VIC WOLCZAK

On April 15, the American Civil Liberties Union filled an amended lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police with five individuals who previously applied for the police force. The lawsuit claims the bureau’s hiring practices favor Whites over African-American candidates and that these practices account for the paltry numbers of minorities on the force.
“We’ve added three more plaintiffs and we’ve updated hiring data,” said Vic Walczak, legal director of ACLU of Pennsylvania. “So there’s been two classes since we filed the lawsuit and they are marginally better but still a very long way from a better system.”
The lawsuit alleges a longstanding pattern and practice of racial discrimination in the screening and hiring for entry-level police officer positions.
Since 2001, the city has hired only 17 Black officers out of 440 total, representing less than 4 percent of new hires. Less than 16 percent of the total police force is made up of African-Americans, despite the fact they make up 26 to 29 percent of the city’s population.    
“We haven’t pointed a finger and said here’s a person in a white hood, but they’re clearly playing games,” Walczak said.
According to the lawsuit, discrimination happens at every level of the hiring process from the very beginning when applicants take the Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery test, which 13.8 percent of Blacks fail and only 2.8 percent of Whites fail. Throughout the following phases of the hiring process, the lawsuit claims certain applicants are given preferential treatment because of their existing relationships with current officers.
In order to end the discrimination the lawsuit says the city could hire an outside company to do oral examinations and that candidates should remain anonymous to avoid bias. They also believe all interviews should be videotaped.
In Philadelphia in the 1970s and ‘90s there were similar lawsuit filed against the bureau of police for discriminatory hiring practices. The two suits specifically related to the hiring of African-Americans resulted in consent decrees.
As a result of the lawsuit, the percentage of African-Americans on Philadelphia’s police force increased from 12 percent to 35 percent.
The ACLU filed the original Pittsburgh lawsuit in August and Walczak says the organization isn’t even at the discovery stage yet.
“There’s a saying, the wheels of justice grind slowly,” he said.

CARL REDWOOD CASTS VOTE (Photo by J.L. Martello)

To almost no one’s surprise, mayoral candidate state Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill, won the endorsement of African-Americans voting in the Pittsburgh Black Political Convention poll.
Wheatley, is one of two African-Americans running for mayor, and was once an aide to former city Councilman Sala Udin, who organized the endorsement effort and called the result an “unqualified success.”

SWIN CASH

From a McKeesport teen playing high school basketball to becoming a professional athlete in the WNBA, an author, a philanthropist, a motivational speaker and an Olympic champion, Swin Cash has a story that is inspiring yet rare.
On May 2, Cash will share the story of her journey when she serves as the keynote speaker at the NAACP Pittsburgh Unit’s 59th Annual Human Rights Dinner at the Wyndham Grand Hotel, Downtown. The theme for the event is “Reenergize, Refocus, Restructure: Save Our Youth.”
“It is very humbling (to be the keynote speaker). It’s funny because I do a lot of speaking engagements across the country and it’s a different feeling when you come back home. I’m looking forward to it,” said Cash. “I’ll be talking about our youth, explaining a little about myself and the journey I’ve had. Also, the social awareness and social conscience we need to have in order to engage our youth and see them continue to be successful for the future.”
Cash, whose real name is Swintayla Cash, was raised in McKeesport, attended the University of Connecticut, where she was an All American, and then went on to play in the WNBA. She began her career with the Detroit Shock, then played for the Seattle Storm and now is currently a leading player of the Chicago Sky team. Along with her career as a professional athlete, Cash recently released her book “Humble Journey More Precious Than Gold” and is actively serving the community through her organizations: Swin Cash Enterprises LLC., Cash Building Blocks and Cash for Kids, a charity that engages youths in academic enrichment opportunities and keeps them active to “keep them in the game and off the streets.”
“Swin Cash is a two time Olympian with a youthful message that needs to be heard,” said Connie Parker, Pittsburgh Branch NAACP president.
Along with Cash, Parker said she will be taking a few moments to speak at the dinner. “I will be taking a moment to make a couple comments that I think the community needs to hear,” she said. “The NAACP is the largest civil rights unit not only in the country, but in the world. We (the Black community) are having terrible times and the only way it will change is if we all come together. We need to get real here and support the NAACP.”
With the NAACP’s long-standing, historic role in the fight for civil rights, Cash said she encourages the organization to continue to work and fight. “Now more than ever it’s important that they have an intricate role in our community, especially with so many of our young people having so many struggles…Having those role models and that voice and that activist spirit is still needed,” she said.
One of those role models Cash is inspired by is historic baseball player Jackie Robinson, who has recently been celebrated through film in the movie “42,” which chronicles his life and career as the first African-American to enter Major League baseball, and who is often credited with opening the door for Blacks into professional sports.

One of the many issues plaguing the Black community is the increasing epidemic of Black on Black violence. According to an opinion piece in the March 26 issue of the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Race and the Gun Debate,” Juan Williams states, “gun related violence and murders are concentrated among Blacks and Latinos in big cities. Murders with guns are the No.1 cause of death for African-American men between the ages of 15 and 34.” He also referenced a 2009 report from the Centers for Disease Control, which stated that 54 percent of all murders committed, overwhelmingly with guns, are murders of Black people. And that Black people are about 13 percent of the population.
Cash said in order to cure this epidemic of Black on Black violence, we, as a community, need to provide opportunities for our youth and address the gun violence. “It goes back to making sure that not only is your child taken care of, but that you’re being a staple in the community and providing opportunities,” she said.  
She added that with many schools cutting activities due to budget cuts, that a lot of kids have too much time on their hands and are filling that void with negative things.
Cash said she is currently filling her time with promoting her book, training for the upcoming WNBA season and working with her charity.
(For more information on Swin Cash, visit www.SwinCash.com. Tickets for the NAACP Human Rights Dinner are available by calling the office, at 412-471-1024.)

SNOOP DOGG AND WIZ KHALIFA

On April 20, Americans across the country, celebrated 420, a counterculture holiday dedicated to the consumption of marijuana.