May 28 2009
Having said all that, anyone working for Homewood's positive exposure during the G20 must also be realistic. Recognize, for example, that East Liberty has Jamaican and Ethiopian restaurants, and Homewood doesn't.
And yes, the person writing about diversity made a darn good point.
I remember a visitor to Pittsburgh once remarking on the fact that from the time he landed at the airport to the time he got out of his cab downtown, he didn't see any black people.
What will dignitaries and journalists from around the world notice?
(Speaking of cabs, could we PLEASE get Pittsburgh's cab service in shape by September?)
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May 28 2009
The G20 is coming to Pittsburgh.
This is huge for the city. But what can we make it mean for Homewood?
Our news package offers people the opportunity to respond to the news. One writer said:
Great but very ironic that the LEAST DIVERSE city I have ever been in
will host all these diverse folks. I travel extensively for my job
& believe even places like Rochester or Kansas City are more
diverse. Time for the "burgh to attract some diversity. PLEASE!
A couple of people also note, as the story does, that many will view the G20's visit as a prime opportunity to stage protests or demonstrations.
Granted.
But this news makes me want to convene a meeting with the brightest, most impassioned and most hopeful people I know, to talk about how Homewood can gain positive exposure around the summit.
For example: If I had to guess, I would guess that a group that large, that diverse and that sophisticated would include at least a couple of jazz lovers. What if, instead of having its free concert at the Homewood Carnegie on the last Wednesday of that month, the 30th, the Jazz Workshop moved that concert to the 23d? What if that concert were dedicated to the G20 visitors and a group of people dedicated themselves to making it easy for the G20 people to attend the concert? Might some of them show up?
Bigger example: What if the Jazz Workshop, the Afro-American Music Institute, and the Community Empowerment Association Hip-Hop Academy worked together to create a great big festive music event to celebrate the G20 coming to town? Or, a post-summit festival that weekend?
Third example: What if the people working on the creation of the Homewood Children's Village invited President Obama to Homewood, and what if he accepted the invitation? (Why would he do such a thing? Because the HCV fits in with what he has said he wants to do in education.) What opportunities would that create for postiive exposure?
Any of those possiblities would require a ton of hard work by a bunch of people. The questions are, what people are willing to discuss the possibilities, and then, who is willing to do the work?
There will be a LEGION of journalists here from around the world. When Pittsburgh is front and center on the world stage, should Homewood remain invisible?
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May 28 2009
On my way home from work yesterday, I stopped at the Homewood Carnegie Library for some free live jazz. (Gosh, I love being able to say that.)
Unfortunately, I worked a little late, so I was only able to catch the last couple of selections by the evening's performers, the Don Aliquo Jazz Quartet.
Here's the last one, a number composed by Mr. Aliquo's son, Don Jr., entitled "One for the Joes." Enjoy!
Last night's performance was part of the regular series of live jazz presentations that happen the last Wednesday of each month at the Homewood Carnegie, courtesy of Harold Young's educational nonprofit, The Jazz Workshop, Inc.
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May 19 2009
...it's election day again in Pittsburgh.
It's not Obama vs. McCain, but every election counts, and every vote counts.
Exercise your poltical muscle today...VOTE.
And then start getting ready to do it again in November.
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May 18 2009
The radio station most likely to heard blasting from car stereos at any given moment on any street in Homewood, WAMO-FM, has been sold, along with its sister stations, WAMO-AM and WPGR-AM.
I visit my next door neighbor twice a week to work out with him in his basement. Like any regular meeting, this one has begun to generate its own ritual. We head into the basement, we each slip on a pair of lifting gloves, and he turns on WAMO-FM.
I have *no* idea what station he will turn on after St. Joseph Missions takes over 106.7. We might have to set up a computer in the basement to tune in to somebody's podcast (I don't know whose; any suggestions?).
Other than that, my first thought about the news was that the sale price, $8.9 million, sounds like a deal for three radio stations. I don't really know, but it just sounds like it. The second thing that struck me was this line:
"Sheridan owners tried to find minority buyers for the stations, but none could arrange the necessary financing..."
Really? Truly? In the world of business, $8.9 million is not a lot. As SoulPitt.com founder Donna Michele Baxter commented on Facebook, "A Steeler or two could have bought it and kept it urban."
Which raises the question, "What do Black Pittsburghers who have money do with their money?" I have carried that question a long time; I thought it about often during all the pre-PG years when I worked for $8.00 an hour or less (when I worked at all), and felt utterly unable to take advantage of the opportunities that I saw all around. Wish I could fund a good study of Pittsburgh's middle- to upper-class Black population by a couple of sharp sociologists, a la Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro's "Black Wealth, White Wealth."
I used to go to church with some of those folks, but never got to know them well (how well can people get to know each other by looking at the backs of one another's heads for two hours a week?). Or at least, not well enough to violate the taboo against talking about money.
I digress. Back to WAMO: Some folks in the cybersphere are suggesting that the vacuum created by the sale will create an opportunity for Black entrepreneurs and artists.
