Featured Discussions - Pittsburgh Jazz Network2024-03-28T22:33:21Zhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/group/augustwilsoncenter/forum/topic/list?feed=yes&xn_auth=no&featured=1Denzel Washington Says He Will Bring 10 August Wilson Plays to HBOtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2015-09-20:1992552:Topic:3665392015-09-20T05:08:14.460ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<div class="story-meta-footer"><address class="byline author vcard">By <a class="url fn" href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/author/gilbert-cruz/" rel="author" title="More Posts by Gilbert Cruz"></a></address>
<address class="vcard first-byline"><span class="fn">Gilbert Cruz</span></address>
September 18, 2015 1:43 pm <span class="visually-hidden updated">September 18, 2015 1:43 pm</span></div>
<div class="w592"><span class="visually-hidden">Photo…</span><div class="image"><img alt="Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in a 2010 production of August Wilson’s “Fences,” at the Cort Theater." height="387" id="100000003921769" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2015/09/19/arts/fences/fences-tmagArticle.jpg" width="592"></img></div>
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<div class="story-meta-footer"><address class="byline author vcard">By <a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/author/gilbert-cruz/" class="url fn" title="More Posts by Gilbert Cruz" rel="author"></a></address>
<address class="vcard first-byline"><span class="fn">Gilbert Cruz</span></address>
September 18, 2015 1:43 pm <span class="visually-hidden updated">September 18, 2015 1:43 pm</span></div>
<div class="w592"><span class="visually-hidden">Photo</span><div class="image"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2015/09/19/arts/fences/fences-tmagArticle.jpg" id="100000003921769" alt="Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in a 2010 production of August Wilson’s “Fences,” at the Cort Theater." height="387" width="592"/></div>
<span class="caption-text">Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in a 2010 production of August Wilson’s “Fences,” at the Cort Theater.</span><span class="credit"><span class="visually-hidden">Credit</span> Sara Krulwich/The New York Times</span></div>
<p class="story-body-text">During an interview at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Thursday night <a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/tonight-watch-the-free-live-stream-of-an-evening-with-denzel-washington-in-conversation-with-dr-todd-boyd-20150917">Denzel Washington said</a> that he would produce adaptations of all 10 plays in August Wilson’s cycle about African-American life in the 20th century for HBO.</p>
<p class="story-body-text">“I’ve been given the opportunity by the August Wilson estate, he did 10 plays—I’m directing, producing and acting in one, and I’m executive producing the other nine,” said Mr. Washington. “I made a deal with HBO. We’re going to do one a year for the next nine years.” HBO declined to comment.</p>
<p class="story-body-text">In late August, <a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/arts/television/viola-davis-on-finding-creative-space-in-tv-with-no-limitations.html?referrer&_r=2">Viola Davis told The Times</a> that she would star in an adaptation of Mr.Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Fences” directed by Mr. Washington. The two actors worked together on that play when <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/theater/reviews/27fences.html">the show was revived on Broadway in 2010</a>.</p>
<p class="story-body-text">Mr. Wilson died in 2005, six months after the final play in the cycle, “Radio Golf,” debuted at the Yale Repertory Theater.</p> Where Are The Heroes To Save Pittsburgh's African-American Center?tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2015-02-01:1992552:Topic:3470622015-02-01T18:28:17.659ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<div id="storytext" class="storytext storylocation linkLocation"><div id="res280895200" class="bucketwrap image large"><div class="imagewrap"><img src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/02/21/ap701209659769-ad35204e038af8ec17127470bfc6af6f72e96515-s800-c85.jpg" class="img" title="The $42-million August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh is for sale because it can't pay its bills. Some are questioning why the Center was allowed to fail." alt="The $42-million August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh is for sale because it can't pay its bills. Some are questioning why the Center was allowed to fail."/></div>
<div class="credit-caption"><div class="caption"><p>The $42-million August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh is for sale because it can't pay its bills. Some are questioning why the Center was allowed to fail.</p>
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<span class="credit">Keith Srakocic/AP</span></div>
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<p>In 2009 a gleaming performing arts space opened to great fanfare in downtown Pittsburgh. The distinctive <a href="http://wesa.fm/post/august-wilson-center-must-find-deep-pocket-donors">$42 million-dollar building</a> is as long as the block it occupies, and the corner of the building looks like the sail of a ship made in glass and stone.</p>
