WINTER 2022 INSIDE TALK PITTSBURGH ELECTION PG 18 JOSEPHINE BAKER PG 22 CHERI BEASLEY PG 26 Mr. & Mrs. Gainey The Black History IssueINSIDE TALK PUBLISHER’S NOTES Philippians 3:13 "but one thing I do. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." We people of color must forget about the past and look to the future of our nation and our place in that future. On January 6, 2021, we almost lost our nations democracy to the insurrection on our capital. What can you do? Talk to and register everyone in your family, church, and your personal organizations. Talk to your family and friends and see if they want to vote by mail and help them request a vote by mail application and help complete the form. Next steps, develop a plan for November 8, 2022, to help your contacts go to the polls to vote or share a resource for questions – www.votespa.com for answers. It is the way you can help to advance black and brown people's agenda and save our democracy going into the future. In this issue of Talk we highlight those who have passed on that worked in their communities to increase civic education and engagement, political activism, and minority business. We lost them, but we ask you to push forward on issues that are still ahead of us. After the past thirty years, Talk Magazine has made developed contacts and relationships with people in 30 of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Including the 21 black and brown mayors, ward and precinct people in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Harrisburg. With your help we can expand our outreach and help our communities in as many areas as possible. When Talk Magazine developed the first calendar of African American Mayors in 2018, there were only 9 mayors. In 2022, our new calendar has 21 African American and Latino Mayors in cities and boroughs where the majority is under 50% African American and Latino. We need more of these mayors because that is 21 of 360 in Pennsylvania. We need You or someone you know to run for elected office where you live giving us strong representation. The LJS Group / Talk Magazine / TMAG Luther J. Sewell, Jr. / Publisher Roxanne N. Sewell / President & Editor theLULAdesigns / Graphic Design & Layout Renee Aldrich / Contributing Writer Fiordaliza White / Contributing Writer PO Box 143 Monroeville, PA 15146-0143 (P) 412.823.4007 info@talkmagazineonline.com www.talkmagazineonline.com 6 College News 8 Talk Across PA 10 Business News 12 Latino News 14 Mayors 2022 16 Health News Pittsburgh Election pg 18 Phoebe's Finest Ltd pg 23 WINTER 2022 Year of Black Men pg 276 | TALK MAGAZINE • WINTER 2022 COLLEGE NEWS CCAC Community College of Allegheny County Southeast Region President Charlene Newkirk is a 2021 Women of Influence award winner. The Pittsburgh Business Times has honored a total of 26 women as part of the 2021 Women of In- fluence awards. More than 300 people gathered at the Westin Convention Center Hotel on Oct. 6 to celebrate the winners. The Times describes them as “inspiring women who have started and grown businesses, mentored future generations and made the community a better place.” Newkirk, who joined CCAC in 2009, has 30 years of experience in higher education. She over- sees the college’s South Campus, Boyce Campus, Braddock Hills Center and Washington County Center. One of her proudest accomplishments is the South Campus Cupboard food pantry, which operates in partnership with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and was ren- ovated with a grant from the Jefferson Regional Foundation. The pantry, which benefits students and their families who are experiencing food insecurity, is stocked with nonperishable foods as well as meats, dairy, frozen vegetables, and personal hygiene items. In season, the pantry also features fresh produce from the campus garden. “This food pantry is one of the most important things I think that I’ve contributed to this college, and I’m very proud of everything we’ve done to meet the needs of our students and help them succeed.” Newkirk is also proud of CCAC’s Men of Merit and Women on a Mission programs, which support students who are at risk of not completing at the col- lege. The programs provide mentorship, coaching and support for students so that they can be successful. The Pittsburgh native is also responsible for ensuring the college workforce represents the demographics of the region. She co-founded the CCAC Leadership Devel- opment Institute, which is designed to train and retain a diverse group of leaders. The institute enables mem- bers of the CCAC family to develop key leadership and management skills and ex- plore the potential for lead- ership in a variety of senior college roles. She also encourages staff members to pursue professional development in Pittsburgh and through national programs tailored for train- ing in higher education leadership. MILLERSVILLE By Mickayla Miller The South Central PaARTners at Millersville University recently received a $16K grant to aid in its programming. PA Humanities, an independent nonprofit, gave out $1.4 million statewide as part of its COVID-19 humanities recovery program, which helps to fund programs that may have struggled during the pandemic. With aid from the grant, the South Central PaARTners intend to expand their programming to include hip hop, creative writing, dance and music. The organization works to help artists receive short-term residencies at schools and other organizations, and give artists a living wage while doing so. “This grant will allow us to extend our services, reach more