This week I visited the Greater Pittsburgh Coliseum in Homewood, Bethel AME Church in the Hill District, The Kingsley Center in East Liberty, Krobar in the Strip District, Tim’s Lounge in the Hill District, the Blakely Center in the Hill District and Ava Lounge in East Liberty.

Representin’ for the red and black at the Schenley High School reunion in Homewood.

My first stop was the Kingsley Center in East Liberty where the Community Empowerment Association held their annual Kwanzaa celebration with everyone from the community coming out to participate.

Dear Gwendolyn:

I am concerned about the future of my granddaughter. She graduated from high school two years ago and attended college (for one semester) last fall. Now she is not working and not in school. She came to the family Christmas dinner with her boyfriend’s 3-year-old girl who constantly screamed while she was there. She told the family that her boyfriend has full custody of his daughter.

The minute you saw that child, you knew who she belonged to.

She had the same eyes, same chin, same mannerisms. She wore her hair like her mama did back in the day; in fact, you could swear the ribbons had been handed down. She even laughed the same way, as if “ha-ha” was genetic. There was no way her mama could deny that child. The girl was just like her mother.

The apple, they say, doesn’t fall far from the tree, and in the new novel “Mama Dearest” by E. Lynn Harris, it sticks around through three generations.

AFRICAN DANCE—Erin Perry, LaKeisha Wolf and Chrisala Brown perforn a traditional African Dance. This was part of the Ujamaa Collective Kwanzaa celebration in the Hill District, Dec. 29.

Thursday 7

Dance class

Pittsburgh Heat Hip Hop Dance Co. presents a Kids Hip-Hop Class at 5:30 p.m. at 300 Camp Horne Rd., Robinson. Kids 9 to 14 are welcome to this fun, energetic class to learn hip-hop dancing. The cost is $15. For more information, call Brenna Jaworski at 412-969-8344.