Do you agree? Do you see anyone on the local scene who you believe could fill the void? And until they do, how will the change in WAMO's ownership affect Homewood?
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May 07 2009
Honestly, there's something wrong with me. Yesterday I told you about happenings at the Homewood Carnegie Library, but I didn't tell you that this evening there is a public forum for District 1 candidates for the Pittsbsurgh School Board. What makes that really bad is that I'm moderating the thing. I swear, I'd forget my head...
Anyway, Operation Better Block is sponsoring the forum, which will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sorry for the late notice; still hope to see you there.
Reflections on a magazine cover
The cover of the current issue of Jet has a picture of gospel sisters Mary Mary with their daughters and the caption, "Sisters find perfect mix of music, marriage and motherhood."
I find it odd that the photo illustrates motherhood by showing the kids, but that it doesn't illustrate marriage. There are no husbands in sight. Given the state of our culture, I would have guessed from the photo that Mary Mary were single moms.
The same is true inside - pictures of moms and kids, but the husbands, who are mentioned in passing, remain invisible.
Yes, it's Mothers Day; I get that. But does that mean making husbands invisible, making marriage invisible? A long time ago, but still within my lifetime, most mothers were wives, whose husbands (the smart ones, anyway) used Mothers Day to honor their wives, the mothers of their children.
Now I'm wondering if wives need a separate day of their own.
There's Valentine's Day, but that's for anybody who's feeling googly-eyed about anybody else. Wives deserve a day that's just for them, with no admixture.
Or at least mine does. She's not a mom, so Mother's Day isn't for her. But she deserves some honor just for being my wife.
So this is for my darling wife (I'm sooo glad you're "My Girl" for life!)::
I like holding your hand when When we're out and about. I never expected that people would respond the way they do, complimenting us, and saying things like the lady who came up behind us when we were on our way to West Penn Hospital that day: "If God ever blesses with a husband, I'm gonna be just like that, holding his hand." I don't hold your hand to get attention. I do it because I like the feeling of "you're mine, and I'm yours." I want to keep that for however long we're both on this planet. I want us to be like that elderly couple walking in the park in that diamond commercial. And if a man could choose how to die, I would choose to die at home, in our bed, your hand in mine (I will probably go first because you eat veggies every day and I have lacked the will to give up pizza.)
Like the man says in Proverbs 31.29: There's a bunch of good women out there, but "Ain't No Woman Like the One I Got!"
I've said this, and I'll say it again: when we're sitting in the living room, and you're looking at TV, and I'm reading, and I look up from my reading to look at you looking at TV, totally unaware of your own loveliness, I think, "This is it; this is what I wanted from my youth onwards: to be able to sit in my living room in my later years, look across the room at a lovely lady, and say to myself, "I chose well. I am blessed."" I have had bigger dreams than a quiet evening at home with my wife of many years. But I don't think I've had any better ones.
I love your smile. I love your laugh. Sometimes I even love your frown. I love your smarts, and I wish I knew how to be as compassionate as you are. I love your body parts.
I will always be grateful to you for saying "yes" to the most outrageous question a fellow could ask.
I think I could write about you all day, but I can't do that here, so for now I'll just say, "You Are So Beautiful to Me."
So why am I saying all this out loud and stuff and probably making you blush?
First, I'm saying it because I'm not just grateful for you, I'm proud of you. And it hard to stay quiet when you're proud.
Second, I'm saying it for the sake of any younger brothers who may be reading this. Steve Harvey has become a hero to millions of women because he has helped them to realize that they are worth waiting 90 days for. But from what I can tell, he's talking about dating, about "being in a relationship." But Steve himself is not just in a relationship, he is married.
And here's what I haven't heard Steve Harvey say (although I think he would if you asked him): A girlfriend, a honey, a shawty, may be worth waiting 90 days for. But a wife....Great God Almighty! The right woman is worth waiting for, not for 90 days, but for however long it takes to find her and win her as your wife. And she's worth working for, in whatever ways that it takes to keep her.
As the Bible says, "He who finds a wife finds a GOOD THANG!!" ('scuse my 'hoodness)
I challenge you to believe that your Good Thang is out there. I dare you to accept no substitutes.
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May 05 2009
The Homewood Carnegie Library will be abuzz this weekend, as the United Black Book Clubs of Pittsburgh presents their 6th Annual Celebration of Reading.
The bookfest actually begins tomorrow evening, with "Our Men Reading to Our Children." It's just what it sounds like: men from the community reading to children between the ages of 3 and 12. It runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The event offically opens Friday with a gala from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, there's a book fair from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Full details here.
As if all of that weren't enough, the Pittsburgh Jazz Workshop is joining with Duquesne University to offer Jazz for Tots Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. The blurb on the library's website reads, "Three to five year olds use rhythm, dance and sing-along to enhance brain function, encourage social and emotional growth, and discover their creative gifts!"
Almost makes an old guy wish he had a tot. For more info, call (412) 731-3080 or email homewood@carnegielibrary.org
The big question
How can this blog better serve you?
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