Build the Hill This Weekend!

Hey Folks,

Last weekend, I opened for The Last Poets. Love them, love them, love them and excellent job, Kente Arts Alliance!
I also unveiled my Sarah Palin character and that's about the only time she'll be a hit in my world.

This weekend . . . Build the Hill! September 26-28, 2008!

We had the Kickoff in May and now it's time for the Conference, itself!

http://www.buildthehill.org (not hyperlinking so you can memorize it and tell everybody else)

I'm so excited! We have a lot of registrants and have exceeded our expected numbers! We have lots of volunteers!

A youth talent showcase on Friday . . . at Margaret Milliones University Prep School, 3117 Centre Ave. at Ewart St.

On Saturday, same place, the Conference filled with a Recognition Breakfast (get up!) information, activities and fun for adults and youth, alike (youth have their own track), and then later that night (8:30pm), an OUTDOOR film screening of Chris Ivey's "East of Liberty Chapter 2: The Fear of Us" at Ozanam Basketball Court, 1833 Wylie Avenue at Sweeney Way.

On Sunday, at the Legacy Apartments (2121 Centre Ave), we have the Crown Contest and Bake-Off, where we get to see who's the biggest and the baddest baker and hat-wearer in the Hill.

Y'all better be lucky I'm not allowed to enter because my banana pudding is lethal! However, one of our contestants has written in, "I bake a mean chocolate mousse cake". Yummy! We'll discuss issues, record oral narratives of the Hill from Seniors and then wrap up the Conference.

Check the website for all of the details, speakers, etc. It's going to be quite lovely.

We are out of space for vendors!

We are almost out of space for registrants!

If you're bringing kids, PLEASE register for yourself and them here: http://www.buildthehill.org

Any questions? Call our toll-free number and someone will get back to you: 1-877-277-9066

Check out the flyers! See you there!

From Da Burgh to Dubai!

Folks,

I've been very busy and don't always have time to update my blog. I'm also headed to Dubai for a conference on Women as Global Leaders, so please don't be astonished when I return even more determined and pointed in my criticism than before. Here's an update before I leave and it's a bit of a scathing one at that:

Let's see, we had a very good public hearing at City Council on Monday regarding the Community Benefits Agreement. The Pittsburgh Comet gave a quick update and shared links. I had to give a ten minute presentation on the historical context of "how we got here" and what I choose to call the "tale of two cities" (with an obvious Dickens reference). I hope it went well, folks seemed to appreciate it. But more importantly (and sadly), there was a woman there who was 98 years old and another one at 81 years old who was listing all the properties he'd owned in the past (and some in the present). Endearing and lovely, yes. But it's always so easy to smile at beautiful, elderly people. However, I didn't find it all that endearing because I, for one, do not want to be 98 years old and having to come down to a community meeting over something that should be so basic. This isn't 1958, this is 2008. And I find it rather disgusting, it's not cute at all. They should be sitting around telling us stories about how to better our lives, not having to hustle down to City Council to give testimony to how grand the city's failures have been.

In addition, I am so sick of my City Council representative, Tonya Payne, I wish it were 2009 already so we could vote her up and OUT. It's not about what she did to my brother regarding the Wilson home. And it's not even about anything personal. And Sala Udin has nothing to do with this as far as *I* am concerned. Folks forget a very basic and simple idea --- I DID NOT and DO NOT know Tonya Payne before this whole thing started. And by whole thing I mean a rich, white corporation attempting to put a casino in my poor, black neighborhood and a rich, white corporation taking money from the taxpayers in this blue-collar city and then trying not to reinvest with anything substantial in my poor, black neighborhood and/or to dictate how their "reinvestment" will be spent, when the neighbors have come together over the last TWO years to *further* determine what we need and want in the here and now.

It's not a grocery store, goddammit! Our children are DYING. Get it? Dying!

I told Pgh United this from the very beginning. We shared this within One Hill. We told them not to let anyone market this bullcrap to us from the start. Of course a grocery store is an easy win and another way to GET MONEY from people in the neighborhood.

And so, I am sick of everybody at this point. And I am most sick of my City Council representative, Tonya Payne, because she has wasted our entire community's time for the last two years. If we had someone really fighting for us, really going to bat for us AND (this is key, so pay attention) in the positions that she has been in (Planning and Zoning, the URA, close association with Mayor Ravenstahl and David Morehouse of the Penguins), we would not have to waste one moment of our time having to protest. We would be able to simply shake hands with the Mayor, shake hands with the Pens, shake hands with Dan Onorato and applaud our collective vision and masterplan for reinvestment.

But no. We are people who have the least amount of time to be dealing with this foolishness, we have the least amount of resources to do it and the most amount to lose. We should be focused on the positive energy of development and not have to run and protest and put out fires and stop the steamroll at every term. And to know there is someone in place who could really be an asset to our neighborhood and not just an ass, is incredibly disheartening, annoying and disappointing. THAT is why I am angry and I have every right to be. And you should be too!

And not only that, I am upset because I consider it entirely disrespectful to have the majority of speakers at a public hearing reflective of YOUR district and when it is time to say anything (I mean, anything) to them, you shake your head and purse your lips into a 'no comment' and then the moment Council President Doug Shields says "move to adjourn", you yell out "SECOND!"

I then walk outside (I'm kinda rushing now because I've been there since 10:00am, it's 12:30pm and I have a class at 1:00pm) and the moment I walk out of the chamber doors, I hear Tonya Payne talking to Jeremy Boren of the Trib saying, "I don't know why people are saying the Pens aren't at the table. If you asked them, they would say they never left the table." Now, I heard this with my own ears. Why this didn't make it in the papers is beyond me.

But I find it sickening that you have nothing to say to someone who is 98 years old. I find it repulsive that you can't even muster up a "thank you all for coming to speak out", especially when no one said anything negative about her (and I had ten minutes to do so if I had wanted to) or anything of the sort. This is why I made a comment to Jeremy and then Tonya interrupted me saying I don't know what she does. Precisely, Tonya. Precisely.

