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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 114 No. 19 Two Sections
MAY 10-16, 2023
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‘RIGHTING THE WRONGS OF THE PAST’
Bethel AME Church moving back to Lower Hill District in deal with Penguins by Eric Jankiewicz PublicSource
A historically Black church is returning to the Lower Hill District after being displaced by city government more than half a century ago. Bethel AME and the Pittsburgh Penguins made an announcement Friday, April 14, that was heavy on faith and light on the details. What’s known is that the Penguins have agreed to give 1.5 acres of Lower Hill District land along Crawford and Colwell streets to the church. The neighborhood was home to the Bethel AME Church until the 1950s when it was demolished under eminent domain to make room for the Civic Arena. But several details remain unclear, including what an announced $170 million housing development will entail, how affordability will be defined and how the 1.5 acres will be organized. The announcement also came with claims that an educational component will be included but didn’t elaborate on the specific nature of such a program.
The announcement was attended by, among others, members of the church, religious leaders, developers, Pittsburgh Penguins leaders, Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Gainey, Fitzgerald and others portrayed the move as righting the wrongs of the past. “We devote this land to end White supremacy, capitalism, racism, and all other isms that bring division,” said Rev. Carmen Holt, associate pastor with Bethel AME. Officials with for-profit developer Buccini/Pollin Group, chosen by the Penguins to redevelop the site, attended the announcement and Mayor Gainey thanked one of their members for their work. Bethel AME Church Pastor Dale Snyder said that the new site would have an educational component and what he called an “incubator system” as well as affordable housing. “I want to solve some Black problems for Black children,” Snyder said. “I’m Black and I’m proud.” SEE BETHEL AME A4
BETHEL AME CHURCH PASTOR REV. DALE B. SNYDER, AND CRAIG DUNHAM, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
Thousands expected for four-day Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival This year’s festival dates: Sept. 14-17; and new this year, a ‘Jazz Train’ by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Jazz and Pittsburgh are synonymous. You just can’t have one without the other. Ahmad Jamal. Mary Lou Williams. Erroll Garner. Billy Strayhorn. Kenny Clarke. Art Blakey. Stanley Turrentine. George Benson. The list goes on and on, as Pittsburgh, pound for pound, has produced as many impactful and influential artists in jazz as any other American city. Which is why the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is vital, and growing every year. Once Downtown, the festival has moved to Highmark Stadium on the South Side, home of the Pittsburgh soccer team, the
Riverhounds. Yes, it’s taken a stadium-like atmosphere to hold all the artists and spectators that are now involved in the festival. The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that this year’s festival will take place, Sept. 14-17. “There is no question that jazz is the language of Pittsburgh,” said Janis Burley Wilson, President & CEO of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, in a statement. “But it also is engaged in a global dialogue, one that transcends race, class and upbringing. And it is so moving to be able to invite jazz lovers to Pittsburgh for this annual festival, to be part of the history—and the future— SEE JAZZ FEST A6
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JANIS BURLEY WILSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE AUGUST WILSON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER, IS CREDITED WITH CREATING THE PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL.