Pittsburgh with first Black driver


Sports C4


Farewell Whitney Entertainer B4


VOL. 103, NO. 7 Three Sections


Governor seeks early education reductions


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


In the 2010-2011 school year, an esti-


mated 460 children were enrolled in early childhood education programs in the Pitts- burgh Public School District thanks to the state funded accountability block grant. This year, Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2012 budget proposal in- cludes the elimination of this grant. “The ac-


GOV. CORBETT


countabi l ity block grant is used for our preschool pro- grams. It’s a s i g n i fi c a n t piece, but it’s one of four funds we use to fund early childhood edu- cation in PPS,” said Carol Barone-Mar- tin, executive


director of PPS’s Early Childhood Pro- gram. “It will cause some reductions, al- though we don’t know how much.” State funded accountability block grants,


the Pre-K Counts Program, Head Start, and the Head Start Supplemental Assis- tance Program pay for Pittsburgh’s Early Childhood Program. The governor’s budget proposes to elimi- nate accountability block grants, as well as


SEE GOVERNOR A4


New Voices celebrates HERstory


by Ashley Johnson Courier Staff Writer


In an effort to celebrate the legacy, ac-


complishments and contributions of Afri- can-American women during two months- Black History Month, which is held in February, and Women’s History Month, in March—when they are sometimes over- looked, New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice will hold their 5th annual Women of Color HER- Story Month Celebration, which will run from Feb. 15 throughMarch 29. “The idea for (WOCHM) was to celebrate


women of color during Black History month and Women’s History Month be- cause there was a lack of opportunity to celebrate ourselves,women of color, during these months,” said La’Tasha Mayes, founder and executive director of New Voices Pittsburgh. New Voices Pittsburgh, which was estab-


lished in 2004, is a grassrootsHuman Rights organization for, led by and about women of color and that is committed to building a local movement for reproductive justice and to ed- ucate communities of color about Human Rights and to develop new voices for leader- ship in theGreater Pittsburgh area. Mayes said one of the missions of the or-


ganization is to make sure women of color, their families and the community are well


SEE HERSTORY A3 NEW WHITNEY HOUSTON DEATH SHOCKS THE WORLD (See more on Page B4) Brilliant, troubled superstar dies


by Nekesa Mumbi Moody For New Pittsburgh Courier


LOS ANGELES (AP)—A year ago, Clive Davis’


glittery pre-Grammy showcase was winding down after a number of electric performances when the grandest name of all,Whitney Houston,walked on stage to close the eveningwithwhat promised to be a show-stopping tribute to her famous cousin, DionneWarwick. Instead,what transpiredwas yet another troubling


display of erratic behavior fromthe superstar, and a foreshadowing perhaps of what was to come. Though she looked spectacular, her once-stunning


voice sounded frayed and hoarse. She didn’t seemto follow the rehearsed plan and looked out of sorts at times. Even when Davis, her longtime mentor and producer, announced that the show was over, Hous-


ton appeared to try to get back on the microphone, only to be stopped by Davis with the joke: “I found you when you were 19; I’mstill your boss!” On Saturday,Houstonwas once again the focus of


Davis’ annual party, but her presence was a posthumous one. Pop music’s former queen, until her majestic voice was ravaged by drug use and her regal image was tarnished by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died on the eve of the GrammyAwards she once reigned over. She was 48. Houston was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon


in her roomon the fourth floor of the BeverlyHilton, BeverlyHills police Lt.MarkRosen said. “Therewere no obvious signs of any criminal intent,” he said. The cause of death was unknown, said Houston’s


SEE WHITNEY A5


Blacks by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer


Marcellus training targets


TheNorth Side, likemany


Pittsburgh neighborhoods, suffers from an abundance of young unemployed Black men. But several organiza- tions, led by Mentors Con- sulting and Training, have teamed up to change that by offering some of them training to work on shale gas rigs. Mentors founder and


President Kris Kirk said she put the program to- gether to address the “shameful” unemployment rate for Pittsburgh’s Afri- can-American population.


SEE MARCELLUS A4 Education experts say district not listening


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


The Community Empowerment Associa-


tion town hall meeting “Whose Educating Our Black Children: The Culture of Si- lence,” convened education experts from around the Pittsburgh area.While the ex- perts represented different schools of thought and different sectors of the educa- tion realm, all agreed on one thing. “There’s a lot ofmodels we know that are


working,” said Rashad Byrdsong, CEA founder. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” The panelists at the discussion at Obama


Academy on Feb. 11 said educators and re- searchers have data to show which pro- grams andmodels are helping to reduce the achievement gap between Black andWhite students, and which ones aren’t. However they said administrators and board mem- bers in the Pittsburgh Public SchoolDistrict


are not listening. “Why can’t we ask the


question of every candidate that comes to Pittsburgh, show me the evidence of how you’ve closed the racial achievement gap,” said Jerome Taylor, executive di- rector of the Center for Family Excellence. “The district generally knows about our research and yet my phone has never rung.” For Taylor, the best pro-


grams to model are PPS schools like Dilworth PreK- 5, and Fulton PreK-5, which have received the designation of being named DAME-DAME schools, for their success in closing the


RASHAD BYRDSONG JEROME TAYLOR SEE EDUCATORS A5 Tuskegee Airmen from Homewood spotlighted


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


On Feb. 11, Bethany Baptist Church


asked the question “Can any good thing come out of Homewood?”And their answer was a resounding yes. The church’s Christian Education Com-


mittee hosted a tribute to the famous Tuskegee Airmen, who have recently gained national prominence thanks to the movie “Red Tails,” which hit theatres last month.Sixteen of thesemen came fromthe Homewood area and many more service- men and women have emerged from Homewood-Brushton to defend America.


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“When I found out how many came from


the Homewood Brushton community, it re- ally inspiredme. I grewup in this area and I saw what it was and I know what it can be again. I thought this would be a great event to inspire the youth,” said Minister Nicita Moses, who organized the event. “Mymessage is just like itwas in the scrip- ture; my concept was to give children hope that good things do come out ofHomewood. It might not look like much now but there are good things that have come out of Homewood. This is my way of trying to turn it around. I can’t do everything, but I can do one thing.” The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of


Hop Kendrick asks


Black History Month, what about the others? Forum A9


African-American pilots in World War II, who were the first Black military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. The group of airmen overcame racial obstacles as they rose to become one of themost dec- orated units inWorldWar II. “I thought it was very important to trib-


ute the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. I was not one of them but after I enlisted in the air force I met many of them. I think they paved the way for me and many peo- ple like me,” said Timothy McCray, who reached the rank of seniormaster sergeant with the air force. “They paved the way for


SEE TUSKEGEE A5


Pittsburgh Courier The ‘Voice’ mourned


www.newpittsburghcourier.com NEW Published Weekly FEBRUARY 15-21, 2012 INSIDE $1.00


Month 2012 Special Section


Monster Jam roars into


America’s best weekly


Some Blacks insist: ʻIʼm not African- American


National A6


Black History


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