A year and a half ago Bryan and Julie McCabe and their daughters Kyra and Sierra were living in Wexford looking to buy a home closer to his job in Pittsburgh—now he can walk to work.

At that same time, demolition of the Garfield Heights Apartments forced Tiffany McGinnis, her son Germal McCray Jr. and daughter Tayshia McCray to search for a new home. Now they are neighbors—in Homewood. Though neither planned it, they are helping to rebuild the neighborhood, while they build their lives as homeowners on Susquehanna Street.

NEW NEIGHBORS—Homeowners on Susquehanna Street in Homewood enjoy a beautiful fall day from their front porches. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

They were among the first four families to buy in what will eventually be a 30-home complex within walking distance of Faison Elementary School. Of the 10 built to date, all are occupied.

by J.L. Martello

The Pitt School of Dental Medicine held their white coat ceremony for their first year students at Scaife Hall Sept. 15. The emblematic white coat ceremony is held for incoming first year dental medicine and dental hygiene students.

PROUD STUDENTS—Erika Andrews, Jocelyn Ball, Chijioke Eseonu, Barbara Anne Graham and Kendra Sims (Photo by J.L. Martello).

Once a student receives their white coat they can then study to get their degree in dental medicine after completing their undergrad studies. Thirty-six dental hygiene and 80 dental students received their white coats. There were students from 18 states and six different countries. Four women and one man were African-American.

by Rachell Zoll

(AP)--A new survey of Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn’t know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.

In a recent New Pittsburgh Courier article, Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper challenged Pittsburgh’s religious leaders to address violence in the Black community. He said the density of African-American churches in neighborhoods troubled by crime and violence should serve as a catalyst in deterring these problems.

EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH—With “a church on every corner,” Chief Nate Harper challenged religious leaders to address the ongoing violence. (Photo by J.L. Martello.)

In an effort to get a response from a variety of religious denominations, the Courier contacted approximately 15 religious institutions. It was difficult to get representatives from every denomination because Allegheny Alliance, Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, Pentecostal Temple COGIC, Macedonia Baptist Church, Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bishop Donald Clay of Petra International Ministries did not respond to several requests for comment. Those who did respond said their churches and religious organizations were engaged in preemptive measures geared toward youths in order to stem the tide of Black-on-Black crime.