Pastor Creflo Dollar denies attacking daughter


National A5


America’s best weekly


ʻTake a Father to School Dayʼ celebrates 14th year


People B5 VOL. 103, NO. 24 Three Sections


Pittsburgh Courier City’s Equal Opportunity


www.newpittsburghcourier.com NEW Published Weekly JUNE 13-19, 2012 $1.00


report raises questions Many say stats inaccurate


by ChristianMorrow Courier Staff Writer


Even as Pittsburgh SYLVESTER PACE


NEED head Pace, 58, mourned


by Ashley Johnson Courier Staff Writer


His passion and dedication to unlocking


the power of education for disadvantaged minority students seeking higher educa- tion, along with his overall commitment to helping the community and the youth within it, are just a few of the reasons why Sylvester Pace will be missed, but never forgotten.Pace, 58, of PennHills, died June 8 after a reported battle with non- Hodgkins lymphoma. Pace, a beacon in the community, spent


more than 10 years as president and CEO of NEED, the oldest community-based, nonprofit, minority higher education pro- gram in Pennsylvania, which provides pathways for youth looking to further their education in college. Ann Hoover, president of NEED’s board


of directors and of Bayer MaterialScience, released a statement saying, “It’s a sad day for not only those of us atNEEDwho knew and love Sylvester, but also for all of Pitts- burgh and the community that he spent so much of his life fighting for.He believed so strongly in the mission of NEED. The en- tire city of Pittsburgh has lost a greatman, a selfless advocate and a devoted husband and father. We’ll miss him dearly at NEED.” She also said that a plan of transi- tion will be addressed once the community, his family, friends and NEED staff have had time to mourn his passing and pay tribute to his legacy. Pace grew up in the Hill District and


graduated from Schenley High School. He later received his undergraduate degree from Cheyney University, and a master’s degree in counseling education and a cer- tificate inmarketing fromtheUniversity of Pittsburgh. He was also a doctoral candi- date at Duquesne University’s Interdisci- plinary Doctoral Program for Educational Leaders. Before dedicating his time toNEED,Pace


spent 17 years with Pressley Ridge School as an advocate for troubled youth, followed by The Abraxas Youth & Family Services, then time as a pharmaceutical salesman. But it was his commitment to education


that led him to NEED. Herman Reid Jr., former executive director ofNEED, said he identified Pace as his successor because of his insight and commitment to the educa- tion of youth and his will to take the orga- nization to new heights. “I always told him (Pace) ‘that people


don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,’” Reid said. “His death came as a shock, but his work had a lasting impact and he will be sorelymissed by the community and the organization.” Esther Bush, president and CEO of the


Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and friend, said, “We will sorely miss our dear friend, Sylvester. Our community and the


SEE PACE A4 NEW


HEARING IT STRAIGHT—Hill residents get information on all facets of the Centre Heldman Plaza and grocery project from all members of the development team June 7. (Photo by Gail Manker)


Pittsburgh Courier


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J. Leon Wilmer III says


Obama is not the first ‘Black’ president Forum A7


Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle and other Black community leaders like Rashad Byrdsong and Carl Redwood Jr. are working to increase con- tracting and employ- ment opportunities for African-Americans, dis- crepancies in the Equal Opportunity Review Commission’s 2011 re- port appears to show, “The city and its author- ities exceeded the estab- lished MBE/WBE par- ticipation goals.” But using this report as an


indicator of actual partici- pation would be erroneous. “The information in the re-


According to the re- PHIL PETITE


port is not accurate,” said Architect Howard Graves. “At least as far as I am con- cerned.”


port, Graves, the Black architect who designed Freedom Corner, re- ceived a $2 million con- tract from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh on Sept. 21 for an architectural and engineering services task order and then farmed out $260,000 of that to companies here, in New York and in Maryland. Graves never received a $2 million contract nor has he worked with the listed subcontractors. “We got nothing near that,” said Graves. “My


business manager tells me that we got about $5,800


SEE EQUAL A4 Jealous: Racial profiling must be stopped


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


Violent crime rates around the country


are the lowest they’ve been since President Eisenhower was in office in the late 50s. Despite this decrease in crime, the number ofminorities being stopped by police due to racial profiling is on the rise. This issue of racial profiling was the crux


of NAACP President Benjamin Jealous’ presentation June 7, when he visited the University of Pittsburgh to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Center on Race and Social Problems. “What do you replace racial profiling


with—non-discrimination,” Jealous said to a packed house in Pitt’s Alumni Hall audi- torium. “The problem of racism in our country is complex; you could fill libraries with books on it. The problems with law enforcement are complex; you could fill li-


SEE JEALOUS A3 BENJAMIN JEALOUS (Photo by J.L. Martello) ANDRE KIMO STONE GUESS


August Wilson Center CEO to exit


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


Two years ago, as theAugustWilson Cen-


ter forAfricanAmerican Culturewas set to celebrate its one-year anniversary, many believed the ship in the heart of the Cul- tural District was sinking under the weight of construction cost debt and fundraising shortfalls.However, the follow- ing year, AWC President and CEO Andre Kimo Stone Guess announced the AWC had balanced their budget for the 2011 fis- cal year and the center’s financial troubles began to fade into the background. Now, after two years with the center,


Guess will be leaving to return to work with his ownmanagement-consulting firm. On June 8, AWC Board Chairman Aaron Walton announcedGuess has chosen not to renewhis contract set to expire on June 30. Guess has not made any public state-


ments or released a press statement re- garding his departure. “He decided he’s going to return back to


his home state of Kentucky with his family and he said he was going to go back to his consulting business,” Walton said. “What


SEE AUGUST A4 Spring opening projected for Hill grocery


by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer


State Rep. JakeWheatley,D-HillDistrict,


Pittsburgh Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle and Hill House Association President and


CEO Cheryl Hall-Russell said they all have one thing in common.Whenever they are walking through the Hill, they are bombarded by residents asking, “when


will we have the grocery store?” So, all three met with


members of the community June 7 at theWesleyCenter AMEZ Church to provide


some clarity on the status of the twice-delayed SHOP ‘n SAVE grocery project. First, the bad news: the


opening has been delayed again. But, Hall-Russell told the audience that they now have a team in place that can address the issues that have held up the pro- ject—particularly a nearly $2 million funding deficit— and the store should open next spring. “From my office I get to


look across the street at dirt every day. I’mtired of that,” she said. “I want to hear noise, horns honking and people fighting over park- ing spaces because that’s what should be going on. This plan had a lot of holes in it. The biggest one was everyone thought it was fully funded. It wasn’t.” Hall-Russell repeated the


points she had made in a press announcement the day before; that Massaro Corporation has replaced Starks/CMI and will build


SEE SPRING A4


Tomlin keynotes Pirates heritage luncheon


Sports C4


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