In the wake of the Supreme Court decision nixing college affirmative action plans, conservative legal guns may target government contracting and other programs. Pittsburgh is just beginning to arm itself with evidence of discrimination.
As Pittsburgh works to undo past racial discrimination and improve conditions for Black residents, legal scrutiny of programs that pursue those goals is growing. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to ban race-based affirmative action in higher education has other sectors on notice.
While the controversy over race simmers nationally, Pittsburgh has taken tentative steps to shield its programs from legal attacks. The city is preparing to fund a disparity study to determine when it can legally consider race in contracting and other areas. This rigorous analysis has become a mainstay of courtroom defenses of race-conscious public policies.
The stakes are evident just three blocks from city hall.
The Lower Hill District, previously a center of Black life brimming with jazz clubs, churches and barbershops, was razed in the 1950s as part of a federal slum-clearance campaign known as “urban renewal.”
At the behest of local leaders, 1,300 buildings were bulldozed, expelling more than 8,000 residents and displacing more than 400 businesses. The now-demolished Civic Arena and a luxury apartment building rose in their wake.
Seven decades later, developers are turning this concrete island into 28 acres of offices, mixed income housing, park space and an indoor music venue. For nearby residents and public officials, it’s an opportunity to repair some of the damage perpetrated against the community that once teemed here — but only if contracts and benefits are distributed based in part on race.
“When they demolished the Lower Hill District, that was the beginning of the economic devastation of Black Pittsburgh,” Pittsburgh City Councilor Daniel Lavelle, whose district includes the neighborhood, said from his Downtown office.
“My intent through the redevelopment of the Lower Hill was to economically begin to really lift and rebuild the Hill District community,” the four-term councilor said. “And so most of my work, the policies, the advocacy work, has been around using this development to economically advance the Black community.”
Accordingly, the site’s developer, Buccini/Pollin Group [BPG], has said it aims to award 30% of total contracting dollars to minority-owned firms – a notably higher figure than a citywide target of 18%.
Courts, however, view any use of race in setting policy with deep suspicion. Governments usually must first compile extensive evidence through a data-heavy disparity study to establish a link between race-conscious measures and a relatively recent history of discrimination.
“We are working to move forward the disparity study as quickly and efficiently as we can,” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey wrote in response to PublicSource’s questions. “We don’t have a firm timeline at this point as to when it will be completed.”
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