By Zenitha Prince
AFRO Washington Bureau Chief
PITTSBURGH—The elegantly-appointed ballroom of the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh has seen its share of bourgeois affairs. But on the night of April 13, though wrapped in softly glowing lights, the sounds of mellow jazz and the sensuous aromas of a sumptuous feast, the ballroom was turned into a meeting hall.
African-American women – civic leaders, pastors, government officials, community activist and teenagers – from around the city gathered to devise an agenda of self-determination, first, for themselves and then for their community.
“We’re at the Omni William Penn Hotel because we want our Black sisters to feel first class because that’s who they are,” said the Rev. Judith C. Moore. “But when we settle in, I’m going to encourage them to take off their heels if they need to because we have serious work to do.” Rev. Moore and the Rev.Mary Buckley were co-conveners of the event, which launched the Pittsburgh chapter of two organizations: the Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Sisters Saving Ourselves Now.
“If we ever needed to come together as sisters in America it is now. Our children are in trouble, our schools are in trouble, our marriages are in trouble, our men are in trouble….”
Buckley said Sisters Saving Ourselves Now was formed so women of color could work together to secure their mental, spiritual and emotional health; establish economic stability and find their voice in the political process. “We want them to realize they have a voice because in order to use your voice, you have to realize you have one,” Buckley said. “And we also want them to realize that our collective voices are stronger than our single voices.” Melanie Campbell, CEO and executive director of the Washington-based National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said such unity is needed now given this year’s historic election. “Pennsylvania is the deciding state in the Democratic primary and the Black vote this time is powerful so you have a strong voice,” she said. The Coalition is engaged in a national non-partisan effort, the Unity ’08 Black Campaign, to motivate and mobilize Black voters to participate in this year’s election. “Sisters, we are the power of the Black vote.
Fifty-eight percent of the Black vote in 2004 was women,” Campbell said. A similar event was planned for Philadelphia. Nationally-syndicated radio host and the evening’s mistress of ceremonies Bev Smith said that with all the problems plaguing the Black community, the unified strength of its women is needed more than ever. “If we ever needed to come together as sisters in America it is now,” said Smith, who lives in Pittsburgh.
“Our children are in trouble, our schools are in trouble, our marriages are in trouble, our men are in trouble….” Keynote speaker, Susan L. Taylor, editor emerita of Essence magazine and founder of the National Cares Mentoring Movement, agreed. “We are losing the war at a time when we have more affluence and more education,” she said. “Our community is dying on our watch and I’m saying, ‘Hell no!’” Declaring the night a “working night” Taylor asked each member of the audience to submit a written pledge of something she would do to ensure a robust turnout of Black voters at the polls for Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary.
Any movement for change must involve actions and not just deeds, she said. “Enough talk,” she declared. “We’re the meetingnest people on earth.” Taylor also said that Black women have not tapped into their shared inherent power because of self-recrimination and self-doubt. She said, “You are made in the image of God. You are more than enough—you’re not too fat, too thin, too white, too dark…. [The power] is already in our hands but we have to act.”