Welcome the Black Horizons.

I'm your host, Chris Moore.

Thanks for tuning in on tonight's show.

We'll meet two legendary local journalists who literally change the face of news, both here and nationally.

Plus, you may know her as our producer and movie reviewer, Minette Seate is also an On Q contributor.

Tonight, she brings us the story of a business owner who made a dream come tru for herself and her community, and will also get to meet the winners of this year's Black History Month Community Leader Awards.

WQED Multimedia and Duquesne Light's annual tribute to some of the bes and brightest in our community.

Our first Community Leader Award winner is NEED the Negro Education Emergency Drive.

Take a look.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light.

Community leaders NEED the Negro education Emergency Drive was founded 40 years ago to assist African American student seeking higher education needs.

Executive Director Sylvester Pace, a former NEEDs scholarship recipient.

But what this is really, truly about is trying to prepare students for the workforce and also to encourage them to come back.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light Black History Month community leaders.

Please stay wit us throughout tonight's program.

For more Community Leader Award winners.

Tonight, we're saluting two pioneers in the field of media Regis Bobonis Senior and George Barbour.

In a tim when African-American reporters were rarities in mainstream broadcast media, these two gentlemen helped pave the wa for me and future generations.

Mr.

Bobonis was a print journalist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who moved into television at Channel 11, while Mr.

Barbour wrote for the Pittsburgh Courier before joining the on air staff as a news reporter at KDKA.

Gentlemen, welcome to Black Horizons.

I am honored and flattered to have you here.

You know, when when Minette and I first came up with this idea, we thought it would be great.

But when I started.

When you send us pieces of your work, I. My jaw just dropped to the floor.

As I listen to the work that you all have done.

And I have to tell you, this piece we're going to look at in a second, Mr.

Bobonis, reminds me of the first Wiley Avenue days but with a lot more bite to it.

Right.

You must've scare a lot of people with this piece.

Oh, I'm telling you.

Well, tell us about it.

What was it called?

Actually, this was produced for the, one of the government agencies.

This was the height of the 60s, and attitudes were just changing, and a lot of traditiona leadership was being fragmented.

And suddenly community leaders were coming up to the, to the center stage, an they came in a mix of dashikis and various levels of rage and black power.

And black is beautiful.

So this agency felt, well, look, we still have to give these people their rights and we have to understand what's coming in the door i these various mix of attitudes.

So consequence we went aroun and shot this here in Chicago.

So that and we did a very sophisticated training manual so that all of th regional officers of this agency could look at that and understand the attitudes that were coming in this door for black America.

Okay.

We're going to take a clip, and I look at a clip of it in just a segment, but let me turn to Mr.

Barbour for a second, because he's a man who's truly I stand on his shoulders because he was the first blac to report for KDKA, where I now work weekends doing, talk radio.

What was it like to go down there from the courier, man?

Well, to go there from the courier.

It was I had expected a lot of problems, so forth, but the one problem came up from a young man was a good, good friend of mine whil was reporting for the Courier.

So one day, one day, we just.

I decide to bring this thing to a head.

So I said to my friend, I said, hey, I'd like to see in the editor's office.

So, anyhow, he as he came in the editors office I took my glasses off and told him what I do to his head, and after that we got along fine.

But, you know, I don't know.

You know what insight they give a give a title.

Crazy.

The crazy guy.

You know, I'm talking about, I was kind o a that was a hot shot reporter.

I figured there wasn' anything that I couldn't do, so.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Young Turk.

Yeah.

So.

And and so as a result, it was a good experience.

And I, especially getting the cover now.

Now, in the mid 60s, there was a lot of turmoil going on throughout the civil rights movement.

And you wanted to go to Selma, Alabama to cover that March.

But KDKA wasn't really ready to send you there.

Right.

Okay.

The concern for your safety.

Yeah.

Neither KDKA nor Group W that we worked for.

And so at this staff meeting, it was said that we're not going to cover it.

We're going to depend on a wire service.

And to me, fire guts report, I said, that's silly.

That's simple.

That doesn't make sense.

I'll go.

And can you imagine what happened?

The reaction?

I'm the only raisin in the sun.

So it's.

It's always a day.

They'l they'll kill a white reporter.

What will they do to you?

I was Jack raised my friend.

And so, a result, I told the about the occupational hazards.

I started out with the police and the firemen, and at that time, the blackboard jungle in the schools.

And I said my father was a coal miner.

I used to go to the pit openin and go and see him go in there.

