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2021 Vibrant Index Report
Prepared and published by Vibrant Pittsburgh Link: view.flipdocs.com/?ID=10027608_238459 |
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Data science proved what Pittsburgh’s Black leaders knew: Racial disparities compound COVID risk
PublicSource | Christine Spolar, Kaiser Health News | December 7, 2021 https://www.publicsource.org/data-science-proved-what-pittsburghs-black-leaders-knew-racial-disparities-compound-covid-risk/ |
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Hiring a Chief Diversity Officer Won’t Fix Your Racist Company Culture
Catapult | Nadia Owusu | Jan 28, 2020 catapult.co/stories/women-of-color-chief-diversity-officers-cannot-fix-racist-company-culture-nadia-owusu |
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Kidzride.llc Founder and CEO Sarafina Davis
Sarafina Davis, Founder and CEO of Kidz Ride, LLC sat down with CEIR Intern Erin Frawley to discuss the building of her business and what it means to be a Black, female business owner in the Pittsburgh region. 
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Report on Professor Jerry S. Dickinson Event, ‘Pittsburgh is America’s Apartheid City’
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Black Workers Stopped Making Progress in Pay. Is It Racism?
By Eduardo Porter | June 28, 2021 | New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/business/economy/black-workers-racial-pay-gap.html?referringSource=articleShare
By Eduardo Porter | June 28, 2021 | New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/business/economy/black-workers-racial-pay-gap.html?referringSource=articleShare
Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs urge shareholders to vote against racial-equity audits
By Levi Sumagaysay | March 17, 2021 | MarketWatch
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/citigroup-wells-fargo-bank-of-america-urge-shareholders-to-vote-against-racial-equity-audits-11616026865
By Levi Sumagaysay | March 17, 2021 | MarketWatch
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/citigroup-wells-fargo-bank-of-america-urge-shareholders-to-vote-against-racial-equity-audits-11616026865
Commentary: Pittsburgh is America’s apartheid city
Essay by Jerry Dickinson | February 22, 2021 | PublicSource
https://www.publicsource.org/commentary-jerry-dickinson-pittsburgh-is-americas-apartheid-city/
Over a decade ago, I was walking along a muddy and crowded alleyway between hundreds of shanty houses in Alexandra. Alex, as it is known, is one of post-apartheid Johannesburg’s most segregated slums and bastion of inequality. I was a young human rights activist and Fulbright Scholar living in South Africa and had just finished advising a group of residents over a water rights dispute...
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Essay by Jerry Dickinson | February 22, 2021 | PublicSource
https://www.publicsource.org/commentary-jerry-dickinson-pittsburgh-is-americas-apartheid-city/
Over a decade ago, I was walking along a muddy and crowded alleyway between hundreds of shanty houses in Alexandra. Alex, as it is known, is one of post-apartheid Johannesburg’s most segregated slums and bastion of inequality. I was a young human rights activist and Fulbright Scholar living in South Africa and had just finished advising a group of residents over a water rights dispute...
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TEN EQUITY IMPLICATIONS OF THE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN THE UNITED STATES
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Black lawyers condemn alleged racist remarks by Allegheny County judge, ask DA to review prior cases
NATASHA LINDSTROM | TRIB LIve | Saturday, February 15, 2020
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/black-lawyers-condemn-alleged-racist-remarks-by-allegheny-county-judge-asks-da-to-review-prior-cases/
A newly formed coalition of black attorneys in Western Pennsylvania on Friday condemned Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli’s alleged racist remarks regarding a black female juror.
Tranquilli is accused of repeatedly referring to the woman as “Aunt Jemima.”
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NATASHA LINDSTROM | TRIB LIve | Saturday, February 15, 2020
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/black-lawyers-condemn-alleged-racist-remarks-by-allegheny-county-judge-asks-da-to-review-prior-cases/
A newly formed coalition of black attorneys in Western Pennsylvania on Friday condemned Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli’s alleged racist remarks regarding a black female juror.
Tranquilli is accused of repeatedly referring to the woman as “Aunt Jemima.”
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Mapping a Path to More Equitable Housing
https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2020/january/world-economic-forum-earthtime.html
For the sixth consecutive year, Carnegie Mellon University's EarthTime platform will help leaders at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, visualize data on global challenges such as climate change, poverty and mental health.
It's a unique map-based tool that's proven popular at the annual meeting, helping experts from institutions worldwide present data in a way that makes their subjects and viewpoints clearer and more compelling. Presenters and audiences both appreciate the ability to zoom in on locales of interest to explore how physical and social forces are affecting people and the environment.
