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Celebrating the ‘Fab 40,’ Class of 2023! SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 114 No. 15 Two Sections
APRIL 12-18, 2023
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No African Americans in reported three finalists for next Pittsburgh Police Chief Gainey expected to make a final decision this month by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Finding a Black police chief in small towns and rural areas is like finding a needle in a haystack. But in larger cities, Black police chiefs are easier to find. Like in Philadelphia, where Danielle Outlaw is the chief. Or Troy Finner, chief of police in Houston. Until a few weeks ago, David Brown was the lead man for the Chicago Police Department, and Wayne Drummond is the chief of police two hours away from Pittsburgh, in Cleveland. The City of Pittsburgh hasn’t seen a full-time Black chief of police since Nate Harper from 2008 to 2013. Earl Buford was a Black police chief in Pittsburgh prior to Harper, from 1992 to 1996. And it appears that the next permanent chief of police in Pittsburgh won’t be Black, either. Multiple local news outlets have reported that Mayor Ed Gainey and his administration have nar-
rowed the national search for Pittsburgh’s next police chief to three—Jason Lando, Larry Scirotto and Ryan Lee—none of whom are African American. Pittsburgh currently has a Black mayor and fire chief, Darryl Jones. In open-forum style meetings that Mayor Gainey and his staff hosted late in 2022, some residents expressed that they would like to see an African American as the next chief of police, given the disproportionate number of homicides in the city that are being committed by and against African Americans. They said a police chief who is Black may be better equipped to understand how to tackle the issues plaguing some African American communities in the city. When the Courier interviewed Lisa Frank, chief operating and administrative officer for the City of Pittsburgh, at one of the public meetings on Oct. 26, 2022, she said those in attendance said they wanted a chief who was, SEE POLICE CHIEF A8
THE REPORTED FINALISTS—Larry Scirotto, Jason Lando, Ryan Lee.
The Pittsburgh Project’s after-school program creates a family atmosphere Located on the North Side for decades by Ethan George For New Pittsburgh Courier
La’Keita Snyder was in the third grade when she first attended The Pittsburgh Project on the city’s North Side on North Charles Street. “I’m an only child, so being here where it’s so family oriented, I felt like I had a bunch of new siblings,” Snyder said. It was such a family-oriented place that she decided to stay. Today, Snyder works as one of The Pittsburgh Project’s youth and families assistants for K-5, a position she accepted after finishing the high school program, attending the Project’s Leaders in Training (or LIT) camp and working as a summer camp overseer before becoming an after-school teacher. The Pittsburgh Project began in the 1980s, when city residents got together to form a program to buy and renovate houses on the North Side. In re-
cent years, the nonprofit transitioned over to a new model, one focused on education and empowerment. These days, the program is an afterschool and summer camp that encourages kids to pursue their artistic and creative interests. “I do notice myself, like, saying the things my teachers said to me and it’s weird because I’m watching them go through the same things as me,” said Snyder, about what makes working for the project so rewarding. On a recent afternoon that was warm for February, the students and staff made good use of the early spring temperatures as the youth played in the park across the street from the old elementary school that is now The Pittsburgh Project headquarters. As Snyder talks about the family camaraderie, this spirit is on full SEE AFTER-SCHOOL A3
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THE PITTSBURGH PROJECT HAS BEEN A VITAL PART OF THE NORTH SIDE FOR DECADES, PARTICULARLY FOR AREA YOUTH.