Hill, and Ralph Proctor.”

Dr. Stephen Wells, CCAC’s Interim Chief Ac­ademic Officer, called Dr. Proctor an “incredible as­set to the institution.” Dr. Wells also told the Couri­er on Feb. 5 that Dr. Proc­tor was “my role model as a passionate voice for change at the institution. He was always willing to speak his mind, but at the same time, I think what stood out to me most was his humility. He never shied away from speak­ing his mind with passion, with conviction, and I al­ways admired that about him. And in the classroom, he always pushed his stu­dents to challenge their pre-conceived notions about the world, but none of it was ever about him; it was all about making his students better people, making the world a better place, making it a more accepting place to live.”

Dr. Wells told the Courier that while he was a mem­ber of the English depart­ment as a professor, he sat in on one of Dr. Proctor’s classes. He said he noticed how Dr. Proctor was “pas­sionate” about having his students “think critically and carefully about what they saw around them in the world, and not to sim­ply accept the status quo as the way things needed to be.” (Source: Courier)

 Kimberly Easton, a former television news anchor and reporter at WPXI-TV  in Pittsburgh, PA  was found dead Monday (February 7, 2022) at her home in Columbus, Indiana. Easton worked  at WPXI-TV  from 04-2003 to  08-2010  and later held positions as a  journalist for a number of television stations nationwide.   Easton's sister, Kelly Easton of Columbus, says she died of heart failure, she was 56.  "We had a wellness check on Kimberly Monday after not hearing from her, at that time, Columbus police found Kimberly dead in her home. We are absolutely devastated as a family of her sudden passing." Kelly says that the last time she spoke to Kimberly was Friday night."

Kimberly leaves behind a daughter, three grandchildren and an legacy where she was committed to diversity and inclusion disparities in education.  Through her work she wanted underrepresented citizens to be heard and she was devoted to  helping to bridge the gap of inequities in education.  

Read the Obituary: Kimberly Easton | Former WPXI-TV reporter and trailblazing journalist from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

 Funeral arrangements: 

https://www.barkesweaverglick.com/obituaries/Ms-Kimberly-Sue-Easton?obId=23967156&fbclid=IwAR1qz6K8zdr_WhR3F6WotNBD12bDr-7QrnVJ45k4tolXZqumt4PeySnAX78#/celebrationWall

On a personal blog, Kimberly posted the following biography:

https://kimberlyeastoncareerportfolio.com/2021/04/24/example-post-2/

 Kimberly Easton, our Multicultural Diversity leader for the District, is a native of Columbus, Indiana. Easton, who founded KEI Connects, moved into the strategic communications industry after an extensive career as an award-winning Television News Anchor | Reporter. Easton has lived and worked all over the country with stints in the states of Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, and Kentucky including Chicago, Illinois. She’s interviewed sports legend, Hank Aaron; poet, Maya Angelou; actress, Eartha Kitt; and political figures, Jesse Jackson, Oliver North, Governor Douglas Wilder, the First Black Governor of Virginia. Easton’s recognition for professional excellence in broadcasting include the National Association of Professional Women, the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, numerous Michigan Associated Press Awards and the coveted Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcaster’s Award.  With her media talents and connections, Easton directed and assisted in the publishing of several books, one of which hit the New York Times Best Sellers list on the day of its release. Armed with a Master’s Degree in Communications and The Arts, an array of experiences in the field of communications, and a threshold of cultural experiences; Easton, as our Multicultural Diversity Leader, will continue to work with BCSC’s Stakeholder Guide Teams on the following initiatives established by the District:  Diverse Curriculum Restorative Justice Under-represented Teacher Retention & Recruitment Family Academic Achievement Network | FAAN Kimberly loves traveling, swimming and spending time with family and friends, especially her 5 and 2-year old grandsons. She remains a long-time member of the National Association of Black Journalists. 

Recently, Kimberly had been working for the past three years with The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) as the Multi-Cultural Coordinator. The organization released the following statement today regarding her passing:  

COLUMBUS, Ind. – The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) announced Tuesday morning the sudden passing of Multi-Cultural Coordinator Kimberly Easton. During her three years with the school system, Easton led many diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts around the district.

Easton developed guiding teams in the areas of Diverse Curriculum, Family Academic Achievement Network, Under-Represented Teacher Recruitment and Retention, and Restorative Justice. A Columbus North graduate, Easton returned to her hometown after a successful career in journalism and the founding of KEI Connects, a strategic communications company.

“In her time here, Kimberly was very passionate about her work. She cared for all of our students, and especially our marginalized students,” BCSC Director of Secondary Education Bill Jensen said.

Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts added, “Based on the significant work that Kimberly started when beginning her role with us, we transitioned her from part to full-time to help ensure all students had better access to opportunity. Kimberly was critical to their continued growth and development.

https://www.localnewsdigital.com/2022/02/08/bcsc-announces-sudden-passing-of-kimberly-easton/

Just two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Florida Big Bend region, Hurricane Milton made landfall in the area late Wed. Oct. 9, 2024, as a Category 3 hurricane. The devastation from the additional rainfall, winds and flooding compound the already complex recovery efforts for Florida communities. Added on to Helene, Milton may break records for property and environmental damage. Below are several organizations accepting donations and providing services to help communities impacted by Milton.

While the storm has affected many of the same Florida communities as Helene, it did not reach as far inland. If you’re interested in contributing to organizations helping additional communities recover from Helene, like those in North Carolina, visit our  Hurricane Helene disaster relief page. 

Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area

• American Red Cross
  Make a monetary donation for those impacted by Milton or donate blood for disaster victims.
  • Contact 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767) for additional resources, services and ways to receive help.
  • Find an open shelter through the Red Cross shelter data base. 
  • Find loved ones and friends with Red Cross resources, including its reunification programs. 
• OneBlood
  OneBlood says there is an urgent call for additional blood donations due to Hurricane Milton. While all blood types are needed, there is an increased need for O Negative and O Positive blood as well as Platelet donations.
• Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
  Responding locally and across the state to address the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. 
• Gulf Coast Community Foundation
• Florida Disaster Fund
  The Florida Disaster Fund assists Florida’s communities as they recover during times of emergency or disaster. The funds are distributed to service organizations that will serve individuals within their communities with disaster response and recovery. For Hurricane Milton, all administrative and credit card fees have been waived so that 100% of every donation is used to help Floridians recover.
• United Way of Florida
  The UWOF fund will assist the communities in Florida impacted by Hurricane Milton. A rapid response fund to assist those that lost their primary source of income and in some cases their homes. 

Source:

The Pittsburgh Found

Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Big Bend region late Thursday, Sept. 26, bringing with it heavy rainfall, intense winds and flooding as it moved through several states in the south. Communities impacted by Hurricane Helene will be grappling with the effects of the disaster for months and years to come.

Below are several organizations that are accepting donations and providing other services to help affected communities: 

Tampa Bay/Tampa/St. Petersburg area

• American Red Cross
  Make a monetary donation for those impacted by Helene or donate blood for disaster victims.
  • Contact 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767) for additional resources, services and ways to receive help.
  • Find an open shelter through the Red Cross shelter data base. 
  • Find loved ones and friends with Red Cross resources, including its reunification programs. 
• OneBlood
  OneBlood says there is an urgent call for additional blood donations due to Hurricane Helene. While all blood types are needed, there is an increased need for O Negative and O Positive blood as well as Platelet donations.
• Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
  Responding locally and across the state to address the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 
• Florida Disaster Fund
  The Florida Disaster Fund assists Florida’s communities as they recover during times of emergency or disaster. The funds are distributed to service organizations that will serve individuals within their communities with disaster response and recovery. For Hurricane Helene, all administrative and credit card fees have been waived so that 100% of every donation is used to help Floridians recover.
• United Way of Florida
  The UWOF fund will assist the communities in Florida impacted by Hurricane Helene.
• Feeding Tampa Bay
  Feeding Tampa Bay says donations will be put to work immediately in the areas most impacted to provide people with pathways back to stability in the days, weeks and months after the storm.

Asheville and western North Carolina

• Manna FoodBank in Asheville
  The organization’s warehouse was prepped prior to the storm. Donate to the Manna FoodBank.
• Homeward Bound in Asheville
  The organization provides supportive housing to the homeless community in Asheville and it distributed essentials and clothing as the storm approached. 
• American Red Cross of North Carolina
  At the storm’s peak, the organization opened more than 15 shelter locations in Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. Learn more and donate, or give by texting Helene to 90999.
  • Contact 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767) for additional resources, services and ways to receive help.
  • Find an open shelter through the Red Cross shelter data base. 
  • Find loved ones and friends with Red Cross resources, including its reunification programs. 
• North Carolina Community Foundation
  The foundation works with other funders and organizations to provide philanthropic support needed to help western North Carolina recover from Helene.
• Community Foundation for Western North Carolina
  Contributions support recovery efforts related to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. 

Award money will be used to address residential vacancy and expand housing supply and access in Pittsburgh.

Award money will be used to address residential vacancy and expand housing supply and access in Pittsburgh.

Today, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh announced it was awarded $3 million from JPMorgan Chase to tackle the housing supply and affordability crisis in Pittsburgh by addressing residential vacancy and abandonment in the city and helping existing homeowners with title clearances and estate planning assistance.

Catapult Greater Pittsburgh will use the $3 million to acquire and rehab vacant or abandoned properties in the community in an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and keep property in the hands of the community. Catapult will also use the funding to support their CLEAR (Clinic for Legal Equity and Repairs) program, which supports people living in Allegheny County who do not have a legal title to the property in their name. CLEAR participants are eligible for home repairs, title clearance, and estate planning to ensure that they can grow their wealth and transfer assets across generations.