<p>The August Wilson Center for African American Culture was meant to be a hub for African-American theater, art and education, named after renowned playwright and native son <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4933572">August Wilson</a>. Today the Center is for sale, unable to pay its bills. Many wonder why it was allowed to get to this point, and some say the story behind it would have been great material for Wilson's plays.</p>
<p>August Wilson grew up on the hilly streets of a predominantly black neighborhood in Pittsburgh in the 1940s and 50s. He met Sala Udin in elementary school.</p>
<p>"I was one of the wild crazy kids running around, wrestling," Udin says. "That wasn't August. August stood back and kind of watched, always with a kind of amused smile on his face."</p>
<p>That intent observation, as well as his deeply conflicted feelings about the city formed the backbone and marrow of Wilson's plays.</p>
<p>"August loved Pittsburgh, and he hated Pittsburgh. He hated the racism, he hated the poverty, he hated the brutality of the police," Udin says. "There was a lot to hate about Pittsburgh, the place that we loved. And you'll see that throughout all of August's plays."</p>
<p>Wilson is best known for his cycle of 10 plays, known as <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=214158021">the Century Cycle</a>, which depict issues facing the black community across 10 decades. He eventually left Pittsburgh, and died in 2005 as plans for a cultural center were taking shape. Udin, a founding board member, says they decided to name it after Wilson.</p>
<p>Artist Vanessa German was thrilled to be among the institution's inaugural group of fellows, but the euphoria dissipated when the money and technical aid for their projects were either late or nonexistent.</p>
<p>"The support that we were promised didn't come through," German says.</p>
<p>The Center's ability to function was crippled by debt stemming from construction cost overruns, unrealistic revenue projections, and mismanagement. Financial records went missing, vendors and staff unpaid. Last year the August Wilson Center stopped paying its mortgage and the bank moved to foreclose. Retired Judge Judith Fitzgerald was brought on board as conservator. Her job was to try and find a path to sustainability for the Center.</p>
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<p>But, Fitzgerald says, "essentially every door that we tried to open was not available to us."</p>
<p>Without the money to move forward, and carrying a debt of <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2014/02/10/auditor-general-raises-concerns-over.html">$9.5 million to $10 million</a>, Fitzgerald recommended liquidation.</p>
<p>Some in the black community ask why the Center has been allowed to fail while other institutions are aided by the city and its deep-pocketed philanthropic community. The <a href="http://wesa.fm/post/pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra-accepts-12-million-donation">Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra</a> has dipped in and out of the red for years, and the Heinz History Center stumbled when it first opened. But the August Wilson Center, devoted to black culture, is on the brink of dissolution and there is no help in sight.</p>
<p>Artist Vanessa German feels let down by a city that has a history of rooting for the underdog. "Where was the voice and the person who was pointing at the Center, saying, 'Yes! No matter what, yes! Oh no, liquidation? No, we've got this, that's who we are."</p>
<p>"There are so many plays contained in this story, he would have a field day," German says. "Tragedy, disappointment, betrayal — that's the stuff of August Wilson's plays!"</p>
<p>Udin says the legacy of August Wilson will endure; whether the gem of an arts space can survive is an open question.</p>
</div> Judge expected to approve August Wilson sale dealtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-10-22:1992552:Topic:3397692014-10-22T00:21:20.931ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/10/20/" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;" title="9:17 am">Oct 20, 2014</a></h1>
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/10/20/" title="9:17 am" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;">Oct 20, 2014</a></h1>
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<div class="post-content"><div class="featured"><div class="featured-thumb featured-landscape"><div id="attachment_69984" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-69984" src="https://ionenewpittsburghcourier.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/august_wilson_center__broa.jpg" alt="August Wilson Center" width="680" height="454"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Buildings in downtown Pittsburgh are reflected in the windows of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture on Oct. 2. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)</p>
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<div class="content-body"><p>PITTSBURGH (AP) – An Allegheny County judge is expected to approve a deal by a consortium of charities to buy Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Center for $8.85 million.</p>
<p>The five-year-old center is named for the late, black Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Pittsburgh native. But it’s been plagued by financial and attendance problems and was scheduled for a <span class="aBn">Nov. 3</span>sheriff’s sale to satisfy a $7.9 million mortgage default.</p>
<p>Instead, a coalition of charitable foundations plans to close on the center <span class="aBn">Oct. 31</span> and keep it open, but Allegheny County Judge Lawrence O’Toole must first approve terms of the deal <span class="aBn">on Monday</span>.</p>
