America’s best weekly Four African Americans among those killed in New Orleans truck attack SEE PAGE A8
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 116 No. 2 Two Sections
JANUARY 8-14, 2025
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Davis announces program to assist local businesses by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
When it was time for Derrick Wilson to speak, the CEO of The Wilson Group, a Black-owned company with its home offices just feet from Pittsburgh in O’Hara Township, didn’t have to say too much. In effect, he let the media and other members in attendance, including Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor and Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary, look around and smell the $27 million in revenue the company generated in 2023. Wilson is the leader of the company that focuses on being the premier provider of document workflow solutions in the region. Need a copy machine, or printer, or scanner? Wilson’s got it. Best Records Management? Wilson’s got it. Securi-
ty systems? Wilson’s got that, too. The Wilson Group is an example of a successful minority-owned business. Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis and DCED Secretary Rick Siger want to see more historically disadvantaged businesses have success, which is why they announced at The Wilson Group’s offices on Delta Drive the opening of the Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance Program. Community nonprofits, economic development organizations and educational institutions have until Jan. 22, 2025, to submit a funding application to the state. The organization must have a plan to open a Business Assistance Service Center, which would then be accessed by, among other LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AUSTIN DAVIS, left, announces along with DCED Secretary Rick Siger the state’s new groups, Black-owned busi- Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance Program. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.) nesses, for empowerment and support. That support could mean anything from that the state “sub-grant” “When we support small nities that have been often technical assistance to ac- the funding dollars to local diverse businesses, we left behind for far too long cess to capital and boost- organizations “that really are supporting economic and we are helping Black ing the overall number of know their communities growth and job creation and brown families create well,” Siger said during here in the Common- generational wealth.” diverse small businesses. Lieutenant Governor DaFor Lt. Gov. Davis and the Dec. 16, 2024, news wealth,” Lt. Gov. Davis DCED Secretary Siger, conference at The Wilson said. “We’re supporting revitalization in our commuthey felt it was important Group. SEE DAVIS A6
'Teenie' Harris' home preserved Next; Turn home into a museum, education center by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
The former home of famed Pittsburgh Courier photographer Charles "Teenie" Harris is one step closer to becoming a museum. The Courier has learned that the Pittsburgh Land Bank acquired the vacant Mulford Street home in a sheriff's sale on Dec. 2, 2024, for $26,000 via a bid process. The total cost for the Land Bank, including recording fees, quiet title, cleanout and sealing of building envelope and holding costs, was $51,597, paid with
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ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds. Without the Pittsburgh Land Bank stepping in, the vacant home could have been sold to anybody or any entity, who could have demolished it, or fixed it up and sold the home or used it as a rental property. More than likely, the person or entity that would have acquired the home wouldn't have honored the legacy of the man who lived in the two-story property for so many decades, "Teenie" Harris. SEE HARRIS A3
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THE PITTSBURGH CHAPTER OF JACK AND JILL OF AMERICA HELD ITS PRESENTATION BALL, DEC. 28, 2024, AT THE OMNI WILLIAM PENN HOTEL, DOWNTOWN. SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGES A4-5. (PHOTO BY GAIL MANKER)
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