Pittsburgh councilmen seek CMU funding, assistance to break down racial barriers

Two Pittsburgh City Council members reached out to Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday seeking financial and staff contributions for their efforts to combat racism in the city.

R. Daniel Lavelle and Ricky Burgess, council’s two black representatives, asked for money along with faculty, staff and student participation in the city’s newly created All-In policy forum. Lavelle and Burgess created the forum to address inequality in housing, health care, business opportunities, education and the criminal justice system.

The councilmen, in a letter to CMU Board Chair James Rohr and President Farnam Jahanian, referenced a recent controversy over a map of the city created by the university for incoming students that failed to name predominantly black neighborhoods. CMU apologized and removed the map from its print and online publications.

“We acknowledge that the university took ownership of this incident and apologized to the community,” they wrote. “However, one cannot help but view this in the context of decades of overt racial and economic discrimination in the city. Perhaps the university’s lack of sufficient public investment in the city and specifically its African-American communities may be to blame.”

CMU spokeswoman Julie Mattera said students, faculty and staff are involved in service and community-driven research and outreach programs in neighborhoods across the city.

“We appreciate the constructive outreach from the Pittsburgh City Council members and we have already reached out to them to schedule time to further this important dialogue,” she said. “CMU is deeply committed to partnering with government, higher education, community and business leaders to build a better city for all.”

The letter marked a first attempt to secure funding from local corporations and nonprofit organizations for an All-In Pittsburgh Investment Fund created to provide financial support.

Lavelle said they approached CMU first because of the map controversy.

“When we were discussing it among ourselves, we figured that the reason that they excluded the black neighborhoods was because they don’t have a real relationship with these communities,” he said. “I think now we try to get in a room and talk about how we can work with them in our communities.”

Mayor Bill Peduto, a CMU trustee, for years has sought financial contributions from large universities and institutions, including CMU, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC and Highmark. Peduto spokesman Tim McNulty said the mayor supports the All-In initiatives, but could not comment on the letter because he is still reviewing it.

The letter also asks CMU to serve as a “strategic partner” in activities for black neighborhoods such the Hill District’s Center of Opportunities and the creation of commercial corridors in Homewood.

“I think that one of the ways for them to see the worth of these neighborhoods is for them to be active in those neighborhoods, for them to invest in those neighborhoods and to have partners in those neighborhoods (while) at the same time being a partner with the city as we talk about issues of diversity and equity citywide,” Burgess said.