<p>O’Toole had scheduled a trial to determine whether the charities or a New York developer should be allowed to buy the center to prevent a sheriff’s sale. But the developer, 980 Liberty Partners, withdrew its bid.</p>
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<p></p> Foundations, URA win August Wilson Center disputetag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-10-03:1992552:Topic:3388562014-10-03T01:10:17.294ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/10/01" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;" title="4:20 pm">Oct 1, 2014</a></h1>
<div class="post-meta clearfix"><div class="by-author"><span class="sep">By</span> <span class="author-name author vcard">Christian Morrow…</span></div>
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/10/01" title="4:20 pm" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;">Oct 1, 2014</a></h1>
<div class="post-meta clearfix"><div class="by-author"><span class="sep">By</span> <span class="author-name author vcard">Christian Morrow</span></div>
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<div class="post-content"><div class="featured"><div class="featured-thumb featured-landscape"><div id="attachment_111878" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-111878" src="https://ionenewpittsburghcourier.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/awcgroup.jpg" alt="AWCgroup" width="680" height="454"/><p class="wp-caption-text">SUPPORTERS—Elated community members representing the arts, education and human services leave Judge Lawrence O’Toole’s court after the foundations and URA win control of the AWC.</p>
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<div class="content-body"><p>An 11th hour—plus 20 minutes—agreement between all the parties has resolved the dispute over ownership of the bankrupt August Wilson Center for African American Culture in favor of the consortium of foundations that sought to prevent hotel development on the center site.</p>
<p>The 980 Partners group, which had previously won tentative approval for its hotel project, with its $9.5 million bid, bowed out prior to a scheduled Sept. 29 trial before Judge Lawrence O’Toole on whether deed covenants prohibited the deal.</p>
<p>“We’ve said all along that preserving the mission of the center was one of our priorities, and in the end this seems to be the best way to help do that for the African-American community and the city,” said 980 Partners principal Matthew Shollar. “We’re disappointed we couldn’t go ahead, but we’ve forged some good relationships and look forward to possibly working together in the future.”</p>
<p>All parties: 980, the foundations, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the State Attorney General’s Office, court-appointed receiver Judith Fitzgerald and Dollar Bank approved the agreement.</p>
<p>A confidential side-deal was also forged to compensate 980 for the legal, consulting and engineering expenses it incurred since its plan was tentatively approved in the spring.</p>
<p>Though O’Toole’s courtroom was filled to capacity and beyond by representatives of various community and arts organizations—among them Esther Bush, Marimba Milliones, Mark Clayton Southers, Tim Stevens and Janera Solomon—the action took place in the hallway outside and in O’Toole’s chambers as lawyers scurried back and forth to put the finishing touches on the deal.</p>
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<p></p> 980 backs out of AWC sale; Foundations and URA to pay off Dollar Banktag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-09-30:1992552:Topic:3387572014-09-30T02:04:54.382ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/09/29/" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;" title="4:49 pm">Sep 29, 2014</a></h1>
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<h1 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/09/29/" title="4:49 pm" rel="bookmark" style="font-size: 13px;">Sep 29, 2014</a></h1>
<div class="post-meta clearfix"><div class="by-author"><span class="sep">By</span> <span class="author-name author vcard">Christian Morrow, Courier Staff Write</span></div>
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<div class="content-body"><p>An 11th hour—plus 20 minutes—agreement between all the parties has resolved the dispute over ownership of the bankrupt August Wilson Center for African American Culture in favor of the consortium of foundations that sought to prevent hotel development on the center site.</p>
<p>The 980 Partners group, which had previously won tentative approval for its hotel project, with its $9.5 million bid, bowed out prior to a scheduled Sept. 29 trial before Judge Lawrence O’Toole on whether deed covenants prohibited the deal.</p>
<p>“We’ve said all along that preserving the mission of the center was one of our priorities, and in the end this seems to be the best way to help do that for the African-American community and the city,” said 980 Partners principal Matthew Shollar.</p>
<p>“We’re disappointed we couldn’t go ahead, but we’ve forged some good relationships and look forward to possible working together in the future.”</p>
<p>All parties: 980, the foundations, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the State Attorney General’s Office, court-appointed receiver Judith Fitzgerald, and Dollar Bank approved the agreement.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto credits city, Allegheny County and foundation officials for the joint effort to save the center.</p>