But staff members of the Robotics Institute's CREATE Lab, where EarthTime was developed and continues to be enhanced and fine-tuned, know that EarthTime can be just as influential when it takes a narrower, more intimate view of the world. At home in Pittsburgh, they're using it to ask questions about a subject critical to all — housing.
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https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2020/january/world-economic-forum-earthtime.html
For the sixth consecutive year, Carnegie Mellon University's EarthTime platform will help leaders at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, visualize data on global challenges such as climate change, poverty and mental health.
It's a unique map-based tool that's proven popular at the annual meeting, helping experts from institutions worldwide present data in a way that makes their subjects and viewpoints clearer and more compelling. Presenters and audiences both appreciate the ability to zoom in on locales of interest to explore how physical and social forces are affecting people and the environment.
But staff members of the Robotics Institute's CREATE Lab, where EarthTime was developed and continues to be enhanced and fine-tuned, know that EarthTime can be just as influential when it takes a narrower, more intimate view of the world. At home in Pittsburgh, they're using it to ask questions about a subject critical to all — housing.
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On Media: Does Pittsburgh media (and the city) have a racism problem?
Andrew Conte | NEXTPittsburgh | November 12, 2019
https://www.nextpittsburgh.com/features/on-media-does-pittsburgh-media-and-the-city-have-a-racism-problem/
Can Pittsburgh have a healthy media ecosystem if journalists of color don’t believe they’re fairly represented? Or if they don’t believe they have reasons to stay in the city?
Letrell Crittenden, who is African American and who serves as program director and assistant professor of communication at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, recently asked me this.
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Andrew Conte | NEXTPittsburgh | November 12, 2019
https://www.nextpittsburgh.com/features/on-media-does-pittsburgh-media-and-the-city-have-a-racism-problem/
Can Pittsburgh have a healthy media ecosystem if journalists of color don’t believe they’re fairly represented? Or if they don’t believe they have reasons to stay in the city?
Letrell Crittenden, who is African American and who serves as program director and assistant professor of communication at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, recently asked me this.
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Pittsburgh’s Black residents feel consequences of inequality more starkly than in other U.S. cities, new city report finds
J. Dale Shoemaker | PublicSource | September 17, 2019
https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburghs-black-residents-feel-consequences-of-inequality-more-starkly-than-in-other-u-s-cities-new-city-report-finds/
New Pittsburgh report examines racial and gender inequality together for the first time.
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J. Dale Shoemaker | PublicSource | September 17, 2019
https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburghs-black-residents-feel-consequences-of-inequality-more-starkly-than-in-other-u-s-cities-new-city-report-finds/
New Pittsburgh report examines racial and gender inequality together for the first time.
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Never-Ending Gap | In Pittsburgh, black-white income differences are stark
Julia Fraser | Pittsburgh Today in association with Pittsburgh Quarterly | Spring 2019
https://pittsburghquarterly.com/pittsburgh-today/pt-regional-news/item/2301-never-ending-gap.html
The wide gap between incomes earned by white and black workers is a national phenomenon that won’t go away. And it’s particularly severe in southwestern Pennsylvania. African Americans living in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area earn 48 percent less than white residents on average, 2017 U.S. Census Bureau median income data suggest.
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Julia Fraser | Pittsburgh Today in association with Pittsburgh Quarterly | Spring 2019
https://pittsburghquarterly.com/pittsburgh-today/pt-regional-news/item/2301-never-ending-gap.html
The wide gap between incomes earned by white and black workers is a national phenomenon that won’t go away. And it’s particularly severe in southwestern Pennsylvania. African Americans living in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area earn 48 percent less than white residents on average, 2017 U.S. Census Bureau median income data suggest.
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Pittsburgh Equity Indicators: A Baseline Measurement for Enhancing Equity in Pittsburgh
apps.pittsburghpa.gov/redtail/images/3171_PGH_Equity_Indicators_Final.pdf
The city of Pittsburgh, with a population of roughly 300,000, is 64 percent white, 24 percent black, and 6 percent Asian, with other racial and ethnic groups each comprising a small percentage of the remaining population. There are disparities between these groups in terms of quality of life outcomes, economic opportunity, and access to resources. This inequity is one of the key long-term stresses identified by the city in its OnePGH Resilience Strategy. 1 Through OnePGH and other local initiatives dedicated to equity citywide, the city of Pittsburgh has committed to the guiding principle of “If it’s not for all, it’s not for us.”1 As a first step in assessing progress toward equitable opportunities and outcomes for Pittsburghers of all races, genders, and incomes, and to inform the city’s investment decisions moving forward, the City of Pittsburgh’s Division of Sustainability and Resilience undertook the Pittsburgh Equity Indicators project. Supported with funding and strategic guidance from the City University of New York Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG), the research team developed a framework and associated indicators to measure equality in both outcomes and opportunities in Pittsburgh.
