FALL 2019 INSIDE TALK The Color of Drug Reform and Treatment How the Black Church Celebrates Christmas Putting Health Back at the Center of Healthcare Holiday Health Issue TheINSIDE TALK PUBLISHER’S NOTES This issue of Talk Magazine will feature articles on health care including an interview with Dr. Sharee Livingston in Lancaster with UPMC Pinnacle. Your health is the key to a happy and long life. Rev. Erwin McIntosh shares a view of how and why the African American church observes and celebrates Christmas. We also have information on Kwanzaa another traditional observance around the world. Many people celebrate both occasions uplifting the birth of Christ and recognition the 7 Principles including faith and family. This issue also provides a look at TMAG ’ s 2019 African American/Latino Roundtable in photos. In 2020, the 13th African American/Latino Roundtable will be held in Reading, PA with buses coming from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. TMAG ’ s sister company, Talk Magazine, is planning our 2020 calendar and a statewide Call for Action in the 2020 primary and general elections. In addition, we are calling all people to register with the 2020 Census. We must all be counted to show our numbers are increasing and our collective voice will be heard! Call 412.823.4007 to join the TMAG statewide Family of concerned citizens across Pennsylvania working to engage and empower minority communities. 04 College News 06 Talk Across PA 08 Business News 10 Latino News 12 Health News 16 The Color of Drug Reform and Treatment 18 The Noblest Profession Be Thankful pg 22 The LJS Group / Talk Magazine / TMAG Luther J. Sewell, Jr. / Publisher Roxanne N. Sewell / President & Editor theLULAdesigns / Graphic Design & Layout Austin Premier / Contributing Writer Fiordaliza White / Contributing Writer Ricco JL Martello / Photographer PO Box 143 Monroeville, PA 15146-0143 412.823.4007 info@talkmagazineonline.com www.talkmagazineonline.com Fall 2019 How the Black Church Celebrates Christmas pg 20 Crying: Erie-sistable Erie, PA pg 26 WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 34 | TALK MAGAZINE • FALL 2019 COLLEGE NEWS CCAC Community College of Allegheny County students rolled up their sleeves to volunteer at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank on September 11, 2019. Also known as Patriot Day, September 11 is a National Day of Service and Remembrance when Americans across the country are called to volunteer in their local communities in tribute to the individuals lost and injured in the attacks, first responders, and the many who have risen in service to defend freedom. Although participation was limited to 15 students, many more expressed interest in the service opportunity. The volunteers included new and returning students of various ages, majors and campuses as well as students volunteering for the first time. Together, they spent two hours re- packaging more than 60 boxes of food donations to be transferred to local pantries for distribution to individuals and families in need. “The turnout was wonderful,” said Rachel Bowden, CCAC Food Security AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. Bowden, who helps to oversee the food pantries at CCAC, organized the event as an opportunity for participants to give back while getting a chance to see how the food bank benefits the community. “The students found the work very rewarding, and they enjoyed talking to the people there and learning a lot about the food bank.” Bowden is planning future service projects for students to help at local soup kitchens, which are well-staffed on holidays but usually lack enough volunteers on other days. She is hoping the service projects will help combat the stigma of using a food pantry among college students, an increasing number of whom suffer from food insecurity. For this reason, she is also helping to get a new food pantry started in the coming year at CCAC’s West Hills Center, which would bring the total number of permanent food pantries at the college to six. CHATHAM by Karen Price A contingent from Eden Hall Upper Elemen- tary School traveled to Washington, D.C., at the end of September to accept an award as a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School, but the work isn’t over. “This is a great achievement and a great honor for our building and a collective effort of all our faculty and staff, but we don’t stop here,” assistant principal Joseph Domagala said. “Now we think about how do we really take what we have and continue to improve and build upon the next level.” The Green Ribbon award recognizes schools that reduce environmental impact and costs, improve the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff and provide environmental and sustainability education opportunities. A total of 35 schools and 14 districts were honored this year. Eden Hall was recognized for everything from its native plants, grasses and trees used in land- scaping to the makeup of the building itself to its participation in the PA Healthy Schools Initiative to its partnership with Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus, where students get a wide variety of sustainability education opportunities. In documenting everything that goes on day- to-day at Eden Hall, Domagala said, they found they had so much material that they had to leave some things out of their application for the award. LINCOLN by Emily Cole Four years after a fire gutted it, Lincoln Univer- sity’s Dickinson Research Center is on track to be rebuilt. The