And I know this is bigger than someone the likes of Tonya Payne. And I am not blaming her for coming up with these rude and callous ideas regarding our neighborhood. There is no doubt that we will be having a different kind of convo with David Morehouse, Ron Burkle and some others. And, certainly, I haven't forgotten about Ron Porter's shady behind, talking about "the mentality of entitlement is a tough one to crack." Negro, are you crazy? I mean, really, ARE. YOU. CRAZY??? He should be asked to permanently leave the Hill House Association Board immediately. And I am 100% serious about that. From betraying the community on the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force to this---enough is enough!

But for now, for Tonya Payne, who was elected by the people and on a platform of change, I am saying that she has a part to play, she is in a prime position to play it well (not bent over) and I do not feel she is even remotely protecting us and is only protecting her next election interests. But that is already a wrap, so she might as well do what she must to leave an important legacy and contribute something tangible during this one-time-only period as our rep.

Shame on you, Tonya Payne. Just shame on you for everything you have done and NOT done. People elected you because they believed you might make a difference. And all you have done was to make things worse.

Tonya Payne does not deserve to be our representative. And I am calling on all of the people who remotely thought putting her in office was a good idea to please get your ballots ready to put her OUT.

As for all of the rest of you that are too afraid to say anything to or about Tonya (or the Mayor or County Exec or the Pens or anyone else), please remember that "fear and God do not occupy th same space". If you care so much and claim to be working on our behalf, when the hell are you going to say something publicly and do something about it?

When will it be convenient for you to do ANYTHING at all?

Be happy I'm going to Dubai.

But I'll be back!

August Wilson Historic Designation

Folks,

We've been very busy over here in the Historic Hill District.

And speaking of history, today at 1:00pm, City County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh

YOU can weigh in on what I wrote in my Revelations Column:

1. The Historic designation of August Wilson's birth home by City Council

2. The legislation offered by Rev. Ricky Burgess to correct the shadiness caused by a legislator/council member seeking to stop AW's historic designation.

3. The call for a full investigation on who and/or what pulled the legislation of the AW historic home designation and sought to pocket veto (bury it), thereby not allowing the home to come up for designation for five more years.

It's a shame. But we want to Hold Them To It!

If you can't make it, PLEASE CALL or EMAIL the City Clerk and register your thoughts:

Contact Info: City Clerk's Office
510 City - County Building
414 Grant St.Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 255-2138

In addition, August Wilson's "Radio Golf" will finally be staged at the Public Theater, October 2 - November 2, 2008. Save the Dates!


By the way, I'd like for you to read what Pittsburghers have been talking about relative to the Hill, the AW home, etc. Let's start with my column:

Dr. Judy says: What an on the spot article. Last year I noticed an official Pittsburgh Website that listed all the famous people and under authors John Wideman was not listed. I emailed them to chide them and never received an email back. We need to celebrate all of our geniuses.

TKO says: Dr. Goddess is being coy, what she and her brother really want (as usual) is $$$$. There is already a nice monument to August Wilson downtown.

(Would someone mind sharing with TKO why preserving August Wilson's home might be remotely important; and would someone also share why having a center named for Wilson downtown is an honor but not quite the same as renovating his childhood home? Sheesh . . .)

And be sure to Read the Racism on Craig's List!

Yes, We Can

There's alot going on these days. And often times I'm too busy to blog.

But I find that most of what I care about at this time are the girls in my show, the students in my classes, continuing to share August Wilson with the world, reaffirming the dignity and humanity of the people in my neighborhood---the Historic Hill District, re-electing State Representative Jake Wheatley, Jr., and, oh yes, making Barack Obama the President of the United States of (North) America.

The slogan for my One Woman Show has been "Meet Dr. Goddess. Become a Believer" since the beginning (2004) because everybody has to believe in something, someone, someplace, some entity that gives our lives meaning.

Today, I believe in eight girls, in particular.
Today, I believe in my students.
Today, I believe in August Wilson's gift to the world.
Today, I believe in my neighborhood, the Historic Hill District.
Today, I believe in Jake Wheatley, Jr.
Today, I believe in Barack Obama.
Today, I believe in Michelle Obama.
Today, I believe in something, someone, someplace and some entity.

And today, I believe that I can make a difference.

And that you can too---if you believe.

Yes, we can.

We Lost the Battle, We'll Win the War

Yesterday, we had a very interesting City Planning Commission Hearing, at the end of which the Commission voted to approve the Pittsburgh Penguins' plan for the new arena in the front yard of our Historic Hill District neighborhood.

Just before the hearing began, at about 1:30pm, Mayor Ravenstahl, Councilwoman Tonya Payne, One Hill CBA Chair Carl Redwood and One Hill Lead negotiator Evan Frazier had press conference talking about how negotiations were going. It was hilarious, for so many reasons (hint: watch Tonya Payne). See for yourself.

Many persons came out to support our cause, all across the City of Pittsburgh and we appreciate that. The overwhelming majority of persons who came out wore red or put on red ribbons to signify Hill unity (full and shared representation), the right for us to speak out and be heard and the message that "We Won't Repeat the Defeat!"

We stood outside in the hallway and then a policeman came out and announced that the hearing on the Hill would begin shortly and that only the persons who signed up to speak at the last hearing would be able to speak this time because this was a continuance, not a hearing---and that the list contained only seven people. Lots of grumbling, I challenged that and the policeman told me to speak to the Chairwoman inside, which is where I immediately went when I got in the room. Unfortunately, a number of our supporters left before ever entering into the room to challenge that miscarriage of justice.

I told Chairwoman Wrenna Watson that many of us had not signed up and that I had not received my full time as the head of an organization last time. She insisted that I did receive my full time and I was not buzzed at 3 minutes. The timer lady (what would she be called, btw?) said that I was not buzzed at 3 minutes, either. Of course, I checked when I got home and I was buzzed at 3 minutes and 28 seconds. I'm going to follow up on that because . . . "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"

More importantly (and seriously), our hero of the day was Momar Milliones, a member of the Hill Faith and Justice Alliance (the coalition of which I am a part) and one of the original persons who stood up on that bitterly cold day in January to make sure the Pens did not steamroll our entire community (including our elected officials). Momar patiently waited for his turn (as he was one of the original seven supposedly permitted to speak), immediately asked for his time not to begin and made a calm, rational but determined plea for the public, the PEOPLE to be able to speak.