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apps.pittsburghpa.gov/redtail/images/3171_PGH_Equity_Indicators_Final.pdf
The city of Pittsburgh, with a population of roughly 300,000, is 64 percent white, 24 percent black, and 6 percent Asian, with other racial and ethnic groups each comprising a small percentage of the remaining population. There are disparities between these groups in terms of quality of life outcomes, economic opportunity, and access to resources. This inequity is one of the key long-term stresses identified by the city in its OnePGH Resilience Strategy. 1 Through OnePGH and other local initiatives dedicated to equity citywide, the city of Pittsburgh has committed to the guiding principle of “If it’s not for all, it’s not for us.”1 As a first step in assessing progress toward equitable opportunities and outcomes for Pittsburghers of all races, genders, and incomes, and to inform the city’s investment decisions moving forward, the City of Pittsburgh’s Division of Sustainability and Resilience undertook the Pittsburgh Equity Indicators project. Supported with funding and strategic guidance from the City University of New York Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG), the research team developed a framework and associated indicators to measure equality in both outcomes and opportunities in Pittsburgh.
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9 Free Diversity and Inclusion Classes for Managers That You Can Find Online
Inclusiveness isn't just about understanding power dynamics inside the office.
Inc. Magazine, July 25, 2018 (originally published on The Muse)
www.inc.com/the-muse/9-free-diversity-and-inclusion-online-classes-for-managers.html
You're a manager who deeply cares about creating a team that's diverse, inclusive, and supportive.
That's great! Because in addition to this being the right thing to care about, investing time, energy, and even money into this is good for your company's bottom line. Research shows that more inclusive companies make more money and more diverse teams outperform those that are more homogenous.
Studies aside, your company might not have the budget for diversity and inclusion training right now (or, sadly, they may not prioritize it). So, how can you keep pushing yourself to be as inclusive as possible?
You know what I'm going to say: online classes! And these nine are free for the taking...
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Inclusiveness isn't just about understanding power dynamics inside the office.
Inc. Magazine, July 25, 2018 (originally published on The Muse)
www.inc.com/the-muse/9-free-diversity-and-inclusion-online-classes-for-managers.html
You're a manager who deeply cares about creating a team that's diverse, inclusive, and supportive.
That's great! Because in addition to this being the right thing to care about, investing time, energy, and even money into this is good for your company's bottom line. Research shows that more inclusive companies make more money and more diverse teams outperform those that are more homogenous.
Studies aside, your company might not have the budget for diversity and inclusion training right now (or, sadly, they may not prioritize it). So, how can you keep pushing yourself to be as inclusive as possible?
You know what I'm going to say: online classes! And these nine are free for the taking...
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Will Pittsburgh Nonprofits Move Away from Overwhelmingly White Leadership?Nonprofit Quarterly, July 31, 2018, by Steve Dubb
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/07/31/will-pittsburgh-nonprofits-move-away-from-overwhelmingly-white-leadership/
Earlier this year, NPQ reported on a study by the Pittsburgh-based Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University. The study, titled What Now: How will the impending retirement of nonprofit leaders change the sector?, examined succession challenges for the nonprofit sector in a community where the average executive director age is 57. Of the 195 nonprofit executives and professionals that the study surveyed, 89 percent were white. By contrast, census data reveal that city residents are roughly 64 percent white, 24 percent Black, six percent Asian, three percent Latinx, and three percent mixed race or American Indian.
This contrast raises an obvious question: Might Pittsburgh nonprofits be able to take advantage of generational change to achieve greater racial equity in leadership?
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https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/07/31/will-pittsburgh-nonprofits-move-away-from-overwhelmingly-white-leadership/
Earlier this year, NPQ reported on a study by the Pittsburgh-based Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University. The study, titled What Now: How will the impending retirement of nonprofit leaders change the sector?, examined succession challenges for the nonprofit sector in a community where the average executive director age is 57. Of the 195 nonprofit executives and professionals that the study surveyed, 89 percent were white. By contrast, census data reveal that city residents are roughly 64 percent white, 24 percent Black, six percent Asian, three percent Latinx, and three percent mixed race or American Indian.
This contrast raises an obvious question: Might Pittsburgh nonprofits be able to take advantage of generational change to achieve greater racial equity in leadership?
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Why are the leadership ranks of Pa. nonprofits so white and how could they be more diverse?