<p>The deal would pay mortgage holder Dollar Bank $7.9 million and Fitzgerald and her team $590,000 for a total sales price of $8.49 million. No other creditors, including the URA, would be paid. All tax liens would also be forgiven.</p>
<p>It is not clear where the money will come from as the foundations’ highest bid—already augmented by the URA and unsourced county funds—was $7.2 million, $1.29 million less than the sale price.</p>
<p>The timeline requires the URA to pay the receiver $250,000 within five days and the Pittsburgh Foundation or its designee (NewCo—short for new company) to pay an additional $270,000 by Oct. 31. Should the deal fall through, Dollar Bank could foreclose and sell the center at a November sheriff’s sale.</p>
<p>(More in Wednesday’s print edition.)</p>
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<p></p> Community groups support local foundations’ AWC bidtag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-09-26:1992552:Topic:3387402014-09-26T00:38:02.910ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<div class="column clearfix" id="primary"><div class="post column blocks" id="article"><div class="post-meta clearfix"><div class="the-time"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/09/24/" rel="bookmark" title="4:29 pm">Sep 24, 2014</a></div>
<div class="by-author"><span class="sep">By</span> <span class="author-name author vcard">Christian Morrow…</span></div>
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<div class="by-author"><span class="sep">By</span> <span class="author-name author vcard">Christian Morrow</span></div>
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<div class="post-content"><div class="featured"><div class="featured-thumb featured-landscape"><div id="attachment_110594" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-110594" src="https://ionenewpittsburghcourier.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/bestinterests.jpg" alt="BestInterests" width="680" height="454"/><p class="wp-caption-text"><strong>BEST INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY—</strong>Black Political Empowerment Project Chair and CEO Tim Stevens announces his support for the foundation’s August Wilson Center plan rather than 980 Liberty Partners’ hotel.</p>
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<div class="content-body"><p>With time winding down toward a Sept. 29 trial to determine whether deed covenants can stop the pending sale of the bankrupt August Wilson Center for African American Culture to hotel developer 980 Liberty Partners, several community groups have rallied in support of an alternate bid proposal made by a consortium of local foundations.</p>
<p>On Sept. 22, Black Political Empowerment Project Chair and CEO Tim Stevens announced outside the Center that his organization supports the $7.2 million bid put forth by the foundations rather than the $9.5 million top bid from 980 that was tentatively approved by bankruptcy Judge Lawrence O’Toole.</p>
<p>Stevens echoed points made in multiple op-ed letters by Heinz Endowments President and CEO Grant Oliphant, saying that the 980 plan would preserve only 40-45 percent of the structure as an African-American arts and culture center and that the foundations’ plan presents the “best opportunity to fulfill its original mission and to do so utilizing the entire facility as it was meant to be used.”</p>
<p>He also agreed with the foundations’ opinion that, though their lesser bid is not enough to repay the $7.9 million mortgage held by Dollar Bank let alone additional creditors, the bank should write off its losses as a community contribution.</p>
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<p>Three days earlier, a collection of Black artists and musicians performed outside the Center to mark its 5th anniversary and also to rally support for the foundations’ bid. Organizer janera solomon, executive director of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and chair of the foundations’ August Wilson Center Recovery Advisory Committee, said the event characterized what the Center is about.</p>
<p>“We’re not really activists,” she said. “We’re people who care. Look around. There’s a diverse group of people here, age-wise, color-wise. That’s part of what this center’s vision was about.”</p>
<p>Others in attendance included poet Vanessa German, hip-hop artists Jasiri X and Paradise Gray, and former City Councilman Sala Udin, who also sits on the Recovery Advisory Committee and was a founding member of the AWC’s board.</p>
<p>Even as these rallies were going on, court appointed conservator Judith Fitzgerald had petitioned O’Toole to postpone a scheduled Oct. 6 sheriff’s sale of the Center. She argued that even if the trial determined the deed covenants against altering the building exterior without city permission and using it for purposes other than an exclusively Black museum are invalid, 980 would not have time to complete the sale. O’Toole rejected the petition on Monday.</p>
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<p>That same afternoon the Coalition to Preserves the August Wilson Center Mission, a group convened by retired Highmark executive and past AWC Board Chairman Aaron Walton at the request of Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, released a statement on its goals for the center’s disposition.</p>