Board of Curators approved a construction contract with Curtiss-Manes-Schulte Inc. Con- struction of Eldon to build a 7,185-square-foot facility to replace the original building which caught fire in July 2015. The curators Thursday discussed the project with LU Facilities Director Jeff Turner, who presented them with building renderings and updates for the center, located on the south side of campus near Chestnut Street and Leslie Boulevard. The new building will include multiple re- search and teaching lab spaces, chemical storage and a classroom. There will also be greenhouses. Turner said the new building will be an improve- ment over the old building, providing an open educational environment for students. The building will be funded through a few differ- ent means; $2.2 million comes from a 1980 facil- ities grant, with another $1,910,145 from the fire loss fund, bringing the total funds available to a little more than $4.1 million. The original bid for the building was $4,535,223. However, four items — the greenhouse, a walk- in cooler, generator and grow lights — were tak- en off of the construction costs and will be paid for using a different funding source, bringing the cost down to $3,690,223. The other $845,000 will come from a research capacity fund. MILLERSVILLE Dr. Margaret Mbindyo, a faculty adviser in Millersville’s Department of Academic Advise- ment and Student Development was recently selected as one of only 10 international members of the 2019-2021 Class of the National Academ- ic Advising Association (NACADA) Emerging Leaders Program class of 2019-2021. NACADA is an international advising asso- ciation whose membership is comprised of aca- demic advisers, faculty advisers and professionals engaged in the work of advising students to succeed academically. The organization’s mission is to promote student success by advancing the field of academic advising globally. The Emerging Leaders Program was created to encourage members from diverse groups to get involved in leadership opportunities within the organization. The program equips participants with the skills and tools necessary to pursue elect- ed and appointed leadership positions, increase the number of leaders from diverse groups, and encourage and assist members of populations who are under-represented in the association’s leadership to attend state, regional, national or international conferences. Each year, 10 leaders and 10 mentors are selected for the two-year program in which the leaders and mentors work closely to connect the leaders to areas of the association they are interested in and to develop a plan for continued involvement and growth in the association. CCAC Food Pantry (l-r) Kristen Justus, assistant superintendent for elementary education and curriculum, gifted teacher Joanna Sovek, Eden Hall assistant principal Joseph Domagala, as well as gifted teacher Jennifer KopachWWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 5 COLLEGE NEWS Mbindyo, who lives in Millersville, has worked at Millersville University for nine years as an ad- junct faculty member and academic adviser. She became an assistant professor in 2018 and has recently become the coordinator of the Student Advising and Success Center. DREXEL Drexel and Tower Health have entered into an agreement to acquire St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children for $50 million, ensuring that the health care provider will continue its role as a vital resource for families in North Philadelphia and the region following its sale in bank- ruptcy court. “Tower Health and Drexel are committed to the North Philadelphia community - in- cluding the more than 30,000 children who depend on the hospital for their primary care and the 70,000 children served annually by the hospital’s emer- gency department - as well as its growing network of primary and specialty care locations throughout the Philadelphia suburbs and New Jersey,” said Clint Matthews, president and CEO of Tower Health. In their proposal, officials from Tower and Drexel affirmed their commitment to keeping the hospital intact, while providing operational expertise and financial securi- ty to strengthen the venerable institution that has been a fixture in North Philadelphia for 144 years. Drexel and Tower Health will be equal partners in the ownership of St. Christo- pher’s Hospital, physician practices and graduate medi- cal education program. Tower Health will take the lead operationally and work to preserve St. Christo- pher’s legacy of providing quality health care for families and nationally recognized programs for children. In addition to serving as a critical resource for the care of children in underserved neigh- borhoods, St. Christopher’s is also an important part of medical student education for the Drexel University College of Medicine. LOCKHAVEN Lock Haven University Student Learning Assessment Reporting Awards were given to five academic departments and three fall 2019 awards were given for Academic Program and General Education Student Learning Assessment Report- ing based on the results and actions reported on May 30. Receiving the Academic Program Student Learning Reports awards were the departments of criminal justice, special education and busi- ness and computer science. “It was a very difficult decision to only pick three academic departments because over 90 percent of the academic programs are closing the loop and making decisions to improve learning based on the learning data collected each year,” said Dr. Brett