More than 60 years ago, a historic Black church was forced to give up its sanctuary, compensated for what it says was a fraction of its value, to an urban renewal project that wiped out the heart of an African American neighborhood known as the Hill District.
Now, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is poised to recoup some of that loss and reclaim a spot near its former home. It has reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins — the NHL franchise that now holds development rights to the site near its current arena — for the church to use a 1.5-acre parcel that it envisions using for housing and other revenue-generating development.
“I have never been hockey fan. … Now I’m a hockey fan,” said AME Third District Bishop Errenous McLoud Jr., thanking the Penguins during a news conference Friday preceded by a special worship service on the site Bethel is acquiring. He noted this accord “could and should become a model for reparations all over the world.”
The agreement came after years of public calls and demonstrations by the church. Its battle is a microcosm of a larger one over the legacy of the 1950s project, in which leaders in the Black community have long sought redress from the powers that be in Pittsburgh’s political, business and sports realms.
The Penguins didn’t come into existence until 1967, playing first in one arena in the former neighborhood and now in a newer one nearby.
But Kevin Acklin, president of business operations for the Penguins, said the team is “recognizing our role here as a steward” of the property and its legacy.
“Mistakes that were made 70 years ago, we can’t fix them, but we can do what we can today for a better future, for restorative justice,” Acklin said in an interview.
He hopes the agreement, and the larger efforts to remake the site, can serve as a model for other U.S. cities with the wounds of similar mid-20th century urban renewal projects.
“We have the ability to do good and work with a…
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