<p>The group, which includes a cross section of African-American faith, business, political and community leaders, is moving forward “with the support and cooperation of Judith Fitzgerald, the court-appointed conservator, and AMS Planning & Research, a national arts and management consulting firm engaged to complete a community assessment of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture,” the statement said.</p>
<p>The group’s spokesman, Rev. Dr. William Curtis, senior pastor of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, said it would focus on methods to:</p>
<p>•Utilize the influence of all stakeholders in devising and executing plans to include substantial African-American and majority population input toward the perpetuation of the AWC’s existing community mission;</p>
<p>•Serve as a catalyst to engage the political, foundation, financial, business and greater community in productive dialogue relative to AWC’s disposition;</p>
<p>•Advocate for the continuation of the community’s use of AWC’s current location;</p>
<p>•Collaborate and cooperate to arrive at a resolution to the AWC ownership that represents the spirit and the intent of the community feedback reflected in the AMS-conducted focus group interviews;</p>
<p>•Participate in planning that will result in the long-term financial viability and sustainability of the AWC;</p>
<p>•Assist in the creation of opportunities for African-American participation in the planning and ownership of any hotel erected at the current AWC location;</p>
<p>•Advocate for the appointment and establishment of an inclusive independent community board of directors responsible for the management and governance of a reconstituted AWC, and</p>
<p>•Create an inclusive programming process that assures the ongoing participation of members of the arts community.</p>
<p>The Coalition’s work, Curtis said, will continue throughout the various legal proceedings set to take place before arriving at a resolution of the controversies surrounding the disposition of the August Wilson Center.</p>
<p>Coalition members include: Rev. Curtis; Rev. Barbara Gunn, pastor, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, North Versailles, Pa.; Connie Parker, President, Pittsburgh Branch NAACP; Keith Keys, Property Developer, Hill District Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mark Lewis, President, POISE Foundation; Bishop Loran Mann, senior pastor, Pentecostal Temple COGIC, Pittsburgh, Pa.; William Robinson, member Allegheny County Council; Charles Sanders, President & CEO, Urban Lending Solutions Inc.; Aaron Walton, Retired Highmark Senior Executive; and Doris Carson Williams, president & CEO, African-American Chamber of Commerce.</p>
<p>Other individuals and organizations, Curtis said, have committed their support to the Coalition as the official representative of their community voices.</p>
<p><em>(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)</em></p>
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<p></p> Just Sayin’… August Wilson Center: Too little, too latetag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-02-07:1992552:Topic:3189372014-02-07T20:12:57.808ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<h1 class="post-title"><a href="http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/02/05/" rel="bookmark" title="4:00 pm">Feb 5, 2014</a></h1>
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<div class="content-body"><p>The creditors of the August Wilson Center have taken next to the final step of what most of us have known for years in the African American community, and that is it will be put up for sale. The final step will be its sale.</p>
<p>We not only knew it was in serious financial trouble for years, but if something wasn’t done to correct this sinking ship it was going to go under. Yet, nobody stepped forward with a plan backed with money, which has led to the tragedy that now has some people suggesting that Dollar Bank and Judith Fitzgerald, the conservator, are the villains.</p>
<p>In one letter we received, the person implied that Fitzgerald shouldn’t be making as much money as she is and that she shouldn’t get a percentage of the selling price, that it is a conflict of interest. It sounds like these people are asking Dollar Bank to give the Black Arts community the $10 million needed to pay the mortgage and then someone else foot the bill of operating the building, instead of placing the blame where it belongs, the board.</p>
<p>Many are asking Dollar Bank, to wait even longer for their money, which thus far no one is offering. Thus far no one has even offered a plan that demonstrates how he or she would pay for the day-to-day operations even if they did get the mortgage paid.</p>
<p>Dollar Bank has been more than patient. Remember, before the foreclosure was announced they refinanced the building giving management an opportunity to pay them at a lower rate, yet not one single payment was made, according to the bank, yet no one challenged management.</p>
<p>There are a few people out there now howling for the building to be saved, and some are trying to point fingers at the financial institution that gave the loan to build this beautiful building instead of taking a good close look at themselves.</p>
<p>Yes, we the Black community is partly at fault for the failure of the building. First of all we are at fault by not holding those in power, mostly the board, accountable. And second, we are at fault by not supporting the numerous programs staged at this venue. It’s time we stopped expecting everything to be free or near free. Tickets for $15 to $20 is a give away and unless there are underwriters for the events, nothing should be held that doesn’t pay for itself.</p>