The most profound moment of his speech is when he said there are rare opportunities for the average citizen to participate in a process such as this, the process was flawed from the initial sign up and that the Commissioners should do the right thing and allow the citizens to be heard.

The Commissioners voted and all Pittsburgh citizens were permitted to speak, including Sal Williams, who spoke in support of the Pens (and the 50 surface parking lots, vacant lots and abandoned buildings he owns, mostly on Fifth Avenue). Interestingly, I've learned that former Councilman, Sala Udin, tried to prevent the continued development of surface lots in Uptown and the Hill as early as the year 2000. Very interesting.

"Yo, Sal, how come you ain't got no brothers up on the wall?"

No, I never got my minutes back but I did sit there and patiently listen to everyone's comments and took pictures of all of them.

The City Planning Commission was disappointing not necessarily because they voted "yes" but because they seemed to violate or otherwise go against their own criteria---even outside of the CBA. Some of them had not seen the updated plans for the parking garage. Some of them did not understand the logistics of what they might be passing. Others felt burdened by all of the supposed amendments that would have to happen in the future---but passed the plan anyway despite their own criteria for approval (why, Commissioner Mistick?) Here is a classic example :

Commission member Barbara K. Mistick said she wasn't satisfied with the amount of parking that will be available.

The Penguins plan to build a 500-space garage that could be expanded later to 780 spaces, but the 2,400 spaces available at the 16,900-seat Mellon Arena eventually will disappear once the land is developed, she said.

"Do the math. Now you've got 18,000 seats and you're giving up 2,400 parking spaces," Mistick said.

Despite her misgivings, Mistick voted in favor of the plan along with E. Paul Dick, Monte Rabner, Todd E. Reidbord and Mary Lou Simon. Voting against were Chairwoman Wrenna L. Watson, Barbara Ernsberger and Lynne Garfinkel.

And still others, like Todd Reidbord, for example, left the hearing right in the middle of testimonies to go watch the Pittsburgh Panthers play basketball, skipped tons of important information that could have changed his vote and then return to pass the Pens' arena plan.

We also discovered that the City Planning Commission can sort of guess what the social impact of a particular development might be---even something as large as this---without a social impact study.

So, with all that said and done, we lost the battle but we will win this war.

Do not fear, friends. Nobody was really surprised by yesterday's vote.

In the meantime, an excellent review of Mindy Fullilove's "Root Shock" appears here at Null Space. This will be good for all of the people that don't understand the root causes of friction, division, crime, struggling infrastructure of organizations and problems with development in urban, African American communities like the Historic Hill District.

Get your read on.

Speak Out Today! Wear Red!

We need you today and wearing something red. Red means "We Won't REpeat the Defeat!" Meaning, the defeat of 50 years ago where broken promises were never kept and repeated displacement, lack of investment and benign neglect has been the order of the day in the Historic Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

City Planning Commission Hearing
200 Ross Street, Downtown Pgh
Come at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm.
After school.
After work.
As you are.

So, give us three minutes and we will change the course of history forever. Whether we stop the City Planning Commission vote or not today, you need to come and show your support. Show the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, the State of Pennsylvania and this entire nation that you care about one of the world's most famous neighborhoods and most importantly, that you care about poor and working-class people who are standing up to Big Businesses that get loads of corporate welfare but don't want to give much of anything back to the community. Show that you care about people who refuse to be "built upon" and gentrified, thereby making it displacement #3 and #4. We live here. We work here. We play here. All we ask is that by showing up, wearing red and speaking out, you support our cause of proper reinvestment, FULL representation of the Hill (including but not limited to One Hill) and self-determination.

If you need a ride from the Hill, there will be buses running from Grace Memorial Church (Upper Hill), Wesley Center AME Zion Church (Middle Hill) and the Hill House (Lower Hill). Call 412-621-9612. Spread the word.

"We Won't Repeat the Defeat!"

We Won't Repeat the Defeat!: Speaking Truth To and About Power

Greetings folks,

Three important announcements where we request your attendance/participation:

1. One Hill CBA Coalition meeting Monday, January 07, 2008, Hill House Kaufmann Auditorium, 1835 Centre Ave, 6:00pm

2. City Planning Commission Hearing, January 14, 2008, 200 Ross Street, Downtown Pittsburgh, 2:00pm – Come prepared to support and to speak on our behalf for three minutes!

3. Watch our speeches from the last Planning Commission Meeting on Dec. 11, 2007:

“We Won’t Repeat the Defeat!: Historic Hill vs. Big Business”

Part I: Don Carter, Planning Consultant, Pittsburgh Penguins

Part II: Carmen Pace, George Moses, Tim Stevens

Part III: Evan Frazier, Sheila Petite, Carl Redwood

Part IV: Terri Baltimore, Rev. Foster, Bomani Howze

Part V: Marimba Milliones and Kimberly Ellis

Part VI: Rev. Glenn Grayson, Rev. Thomas Smith, Eugene Taylor

Part VII: Brenda Tate and Minister Jasiri X

A Bit of History

As many of you may know, the Historic Hill District community is in the middle of a revolution for the 21^st Century. The two major issues that have swung our neighborhood into action centered around the gaming applications for the State of Pennsylvania and the three gaming applicants for the City of Pittsburgh’s sole slots license---one of whom sought to place their casino right at our front door (and the only applicant seeking to place their casino in our neighborhood). This would not have occurred without the local nods that collaborated in thinking this would be a good idea. Due to the success of State Representative Jake Wheatley and the Hill District Gaming Task Force in informing the community and the Raise Your Hand! No Casino on the Hill Campaign (including the activist Hill ministers) in mobilizing the community to take a stand against the Isle of Capri Casino Company and the “Pittsburgh First” (Hill District Last) organization, we successfully defeated their plans on December 20, 2006, when the Category II slots license was granted to another competitor---Don Barden’s Majestic Star Casino, to be placed on the North Shore.

Today, our major point of contention is with some of the same group of persons who sought to place this casino at our front door but were granted huge public subsidy and public lands to build their new arena, also at our front door. A new arena, of course, is a totally different development from a casino, which could be much easily supported, however, the responsibility of a large, multimillion dollar corporation such as the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team (with a billion dollar owner-Ron Burkle), coupled with gargantuan public subsidy demands that we insist on proper reinvestment to the low income, working-class community that must host this arena---the Historic Hill.