Public Source, July 25, 2018, by Madeleine Davison www.publicsource.org/why-are-the-leadership-ranks-of-pa-nonprofits-so-white-and-how-could-they-be-more-diverse/ Fred Brown, president and CEO of The Forbes Funds, said that before he landed his current position, he was used to feeling like potential employers were just “checking the box” by interviewing him. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource) <more...> |
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‘Anchor strategy’ is a smart way to fight poverty: Editorial
The Star, Mon., Aug. 24, 2015
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/08/24/anchor-strategy-is-a-smart-way-to-fight-poverty-editorial.html
It’s a poverty reduction approach based on spending smarter instead of spending more. It doesn’t depend on outside help, focusing instead on institutions already in a community. And — best of all — it works.
Called an “anchor strategy,” it involves redirecting the immense purchasing power and economic clout of hospitals, universities and local government. Instead of pursuing traditional priorities, such as minimizing costs by rewarding the lowest possible bidder, these institutions would look beyond their walls and also consider what best serves the public good.
It’s a responsible way to proceed.
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The Star, Mon., Aug. 24, 2015
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/08/24/anchor-strategy-is-a-smart-way-to-fight-poverty-editorial.html
It’s a poverty reduction approach based on spending smarter instead of spending more. It doesn’t depend on outside help, focusing instead on institutions already in a community. And — best of all — it works.
Called an “anchor strategy,” it involves redirecting the immense purchasing power and economic clout of hospitals, universities and local government. Instead of pursuing traditional priorities, such as minimizing costs by rewarding the lowest possible bidder, these institutions would look beyond their walls and also consider what best serves the public good.
It’s a responsible way to proceed.
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Pittsburgh Region Diversity & Inclusion Guidebook, Volume 1
Real world examples of how to improve organizational performance and social responsibility through Diversity & Inclusion practices Vibrant Pittsburgh, January 2018 Click here or on photo to right to read the full report |
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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION are worldwide practices that are critical to an organization’s success.
Many organizations recognize the value of inclusive practices and their ability to aid in the growth and engagement of a diverse workforce, but lack the direction to execute these practices.
Vibrant Pittsburgh is pleased to present its first Diversity & Inclusion Practices Guide Volume 1. This guide provides examples of how organizations in the Pittsburgh region are implementing and measuring diversity and inclusion practices.
Thank you to all of the organizations that understand that diversity and inclusion can positively shape their workforce, workplace and marketplace, and who have generously agreed to share their practices. We have a long history of organizations coming together to address challenges and advance the aspirations of the Greater Pittsburgh Area. This guide is a continuation of that tradition.
Many organizations recognize the value of inclusive practices and their ability to aid in the growth and engagement of a diverse workforce, but lack the direction to execute these practices.
Vibrant Pittsburgh is pleased to present its first Diversity & Inclusion Practices Guide Volume 1. This guide provides examples of how organizations in the Pittsburgh region are implementing and measuring diversity and inclusion practices.
Thank you to all of the organizations that understand that diversity and inclusion can positively shape their workforce, workplace and marketplace, and who have generously agreed to share their practices. We have a long history of organizations coming together to address challenges and advance the aspirations of the Greater Pittsburgh Area. This guide is a continuation of that tradition.
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Black Lives Matter, the next chapter
NFL kneelers should adopt Martin Luther King’s wedge strategy Fred Redmond, international vice president of the United Steelworkers International Union Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 3, 2017 http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/12/03/Black-Lives-Matter-the-next-chapter/stories/201712030026 |
I have never known a black man who had not been regularly pulled over by police. Being African-American myself, this has been my experience. It doesn’t matter that I am the vice president of a continent-wide organization, that I have friends who are police officers, lawyers and judges, or that I drive a late-model car. Harassment is real and it’s shameful. But it’s the traffic stops that turn into what appear to be racially motivated murders that keep parents up at night, fearful that a son or even a daughter may be the next victim.
Ending racially motivated police brutality cannot succeed without the support of a broad swath of white Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. faced a similar challenge in his battle to end brutally enforced racial segregation. What stood in King’s way was the same thing that thwarts opponents of police brutality today: the racism and indifference of liberal and moderate whites.
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Ending racially motivated police brutality cannot succeed without the support of a broad swath of white Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. faced a similar challenge in his battle to end brutally enforced racial segregation. What stood in King’s way was the same thing that thwarts opponents of police brutality today: the racism and indifference of liberal and moderate whites.
