South Oakland Update:
December 2009

City Council Testimony – December 21, 2009

You have reached an apparent agreement today with some non profits to avert a tuition tax. Now it is time to support the communities.

For too long a period of time there has been a consciousness of domination by leaders of Pitt and UPMC over the good people of South Oakland. The present leaders are once again serving their own self interests by aggressively pursuing greater expansion into our community while not caring about the adverse impact upon the people there.

That consciousness of domination has also touched the lives of nearly every person in the Pittsburgh region, most recently the community of Braddock.

The continued arrogance of the administration at Pitt and UPMC in South Oakland has led some of us to call for the resignations of Mark Nordenberg and Jeffrey Romoff.

For that action:

We have been called fools by some. Yes, we may be fools, but we are not foolish.

We have been called wrong by some. Yes, we may be wrong, but we are willing to be wrong in the pursuit of what is right.

We have been told it will take a miracle. Yes it may, but we are not waiting for a miracle; we are calling for a miracle.

And we have been told that it is an impossible dream. Yes, it may be to some, but there are no impossible dreams when there is a synergy of dignity, intensity, spirit, and freedom.

We ask the question: How can two men, Mark Nordenberg and Jeffrey Romoff, have so much power to cause so much pain and suffering to so many people in our region?

In a democratic society such as ours, that question must be answered by the women and men in our executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Power is the ability to take action. How many of these people understand the injustice caused by these two institutions yet remain silent? How many are fearful of the consequences to themselves should they attempt to take action? How many have given away their own personal power to these two men?

And there is a fourth entity in our society where that question must be answered, and that is by the women and men of the media.

There is an age-old truth that states: “As above, so below.” It implies that when there is corruption on the level of dignity, morality and spirituality, then there is also corruption on a physical level. Is there physical corruption at Pitt and UPMC? The answer lies beneath the silence.

There is a sacred trust that exists between the media and the people they serve. Is there a betrayal of that trust? Is that trust being broken? Will the media ever conduct in-depth investigations of these two institutions?

It takes courage to seek the depth of truth. The people in the region of Pittsburgh, and particularly those people in South Oakland and Braddock, await the courageous actions of the women and men of the media.

Should corruption at Pitt and UPMC be brought to light, major changes will occur. There is chaos before and after any major change. But out of that chaos will emerge less suffering, less pain, and a new future of greater love and compassion that will benefit everyone in the Pittsburgh region.

Carlino Giampolo