Thus, in 2006, the Hill District Gaming Task Force insisted on a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) in its Ten Point Key-Reinvestment Proposal given to each gaming applicant. In January 2007, a small group of individuals representing Hill residents, organizations and clergy stood in icy cold weather at the present Civic Arena to demand a seat at the table and prevent the Pittsburgh Pens from signing a lease with the City and County with little or no regard for Hill residents whose neighborhood hosts the arena. In April 2007, many of these same persons issued a term sheet with a list of demands for reinvestment (based on the points of the 2006 Hill District Gaming Task Force), followed by the creation of the One Hill CBA Coalition (with the support of City Councilor Tonya Payne), which started a community process to develop planks, asks and a “Blueprint for a Livable Hill” document that shaped negotiations for the CBA.

Unfortunately, because neither the City, County nor Pittsburgh Penguins had produced or signed a CBA or a plan of reinvestment with the Hill District community, we all had to come together at the City Planning Commission Hearing on December 11, 2007 to request that the Commission vote “No” on passing the Pens’ plan for the arena until they responded to further community concerns around planning and signed a legally binding contract for proper reinvestment.

The videos listed above capture that hearing and Part I of our testimony. We have yet to sign a CBA or gain proper reinvestment for our community, so we ask that you support our cause by writing letters, making phone calls, hitting the streets and coming to the January 14^th meeting, in particular.

City, County and Pens Propose No C, No B, and No A for Historic Hill District

So, here's the PG article. And here's the Trib. Update: Here's the latest from the PG. I will go through every statement here to show the problems with this proposal.

Officials unveil plans for Hill District
Thursday, January 03, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl offered representatives of Hill District groups a seven-part community benefits agreement today that included new services, plans and facilities, but not a direct transfer of dollars from a new arena to neighborhood development efforts.

Once again, any discussion of shared revenue, shared prosperity, reinvestment and funding to indigenous Hill District organizations is described as "a direct transfer of dollars", one step above "cash payments".

Reaction from Hill groups was mixed, with the One Hill CBA Coalition issuing a statement that it was "pleased" that neighborhood concerns including a grocery store and job training center would be met, but adding that "vital planks have been expressly ignored."

Many of the vital planks are ignored and it's very disrespectful to the community. And there is no mention of a "job training center" in this proposal. CareerLinks referrals do not a "job training center" make.

The package is a result of "many meetings and discussions" and represents "significant benefit to the community," according to the cover letter accompanying the proposal.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree that there is any level of significance here. I see very little that is concrete in this process, very little guarantee of anything substantive for the community and much of it is also not what the community believes to be what it needs for self-determination. Newsflash: we do know what we need but have so often had little resources to do the types of things that would be holistically impactful. True, there have been "many meetings and discussions". And I think that's why this proposal is so sad---because it looks like the first step of something real and it's considered the last.

The package includes a master plan for Hill development, funded by the city and county.

This is necessary for all parties involved, anyway. In addition, the Pens are not adding one dime to the Masterplan for the rest of the Hill. The city, county and the Pens would be absolute fools not to do a Masterplan for the best location in the city, especially with Downtown's burgeoning development. Yes, this was a demand of ours but let's just keep perspective. We also specifically asked that the Pens pay for the Masterplan. And why not?

Officials will go to the neighborhood to detail social services and recreational and training opportunities available to residents, and to identify any gaps in the available services.

So, they want to give us a presentation to tell us what we already have in our community. And, they want to take two years to make an assessment of it all. First, there is already a list of the services in our community and, second, we can tell you how well they're all going because they're not all going well---hence, the need for proper reinvestment and a Community Benefits Agreement. I think the fullness of the insult has set in now.

The city and county will set up and operate a "resource center" to connect people to services and jobs, including those related to the arena project.

Ah, the "Hill District Resource Center". It sounds big!, exciting!, effective!, yes? The proposal states that this Center will be "in a central, easily accessible and visible location". Oh, yes!

What Rich Lord did not mention (and pardon me for laughing but you have to read the proposal to really believe it) is that there is to be ONE (1) staff person to refer the entire Hill District community to "appropriate existing human services, employment training, assessment and preparation programs, job opportunities and economic development funding programs. This center will be maintained for two years and then its effectiveness will be reassessed and reviewed".

Well, I can tell you now that this will not be effective in any real or substantial manner. Way too much work for one person in a very needy community, way too much stress, way too many phone calls, way too much paper work. This person will eventually break down and become ineffective. Then, when they ask for more help and resources to make the program (a Hill District organization) more effective, they will be told they're asking for "handouts" and "cash payments' and that the city and county will conduct a two year assessment to look at its effectiveness and gaps in the process.

In other words---this is insane.

Both governments and the Penguins would "support the establishment of a viable grocery store in the Hill District and . . . use good faith efforts to cause that to occur," in the words of the proposal.

Right. The "in good faith" effort is quite similar to the "concept" of a grocery store, which ultimately means "much later". And, folks, it's not that the community will not eventually get a grocery store. It's just that when it comes, it will be to make sure that it serves the people who live on the new developments on the 28-acre site and then Hill residents will be considered as part of a total population to make it extraordinarily profitable. In the meantime, we can continue to subsidize other communities and big business that don't give anything back.

Similarly, they pledge their support for a new YMCA in the 2100 block of Centre Avenue, and offer to help win state money toward its development.

Yes, that's right. The YMCA that is not even a member of One Hill, the one organization that is nationwide, already in the middle of a capital campaign and, you guessed it---not what the community asked for. The community asked for a recreation center that would be for the elderly and youth---like the Kingsley Center in East Liberty. Maybe, just maybe, the YMCA could come close to that but it still means that the community cannot control the kinds of programs, services and recreation, not necessarily shaped or defined by an overarching, national organization with its own agenda and priorities.

And, again, we must note the Mayor's revelation that he will be asking for a "handout" (he calls it funding) from the state.

