CONNIE PARKER

by Christian Morrow

Courier Staff Writer

Back when steel ruled the local economy and Pittsburgh boast multiple corporate headquarters, the NAACP Pittsburgh Unit could always count on corporate support for its single largest fundraiser, the annual Human Rights Dinner.

I’VE GOT THE BLUES—Chicago Blues artist Vince Agwada performs at The P.R.O.M.I.S.E. group’s annual Blues and R&B Showcase, April 6. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

Music for a cause was the unofficial theme at The Hard Rock Café last Saturday at the P.R.O.M.I.S.E. group’s 5th ­annual Blues and R&B Showcase on April 6 in Station Square. People jammed and listened to classics while raising money for the cause that supports youth activities in the community.
“It was everything I expected and more,” said Jay Donaldson, founder of the P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Group. “I want to thank all of the bands who volunteered their time and those who worked with the event. (It) was the best we have ever had in the five years and we are growing.”
The P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Group is a nonprofit organization that serves youth, men and women who have been impacted by the loss of a loved one. It began in 2007 after the loss of Donaldson’s son, Jehru Donaldson, then 18, who had been shot and killed by two teens during a carjacking on the North Side while on his way to a Pittsburgh Pirate game.

“We wanted to turn a negative situation into something positive,” Donaldson said. He added that his son had already showed promise of being a positive impact in the community.
The Blues and R&B Showcase featured acts such as the Muddy Kreek Blues Band; the Danetts, which included songs from some of Motown’s popular female groups; and from the Chicago Blues Front, singer, songwriter and slide guitarist Vince Agwada and his band, and more. According to Donaldson, there were approximately 150 tickets sold to annual showcase.
Along with the annual showcase, P.R.O.M.I.S.E., which stands for Protecting and Restoring the Order of Mankind with the Initiative of Serving Elders, also hosts a summer gathering in the park for those who have lost loved ones, a P.R.O.M.I.S.E. Day with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a cleanup day with youth around the City of Pittsburgh, a career day, which used to be held at Oliver High School before it closed and the Jehru M. Donaldson scholarship fund. They also host their three-day annual basketball camp for boys and girls ages 8-18. Donaldson said they have recently begun planning for the camp, but they are now looking for a facility to hold it in, since Oliver is now closed.
“Our mission is to provide excellent opportunities for young people through mentoring and providing valuable skills along with promoting a working and caring relationship with the elderly,” Donaldson said.  
When it comes to the youth violence, Donaldson said it is because, “Parents aren’t doing a good job teaching them. It starts at home. Not everybody (all parents), but it’s just enough to make it noticeable.”
According to the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner’s 2013 homicide list, 15 of the 20 homicides have been Blacks and most of them are occurring in the city. Also, of those 15, the majority of them are under the age of 30.
“We have to encourage young people to go further. Go somewhere, do something because if you don’t you’ll get caught up,” Donaldson said. He added that there are usually only three endings to getting caught up in the streets-death, jail or addiction.
In an effort to provide a safe place for the community, Donaldson said he is working with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh to acquire a vacant building of theirs that sits at the corner of Wilson Avenue and West Burgess Street in the Perry Hilltop section of the North Side. While things are still in the talking phase, he said he plans to use it as a healing center and a center of learning and care for the youth and elderly. It will house space for community meetings, workshops, mentoring, music education and more.
“There is nothing for Black people on Perry Hilltop. There are other things out there than bars and clubs and jails and crack houses.  We need to show there are alternatives and P.R.O.M.I.S.E. is trying to be that alternative,” he said.
While Donaldson said he has received a number of support from the North Side community, especially Councilwoman Darlene Harris and Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, he said he needs more. He said the organization needs additional funding; grant writers; and volunteers to serve on the board, just to name a few.
“I am dedicated to bringing joy back into the community, into my heart and the hearts of others,” Donaldson said. “It helps me through the grieving process. There is a great joy in serving and we need to practice things that will bring us joy and others.”
Donaldson plans to make DVD copies of the April 6 showcase available for purchase.
(For more information on the P.R.O.M.I.S.E. group and its activities, visit www.promiseonthemove.com)

JAY GILMER

On Dec. 14, 2012, 26 people, including 20 children were shot and killed at a school in Newtown, Conn. The tragedy thrust the gun control debate to center stage across the nation and many in the Black community believed the government would finally address the issue of gun violence that plagues them everyday.
After four months some states have already begun to pass gun control legislation, including Connecticut where the governor recently signed a law restricting the sale of high capacity ammunition clips and requiring background checks on gun sales. However, while President Barack Obama has attempted to mirror Connecticut’s landmark bill at the federal level, he and supporters are being met with strong opposition.
“I’m concerned that there has been a weakening of the will. We’ve actually lost some ground since the Newton tragedy,” said Black Political Empowerment Project Chairman Tim Stevens at a forum on gun violence April 2. “When you consider that sending a child to school could be a death sentence to any child in America, it’s frightening.”

