Career fair

JUNE 9—The Career & Workforce Development Center will host its 20th Annual Community Career Fair from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA, 7140 Bennett St., Homewood. Over 30 employers, training and service providers will be in attendance looking for qualified candidates. For more information, email Carena M. Phillips at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Erroll Garner, Earl Hines, the Turrentine brothers, the Betters brothers, Walt Harper, Ahmad Jamal—all are Pittsburgh jazz legends, known the world over. But increasingly, even in their hometown, they seem to only live on the airways of WDUQ radio.

But with Duquesne University’s pending sale of the station license, some fear their work and their place in Pittsburgh history may disappear from local airwaves, lost to future generations.

NELSON HARRISON says losing only jazz station in Pittsburgh would be a disaster.

“I really can’t imagine not hearing the melodic voices of Tony Mowod and Bob Studebaker, as well the other excellent hosts such as Helen Wigger, bringing this community the sounds of this nation’s original art form, jazz,” said Tim Stevens in a letter to the New Pittsburgh Courier. “This station has played more music by Pittsburgh artists than probably all of the other Pittsburgh stations combined, something that I as a Pittsburgh jazz vocalist and writer highly appreciate.”

The push for strong teachers in schools has become a nationwide trend and Pittsburgh is no exception. The Pittsburgh Public School District recently launched its Empowering Effective Teachers plan to ensure a strong teaching and learning environment in every school.

However, the task of creating, identifying and rewarding highly effective teachers can be difficult when many scholars do not agree on a plan of action. In an effort to address this and many other issues in education, Duquesne University hosted the Third Annual Duquesne Educational Leadership Symposium May 25-27.

ARNETHA BALL

“Education is currently under attack. Schools of education are closing; urban schools are closing,” said Arnetha Ball, Ph.D. “Too many decisions are being made without us being at the table. What will you do to take our rightful place as agents of change rather than objects of change?”

With the previous month’s count of only one Black homicide, there was hope that all the vigils and marches had finally made an impact on the community and would put a stop to the senselessness that continues to plague the streets of the Black community. However, with four homicides in May, which is half of the monthly count for last year at this time, it is clear that the message has not gotten through. Not only were all the victims Black, but they were all under the age of 30. It’s sad enough that one cannot walk down a street without fear of being shot, but now one cannot even sit on a porch or even worse in their own living room. This has got to stop. Enough is enough.

As part of an ongoing effort to heighten awareness about the effects of murder in the Black community, the New Pittsburgh Courier will compile a list of homicides in the county each month. It is our hope that as the list of victims grows, so will a true understanding of how these lost lives affect the mental health, economic well-being and self-images of the region’s Black neighborhoods.