There is no reference to direct funding for development groups in the Hill District or sharing of arena revenues, which some neighborhood leaders have sought. It isn't clear whether the mayor and executive believe they need community leaders to sign off on the proposal to make it official.

Laughable. I don't know if this is Lord's assessment or the officials' but in order to have a deal all parties must sign off. Any indication otherwise is just more paternalism, more racism, more of the same.

Just so everyone is clear, the Hill District community has explored what we need and want for at *least* the last two years---all of 2006 and all of 2007. The planks from the One Hill CBA Coalition from 2007 and the other group of clergy, residents and organizations is based on the terms from 2006 (outlined in the ten point key reinvestment plan of the Hill District Gaming Task Force). The cost of implementing or maintaining those programs and organizations is what makes up the community fund. As Mr. Eugene Taylor, a Hill community member, says in his statement to the City Planning Commission, "we are not asking for a handout. We just want our fair share".

One Hill's statement said that the city, county and Penguins have "drawn a line in the sand calling the [development] fund a 'hand out' and misrepresenting the concept of community control. One Hill is willing to negotiate on this plank, but it is a crucial part of the blueprint. . . .

Well, there is no doubt that any continued references to "handouts" and "cash payments" is just downright ignorant and a purposeful shaping of racist, classist perceptions designed to harm the Hill District community (further). It's also a subtle warning for anyone else in poor, working-class and/or communities of color who are thinking of CBAs and/or gaining proper reinvestment from development projects with public subsidy.

"Without some agreement on a Community Improvement Fund with some form of Hill District community control, there will be no agreement," One Hill's statement says.

Good for One Hill because the folks in my coalition didn't plan on settling, either. The motto is supposed to be "no one settles until we all settle", so it's good to see One Hill following its stated platform without capitulating to the weaker elements among the group that probably think this proposal is an honor instead of an insult.

The letter is addressed to Hill House Association Executive Director Evan Frazier, who was not immediately available, and Monumental Baptist Church Rev. Thomas Smith, who had not seen it yet.

Yes. And that is for "joint sign-off" folks, for the One Hill CBA Coalition and the Hill clergy, residents and organizations of which I am a part (including State Rep. Jake Wheatley). I support One Hill too, it's just that the political corruption and capitulation to the ridiculousness of Tonya Payne and her people drove us out of the process and the organization. C'est La Vie. We still live here and we are the ones who launched this cause on January 28, 2007 when we stopped the city, county and Pens from steamrolling us, so we weren't going anywhere and weren't going to stop fighting for what's right, anyway.

Maybe now we can all be on the same page. Because the fact that it was shared with the media even before the actual community representatives is just more of what I will call mayoral games. I don't know how much Onorato's office was in on that one.

In any event, stay tuned and also show up at City Planning on January 14, 2008, 200 Ross Street, 2:00pm to stand up and speak the truth about power (cuz speaking to them doesn't work the way one might desire).

Next up: my special focus on what the Pens have to offer.

The Ice Age

I'll never forget the day I heard esteemed Black scholar, Cornel West, refer to this era as "the ice age" because, he said, America was in an era of indifference. Indeed.

Extreme Cruelty
Yesterday, in New Orleans, protesters tried to stop the city council from voting for demolition of four large project complexes that presently have 4500 livable units. Instead, they are opting for the tax credit profiteering of the HUD office and are replacing the communities with 'mixed income housing' to the tune of 744 units. No plan for temporary housing, no plan for allowing people who lived there to come back (it's called "the right of return"). Let's take a moment and think on this for a moment . . .

Yes, the police used pepperspray against the people trying to pile into City Council chambers but, hey, they had to, right? But why should City Council be comfortable only having to look out at the 300 available seats? They should feel the dis-ease of overcrowding, if nothing more than to understand the unimaginably dismissive posture they've adopted. It can all be summed up in this quote:

HUD wants to demolish the buildings, most of them damaged by Hurricane Katrina, so developers can take advantage of tax credits and build new mixed-income neighborhoods.

The council's approval of the demolition is required under the city's charter.

HUD says the redevelopment, in the works before Katrina hit, will mark an end to the city's failed public housing experiment that lumped the poor into crime-ridden complexes and marooned them outside the life of the rest of the city.

Aw, HUD. Who knew the federal government cared so much about public housing? Yep, now is the perfect time to talk about its failed experiment (as if any of us would disagree). Hours later, the demolition was unanimously approved, whereas before there were council members hedging, their conscience tearing at their souls.

I guess seeing people protest and violence break out was enough to want them all gone, eh? See pictures of the demolition as citizens are protesting. It really can't get anymore cruel than shrinking housing at the time when it's so desperately needed and so scarce. All they asked is for temporary housing until there can be 1:1 placement. And to be able to come home.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we here in Pittsburgh's Historic Hill District cannot let a rich, white, corporation with a billionaire owner, host itself in our neighborhood, take up all of our parking spots and not give much of anything back in terms of proper reinvestment to a poor, Black, working-class community. Even if you don't believe, we believe. We have a dream and, yes, it does take money.

We won't repeat the defeat from 50 years ago, when "Hurricane Civic Arena" displaced thousands of residents and never replaced the housing the way they said they would---and then engaged in benign neglect after residents got mad at the broken promises and engaged in riots during the 1960's. It's cause and effect, folks.

And I could not be more proud of the people of New Orleans for protesting, even passionately so. Indeed, it shows me that global warming is a real and welcomed effort.

Extreme, Visionary Kindness
"He Had a Dream" But at least this is real. When I entered graduate school, we read a book on teaching with a statement I've never forgotten---"students will float to the mark you set". To tell a group of third graders that they will be going to college is phenomenal and wonderful because the prison industrial complex is determined by third grade reading scores. Yes. So, either you will believe and assist in these kids' education---or many of them will be going to prison. Plain and simple. I'm not surprised this column is from Marc Fisher from The Washington Post. I'm thinking maybe the PG posted it because it involves the word "Promise", as in "Pittsburgh Promise". We'll see.

In the meantime, at least the University of Pittsburgh brought back the "Upward Bound" program, which helps high school students prepare for college. With an initial grant from the U.S. Department of Education of approximately $485,000 for its first year, it will serve 112 students who will be the first in their generation to attend college. If the program meets their objectives, it will be funded for an additional three years. Good. It actually works.