The forum at East Liberty Presbyterian Church invited politicians, candidates running for office, and gun violence experts and activists to voice their positions on gun control, solutions to ending gun violence and how to fight against the National Rifle Association, which is resistant to gun control. Among the most popular views were support for universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons.
“The founding fathers did not foresee these weapons of mass destruction where as fast as you can pull your finger you can fire out 50 bullets,” said local Congressman Mike Doyle, who added that he wears his F rating from the NRA with pride.
While many focused on federal gun control legislation, Pittsburgh City Council already passed their own gun control legislation in 2008. However, the lost and stolen handgun ordinance has yet to be enforced due to questions of its legality against state law.
“The statistics of gun violence taking place in my district were staggering; they were appalling,” said District 3 City Councilman Bruce Kraus about why he supported the legislation. “Those personal stories of people who are facing the slaughter of their loved ones keep me up at night.”
Others on the panel said government should look at the causes behind gun violence, especially the lack of economic opportunity in many Black communities.
“If we’re going to change this we can’t forget about the everyday violence in our streets,” said State Rep. Jake Wheatley who is a candidate for mayor. “The harder part is how do we get at the culture of violence and do we put our resources behind it.”
This culture also includes a “no-snitching” code prevalent in many communities. This code accounts in some part for the many unsolved murders in the city, including the death of Charlene Walters who was shot and killed at a crowded youth football game in October.
“There’s a reason why there are so many homicides in some neighborhoods and not others and part of that is telling the truth,” said Jay Gilmer, director of the Pittsburgh Initiative to Reduce Crime. “There are a lot of unsolved homicides in Pittsburgh. There’s a lot of killers walking the street.”

BLACK AGENDA—Sala Udin speaks in front of a coalition for a Black Agenda to be presented to the mayoral candidates. (Photo by J. L. Martello)

Joined by Blacks from across the city who want more African-Americans included in creating and benefiting from city policy, former city Councilman Sala Udin announced the formation of the Pittsburgh Black Political Convention, and put forth a Black Agenda for Mayoral candidates to review and respond to.
He said, during an April 4 press conference, it is to create a unified, Black voting bloc to support a single mayoral candidate who will address the narcotics and gun trafficking, and unemployment at “Great Depression” levels that haunt Pittsburgh’s African-American neighborhoods.
“But we are not so deprived of spirit that we are not able to stand up and say to the mayor and political leaders of our city, ‘You will respond to our needs and to our demands for a quality of life in Pittsburgh, or you will not be elected to high political office,”’ he said. “We have joined together to demand that Black people in Pittsburgh become visible to the political leadership of our city.”
To that end, the convention presented its Black Agenda to all the candidates, and has invited them to respond to it during a community meeting at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, April 19.
The following day, registered Black voters from across the city will return to Mt. Ararat for a vote to endorse the candidate who best articulates his commitment to the agenda’s priorities.
Of the four mayoral candidates, two are Black; state Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill, and community organizer A.J. Richardson. Richardson, however, he further hampered his long-shot chances with an April 3 DUI arrest.  Before Wheatley won his house seat 10 years ago, he served as an aide to Udin.
Given that close tie, when asked if a White candidate could win the convention’s endorsement, Udin said, “absolutely.”
“We’ve been waiting for a White candidate to speak up for the Black Community for years.”
Udin said the unique opportunity for a Black community endorsement only came about because sitting Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who probably would have won the Democratic Primary endorsement, declined to run. Then City Controller Michael Lamb, who won the endorsement by default, also dropped out to support Jack Wagner.
Udin said while the Agenda and vote only apply to the mayor’s race, that would not be the case going forward.
“Other elected officials should be on notice that we will probably be visiting their offices soon,” he said.
The Black Agenda itself, released to media the following day, covers 12 areas of concern ranging from employment and contracting to police brutality and street violence. It has not yet been posted on the convention’s website, www.blackconvention.com.
(Send comments to cmorrow@new­pittsburgh­courier.com.)