Everhart, special assistant to the provost for assessment and professor and chairperson of the department of health and physical education. “We are very proud of almost all of the academic programs for how hard they have worked to make the student learning assessment process very sustainable.” Receiving the awards for General Education Student Learning Reporting for fall 2019 were the department of geology and physics and the department of biological sciences. Dr. Lynn Bruner, chairperson of the outcomes assessment committee, also said it was a difficult process to single out only two departments for the quality of reporting on General Education Student Learning Reporting. Lock Haven University’s main campus is located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in the scenic mountains of Pennsyl- vania. The university offers 49 undergraduate majors and certifications with 47 minors and five graduate programs. St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children Dr. Donna Wilson, provost for academic affairs, presents Dr. Dwayne Marshall, interim chairperson, department of criminal justice with their awardTALK ACROSS PA 6 | TALK MAGAZINE • FALL 2019 PHILADELPHIA by Jenny Hong The late basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, who took the world by storm, and Fran Dunphy, the coach with the most wins in Big Five history, were among those honored at the Fourth Annual Philadelphia Legacies Portrait and Community Awards program. Each year, Philadelphia Legacies honors Phil- adelphians who have made major contributions to the city. To honor them, portraits of each hon- oree are commissioned by an exceptional local artist and presented and unveiled at the event. Also there are a number of community service recipients recognized for their contributions that have influenced the growth of Philadelphia’s communities. There were over 100 in attendance at the event that was held at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. According to Steve Satell, the founder and executive director of the Legacies Awards, the program was established in 2016 by a City Council resolution. The event was to become an annual observance to strengthen the awareness of the city’s diverse cultural heritage and its im- portance as a destination for visitors from around the world. ERIE A longtime downtown Erie fast-food restau- rant is closing — and according to Mayor Joe Schember, the move is part of a larger plan to redevelop that area. McDonald’s, 430 State St., will close Saturday, the restaurant’s general manager confirmed on Tuesday morning. Zakaria Sharif referred all oth- er questions to the store’s owner and McDonald’s corporate headquarters. Schember said the closing is related to what he called an agreement between McDonald’s and the Erie Downtown Development Corp., an organization that plans to bring market-rate housing, commercial space and other improve- ments to downtown, fueled by tens of millions of dollars from local business and community leaders. The EDDC previously announced a plan to invest up to $39 million to create a market and culinary arts district in buildings it owns along North Park Row. Flagship City Development, which is owned by EDDC, is developing the project, which also includes the construction of as many as 87 apartments. EDDC officials have said the project, which would take several years to complete and is still seeking key investors, will support more than 20 businesses and provide more than 240 jobs. That project also received a $2.5 million state grant. The plan was created by the Urban Land Insti- tute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit re- search and education organization that was hired by the Erie Downtown Development Corp. DARBY by Ashley Caldwell In what some political observers describe as “a crafty move,” Darby Township Republican Party leader Thomas Judge, Sr. and the party have engineered the nomination of a candidate to run for township commissioner in a special election in November that could result in the removal of current Republican Commissioner Thomas Orlando, according to township officials. Orlando was appointed to the Board of Commissioners in April following the unexpect- ed death of Lawrence “Larry” Patterson; also a Republican, in March and he assumed the job of commissioner in the Fourth Ward. However, Judge said the party did not “choose” or “want” Orlando as a commissioner. John Lacey was one of three candidates who submitted resumes for the vacancy, and while the board agreed he was a good candidate, they collectively felt Orlando was “the better choice,” according to Richard Womack, a Democrat and president of the Board of Commissioners. “Our nominee, John Lacey, was who we wanted to fill that seat,” Judge said. “We didn’t want (Thomas) Orlando. We have jurisdiction over who gets appointed and we didn’t want Orlando.” Womack says different. “It is the sole responsibility of the Board of Commissioners to appoint someone to fill a vacancy, regardless of what party they are,” Womack said. “It is not the responsibility of the party and the party has no jurisdiction over appointing someone.” Womack said that while either party cannot appoint someone to a seat on the board, they do have the right to nominate someone in an elec- tion. He also said that because Lacey is running unopposed, he will likely win. Orlando said he is unsure of the specifics of the situation and where he stands, but he said Judge “has been in politics for a long time” and that he knows “exactly what he is