Urban League panel, Bush stress ‘Black Lives Matter’

With multiple workshop sessions covering Black-on-Black violence, Domestic Violence, Police and Community Relations, and Child Abuse Detection and Reporting, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh State of Black Pittsburgh Conference left no doubt about its priorities: Black Lives Matter.
The six-hour conference, held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center May 16, featured concurrent sessions on all topics for both adult and youth attendees.
The highlights of the event were the keynote panel luncheon, featuring Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay, New Voices Pittsburgh Founder La’Tasha Mayes, Wesley Center AMEZ Church Pastor Rev. Glenn G. Grayson, and Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Esther Bush. WQED television and radio host Chris Moore moderated the discussion.
As always, the true highlight was Bush’s State of Black Pittsburgh address, in which she noted that Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of Baltimore police officers didn’t allow for the simple “racist” projections applied in Ferguson, Mo.
“(I)n contrast to other cities that have been wracked by tension and protests over police confrontations with Black men, the city’s mayor, its police commissioner, and the state’s attorney are all Black, giving a somewhat different tenor to the clashes between the power structure and its critics,” she said.
“Of the six police officers charged with various crimes because of their alleged involvement with Mr. Gray’s death, three of them were Black and three were White. Mr. Gray’s death in Baltimore makes us realize that this can’t simply be explained by White versus Black. Across racial lines, among Blacks as well as Whites, there is a lack of knowledge that Black lives matter.”
The Urban League of Pittsburgh, Bush said, has been dedicated to the proposition that Black lives matter since it opened up shop on Wylie Avenue in 1918.
“Everything we do, the programs that are designed and implemented, the meetings and events we hold and to which we invite you all spring from the knowledge that Black lives matter, that your life matters, and that our community and our entire nation are better off when you are better off,” she said.
Bush said in the last year the Urban League had, as it did for the 96 previous years, continued to connect African Americans with resources to meet their basic needs, and provided programming to foster full development of family potential through education and employment.
Bush highlighted last year’s partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools that saw 120 middle-schoolers attend the Summer Dreamers Academy, and 17 high school “techno teens” learn aspects of video game design. All of the senior techno teens graduated and are enrolled in college.
She also noted that 752 clients received general employment services, another 547 attended training, information recruitment or job seminars, and 160 gained employment. Another 106 clients attended the agency’s first-time homebuyers workshops.
While proud of the accomplishments, Bush said the Urban League’s work won’t be finished “until there’s nothing left that looks or feels like Ferguson, Mo. or Baltimore, Md.”
“If I truly believe Black lives matter, and I want to have this attitude infiltrate every square inch of this nation, then I must start by being sure that I am treating myself as if my life matters,” she said. “Realizing that I am fully capable translates into expecting a lot from myself, establishing standards for myself, and holding myself to them. Because, when I know that I matter, then I act as if I do.”
The program ended with a special “Call to Action” performance by award winning spoken word artist Vanessa German.
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
 
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