Mayor Ravenstahl vs. Volunteer Historic Hill Citizenry

I missed Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's "Neighborhood Meeting" in the Hill District on Wednesday, December 12, 2007. But I am appalled at what I am seeing and hearing. Your thoughts before I go any further?

Transcript, Part I:

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl: Thank you, I’ll respond to the CBA stuff first.

I support the Hill District Masterplan, that I know that has been discussed, made that commitment sometime ago. I certainly support the resource center. For those of you that are unfamiliar, the city and county agreed to set up a resource center in the Hill District, staff it, to provide opportunities for individuals that come in, uh, to look and, uh, find job opportunities. I support that in the Community Benefits Agreement.

Support the concept of the grocery store in the Hill District

Support in working with, s’cuse me, the YMCA on providing a multipurpose center, uh, in this community. I know we’re talking about the block of Centre Avenue in the Hill District and we’ll do whatever I can to support getting the funding from the state to do that.

Uh, support the SEA and the Penguins, uh, meeting regularly with the community to talk about the construction schedule, the staging, etc., uh, all the opportunities for the, uh, members of the Hill District.

Uh, I do not support cash payments to any organization or individual, uh, in the Hill District. I want to be clear with that. I do not support, for example, Marimba, a cash payment to you to do the Masterplan.

Marimba Milliones [from the background]: I didn’t ask for that, Mayor Ravenstahl…

Mayor: I do support investment in programs and initiatives in, uh, our community and I think there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity, uh, to do that. So, that’s where I stand on the Community Benefits Agreement. In terms of timeframe, uh, I think we can, very realistically, uh, do so, before that, between now and, uh, when it, when the Masterplan goes to the Planning Commission.

I think we’re ready to, uh, put this all in writing. Again, we’re not going to agree on everything but, uh, I can guarantee you that, we’ll, uh, at least have a presentation to you all, uh, before that goes before the Masterplan approval process.

And so, that’s where I’m at on the Community Benefits Agreement and I talked to the County Executive today about that and I think those are great opportunities for the Hill District.

[The Mayor continues for another minute or so, talking about the Pittsburgh Promise and increasing the student population before reopening schools. Then he concludes and the open commenting period begins].

[Ms. Milliones stands and begins asking her question and the exchange between the Mayor and the residents begin, with a distinct discussion on cash v. funding]

We refer you to the dictionary for the denotation and ask you to think about the connotation, especially in a working class, poor, Black neighborhood full of volunteers trying to make their community better:

cash –noun

1. money in the form of coins or banknotes, esp. that issued by a government.

2. money or an equivalent, as a check, paid at the time of making a purchase.

[no one asked him for cash]

funding - noun

1. financial resources provided to make some project possible; "the foundation provided support for the experiment"

2. the act of financing

Thank you, Chris Ivey.

Priceless.

Countdown to a CBA and Proper Reinvestment

This was an old post that I did not get back to but here it is now, still relevant and clarifying.

The questions are:

Will the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team (as a corporate entity, we are not talking about the players and/or fans), which has been siphoning off of the Black Hill District community for decades and benefited from the government's benign neglect of the Hill, ever give anything substantial back to the community, especially now that the corporation has received millions of dollars of public subsidy (we pay taxes, too!)?

There are two groups of representatives bodies at the table seeking proper reinvestment and/or a Community Benefits Agreement:

1. The Hill District ministers, residents and stakeholder's group - a representative body of persons who stood in the freezing cold, in front of the arena on January 28, 2007, to demand Hill representation at the table, as news media and others reported the Pens were slated to sign their lease agreement with the Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA) and the County in order to stay in the city. And, the group of persons who presented a "term sheet" of their own in April 2007, which included a demand for a CBA as well as other forms of reinvestment, such as 30% minority employment, first source hiring, a community development fund, appointment to boards, control of our land, etc.

2. The One Hill CBA Coalition, formed in June 2007, with relative ease, particularly after this first group secured an agreement to allow for six months to engage in a CBA process. This is a worthy cause, as CBAs are popping up all across the country. However, since this would be the first time such an agreement would occur within the state of Pennsylvania, let alone the city of Pittsburgh, it was imperative that the Hill District community issue its own agenda to ensure proper reinvestment. The One Hill CBA was empowered and funded by Pittsburgh UNITED (Unions and Neighborhoods Investing in Transforming Economic Development), which was funded by a number of foundations but mostly the Falk Fund and the Heinz Endowments.

In short, Pittsburgh UNITED was slated to be a new era of a Civil Rights Movement (or maybe even a Poor People's Campaign) that would provide institutional change and ensure that a CBA would be the standard for any large development with public subsidy.

Well, let's just say that the dream still eludes us; and for many reasons that I won't get into at this point in time. However, the strengths and weaknesses of all of these groups within the importance of this entire cause will be explored as I continue to outline the happenings in the final lapses of this here hockey ring.

As of this moment, the Pens have refused to provide any funds whatsoever for the Community Development fund and have not signed off on any other plank or concern. Neither has the City. Neither has the County.

Yet, the Pens must go before City Planning on December 11th and the general trajectory of a CBA campaign is that if there is no signed agreement, the community will ask that City Planning NOT approve the plan of the developer. If there is a signed agreement, the community agrees to support the developer.

Our City Council Representative, Tonya Payne, is in the unique position of also being a URA Board member and has a 'special' relationship with the Pens. And, yet, Payne stopped coming to One Hill meetings over a month ago and there is no agreement signed with One Hill, the group she used to try to isolate and eradicate those whom she believes are aligned with her rival and former incumbent challenger, Sala Udin. She won the election but one cannot tell based on her continued paranoia and negative, divisive behavior.

Now, Mayor Ravenstahl, who just won re-election with a 10-1 margin in Black communities over his competitor, Mark DeSantis (R), definitely owes. And it goes without saying that he has a 'special relationship' with the Pens, as he flew off into the sunset on Ron Burkle's jet months ago and more recently, was treated to a charity golf game to the tune of thousands of dollars. Fine. But Pens' fans were not your swing vote and you did not have a 10-1 margin over your competitor anywhere else.

