Coalition invites community participation to envision a better future for Black Pittsburghers

On Saturday at Obama Academy in East Liberty, Black people in Pittsburgh and neighboring communities are invited to participate in Taking Back Our Human Rights: Shaping Black Pittsburgh’s appeal to the world, an event at which organizers say they will begin creating “a bold vision and plan of action for this region and its future, prioritizing the concerns of Black people.”

“We do so at a moment of crisis but also of opportunity,” event organizers write on Facebook. “For too long, issues of urgent concern to Black people in our region have been neglected or ignored, with devastating effects. Professor Justin Hansford of Howard Law School, (newly appointed representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum of People of African Descent) will be present to witness our deliberations, hear our concerns, and lift them up to the world body.”

There is no cost to attend, although registration is encouraged. Lunch and childcare will be provided, according to the Facebook event.

The coalition sponsoring the event consists of Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance, 1Hood Media, Alliance for Police Accountability, Black Women’s Policy Center, Center for Family Excellence, The Global Switchboard and All for All, Gwen’s Girls and the Black Girls Equity Alliance, Hill District Consensus Group, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition, Pittsburgh Black Equity Coalition, Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, Pittsburgh Public Schools Equity, Pitt Schools of Health Sciences Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, University Human Rights Working Group, UrbanKind Institute, and West End POWER.

Jordana Rosenfeld is a reporter for Pittsburgh City Paper, where this story first appeared.