Original article by Rob Taylor Jr. -New Pittsburgh Courier
Compare Pittsburgh to places like Atlanta, Raleigh, Columbus, Washington, D.C., or Houston, and there’s really no comparison. African Americans, as a whole, seem to desire living in those cities rather than the Pittsburgh area.
Now, there’s a survey out that African Americans currently in Pittsburgh, as well as Black Pittsburghers who have left the region, are being encouraged to complete. It’s all in an effort to answer the million-dollar question: “Why do you live (or no longer live) in Pittsburgh?”
The survey’s official name is the “Black Pittsburgh Satisfaction and Retention Survey,” spearheaded by the Black Political Empowerment Project’s Corporate Equity and Inclusion Roundtable, along with the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work’s Center for Race and Social Problems. The survey is up and running now at blackpittsburghsurvey.org, or one can call 412-624-2883 during business hours to complete the survey over the phone. While technically anyone can take the survey, it’s geared towards Black adults, who either live in or used to live in Pittsburgh.
“For Black and brown residents, there are significant challenges and barriers that create real issues to long-term residence here,” voiced Dr. Kyaien O. Conner, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Center of Race and Social Problems, at a news conference at the Kingsley Association in Larimer, Dec. 2. At the same time, however, the strengths of the region can be highlighted by survey participants, too. “If we understand what those hooks are for different cohorts of people, we can use that information to continue to bring people back…and continue the important work of diversifying our amazing city.”
Across the country, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly known as a Black mecca. And it didn’t help when a 2019 Gender Equity Commission Report produced by University of Pittsburgh researchers found that Pittsburgh was the worst place for Black women to live according to most livability indicators. Overall, Pittsburgh’s Black population is less than 24 percent these days, and only 17 percent of the Black population in the city limits has at least a four-year college degree, according to data produced by PublicSource between 2012 and 2016. Whites with at least a four-year college degree in Pittsburgh totaled 46 percent, according to the PublicSource data.
Pittsburgh’s Black educated population pales in comparison to places like D.C., where 32 percent of Blacks there hold at least a four-year college degree, according to data from the National Equity Atlas, reported by The Atlantic in 2015. The same data found that 28 percent of Blacks in Atlanta and Raleigh, N.C., hold at least a four-year degree, and one in four (25 percent) Blacks hold at least a four-year degree in Nashville. Each of those cities, in addition to Columbus, Ohio, Charlotte, and Houston, have significantly larger Black populations in the city proper than Pittsburgh, which sports just under 70,000.
The rumor mill has forever churned about why some Black people decide to leave Pittsburgh. But Tim Stevens, Chairman and CEO of B-PEP, along with Godfrey Bethea Jr., VP, Equity, People & Culture for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Kellie Ware, Esq., Executive Director, Professional Development Office, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and Dr. Conner all want to let the data from the survey do the talking.
“This is the kind of study that we need,” added Majestic Lane, Chief Equity Officer for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. “This is talking to people, listening to people, getting data that can be used across the region to really talk about the challenges and successes.”
Reverend Dr. Dale B. Snyder, pastor of Bethel AME Church, in the Hill District, said at the news conference that the survey is important in getting “the actual facts behind the stories.”
The online or via-telephone survey should take an individual about 10 minutes to complete. A New Pittsburgh Courier analysis of the survey found that two of the questions are: “How would you rate the support ecosystem (funding, networking, mentorship) for Black entrepreneurs in the Pittsburgh region?” and, “What improvements do you feel would improve your satisfaction of life in the Pittsburgh region?” The survey has plenty of room for participants to freely elaborate on issues and answers, too.
Dr. Conner said the first 1,000 people who complete the survey are eligible to receive a $10 gift card. Dr. Conner also said she hopes more than 1,000 people will take the survey. The survey leaders have partnered with outside organizations like 1 Hood Media, 100 Black Men, Kingsley Association, Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Vibrant Pittsburgh, Pitt African American Alumni Council and YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh to get the word out to more African American adults to complete the survey.
The survey closes on March 31, 2025. Dr. Conner, Ware and Bethea said there would be some data reveals from the surveys in the summer of 2025.
Stevens said the information from the surveys will be “valuable information for the corporate community to analyze, those who wish to keep Black people in Pittsburgh.”
“We know we can’t be a thriving region if everyone isn’t thriving,” Lane added. “It’s very simple.”
Tale the Survey: BLACKPITTSBURGHSURVEY.ORG OR 412-624-2883