<p>Many of us felt like the AWC belonged to the Black community and that they should “give back to the community” instead of us giving to it so it could continue to employ a predominantly African-American staff; that it could continue to have predominately African-American events. But instead how many of us supported the events that cost over $20? I think that each and every one of us should ask ourselves how many events did we pay to attend? And how many of us who could have held an event or meeting there, didn’t?</p>
<p>I think that some of the accusations being made toward the bank and Fitzgerald are cheap shots after the fact. It’s over. We had our chance and we failed. And instead of placing the blame where it lies, we are trying to point at the White man, and in this case the White woman as the villain, when the fault lies clearly at the feet of the board and the original planners who as I stated before, didn’t bother to bring successful business people to the table to make sure this extremely important African-American venture was a success; even if they weren’t Black business people.</p>
<p>One thing I do fault Dollar Bank in is that they did not demand this before they put up the money. Why didn’t they check into the backgrounds of the people proposing this center and demand that they include business people who could present a viable economic plan?</p>
<p>One suggestion has been that the Pittsburgh Public School System purchases the building and makes it an extension of CAPA. The first question that comes to mind is how can PPS afford it when they are struggling to pay their own bills? Well since all students from outside of the city pay big bucks to go there, simply open up more slots for suburban students which may just pay for its self. May is the word.</p>
<p>Like just about everyone else, I wanted this thing to work. I remember I was so proud when the AWC opened for business. We had an editorial board meeting with the then head and his key staff about working together to make sure the Black communities knew exactly what was going on at the center and when. He even had a column in the paper. It was so beautiful for maybe over a year. Then things began to fall apart. People getting laid off, and instead of being replaced their work was passed on to others who were already overloaded, then these people were let go for outside contractors, who were eventually let go with little to no information of what was going on at the center.</p>
<p>So anyone reading the Courier should have known about the problems because we not only wrote stories, I addressed it in my column. But no one stepped forward. Now it’s too little too late. But then again miracles have happened before.</p>
<p><em>(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)</em></p>
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<p></p> Brentley committee explores AWC purchase by city schoolstag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-02-07:1992552:Topic:3187942014-02-07T20:01:09.321ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<div class="content-body"><p>When Mark Brentley suggested to his fellow Pittsburgh School Board members that the district should acquire the bankrupt August Wilson Center for African American Culture, rather than ask how a district projected to be insolvent in two years could purchase the building, they agreed to form an ad hoc committee to explore the idea.</p>
<p>That committee held its first public brainstorming session Jan. 31, and heard a few ideas that Brentley said sounded promising, all of which included some association with the Creative and Performing Arts high school.</p>
<p>“The one I really like involves putting the adjunct professors like Roger Humphries and Sean Jones there, and then charging surrounding school districts that have lost their arts programs to come in and get top notch instruction–for a fee, of course,” he said.</p>
<p>“The building could generate its own income.”</p>
<p>Further suggestions included using it for classes during the day and for performances at night, perhaps partnering with one of the foundations. Trombonist Hill Jordan said the district is missing the boat by not selling its facilities and expertise to parents outside the city.</p>
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<div class="post-content"><div class="content-body"><p>“I know parents, in the city, who want to send their kids to Dillworth Academy, but can’t. So they pay a lot to send them to Winchester Thurston instead,” Hill said. “Rather than thinking how the district can save the center, you should be thinking how the center could save the district.”</p>
<p>Currently CAPA has 15 students from outlying districts that pay roughly $14,000 to attend. But because city residents are given preference in the audition process, no more paying students can be added. Another issue is would the center be able to keep the money it might generate? Or does it have to go to the general fund? Brentley said he did not know. There are devils in the details, he admitted.</p>
<p>An even more bedeviling detail was revealed when AWC Liquidator Judith Fitzgerald called into the meeting to give an update on the center’s status. She said she could not go into specifics because she had signed confidentiality agreements with several interested parties, all of which, she said, want to continue the center’s mission.</p>
<p>The district however, has not signed one, and therefore isn’t privy to actual numbers on building expenses, conditions, etc., and cannot even submit a plan to buy the building.</p>