And so this was nothing.

All right.

So.

Yeah.

So and and reporte should have occupational hazard.

As a result, I found myself o a plane headed for Montgomery.

Scared stiff.

All right, well, we're going to play just a short portion of that.

Mr.

Barbour has brought with him an amazing audio recording made during his coverage of Doctor Martin Luther King's 1965 March to Selma, Alabama.

He covered the march for KDKA radio, and Doctor King did return with an estimated 25,000.

And his sincerity also got the government to protect the marchers with 1800 federalized Alabama National Guardsmen, some 1000 regular Army troops, helicopters and light planes, and some 100 FBI agents and federal marshals.

The who's who of the 25,000 people could be looked on as an example of the drawing powe of the mystique of Doctor King.

There were the great, then, the near great, the humble, and the not so humble, the blind and the crippled.

There were elderly peopl and the young and children, and they belong to every conceivable race, creed and color.

And they walked the 50 miles.

One was 60 year old Mrs.

Eddie Myers of Marion, Alabama.

Well, we arrived in a march for freedom sake.

You know that my have a better time.

In other words you mean I am the room itself?

You see, I know that you're marching for the.

The, cause of my children a better life to liv in a better time in this world.

Because I'm in Massachusetts.

And, you know, I came the hard way.

You're doing pretty good here.

Yes.

It hits.

It's normal not to be.

Yes, but we might meet some here and there were the concern.

White citizens of Alabama and Blind Joe Young, a former white amateur boxer of Atlanta, Georgia, a white man led by a Negro friend.

Of Mr.

Barbour, you sit there and listen to that.

I wonder what you think.

Hi.

Just like the good Lord, for those wonderful people.

And what they did is all right.

Also I thank God for for being able to give to contribute I thought that, you know, that, the only contribution I could give would be my professionalism to the cause.

And if I happen to, die or be killed, which I escape pretty close quarters three times, that would be my contribution in one of the photographs.

You walking past the National Guard?

Yeah.

National Guard or something.

They're standing there.

You look like you're demonstrating instead of covering a line between actually having that microphone and that recorder, we can see over your shoulder in some of the shots, an actually demonstrating that you you had to step across or not step across one or the other.

Well, I tell you I felt as though, as a reporter, I had that liberty, had a freedom, and I was going to do I was going to go across any lines that were there.

I had to get the story.

And so I did feel good when I was.

I see the picture and I felt good.

I felt rea good to be able to contribute.

And so not only did these reports air on KDKA, but all over the group.

Yes, yes, yes.

Well, that must have been an honor, man.

You it was.

Yes.

That's great.

Mr.

Boboonis, Yes.

You know, you were talking earlier about the film clip that you got, but you also produced something on, Pitt Imperial.

Right?

On Westinghouse High School's 1965, championship team, and which was a thrill to, yeah, it certainly was, because he was such a unique, remarkable man who in his roug exterior, had a heart of gold.

And consequently, the guys jus got through this very quickly, and they really came to respect him and understand what he was trying to do is build their character.

Now, let's go back to the clip that we're about to see in just a second.

Now, you say it was created for federal agencies to sort of train their employees to understand how they were going to have to deal with people?

Absolutely.

Sure.

If someone came in, say, th Social Security Administration and wanted to get there, right, that would do them.

The interviewers had to look past Dashikis rage, rough language and everything t make sure he got what was due.

He or she got what was due to him.

So it was a very part of a ver sophisticated training program and it worked well.

All right.

What you'll see next is a part of a documentary by Regis Bobonis Senior, made in the late 1960s on the state of urban black America.

This is particularly disgraceful in a nation that can claim so many technological first.

This is a place where the crowded conditions are almost beyond description, such as in a major city where in 28 buildings, 28,000 people live and 20,000 are children, where the slum landlord or sometimes the city's banks, where young black people attend schools named after white men, which teach subjects the students cannot and will not ever use, where retail store charge prices higher than those in the suburbs, and credit when it is available at an interest rat that borders on being illegal.

Unemployment i not the exception, but the rule.

A crime is understandable as a normal way of trying to maintain some reasonable existence, even when it affects other black people, live in the same environment.

Despite all of this many black citizens do make it.

They make a positive contribution to this country and continue somehow to believe that it is a reasonably good place to live.

The white American way of life, then, has created such a horrible condition for black living, but has not killed the spirit of the black man who, while he canno forget his passage to this land, often does remember the promise that it provides in his newfound pride in his blackness and its heritage, the black man is striving to make those promises real with the strength and assurance and even militant, that frightens much of white America.