Perhaps that's why he was still campaigning in the Historic Hill District on election day. I heard he came by the Madison elementary school (now closed, btw) twice.

(thanks, Agent Ska, great work!)

So, all that to say it'll be interesting when the Dec. 11th City Planning hearing arrives; and even more interesting during the January vote.

Why Many Northside United's Points Are Valid

Believe it or not, I do not just sit back and criticize. In private, I have offered many a point of strategy, assistance, philosophizing and the like, mostly to One Hill leadership* and rarely to Pittsburgh UNITED, mostly because they take their cues (erroneously) from One Hill leadership.

*And, for the record, when I say One Hill leadership, I am always excluding Bomani Howze, whom I believe is the only honest person with integrity on the Executive Committee.

I explained in an earlier post that I could not believe it when I heard Mark Fatla explain the contract they signed with Don Barden's Majestic Star Casino, which stated that there would be "no negative impact" from the casino industry being on the Northside and that Barden would pay for any negative impact proven to be caused by his casino.

Bruce Barron, President of "No Dice" wrote a rather stellar Op-Ed, that I must respond to, piece-by-piece. Barron writes:

Our nation's increasing propensity to pretend the dark side of gambling doesn't exist was on dramatic display at the North Side's New Hazlett Theater the other night.

The one-act play was billed as a North Side Leadership Conference forum on the social and economic impacts of the casino Don Barden plans to build some day soon between the Carnegie Science Center and the West End Bridge. The performance -- at least the scripted part of it -- was selective, to say the least. Of 36 slides in the conference's PowerPoint outline, 11 started with the word "Jobs!" and none mentioned problem gambling or its social consequences.

Wow, they must all take their cues from the same playbook. This is painfully familiar to what "Pittsburgh First" (the Pittsburgh Penguins, Isle of Capri Casino, Nationwide Realty and 'the community' - Tonya Payne's people, an organization which I chose to call "Hill District Last") kept dangling in front of the Hill District community on a near-constant basis. And they always come with semi-flashy powerpoints or DVD's.

Since Mr. Barden has offered the conference $1 million a year in "community benefits" donations -- or about one-tenth of what North Side residents can be expected to gamble away at the casino -- it seemed likely that this rosy view of gambling was a tacit part of the agreement. But the question period became surprisingly candid.

For the record, while it is extremely important to recognize that the demand for proper reinvestment is nothing new, it is only fair to Pittsburgh UNITED and the entire Community Benefits Agreement Movement that Mark Falta stop pretending as if this is a CBA. I think he has co-opted this language for convenience-purposes and to slight PU / Northside United; but there is supposed to be a distinct process and partnership with what we now call a "CBA" and it's more than a bit disingenuous on his part to refer to the NSLC agreement in this manner.

Executive Director Mark Fatla noted that, when the conference sought input from the 14 neighborhood organizations that comprise its constituency, the message was clear and consistent: The neighborhood groups didn't want a casino in their community and they didn't want the conference to endorse Mr. Barden's proposal no matter what he offered.

Well, that was smart. It's certainly nothing personal to Don Barden, who appears to be a stellar businessman with a lot of integrity and character (despite his chosen field of work), in the same way that it wasn't personal towards the Isle of Capri Casino company.

Unable to dangle the endorsement carrot, the conference nevertheless negotiated a monetary agreement with Mr. Barden and offered friendly testimony on its dealings with him to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

This is far more than what Pittsburgh First (Hill District Last) was offering. But, I won't begrudge the Northside Leadership Conference for seeking reinvestment because the Northside did not pass Act 71 and allow gaming into the State. Like many cities, we have all had to deal with this, particularly in light of our city's then-pending bankruptcy and the state's poor financial status.

But when it sought a contribution to offset increased public safety and addiction counseling costs, said conference board Chair Joe Lawrence, Mr. Barden's response was cool: "I already pay for those things at the tax office."

I have to say that, in many ways, Barden is correct. Pennsylvania has the highest level of taxes against the casino industry and it is up to the people (especially those who don't own property but will suffer from the negative effects of gambling) to petition their government to set aside funds to address the negative impact. It is not just the responsibility of the casino industry because people have free choice. Northside United must create a CBA with the City and County around these issues, in particular.

According to Mr. Fatla, the conference asked what it should do about these negative impacts on its community and Mr. Barden denied that his casinos cause any negative impacts.

I'm not so sure what would be so special about Don Barden's Majestic Star that there would be no negative impact. I just don't believe this because the casino industry, overall, negatively impacts the environment.

So the conference added to the agreement a paragraph stating that it could pursue compensation from the casino for any documentable negative impacts its presence should cause.

That paragraph might just prove historic should the conference's current lovefest with Mr. Barden ever turn sour, because many analysts foresee a day when the casino industry becomes as vulnerable to civil lawsuits as the tobacco industry. (So far only a few lawsuits worldwide by addicted gamblers have succeeded in court, but one activist state attorney general could change all that.)

I guess someone should have mentioned to the NSLC that it is very hard to prove that a casino caused direct harm to someone or a situation.

Barron is right about this. More and more people are suffering and the casino industry does not have many (or enough) regulations upon it. I do believe it will go the way of the tobacco industry and we'll see a ton of "truth" commercials in about ten years. Until that time, the nationwide honeymoon phase will continue; and I am unwilling to blame Don Barden for this national and international obsession. Human beings enjoy being self-destructive, don't we?

It thus behooves the conference to obtain solid baseline data on existing levels of problem gambling on the North Side, because gambling addiction typically doubles in the immediate vicinity of a new casino. With the social cost of each addicted gambler estimated at about $13,000, that's a $5 million- to $10 million-a-year tab the conference might be able to stick to Mr. Barden.

So true. But before and during that time, this is also very much the responsibility of the City and the State.

Ironically, had the conference taken its cue from the neighborhood groups and opposed Mr. Barden's proposal rather than cozying up to him, it might not have a casino to deal with at all.

I'm not sure about that, Bruce. The people in Philadelphia (CasinoFree Philly) are still fighting a very tough battle that is quite honorable but is still ongoing; and they have actual paid organizers and staff members at their disposal. If this same battle would have taken this long in Pittsburgh, the Isle of Capri's temporary casino on the Melody Lot site would have been opened for close to six months now. The fact of the matter is that for some reason, people are thoroughly enjoying giving their hard-earned money away. So, what do you do?