students, and give artists—particularly historically underrepresented artists— greater oppor- tunity to teach in our communities. We’re incredibly grateful to PA Humanities for this opportunity,” said Marci Nelligan, Program Director of SCPAMU. SLIPPERY ROCK Slippery Rock University is enhancing a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through a new requirement for students. Beginning in the fall of 2022, all undergrad- uate SRU students will be required to take a three-credit course that meets a diversity curric- ulum designation through the Rock Integrated Studies Program. SRU facility members teaching the course must complete an eight-week online training class of- fered by the university in order to integrate con- cepts such as self-awareness, identity, structural privilege, and oppression into existing course content. Faculty that completes the training will receive $1,000 that can be used for professional development. This initiative is believed to be the first of its kind in the PA State System of Higher Education. Classes with the diversity designation will be clearly indicated on course catalogs and the Rock Studies Guide. PENN By George Michalowski The University of Penn- sylvania is a defendant, along with 15 other top-tier schools, in a federal lawsuit claiming the colleges colluded to determine finan- cial-aid awards for students, violating guidelines that prohibit consideration of an applicant's ability to pay when making admissions decisions. The lawsuit was filed in Illi- nois federal court by five for- mer students who attended some of the schools in the case. The students claim that the universities engaged in anticompetitive behavior by weighing in prospective stu- dents' abilities to pay when creating a shared framework for awarding financial aid packages. Congress passed legisla- tion in 1994 that permits universities to collaborate WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 7 COLLEGE NEWS on standards for assessing financial-aid packages as long as these guidelines for admissions are "need-blind" and universities do not discuss the awards for individual students. The law was intended to help schools avoid bidding wars for low-income applicants while discouraging them from favoring wealthy applicants who would not require high-cost scholarships. CALIFORNIA PA By George Michalowski When thinking about the best college basket- ball players in Western Pennsylvania, the talented athletes from Pitt, Duquesne, and Robert Morris usually comes to mind. However, you’ve got to look to Division II California University of Pennsylvania to find the lone player in the area that is averaging more than 20 points and ten rebounds per game this season. That player is Philip Alston, and he has been nothing short of dominant. A 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, Alston is amidst one of the most domi- nant seasons in recent memory for any player in the area, regardless of level. Alston, averaging 20.1 points per game, ranks in the top-40 in scoring in Division II. He is one of only 18 players in Division II averaging more than ten blocks per game. He is the only player that has started all 12 of Cal U’s games this sea- son. He sits 50 points ahead of the second-high- est scorer on the team. 50 rebounds ahead of the second-highest rebounder on the team. He’s the team leader in blocks. Alston, after only averaging eight minutes per game in his first season with the program, has been a key piece in Cal’s run to an impressive 8-4 start to the season so far. “I feel like changing my body and working on conditioning, getting stronger and faster has helped me the most this year,” Alston told Pittsburgh Sports Now in an interview. “Just being able to fly around at my size and strength this year and my coach trusting in me fully this year.” For Alston, he says that attacking the rim is his best skill on the court. He can, like he said, fly. He throws down vicious, rim-rattling dunks every time he’s out there, no matter if there are defenders in the way or not. In mid-November, he put up back-to-back performances of 37 and 35 points. He has scored in double-digits in all but one game. He has had five games of at least 13 rebounds. And most im- portant of all, his team has been winning games. “Cal has been great,” he said about the team’s solid start to the season. “Our team chemistry is always great here, everyone gets along together well and we all hang out outside of basketball all the time. Our coaching staff is great too. Our assistants are always ready to help out when we want to get in the gym and get extra shots and on the bench during the games they help call out other teams plays and just help us see the game. Our Head Coach, Coach Sancomb, I love playing for him because he is just as competitive as us and wants to win at all costs, just as bad as we do.” DUQUESNE By Paul Guggenheimer Duquesne University’s proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine is not expected to open until 2024, but the school has achieved “candi- date status” from the Commission on Osteo- pathic College Accreditation (COCA), according to a university statement. Among other things, the change in status means Duquesne will begin additional fund- ing for the college. It has already submitted draft plans for the medical school’s curriculum, new building and where students will study in the program. The first two years will be at the university’s new medical school. Duquesne said construction will begin in March. continued on page 28 continued on page 28 continued on page 28Next >