“A big portion of our city’s disrepair, vacancy, and abandonment issues can be attributed to tangled title issues, particularly in low-income, Black communities. Families are losing billions of dollars in generational wealth across the country because of this issue, and we’re excited that we can help families here in Pittsburgh resolve these complicated legal matters while also helping resolve health and safety repair issues that could force a family to walk away from a home. Going one step further, I’m thrilled that we will be providing estate planning and will preparation workshops to help proactively protect these family and community assets.” 
– Tammy Thompson, Executive Director, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh

“Housing that is safe and affordable is a critical pillar of any healthy community,” said Lisa Haley, Market Executive, JPMorgan Chase. “Today’s commitment aims to make stable housing affordable for all Pittsburgh residents, especially low-income individuals and families. By investing in long-neglected communities, we hope to generate learnings that can be used to address the housing supply crisis and catalyze change in communities across the country.”

Additional funding for the CLEAR program comes from Pittsburgh-based foundation McAuley Ministries which provided a grant of $50,000 to do this work in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Neighborhood Legal Services, Rising Tide Partners, and the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh all serve as vital program partners.

To further advance solutions that address housing vacancy, the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter has released a brief on “Tackling Persistent Residential Vacancy, Abandonment, and Despair,” which shares insights and policy recommendations to address the widespread issue of vacancy. Catapult Greater Pittsburgh is featured in the report for their work to protect existing homeowners and tackle persistent vacancy in Pittsburgh. The goal of the brief is to generate local conversations and learnings that can be further scaled into national solutions. In addition, the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter published a policy brief outlining pathways to advancing affordable, sustainable homeownership as well as insights into how untangling titles for heirs property homeowners can support generational wealth building.

Pittsburgh faces persistent vacancy challenges as a post-industrial rustbelt city with approximately 23,757 existing vacant properties. High rates of neighborhood vacancy discourage investment in the community and are linked to an increase in crime, restricting economic growth. In the past decade, the number of abandoned homes and lots in Pittsburgh doubled in size, with one in five carrying code violations, including collapsed roofs, shattered windows, and electrical hazards.

The issue of tangled titles, or cases where people lack legal titles to the properties they live in, further exacerbates the housing supply problem. According to the nonprofit Neighborhood Legal Services, Allegheny County alone has an estimated 4,000 tangled titles, many of which exist in low-income neighborhoods. The current process for fixing tangled titles in Allegheny County requires a lawyer and is costly and time-consuming, with administrative costs ranging from $1,500-4,000, not including inheritance taxes.

Participants of Catapult’s CLEAR program are eligible for legal services provided through vetted consulting attorneys, including long-time judge and housing advocate Irene Clark. Home repairs will be carried out by local contractors and all services will come at no cost to participants. The goal is to protect existing homes as key assets for generational wealth building within Pittsburgh communities, especially communities that have limited access to this kind of support.

“People are walking away from their properties because they can’t afford attorney fees or home repairs or they can’t get around the barriers of not having title,” said Gabrielle DeMarchi, Director of Equity Protection, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh. “This program will help remove some of those barriers and ensure that the legacy of the home stays intact.”

The Department of City Planning unveiled its newest addition to the City of Pittsburgh's art collection, through its Art in Parks program. Marlana Adele’s bronze sculpture, titled Flora, is now installed in the Highland Park entry garden. 

Marlana took inspiration from the various historic sculptures existing throughout the park for her first public artwork. Flora reflects the art nouveau style and elements of nature found throughout her previous works and in the park. The placement in the garden allows it to be accessible to residents.   

"It’s important to have art that reflect the aesthetics of its surroundings and the residents who enjoy visiting our city parks," said Mayor Ed Gainey. “The Art in the Park newest piece from Marlana Vassar is an incredible addition, and we're excited to have it dedicated to Highland Park. It showcases the importance of artists and art as part of the fabric of our communities.” 

The creation of Flora was made possible through a creative collaborative process between Marlana and community members. The sculpture reflects the community expressed desire for artwork that reflected the city’s cultural diversity and accessibility to all. This shared vision, combined with Marlana's understanding of Highland Park's history, has resulted in a piece that captures the emotions and landscape of the park.   

“I thought that it was essential to provide symbols of progress and possibility with this work,” said artist Marlana Vassar. “The figure is a person coexisting with nature rather than trying to tame it.”     

The Art in Parks program is funded from a RADical ImPAct Grant launched in celebration of the Allegheny Regional Asset District's 25th anniversary. Marlana Adele Vassar is a Pittsburgh artist who infuses her work with a blend of deeply personal narrative and rich cultural symbolism.