You scared people to death with that stuff once you're back in the 60s.

We were talking about the realism and the rough rhetoric of the 60s.

You know, rage was abroad in the land, various degrees going all black riots were going on.

And there you see the interviews.

And by the way, the young ma who's doing the narration at the time was the American Airlines captain.

He's a very fine pilot.

He went on and found a career on TV in Chicago, captain James Tillman, did he do weather?

Yes, he did, but we and were friends and I didn't have.

I had a low budget and he came to America.

He can fly free.

I drive.

Well, I guess that helped out.

Now, I wonder if either of you gentlemen start with you.

Mr.

Boboni see a lot of change in the time.

I mean, you covered momentous events, the riots of the 60s, all of that stuff.

And I just wonder, because you wrote and produced that piece that we just saw, what changes you've seen in the last 40 years or so?

Well, of course, I think we black middle class has become a reality due to the opportunities that came out of those attitudes.

And so consequently, I see a great change, all for the better.

I think blacks are working in corporate Americ at levels never once thought of.

I think housing is available in just about any community, as long as they can afford the price of the home.

So there have been a lot of positive changes and a lot of progress, which isn't to say there aren't challenges of the day, but on a relative scale, it's better now than what it once was.

Mr.

Barbour, what do you think?

Oh, I've seen tremendous changes indeed.

I'm not happy with the progres because I look at broadcasting and and I wonder if we are that much further than what we were before.

But I've seen tremendous changes indeed.

Especially in the south.

In the north?

Yes, especially in the south.

When I was there, I had to be very careful.

Very, very, very careful indeed.

And I remember, but today, today there is a freedom that is really, really unbelievable to me.

I wonder very quickly.

30s for both of you, 15 seconds a piece.

You first.

Mr.

Barbour, you look back on this work.

Did you realize you were making history too?

At the time?

I did, to a certain degree.

I did, yeah, I did, yes.

Yeah.

Mr.

Bobonis?

I wonder where, but at the same time, it was so real, the experiences we were having that I went on to try to do and reflected as accurately as I could.

Well, gentlemen I just stand on your shoulders.

You guys carried the ball before I was even thinking about being in this field.

And I'm so glad you did, because you paved the way for me and so many others.

Thank you so much.

My hats off to you and my hat to you.

Because the tradition, the way you were carrying this tremendous indeed a pioneer to that is all duty.

You guys.

Regis Bobonis And George Barbour are only two of the people who helped to change the face of local media.

In the weeks to come, we'll pa tribute to more of Pittsburgh's pioneer in media here on Black Horizons.

And speaking of pioneers, youth works and its executive director, Richard Garland.

Our next Black History Month, community leaders WQED multimedia salutes the 200 Duquesne Light Community leaders Youth works is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of every young people.

Richard Garland is Youth Work's executive director.

We have to teach our kids work skills, life skills.

You know how to ac when they come in the workplace, showing up on time, how to do a resume.

You know, how to present their self better, interview.

You know, all those things tha people don't think is crucial.

Our kids need that.

By combining the resources of community, corporate and advocacy groups.

Youth works provides job counseling, training, referral placement, and follow up.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light Black History Month.

Community leaders, the Duquesne Light WQED multimedia Award winner that you've been seeing tonight are selected by a jury of their peers to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to our community.

Our next community leader is Doctor Nancy Washington.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light community leaders.

Doctor Nancy Washington is a woman of many talents, from professor of psycholog at the University of Pittsburgh to assistan to the university's chancellor.

She has been a lifelong advocate for minority health, education and the arts.

When someone says, do you want to play bridge?

Do you want to play golf?

Or do you want to come down to, a homeless shelter and help give out food as people want to come down to a homeless shelter?

And sort of this is this is what I want to do.

This is the way I want to spend my life.

The recipient of numerous awards and citations, she is a treasured supporter of the city and region.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light.

Black History Month community leaders Did you know that Black Horizon's producer and movie reviewer Minette Seate is also an On Q contributor?

She's also a producer there.

Well, it's true, it's true.

This piece and originally on our nightly magazine.

But just in case you missed it, here's Minette Seates cover Story.

Maybe people don't think of grocery stores as dreamy places.

With an adventure waiting around every corner.

Or hiding under a pile of chipped ham.

But Debbie Hickman does Stuffing chops.

In fact, this giant eagle is a dream come true.

Hey, did you guys batch ultra vintage crochet?