Instead, it laid down passively while vociferous Hill District opposition to Isle of Capri helped to make Mr. Barden's Majestic Star a winner.

As the organizer of such "vociferous Hill District opposition" (otherwise known as the Raise Your Hand! No Casino on the Hill Campaign), I will effectively take my bow with the entire community of folks here and across the nation who assisted us. However, I must remind everyone that the Hill's win is the City's win because the "Pittsburgh First" plan was the only one to place its Casino right within the street grid of our neighborhood and in our front yard. I am now pushing a request to make sure there is no casino in anyone's residential community from this point forward.

And let's be honest here: 99.9% of Pittsburgh never believed that Don Barden, an African American, had half of a chance to win the Category 2 slots license for the City of Pittsburgh. So, while Northsiders should have been more proactive, it was plain ole shortsightedness, lack of proper leadership, apathy and a healthy serving of racism that is the source of what is happening now.

Now the conference is dutifully holding casino job fairs to present Mr. Barden with a ready-made work force.

While enjoying its honeymoon with the casino, the conference has been fighting a rearguard action against a competing community organization seeking a place at the bargaining table. Twice the other night the conference forum moderator pleaded for civil discourse, asking speakers to "be a model for our children."

The raw emotions expressed at the "casino design" meeting are honest expressions of disgust, disenfranchisement and anger. I do hope, however, that Pittsburgh UNITED is not unfairly manipulating or exploiting the mostly Black, working-class and/or working-poor persons so upset at this point in time. For example, is it the most advantageous, at this point in time, to create a totally adversarial relationship with either Barden or the NSLC?

And on the flip side, one must wonder . . . how many Black people were in the room when this deal with the Northside Leadership Conference was made? And if there were any, how many of them represented the Black, working-class and/or working-poor from the Northside?

We must ask . . .

While Barron concludes:

Perhaps, at a time when gambling -- especially youth gambling -- is America's fastest-growing addiction, the conference should consider what message it sends to our children by overlooking gambling's well-documented social impacts and by portraying casinos as an honorable partner to be patronized.

Mmph. Strong words. Bruce Barron is president of No Dice, a Pittsburgh-area organization that opposes the expansion of legalized gambling in Pennsylvania (nodicepa@aol.com). And he's right that adolescent gambling is America's hidden epidemic.

America's gambling explosion and the passing of Act 71 has put us all in a very awkward position. I am not willing to lay this entire burden upon the shoulders of Don Barden; and, at the same time, it's very important for all of us to understand the negative impact of the casino industry, as well as the responsibilities of the City and State.

What I did in "Dr. Goddess Goes to Jail" was to introduce a character named "Betty" who, after being tossed in jail for observing civil disobedience (a criminal act I created in my play), shared a poem that moved her cellmates as well as the multitudes of folks in the audience who came to see our ensemble production. The poem was called "Confessions of a Slots Queen" and I'll share more on that later. It is, however, one of the most popular pieces in the entire production.

The Hill is En Vogue

Tonight, I went to see "Off the Record VII: Blogged to Death" at the Byham Theater and found it to be rather funny. They parodied the bus transit situation, the smoking ban, Joe Hardy's marriage/s, Dan and Luke, Art Rooney (Steelers), Don Barden (Majestic Star Casino) and Bob Nutting (Pirates). And, although I hear the actor who played Don Barden is in this show every year, I find it amazing how much he resembled Barden. Plus, they did him justice in the writing:

Up yours! That's the new North Shore!

I really appreciate the lack of racism, folks. It's so refreshing, especially in Pittsburgh. I also enjoyed the satirical take on appealing to Dan Onorato on behalf of the Hill District community. I think, perhaps, I enjoyed it so much because, well, I had already done this near-exact act in my own show, "Dr. Goddess Goes to Jail, a spoken word, musical comedy (unfortunately) based on a true story". I read in the program that none other than the P-G's Casino Journalist, Bill Toland, was a lyricist for this show; and I like his writing but he and P-G Theater Critic and OTR Producer, Chris Rawson, owe me royalties, big time.

Why?

Because Rawson reviewed my show and said:

In the play, Dr. Goddess is an incarnation of the Hill -- imposing, angry, funny and smart . . . . Some [skits] have the bite of George Wolfe's famous satire, "Colored Museum." I loved the "Evita" and "Dreamgirls" parodies.

In "Off the Record VII", the Hill was a Black woman named "Shaniqua" who was, you guessed it, 'an incarnation of the Hill --- imposing, angry, funny and smart', who engaged in a "Dreamgirls" parody---singing the exact, same song. Now, I don't know if Toland witnessed 'Dr. Goddess Goes to Jail' but he wrote about me and my work for a while and I'm 99.9% certain that he read Rawson's review, don'tcha think? In the Hip Hop world, that's called "bitin'". And together, I suppose, we owe the creator of "Dreamgirls". But, my show is still touring and I'm glad that this one was 'one night only'. Otherwise, it would be extremely unfair to me and my work, thankyouverymuch.

Still, the actress/singer did a fine job as both Jennifers (Hudson and Holiday) and Toland's lyrics were both hilarious and meaningful---just like in my show. By the way, Bill, I missed you last night. It would have been nice to (finally) meet you. Great seeing you, Chris and thanks again! Overall, I enjoyed the entire production. See you all next year!

On another note:

My first response to Republican Mayoral Candidate, Mark DeSantis' publicity stunt in the Hill District is, "oh, please" but why shouldn't he join in on the "The Hill is En Vogue!" routine right about now. Everybody has leapt to their feet to "assist" in the Hill's notoriety but don't be surprised when we question your timing. Where were you last year, Mark? Where were you even six months ago? Heck, where were you last week? What you can do for us, Mark, is get your fellow Republican Presidential Candidates to be respectful enough to appear at the RPC forum in Baltimore with Tavis Smiley.

That way, you can truly be ahead of the curve instead of scrambling to catch up on the fashion trend.

Speaking of, that forum occurred last night but you all get my point.