<p>Committee member Ryan Neely from the district’s finance office, said there was no way he could evaluate whether or not buying the center was even possible without detailed information.</p>
<p>And Fitzgerald said she wants all plans submitted by the end of March so she can evaluate them. If there is more than one bidder, Judge Lawrence O’Toole will select the winner.</p>
<p>But board and committee member Terry Kennedy noted the district is barred from signing a confidentiality agreement because it is funded by tax revenues and required to do all its business in public.</p>
<p>Brentley said he would ask for the district to sign an agreement at the regular February board meeting.</p>
<p><em>(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)</em></p>
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<p></p> New direction urged for August Wilson Centertag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2014-01-26:1992552:Topic:3184312014-01-26T22:33:10.446ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<p><br></br><span class="storydate">January 25, 2014 11:16 AM…</span></p>
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<p><br/><span class="storydate">January 25, 2014 11:16 AM</span> </p>
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<div class="image-desc"><div class="right credit">Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette</div>
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<div class="byline">By Paula Reed Ward / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</div>
<div class="thisStory"><p>Supporters of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture tried a new tactic Friday afternoon, when at a court hearing over the financially beleaguered organization they suggested a new conservator whose approach would be "worlds apart" from what has been done thus far.</p>
<p>Prominent Pittsburgh attorney E.J. Strassburger, who has volunteered to take on the position, said he feels that former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald used the wrong methods to garner financial support.</p>
<p>"Something has to be done to increase the confidence of the funding community that something is being done to make them succeed," he said.</p>
<p>Mr. Strassburger characterized his approach as "180 degrees different from what has been tried so far."</p>
<p>In September, Dollar Bank started a foreclosure action on the center to recover $7 million owed on the mortgage. It alleged that the center had failed to continue payments for its required insurance and had not made a monthly $53,639 mortgage payment since February.</p>
<p>Ms. Fitzgerald was appointed to serve as a conservator in November, and earlier this week issued a report in which she said there was no possibility of saving the center "as it currently exists."</p>
<p>At Friday's hearing, she said that "not a single person or entity" has come forward with either a plan to save the center or money to help.</p>
<p>Her recommendation is that the center be placed into a liquidating receivership in an attempt to find a buyer for the property.</p>
<p>Judge Lawrence O'Toole, of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, said he will have a decision on the matter Monday.</p>
<p>Ms. Fitzgerald testified about the process she undertook between November and this week in trying to figure out the assets accumulated by the 65,000-square foot center.</p>
<p>"I was point-blank refused by all of the foundations," she said. "Everyone is very supportive. Everyone wants to see the August Wilson Center's mission survive."</p>
<p>"But," she continued, "it can't survive without funds, and it cannot bring in enough revenue to support its own operations, let alone the debt service.</p>
<p>"Everyone has the right words, but no one has put the money behind the words."</p>
<p>Ms. Fitzgerald suggested to Judge O'Toole that there be a bid process, wherein interested parties could submit their highest and best offers.</p>
<p>But Sandra Renwand, from the state attorney general's office, who is there to represent the public interest, suggested that the conservatorship for the center should continue.</p>
<p>"To just shift to liquidation, it's our position ... there are folks out there working diligently to try to help the mission of this center continue," Ms. Renwand said. "If all that is there is someone looking to liquidate and protect the bank's interest, we don't see an effort to pursue the mission.</p>
<p>"The only folks going to benefit from that order is the bank and the conservator."</p>
<p>Ms. Renwand suggested appointing an alternative conservator to further pursue the issues and suggested Mr. Strassburger.</p>
<p>He testified that one of the main flaws in Ms. Fitzgerald's approach was in not having a plan to take to the donors.</p>
<p>"She approached them without a plan," he said. "She said she wanted money to come up with a plan."</p>
<p>Mr. Strassburger said he believed he could use his influence and relationships in the community to build support for the center.</p>
<p>"To close this building because of $7 [million], or $9.5 [million] or $10 million, when you have equity of at least twice that, seems premature and ill-conceived."</p>
<p>His approach, Mr. Strassburger said, would first include hiring an executive director and then appointing an advisory board.</p>
<p>He also suggested that there is a commercial kitchen and space for a restaurant in the center, as well as an outdoor patio that could be used to generate revenue.</p>
