Local leaders urge relief funds for region’s Black communities

Local Black community leaders are calling for a portion of the money granted to the Pittsburgh region via the American Rescue Plan be earmarked for the improvement of Black communities.

The Black Political Empowerment Project, Western PA Black Political Assembly, Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition and other leaders will hold a news conference on Friday to voice concerns about the Pittsburgh City Council’s allotment of $335 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

Officials said the city and Allegheny County combined will receive approximately $600 million in aid from the plan.

“It is unconscionable and unacceptable that in a city like Pittsburgh, which continues to be the source of horrible studies like the 2020 Gender Equity study that found that Pittsburgh is one [of the] worst cities in the country for Black women, a city with appalling levels of child poverty, a city which has allowed Black communities for 50 years to deteriorate, a city which has seen almost 10% of its Black population leave Pittsburgh between 2014 and 2018, would not use these once in a lifetime dollars to address the needs, and improve the lives of its Black citizens,” a news release said on Wednesday.

The coalition of leaders called upon members of the community to participate in a march on Monday in the Hill District, calling for $200 million in city, county and state COVID-19 aid be set aside to improve Black communities and improve the lives of Black Pittsburghers.

The coalition is also calling for Pittsburgh City Council to postpone any votes related to the allocation of nonemergency relief funds and for transparent and robust public participation in the uses of American Rescue Plan dollars.

The march is set to begin at 5 p.m. Monday at Freedom Corner.