America’s best weekly Pittsburgh resident traverses country as Howard University broadcaster See Page A7
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Vol. 113 No. 43 Two Sections
OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2022
$1.4 million generated for Black businesses during this summer’s Downtown festivals Marshall: Always been a goal ‘to create economic impact for Black Pittsburghers’ by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Three of the top event weekends for African Americans in Pittsburgh this year—Juneteenth, the Black Music Festival and Soul Food Festival— generated $1.4 million for the small Black businesses that lined the streets as vendors, according to an Oct. 25 report from Stop the Violence Pittsburgh (STVP). The organization is responsible for putting the three events together each year in Pittsburgh. It’s the first report of its kind from the organization, which, according to its founder, William Mar-
shall, should be applauded by city leaders, those in the non-profit and corporate sector, and all residents of the city. “With the majority of Black Pittsburghers living in poverty or from paycheck-to-paycheck, with our festival events it is our goal, among other things, to create an economic impact for Black Pittsburghers,” Marshall said in a release sent to the New Pittsburgh Courier, Oct. 25. The Economic Impact Survey Report, as it’s called, gave the many venSEE BLACK PITTSBURGHERS A8
MARCIA MARTIN, WITH HIGHMARK HEALTH, AND B. MARSHALL, LEADER OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH’S JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION.
Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch named ASALH Branch of the Year for 2022
IT WAS A HUGE HONOR—THE LOCAL BRANCH TAKING HOME THE TOP AWARD.
by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), located in Pittsburgh, and named after the pioneering jour-
nalist who was the first female reporter at the Pittsburgh Courier, was selected as Branch of the Year for 2022, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned. ASALH was founded in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson to document the
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contributions of African Americans to American history. ASALH has been implementing Dr. Woodson’s vision for more than a century. The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch’s programming has been central to extending that vision. On Oct. 1, at the 107th Annual Meeting Conference Awards Banquet held in Montgomery, Ala., ASALH’s highest honor was bestowed on the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch for “Outstanding Branch
Programming.” “For the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of Pittsburgh, to be honored by ASALH is most rewarding to each member and embraces the powerful enduring legacy developed by Dr. Edna B. McKenzie for many years in Western Pa. and nationally,” echoed Ronald B. Saunders, the branch’s president. Saunders said it was quite fitting that the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch would receive such an honor in the Branch’s
10th anniversary year. “The Branch members are quite confident that Dr. Edna B. McKenzie is smiling down from Heaven at their Branch and is saying an exceptional job well done,” Saunders told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “The support among our membership, like a solid bedrock, has been and continues to be most encouraging and strong. The Branch has members from around the United States of America who are engaged in continuing the
legacy of our founder and of Dr. Edna B. McKenzie.” The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch is an integral part of the tree built by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The work performed in all the Branches of ASALH is to honor the legacy of Dr. Woodson by providing rich programs of substance and content to keep alive the important work of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the mission of ASALH. Dr. James Stewart, proSEE ASALH BRANCH A8