<p>When asked by Ms. Fitzgerald's attorney, Beverly Weiss Manne, if he was sure of his success, Mr. Strassburger responded, "I can't guarantee it any more than I can guarantee a client will win."</p>
<p>At the end of the proceeding, several members of the community spoke to Judge O'Toole about the importance of the center.</p>
<p>All of them criticized the speed with which Ms. Fitzgerald did her work.</p>
<p>Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter @PaulaReedWard.</p>
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<p>First Published January 24, 2014 6:46 PM</p>
<p><span><br/><br/>Read more: <a style="color: #003399;" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/01/24/New-conservator-suggested-for-August-Wilson-Center/stories/201401240159#ixzz2rXvsMBSK">http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/01/24/New-conservator-suggested-for-August-Wilson-Center/stories/201401240159#ixzz2rXvsMBSK</a></span></p> The August Wilson Center in crisistag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2013-11-16:1992552:Topic:3153312013-11-16T15:50:24.831ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttps://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<p><em><strong>SAMUEL BLACK</strong></em></p>
<p>For the past couple of years newspaper stories and editorials have commented on the issues facing the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. It has garnered a great deal of conversation among politicians, non-profit professionals,…</p>
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<p><em><strong>SAMUEL BLACK</strong></em></p>
<p>For the past couple of years newspaper stories and editorials have commented on the issues facing the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. It has garnered a great deal of conversation among politicians, non-profit professionals, culturists, activists, columnists, museum professionals, and supporters of the AWC. Its financial and operational issues are serious, complicated and revealing.</p>
<p>For all the positive impact it was having on the cultural landscape underneath it all lie a financial storm linked to its initial capital plan to build a $40 million dollar institution.</p>
<p>Some feel that the AWC was too aggressive to achieve such a high budgeted project—that the waters had not been tested in a region that has plenty of entertainment and cultural attractions to compete with. And still yet there are those who feel that the mission of the AWC was not firmly planted and followed to the letter.</p>
<p>The plan to build a $40 million facility to present African American culture was ambitious for a Pittsburgh audience. I don’t pretend that I am aware of the details of its financial profile but understanding that a $7 million shortfall is not an easy task for any institution to overcome, especially one that is new and trying to develop trust and build relationships with a broad community.</p>
<p>The question had to be asked by the organizers if the region would welcome and support a project that aimed for the top and would require significant financial support to maintain. As we can see the capacity to sustain the AWC is enormous.</p>
<p>As president of the Association of African American Museums I have the opportunity to converse with numerous colleagues about the AWC and other institutions that are suffering some of the same issues. To date the AWC has had five CEO/Directors since it opened its doors in 2009—a four-year period. Anyone in or outside of the cultural non-profit professional can tell you that is an issue. No institution can maintain and grow capacity with that much change at the top in a short period of time.</p>
<p>Generally, it takes at least five years for a CEO to be effective for an established institution let alone a brand new one. That leader would have to put in place their vision and develop relationships with the major players in the region—funders, elected officials, cultural partners, corporations, and the populace.</p>
<p>What we all recognize is the potential asset of the AWC to Pittsburgh’s cultural landscape and would like to see it survive. The reality is that if it does survive a different type of organization may emerge—one that may not appeal so much to the African-American community.</p>
<p><em>(Samuel W. Black is president, Association of African American Museums. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:%20%3Cscript%20type=%27text/javascript%27%3E%20%3C%21--%20var%20prefix%20=%20%27ma%27%20+%20%27il%27%20+%20%27to%27;%20var%20path%20=%20%27hr%27%20+%20%27ef%27%20+%20%27=%27;%20var%20addy51184%20=%20%27black%27%20+%20%27@%27;%20addy51184%20=%20addy51184%20+%20%27blackmuseums%27%20+%20%27.%27%20+%20%27org%27;%20document.write%28%27%3Ca%20%27%20+%20path%20+%20%27%5C%27%27%20+%20prefix%20+%20%27:%27%20+%20addy51184%20+%20%27%5C%27%3E%27%29;%20document.write%28addy51184%29;%20document.write%28%27%3C%5C/a%3E%27%29;%20//--%3E%5Cn%20%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20type=%27text/javascript%27%3E%20%3C%21--%20document.write%28%27%3Cspan%20style=%5C%27display:%20none;%5C%27%3E%27%29;%20//--%3E%20%3C/script%3EThis%20email%20address%20is%20being%20protected%20from%20spambots.%20You%20need%20JavaScript%20enabled%20to%20view%20it.%20%3Cscript%20type=%27text/javascript%27%3E%20%3C%21--%20document.write%28%27%3C/%27%29;%20document.write%28%27span%3E%27%29;%20//--%3E%20%3C/script%3E."></a><a href="mailto:black@blackmuseums.org">black@blackmuseums.org</a>.)</em></p>
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