Yes.

I visited Debbie Hickman at the Giant Eagle.

Her giant eagle on Frank's Town in Verona Road.

It was a shop and save even to a few years ago.

When that closed the store stood vacant, leaving shoppers in grocery limbo into the spring of 2002.

This 27,000 square foot store isn't the chain's biggest, but it doe have some very special features.

For one thing, it's one of the few giant eagles that actually comes with its own gas station.

Second one in Allegheny County.

Our first ones can't pull it.

So this is very exciting for us.

And it's very it's really exciting for this whole neighborhood, you know, because we didn't think we needed something here in this area.

That's the wrong number for that one.

And it's the only independent giant eagle that's owned and operated by an African-American business woman.

Big business.

Once you build your cake business, that really helps your bakery.

Debbie's worked practically every end of the Giant Eagle stores, from the checkout to the corporate office.

When she decided to go for a store of her own, she knew what she was getting into.

Put all Steelers.

It can happen.

You look at the company's statement of values and a I believe that.

Well, I just believe that what they stood for was what they stood for.

I was lucky to have support from my family, my husband, everybody.

You still have to stay focused and do what you want to do.

And if they want to be Happy, they'll let you do what you want to do and just take the bumps and you get back up.

You brush your self-love, you get that and say, okay, let's do this again But this time I won't do that.

So, you know, when it comes.

Despite how much fun it looks, running your own grocer store is a serious undertaking and sometimes you need a coconspirator.

Me and my granddaughter, we prayed on it and we prayed on it.

We prayed in this lot.

We count our faith and it was our our little secret.

And we count on each parking space where the customer employees were parking.

It was just me and her.

We come up here, we pray for our luck.

Debbie relies on her faith and her family, and one of her strongest supporters is her daughter and accounting manager, Michelle Holmes.

Michelle has a master' from the University of Maryland and she puts it to good use.

So are you the tough guy?

Are you the one that says, no, we can't spend money?

That is me.

I'm the no person.

No no no no no no.

So yeah, I'm the Scrooge in the store.

That's a nice little role reversal for you, though after being the daughter.

Yes.

Yeah.

Sometimes it's hard to get her to listen to me, but she.

You know when I show her to figure, she.

She listens.

What's your favorite part of the store?

My favorite part of the store is, actually, I like the bakery department.

I get to do the, school tours.

So when the schools come and they wanted to tou the store, I'm the tour leader.

So I get to go around all of the different departments and show the, the children the different fruits, exotic fruit and stuff.

And we do samples in every department.

Then sometimes I had to make decorate cupcakes and those are new item tags.

We're really here to serve the unity.

That is our goal is just to be a service to the community.

We're not really here to make big profits enough to pay the bills but you need to pay the bills.

But we're just here to just service the community and be, helpful in any way that we can.

All the ad items you want to be 100% at.

Debbie's daughter, Michelle, isn't the only one who's in on this family business.

Salt mill.

Her mom is the store's official greeter.

Well, greet the people when they come in and And give them adios when they leave.

Yeah.

Debbie's giant eagle has a true neighborhood feel.

There's lots of chatting and shopping and people treating each other like family.

What you guys making Italian bread?

Keep it coming.

All day.

And the sense of being in a place where a woman's dreams can come true.

You're welcome.

You have to also prepare yourself.

You can't wait around for something to happen.

You have to prepare yourself.

Go after your dreams, no matter what anyone said.

You stay focused to your dreams, and you fall through.

Amen to that.

Stay true to your dreams.

If you missed any of our community leader profiles, they'll be airing throughout February right here on WQED TV 13.

Our final communit leader in the field of business is Glenn Mahone.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light community leaders.

Glenn Roy Mahone is a partner at Reed Smith, one of the country's top law firms.

From his early community involvement to his role as chairman of the Allegheny County Airport Authority and the Urban Leagu of Pittsburgh, he is an active and integral par of our region's past and future.

I integrated this firm in 1973 to be sitting here today as a partner in, a top 20 law firm on the planet.

It's absolutely amazing.

I think it's a tribute to, I guess, God's blessing and providence.

WQED multimedia salutes the 2003 Duquesne Light.

Black History Month community leaders.

Well, that brings us to the end of another installment of Black Horizons.

Be sure to join us next Friday night at ten and Sunday afternoon at two.

On behalf of all of u here, have a great weekend.

Bye.

Set pieces donated by Macondo.

And by the History Store, Craig Street and Forbes Avenue.