Whispers and Shouts

Today, I Googled the word “Clairton” and was instantly transported back to high school. Anyone who has heard of Clairton has heard of Clairton’s dominant high school football team, the Clairton Bears. News story after news story spoke about the WPIAL playoffs and the latest defensive moves by the players. Then I ran into this.

        It was a letter to the editor thanking the Pittsburgh Courier for the coverage of the Community Economic Development Corporation of Clairton’s activities in the neighborhood. The letter’s author briefly mentioned how it is refreshing to hear Clairton spoken about in a positive light. Unfortunately, having grown up in Pittsburgh, in the South Hills specifically I can relate to her sentiments. I was only watching the news the other night when this story broke. 

        One of the few remaining steel mills in the area, Clairton’s US steel mill will be paying less tax revenue. This is an especially difficult development in Clairton which is still rebounding from the closure of many of Pittsburgh’s steel mills in the 1980s. This additional loss of revenue will place significant stress on Clairton’s local economy which unlike other surrounding neighborhoods is not able to benefit from the tax boost generated by the presence of a shopping mall or large franchise stores.

I began to go further back in time, looking at older news stories. I started with Pittsburgh’s historically black newspaper, the New Pittsburgh Courier’s archives. One word occurred over and over again in headlines where Clairton was mentioned—homicide. I compared this with the results I found for the left leaning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the right leaning Tribune Review. The Post-Gazette and the Tribune Review mainly had stories about football with one linked in about a Clairton woman who gave birth on her way to the hospital. Then I kept reading and slowly I began to see stories once again linked to violence in the community. When evaluating neighborhoods one must not only look at the structures, people, strengths, and needs of the community itself, but also its reputation. Clairton’s reputation has the potential to be seen as a hindrance. Again, I mention the importance of CEDCC’s efforts to make sure that Clairton does not become a gentrified community.

As we know name changes can be a hallmark of gentrification. Suddenly, East Liberty becomes the East End and the North Side once renovated becomes the North Shore--the white areas of these communities at least. Using our matrix of domination framework we cannot ignore the racial overtones in the decision to rebrand newly gentrified communities with new names. CEDCC is working against this element and by doing so they are protecting their client base. By renaming a community one is implying that there is stigma attached to the old name. Stigma leads to isolation and alienation for people who are from the community. This can cause significant personal distress and economic impairment.

In the social work profession we try to implement a strengths based perspective. I have met many people from Clairton who are proud of their neighborhood. They are proud of their high school and they are proud of the name Clairton. This is a significant strength. It speaks to residents’ resiliency and commitment to their roots even as the media amplifies Clairton’s negative reputation.

Know Thy Neighbor...hood Organizations

      When looking at any community it is important to evaluate its strengths and needs. This can most easily be gathered by looking at the organizations at work in the community. What is their mission statement? Who do they serve? Who is prevalent on their page? I asked myself all of these questions as I began researching the neighborhood. I started my search by simply Googling “Clairton social services” I thought that this would provide me with a comprehensive list of non-profits in the area. It largely only led to information about agencies linked to the Department of Public Welfare. But, what about community development and organization? Does Clairton need development initiatives? Is there blight? I focused on these questions as I began my research. 

     Here are some of the social work/community players in the Clairton community.

The Clairton Family Center

It was difficult to find information about this organization. I was able to determine that they are linked to the Allegheny county Department of Human services, but not specifics about their funding or the make up of their board. I did some more digging and I was able to find their Facebook page.

Their mission is to teach school readiness skills to children ages 0 to 5 and to help families become interdependent with their communities. However, the website is not maintained and the last Facebook post is from December 21, 2012.

Family Services United

This is a non-profit founded by two sisters. It seems that they work more with troubled youth and in mental health. The organization is currently constructing a 40 bed residential youth treatment center which will include recreational space. A note of interest the main “family” photo on their website consists of a white family. Clairton is a majority black community and I assume, perhaps unfairly, that most of the clientele will in fact be African American. Is it happenstance or was the inclusion of this specific photo an attempt to a appeal to a certain demographic. I do not say this with the intent to smear their reputation, but only to highlight the different methods and tactics agencies choose to use or not use when marketing themselves. The field of advertising is not free from controversy and neither is the field of non-profit advertising. Time will tell. View photos of their renovation here and their formal website here.

Sisters Place

Mission: Assist families to self-sufficiency by providing housing and supportive services.

At this point after looking a few different non-profit organizations in the area it was easy to glean that after school programs and programs that support family structure are a central focus for agencies in the area. Statistically speaking, women of color who are single parents are the most likely  to be living in poverty. Harking back to the foundation of this blog is an emphasis on critical race theory and an analysis of sex, race, and gender using Patricia Hill Collins’ matrix of domination as the framework. Looking at systems of oppression and their very real result of constricting communities of color to decaying and blighted sections of the city it is imperative that advocacy organizations take into account the needs of all members of the community. This includes the needs of women and children when completing their assessments. Learn more about Sisters Place here.

       Along with agencies confronting the social issues present in the neighborhood are organizations combating Clairton's physical deterioration. Following the closing of Clairton's steel mills many residents left. Property values plummeted and many properties were abandoned. Consequentially, abandoned and dilapidated houses are a common sight on Clairton's streets. One organization actively attempting to restore the physical structures of the community is the Community Economic Development Corporation of Clairton (CEDCC). The CEDCC appears to be the "go to" community organizing/improvement organization in the community. They have partnered with ACTION Housing, the Allegheny Department of Economic Development, the State Department of Community Development, and the R.K. Mellon Foundation. CEDCC has worked to end blight in the community and provide legal services to residents. These services include making sure the deed to a resident's house is in the resident's name. They have also emphasized restoring the community while still keeping it affordable for its long time residents. This is a very important counter-gentrification measure. Measures such as this against gentrification emphasize the CEDCC focus on grassroots organizing and empowering residents to be the change agents within their own community. View some of their work here.

These are some of the easily found organizations in Clairton. I’m sure that these are not all of them. Neighborhoods always have both formal and informal networks. Stay tuned for more Clairton news and analysis!