MORE THAN 20,000 PEOPLE ENJOYED THE 2023 PITTSBURGH SOUL FOOD FESTIVAL, HELD ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND IN DOWNTOWN. BUT THE OWNERS OF PPG PLAZA DON’T WANT THE FESTIVAL ON ITS GROUNDS ANYMORE.
Owners don’t want Soul Food Festival on its grounds; B. Marshall calls it blatant ‘racism’
When Jessica Canovali, senior property manager for JLL, said in an email dated Sept. 8, 2023, that the property owners of PPG Plaza in Downtown Pittsburgh, Highwoods Properties Inc., would no longer allow the Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival to be held on its grounds, JLL and Highwoods thought that was the end of it.
Little did they know, it was only the beginning.
Canovali’s email was sent to B. Marshall, the determined leader of the Soul Food Festival, which has been in operation for the past five years on Labor Day weekend. Canovali said in the email, obtained by the New Pittsburgh Courier, that “there were some serious issues with the Soul Food Festival this year,” which she said included “an altercation between customers that led to multiple arrests, and a man with a concealed weapon threatening people. This is in addition to the increasing noise complaints of our tenants, and our usual logistical concerns.”
Immediately, B. Marshall threw a “flag on the play,” and referred to Highwoods’ decision in words that are too hot for newspaper print.
The real issue, B. Marshall said in an exclusive interview with the Courier on Dec. 12? “They looked down (from their offices at PPG Place) and they saw all those Black people late at night and went ‘ham.'”
ATTENDEES ENJOYING THE SOUL FOOD FESTIVAL ON THE BOULEVARD OF THE ALLIES
B. Marshall has since hired two attorneys, Turahn Jenkins and Alexa Gervasi, and B. Marshall is threatening to file a civil lawsuit against Highwoods if the company doesn’t respond to his lawyers by Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in writing confirming that B. Marshall’s event would continue to be held at PPG Plaza.
“Should you decline to provide such confirmation, my office will proceed with filing a lawsuit for injunctive and compensatory relief to ensure that Mr. Marshall, and Pittsburgh’s Black community, are treated with the equal respect accorded by the laws of the United States and fundamental principles of human rights,” an official correspondence read, sent by the lawyers to Andy Wisniewski, an executive vice president at Highwoods. The letter was sent to Wisniewski on Nov. 29. Highwoods’ headquarters is in Raleigh, N.C.
R&B SINGER KEKE WYATT, RIGHT, WITH MARGO DOSS
What’s important to note is that the Soul Food Festival is held in multiple locations, not just PPG Plaza. The event began in 2019 primarily in Market Square, which is next to PPG Plaza. In 2021, B. Marshall entered into an agreement with the owners of PPG Plaza to use its space to expand the festival. This year, the main stage was placed not in PPG Plaza, but on the Boulevard of the Allies, which is not in Highwoods’ jurisdiction. Thousands of people saw artists like KeKe Wyatt, Carl Thomas, Lil’ Mo and Trina on the main stage. Another stage with a DJ was set up on the PPG Plaza grounds this year, where many people, primarily African Americans, enjoyed music well into the night on Friday (Sept. 1), Saturday (Sept. 2) and Sunday (Sept. 3).
Obviously, not everyone enjoyed the music, according to Highwoods Properties.
“When a person tells you that they don’t like your music, or the bass sounds, or things of that nature, for African American people, we know that’s a code for ‘our culture,’ and ‘our people,'” B. Marshall told KDKA-TV in late November.
A PHOTO OF THE SOUL FOOD FESTIVAL AT PPG PLAZA
B. Marshall has been quick to point out that just a few weeks before his Soul Food Festival, the “Picklesburgh” festival was held at PPG Plaza and throughout the Boulevard of the Allies, and performances were everywhere and the music was also blaring. It’s estimated that about 180,000 more people attended Picklesburgh than the Soul Food Festival this year. But B. Marshall said Highwoods isn’t planning to kick Picklesburgh’s primarily White audience out; just the Soul Food Festival.
“We won’t allow any private company to bully, or racially discriminate, or kick people out, or violate the laws of the United States, and so, if necessary, we will pursue this to the courts and we will ask the courts to step in and enforce the laws of the land,” Gervasi said to KDKA-TV.
B. Marshall said the Soul Food Festival is happening in 2024, no matter what. It’s just a matter of if PPG Plaza will reverse its initial decision to “keep Black people out,” in B. Marshall’s words.
“They (Highwoods) don’t own the streets, the only thing they could do is try to put up a barricade around PPG Plaza, and people couldn’t walk on the plaza; they would have to walk around to get over to the Boulevard of the Allies (main stage),” B. Marshall told the Courier. “You know what type of sight that would be if they put up a barricade?”
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