While Democrats in the state house railed against Republican measures to limit their voice last week, Black Democrats are upset with their own party for the same reason—no voice on key committees.

MIFFED AT APPOINTMENTS—Black Caucus Chair Ron Waters, D-Philadelphia.

Though the November election saw Democrats go from a five-seat majority in the sate house to a 22-seat minority, Black Caucus Chair Ron Waters, D-Philadelphia, said that should not have translated into fewer Blacks serving on house committees.

“We didn’t lose. All the Democratic losses were White legislators,” he said. “In fact, we actually gained in the Black caucus because Margot Davison took a seat that was Republican for a long time.

Newly appointed chairman of the Community College of Allegheny County Board of Trustees, William R. Robinson noted it is unique among colleges in southwestern Pennsylvania for having  African-Americans as chair and a college president.

BILL ROBINSON

“Having Black faces in high places has its benefits, but it’s of momentary significance,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s about taking this from a very good college to a great college. I don’t think we can grow as a community college without looking at where the African-American population lives and what facilities we have that are accessible. “

Robinson said though opportunities for income growth lie to the North of the city, the potential growth in student enrollment is in the East and South, where there are larger Black populations.

In July, with great fanfare, developers and government supporters announced a grocery operator was finally coming to the Hill District. The money was in place, they said, and ground would be broken in the fall for a November 2011 opening that would provide 100 jobs to Hill residents.

CARL REDWOOD

But in the seven months since that announcement, not a single square inch of soil has been moved to prepare the Centre Avenue site for the 29,000 square-foot Shop ‘n Save.

Hill Consensus Group co-convener Carl Redwood Jr. said everything has been pushed back to the spring.

In 2009 at Independence High School in Columbus, Ohio 84.5 percent of the students attending the overwhelmingly African-American school were proficient in reading. Here in Pittsburgh the outlook is not as bright as the most recent test scores for the Pittsburgh Public School District showed that only 33.8 percent of African-American students are proficient in reading.

CLOSING THE GAP—Principal Christopher Qualls shows how his school’s attendance has risen over the past decade. (Photos by Rossano P. Stewart)

“This school features some of the same challenges we find here in the city of Pittsburgh,” said Jerome Taylor, executive director of the Center for Family Excellence. “The kids are proficient at levels that would startle and please you.”