The City of Pittsburgh and African American and Hispanic Leaders to Hold Racial Equity and Empowerment Summit

October 2, 2007 8:30am — 3:00pm Regional Enterprise Tower, 31st floor 425 6th Avenue , Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Hosted by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato City of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Racial Equity and Empowerment Coalition

Mission: " To develop a process for engagement, implementation, and sustained accountability with key stakeholders to ensure greater progress towards racial and minority equity in the Allegheny County/City of Pittsburgh region."

ISSUES: Jobs – Education — Housing — Economic Development Criminal Justice System — Health & Social Development Civic Engagement

Schedule:
8:30am Breakfast

9am to 12:15pm:
Introduction of Elected Officials,
Unity Statement by Robert R. Lavelle, Charlynn White and
Morning Presentations by Dr. Ralph Bangs, Dr. John Wallace, Gregory Spencer, Minister Jasiri X, Ronell Guy, Doris Carson Williams Dr. Johnson Martin, Bomani Howze, Odell Richardson, Dr. Ralph Proctor, Bernadette Turner and Valerie Dixon

Lunch 12:15pm-1pm

Afternoon workshops 1pm to 2:15pm

2:15 pm to 3pm Breakout session reports/Next Steps/Adjourn

Leaders of the African American and Hispanic communities in the Pittsburgh region will press Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt, and corporate leaders to make commitments to increase economic opportunities for African Americans and other racial minorities in the region at The Racial Equity and Empowerment Summit scheduled for October 2, 2007. The Summit, organized by The Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP), local chapters of the NAACP, the Urban League, the African American Chamber of Commerce, and other African American and Hispanic leaders and organizations in the region, will take place on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Regional Enterprise Tower located in Downtown Pittsburgh. Summit organizers stated that their mission is "to develop a process for engagement, implementation, and sustained accountability with key stakeholders to ensure progress towards racial and minority equity in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh."

The Summit was initiated by B-PEP in a series of meetings and communications over the past year challenging County Executive Onorato and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, to make good on their promises to B-PEP and other local African American and minority organizations to increase equal opportunity in employment, contracts and services particularly on developments funded with public dollars. In conversations with B-PEP over the summer, Onorato, Ravenstahl and Roosevelt agreed to host and participate in this Summit. "We are excited that leaders of organizations from across the African American and Hispanic community have come together to hold this Summit and challenge public officials, as well as key development, corporate, and other private interests, to commit to work together to make this a 'most livable city' for all the people of Pittsburgh. I am thrilled with the level of genuine cooperation between the leadership of the various Black-based organizations and agencies who have come together to make this happen!" said Tim Stevens, B-PEP Chairperson. M.Gayle Moss, President of the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch, one of four Branches supporting the Summit, said: "We trust that the City and County Government will not return to a "business as usual" mode at the conclusion of the Summit." Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh President & CEO, Esther Bush, stated that "The Racial Equity and Empowerment Summit is a unique opportunity for the City and the County leadership to take an honest look at and plan purposeful steps toward eradicating the racial/ethnic inequality that exists in our region." The Summit will include a "Unity Statement" read by Robert R. Lavelle, founder of the Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association which helped break the 'color line' in providing home mortgages to African Americans in Pittsburgh, and Charlynn Smith, a senior at Perry Traditional Academy. This statement will follow presentations by Dr. Ralph Bangs and Dr. John Wallace, authors of two University of Pittsburgh studies on deep and persisting economic disparities between African Americans and whites in the region as well as in comparisons to other major urban areas. Their overview of minority conditions will help set the stage for the day's deliberations.

Other morning presenters include: Gregory Spencer, Minister Jasiri X, Ronell Guy, Doris Carson Williams, Dr. Ralph Proctor, Valerie Dixon, Bomani Howze, Dr. Johnson Martin, Bernadette Turner and A. Odell Richardson. These r epresentatives of organizations leading the fight for racial equity in the fields of economic development, housing, education, criminal justice, health and family development, and the electoral system will follow their presentations with requests for commitments to action to Onorato, Ravenstahl and Roosevelt. In the afternoon, Summit participants will meet in breakout sessions on these issues to develop plans and specific actions to hold public officials and key institutions in the private sector, including development companies and the building trades unions, accountable for playing their part in creating real equal opportunity for racial minorities in the Pittsburgh region.

More than 100 individuals and organizations have registered as official supporters of the Racial Equity and Empowerment Summit. They include: NAACP Branches, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western PA, One HOOD , ACLU of PA, Hill House Association, Western PA Black Political Assembly, Thomas Merton Center, SWPA Coalition of HUD Tenants, People For the American Way Foundation, Black and White Reunion, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Network of Spiritual Progressives, The Pittsburgh Project, Allegheny County ACORN, Pittsburgh UNITED, Coalition of Black Trade Unions, TALK Magazine, PA Baptist State Convention, Coro Center For Civic Leadership, YMCA, and The Kingsley Association, among others. "This Summit is about action and accountability. We believe this gathering of community leaders and organizations with our elected leaders and other regional stakeholders can make a dramatic and powerful difference in our long suffering neighborhoods and families," said Richard Adams, Co-Convener, Western Pennsylvania Black Political Assembly.