For years, Ora Lee Carroll, the East End activist who founded East Liberty Concerned Citizens Corp. as a vehicle to rebuild Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood, would say she had battled enough politicians and was going to quit and go back home to the South.

But she would always try again, in her blunt, politically incorrect fashion to get funding for development projects—only to be rejected.

GROWING THE COMMUNITY—Convalescing ELCCC Board Chair Ora Lee Carroll is seen here potting plants during her Project Africa campaign.

“She would call people out in public when they didn’t come through for her, state reps, the mayor, the Urban Redevelopment Authority—she didn’t care,” said John Brewer, owner of the Pittsburgh Trolley Station Oral History Center. “So most of the time, they were not inclined to give her money.”

On a soggy Sunday afternoon in May, Pittsburgh residents gathered at the Westin Convention Center Hotel Downtown to attend the third annual New Pittsburgh Courier All-City Awards Luncheon, honoring the best players and coaches in football and basketball.

GIVING SUPPORT—Judge Dwayne Woodruff with wife Joy.

The luncheon, which was re-established in 2008 at the behest of Assistant to the Publisher Stephan Broadus, honored inner-city high school athletes and their coaches for outstanding performances in football and basketball. Courier Managing Editor, Ulish Carter, Advertising Manager Eric Gaines, and Editor and Publisher, Rod Doss, joined Broadus to hand out trophies and medals; Gaines also gave the invocation.

The African-American faith community has traditionally been absent from efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The church’s message has ranged from the denial of the epidemic and how it is impacting the Black community to the vilifying and ostracizing of those infected.

RENEE BEAMAN

However, through the work of organizations like Beautiful Gate Outreach Center in Wilmington, Del., this trend has turned in the opposite direction. The center, which is located in Bethel AME Church, works to eliminate the spread of HIV/AIDS and offers support for those with the disease.

For every primary election, 12th Ward Chairwoman Rev. Jacqueline Fielder holds a candidates forum for the residents in her district. At these forums, constituents receive information on what their elected officials have done and what prospective officials would do differently.

Unfortunately most ward chairmen on the Allegheny County Democratic Committee are not like Fielder. Their contact with those they represent can range from occasional meetings or informational flyers to nothing at all.

JACQUELINE FIELDER

“Per our bylaws, our job is to get out the vote. Our people need to be engaged and educated in this electoral process. I think we should accommodate the needs of the community,” Fielder said. “I think by doing a lot of events it puts pressure on the title holders. Sometimes we go door to door. I think we go over and beyond the bylaws of what’s required of us.”

In the primary election May 18, citizens will have the chance to run for committee seats on the ACDC as all members are up for re-election.