DARRENA MCFADDEN, REGINA BURRIS, ANGELA THOMPKINS, HEATHER THOMPKINS, TEIARA HUGHES. (Photo by Chief Ikhana Hal-Makina)
As the speakers played the Gap Band’s “Outstanding,” a little “Poison” from Bell Biv Devoe, “Love Come Down” by Evelyn “Champagne” King and a healthy dose of “I Like It” by DeBarge, some Homewood residents spent a Saturday afternoon dancing like no one was watching, and catching up with people they hadn’t seen in almost forever.
It’s the type of vibe that Angela Thompkins wanted to bring to her neighborhood, which oftentimes gets a bad rap.
“People speak death over Homewood,” Thompkins told the New Pittsburgh Courier, Feb. 8, at the YWCA in Homewood. That’s where she held her first-ever “Chili Bowl” event. Everything was free for those who attended. The turkey chili. The beef, vegetable or white chicken chili. The corn bread. The plethora of desserts. “There’s life here in Homewood,” Thompkins said. “It may have been bad at one point in time, but the people are life, the residents are life. People need for you to speak life into them. People need encouragement, especially in these times.”
ANGELA THOMPKINS, STANDING, SECOND FROM RIGHT, WITH SUPPORTERS WHO ATTENDED THE CHILI BOWL AT THE YWCA.
Pittsburgh’s “Black community” doesn’t have too many Black “communities” they can call their own. Homewood is one of their own. It’s home to a YWCA, YMCA, Community Empowerment Association, Afro-American Music Institute, Dorsey’s Records (Digital Imaging), Strong’s Cleaners, a CCAC branch, the Pitt Community Engagement Center, PNC Bank, Dana’s Bakery, North Homewood Pizza, Everyday Cafe, CKV Suites, numerous nightclubs, Showcase BBQ, The Dream BBQ, Salik Hardware, a library, Operation Better Block, Homewood Children’s Village, historic Black churches, day care centers, iconic schools like Faison and Westinghouse, and thousands of African Americans who take pride in their neighborhood.
THE YOUNG ONES CAME OUT AS WELL TO SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT…
Like any neighborhood, there are some who want to cause trouble. But Thompkins said if you go house to house, neighbor to neighbor, one will see all the good that really is in Homewood. It’s just not something that is always highlighted on the 6 o’clock news.
“If we come together and get to know one another and we converse, we can help each other,” Thompkins, who was born in Homewood and after a stint away from Homewood, has returned to the neighborhood for the past five years, told the Courier.
SEATED IS MAYME WILLIAMS. STANDING ARE JOANN YOUNGER AND MARLENE CARTER.
The Silver Lake Commons senior apartments are next door to the YWCA on Frankstown. Some of the residents there heard about the Chili Bowl and took the short trip over to the Y. People like Mayme Williams, who told the Courier that the Chili Bowl is something they should do once, twice, three times, and then, “the community will really grab it.”
Williams was there with friends Marlene Carter and Joann Younger.
As Thompkins sought to bring people together in Homewood, she received some help as well, from Divine Delectables and Beyond Blessed Catering for much of the food. Everyone coming together to make the event happen as planned.
DONNA BUNDY FORD AND GEORGETTE POWELL. (PHOTOS BY CHIEF IKHANA HAL-MAKINA)
Georgette Powell told the Courier she saw some folks at the Chili Bowl “that I hadn’t seen in decades, so it was really nice to have the opportunity to come out and fellowship.”
Donna Bundy Ford, who people have come to see at Dana’s Bakery on N. Homewood Ave., said that people “got a lot of bad things they say about Homewood, but there’s a lot of good things and a lot of great people in Homewood.”
Right now, there are young people living on Collier, or Bennett, or on Hamilton, Murtland or Hermitage. Maybe they’re living in those new homes constructed by Tina Daniels of Concrete Rose Construction. Maybe they’re up on Singer, or nestled along Blackadore. Right now, they’re making plans to become the next big thing in Pittsburgh or beyond. And when they become adult superstars, and the media asks where they’re from and they say “Homewood,” the media shouldn’t be surprised, even though there’s a good chance they will be.
But with a little homework, the outsiders would know that Billy Porter, the famed actor and performer, came from Homewood. Chuck Cooper, the first Black player drafted in the NBA, came from Homewood. Esther Bush, the ultra-successful former President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, came from….Homewood. Teenie Harris, the famed Courier photographer for all those years, chronicling Black Pittsburgh…where did his family settle? Homewood. In fact, there is a historical marker in front of his home, at 7604 Mulford Street.
Thompkins told the Courier the Lord gave her the idea to have the event. She was called to bring people together on an otherwise unassuming Saturday afternoon in Homewood. The people walked away with smiles on their faces, joy in their hearts, some music to dance to, and some food to soothe the belly.
“People need encouragement,” Thompkins told the Courier. “People need to know that there’s people here that genuinely care for you and don’t want anything from you.”
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