A MEMORIAL WAS HELD FOR CELESTE SCOTT IN HOMEWOOD, NOV. 13. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
Celeste Scott never took “no” for an answer when it came to improving the lives of African Americans and other people of color.
The 46-year-old would often be seen and heard at Pittsburgh City Council meetings, demanding that there should be more affordable housing in the city.
These days, the city’s Housing Opportunity Fund (HOF) pours millions of dollars into affordable housing in Pittsburgh each year, and Scott, as housing and justice organizer for Pittsburgh United, was largely responsi ble for its creation.
“This is a major win for the city of Pittsburgh,” Scott told the online housingtrustfundproject.org in 2018. She lauded the HOF, saying it would allow “more than 7,000 Pittsburgh families to stay in their homes or move to safe and affordable homes. Every person in Pittsburgh deserves a place to call home. The affordable housing crisis required our elected leaders to take action, and that’s what they did.”
Scott died on Nov. 2 at her home in Homestead. It’s unclear the manner of Scott’s passing.
On Sunday, Nov. 13, a daylong memorial event was held at the Homewood YMCA to celebrate Scott’s life, organized by the Celeste Legacy Circle group.
“Celeste raised most of us into the activists we are today,” said her close friend, Brittani Murray, on Facebook. “Celeste uplifted and championed every fabric of what it means to have a Black life in Pittsburgh and supported every intersection of that life.”
Community activism is something most people aren’t cut out for. But for Scott, it was a calling. In addition to Pittsburgh United, Scott volunteered with New Voices Pittsburgh, the Alliance for Police Accountability and SisTers PGH. Scott served on the boards of SisTers PGH, Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters and Lawrenceville United. Scott also was a founding member of Black Femme Excellence Co.
While the COVID pandemic stopped a lot of things and people, Scott carried on. In July 2021, when the City of Pittsburgh, then under Mayor Bill Peduto, announced it would receive $335 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan, Scott joined other activists on the steps of the City-County Building: “We must ensure that the city uses these funds to address years of racial and economic inequity and ensure accountability and transparency in the process,” Scott said. “Homeownership is important, but it’s renters who have suffered the most during the pandemic. Including rent relief is critical, and if Council had engaged the public in this process, that’s one of many things that would have been abundantly clear. It is vital that the public has a say in deciding how to spend this money—not just the usual voices and the folks in power—but the community, especially those most in need of relief. Council needs to slow down, pause the vote, and engage the community in a real and transparent way.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, upon learning of her passing, said that “Celeste was not only a tireless advocate for affordable housing—resulting in the creation of Pittsburgh’s Housing Opportunity Fund—but a celebrated community leader known for her kindness and generosity. She was a fierce champion for racial justice, housing justice, and queer liberation. The City of Pittsburgh is a better place because of Celeste. May her memory be a blessing, now and always.”
Soon-to-be Congresswoman Summer Lee also commented on Scott’s passing: “Celeste Scott was such a beacon of light and love for our community. A fierce advocate, especially for our Black and queer communities, for housing justice and racial justice, a compassionate mother and community mother to so many. Rest in power, Celeste.”
Scott also advocated for Black transgender people in Pittsburgh, which was noted by SisTers PGH founder Ciora Thomas: “I am forever grateful for your life and your sacrifice and the fight it took for you to exist within a place that worked you to death.”
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