doing.” UNIVERSITY PARK Penn State Homecoming announced Freddy Purnell and Marlisa Shaw as the 2019 Guide State Forward winners during halftime of the Penn State vs. Purdue football game. Purnell is a biology major with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation: New Media and the Diversity Studies Certificate. He is the president of the LGBTQA Student RoundTa- ble, vice president of Queer and Trans People of Color, and part of the Black Caucus and the Caribbean Student Association. He also serves as the outreach chair of College Democrats. In ad- dition, the issue of sexual assault on Penn State’s campus is very personal and important to him. Purnell also is a peer educator, a member of Men Against Violence, and a Greeks CARE facilitator to help educate students on enthusiastic consent, bystander intervention and supporting survivors. Shaw is a biology and psychology major focus- ing on neuroscience in the Millennium Scholars Program. She is involved in Envisions, a co-cap- tain for the Dark Storm Step Team, and a mem- ber of the Parent’s Program Student Ambassador Program. She also is a member of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers and Phi Eta Sigma. Furthermore, Shaw is involved (l) GOP leader Tom Judge Sr. and Darby Township Commissioner Richard Womack Philadelphia Legacy honorees next to their portraits: From left: Stephen Cox, executive director of the Alliance for Minority Participation Program at Drexel University; Derrick Pitts, astronomer, Franklin Institute; Sam Delany, award-winning sci/fi writer; legendary NBA star Wilt Chamberlain and the winningest Big Five basketball coach in history, Fran Dunphy. Artist Latonia Brown stands next to Dunphy’s portrait. (Photo: Wendell Douglas)TALK ACROSS PA WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 7 in HealthWorks, Minority Health Initiative, and SAFE & AWARE. Last year, Penn State Homecoming eliminated the gendered titles of Homecoming king and queen, as well as the number ratio of male to female repre- sentation within the court. In an effort to embrace diversity and gender inclusivity within the Penn State community, it is still the focus of Student Court for the 2019 Home- coming season. The top two members of the Student Court are recognized with the Guide State Forward Award. These two individuals best represent Penn State’s six core values: Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, Excellence and Community. After a rigorous application, interview process, student voting, and panel review, Purnell and Shaw have been selected as the two students best representing the six core values of Penn State. Penn State Homecoming is a student-run organiza- tion with aims to celebrate tradition and instill pride in all members of the Penn State family through active engage- ment of students, alumni, faculty and staff across the community. The organization is comprised of many student volunteers who donate their time to create a multitude of events that make the Homecoming celebration a yearlong event. PITTSBURGH by Brentin Mock You may have heard the cry, or the restless yell, from Pittsburgh that there are black people in the future, as pronounced in the ongoing art project created by artist Alisha Wormsley. It is perhaps just as important to note that there are black people still in the present as well, especially in a city where black lives—and the lives of black women in particular—have been under-valued and unprotected. Njaimeh Njie, a Pittsburgh-based artist who works primarily with print and photography, set out on a journey in 2016 to document black lives in her city, focusing on the Hill District, the historic black neighborhood that serves as the home base for some of the world’s most pioneering musicians and August Wilson’s 10-play theatrical universe. Njie recently completed work on her three- year long project “Homecoming: Hill District, USA” which celebrates black life in the neighbor- hood via an interactive online map, a collection of oral history narratives told by Hill District residents, and a series of public art installations. The composite is a Hill District where black people are holding their own amidst an ever-shifting land- scape where the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, the University of Pittsburgh, and other market forces are licking their chops to see who can snag the primest cuts of real estate in this down- town-adjacent collection of neighborhoods. “It’s a restoring and reinsert- ing of black people into the narrative of this city and this region where we have been erased or at least not fully acknowledged,” says Njie. What you’ll find in this project are just a few, among thousands and thousands of Hill District stories. It’s somewhere to hold space for ancestors, leaders, and loved ones who the history books may not name. Among the joy, pain, and love in these stories, there’s room to reflect, to analyze the past, to ask questions of the present, and to reimagine new futures. This is a Pittsburgh story, and this is an American story. Welcome to the Hill District, USA. Homecoming Student Court members Freddy Purnell, left, and Marlisa Shaw received the ‘Guide State Forward Award’ (photo Patrick Mansell) “The Vanguard” is one of three currently standing public art installations in Njie’s “Homecoming: Hill District, USA” project. This one is mounted on the side of the August Wilson House, the home where the famous playwright grew up that will soon be converted into a cultural center. (Brentin Mock/CityLab)Next >