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Key Indicators for Understanding Our Region ~ Racial & Ethnic Diversity of Counties
Pittsburgh TODAY, June 2017 http://pittsburghtoday.org/indicators/demographics/race-and-ethnicity/racial-ethnic-diversity-county/ The demographic portrait of the seven-county Pittsburgh region’s population is becoming less white and more diverse, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates. From 2011 to 2016, Allegheny County’s Asian population increased 24.5 percent to 45,921 residents, and the county’s Hispanic population grew 22.9 percent to 24,889 people. Conversely, Allegheny County’s African American population increased just 0.3 percent, and the county’s white population declined 2 percent. <more...> |
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The Black Experience: Pittsburgh's African-Americans Often Leave or Languish in Region
by Tim Grant | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Feb 26, 2017 http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/black-experience/ THEN: A once vibrant black community has left via the New Great Migration to the South NOW: The black middle class has learned to navigate a city that is still segregated in many respects This article features quotes and interviews with many members of the CEIR working group. 
Interfaith Service - Call to Action Against Violence
by Peter Smith | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | March 8, 2017 http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/03/08/Interfaith-service-is-call-to-action-against-violence/stories/201703080135 Scores of people including public officials and an array of clergy gathered at a Hill District church for an interfaith service Tuesday night, lamenting tragic deaths of young people to gun violence and calling for participants to mobilize for peace. The two-hour service ranged from exuberant gospel music and preaching to the hushed watching of videotaped stories of the parents of murder victims. 
POISE Releases Neighborhoods of Choice Report
by Christian Morrow | New Pittsburgh Courier | March 9, 2017 https://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2017/03/09/poise-releases-neighborhoods-of-choice-report/ While Pittsburgh is frantically seeking solutions to the employment, transportation—and particularly—affordable housing issues facing low-income African Americans throughout the city, it is simultaneously trying to recruit and retain millennial, middle-income Blacks to create a diverse culture and fill the increasing number of financial, tech, healthcare and energy jobs going unfilled for lack of skills. A report recently released by the POISE Foundation indicates that it needs pay more attention to this population, if it wants them to stay here. Rising together: Pittsburgh can't leave its black citizens behind
by the Editorial Board | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | March 5, 2017 http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2017/03/05/Rising-together-Pittsburgh-can-t-leave-its-black-citizens-behind/stories/201703050138 Pittsburghers have a friendly competition with Cleveland and jokingly call that city “the mistake on the lake.” However, it’s no joke that Cleveland wins the competition on one important measure — the vitality of its African-American community. 
Report: Pittsburgh's economy 'prosperous' but leaving some behind
by Daniel Moore | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | March 2, 2017 http://www.post-gazette.com/business/career-workplace/2017/03/02/Pittsburgh-economy-job-prosperity-inclusiveness-growth-Brookings/stories/201703020039 As the country healed from the Great Recession, the Pittsburgh region’s economy exhibited clear signs of economic prosperity not seen in most other metro areas... But, while the value generated by Pittsburgh’s economy has outpaced others, the growth has not necessarily translated into new jobs or rising incomes for the region’s middle class, particularly for African-American residents. 
Why doesn’t Pittsburgh appeal to young African-American professionals? A report dives in
by Michael Machosky | NEXT Pittsburgh | Feb. 27, 2017 http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/next-wave/report-studies-pittsburghs-struggle-appeal-african-american-professionals/ Pittsburgh’s vaunted turnaround and rebirth as a magnet for educated millennials has a weak spot: African-Americans. Certainly some are choosing Pittsburgh, but not in the kind of numbers to offset the migration to places like Washington D.C., Atlanta and Charlotte, which have long exerted a pull on African-American professionals. “Nothing surprised us, to be honest,” says Daren Ellerbee of African-American Neighborhoods of Choice (AANC), a research group studying Pittsburgh’s middle-class African-Americans, and the neighborhoods they choose. “The study confirmed what we all expected. People viewed Pittsburgh as a place that lacks culture and opportunities.” Their report, entitled “Neighborhood Attraction Factors Impacting the Young Professional African American Population in the City of Pittsburgh,” was compiled with help from the University Center for Social and Urban Research at Pitt, and support from The Heinz Endowments. Why does Pittsburgh's workforce lack diversity?
by Dale J. Shoemaker | Public Source | Oct. 13, 2016 http://publicsource.org/from-the-source/why-does-pittsburgh-s-workforce-lack-diversity Employers hiring people in their own circles is just one piece of a larger reality that Pittsburgh’s workplaces are simply not diverse. In a report released earlier this year, the nonprofit Vibrant Pittsburgh found that minorities here and across Southwestern Pennsylvania hold fewer jobs and lower paying jobs than white people. |
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Study finds Pittsburgh lags in promoting diversityJan 2016 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://bit.ly/CEIR_20 A recent study found 79 percent of whites feel southwestern Pennsylvania embraces racial and ethnic minorities, while only 41 percent of minorities feel the same way. |
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