Pittsburgh’s 13th Ward

Community Conversation

By Fred Logan

A historical view of Pittsburgh’s 13th Ward

According to the late Linn Washington, approximately 80% of the registered Black Democratic voters in Pittsburgh’s 13th Ward voted in the 1960 Democratic Party primaries. That’s when the Black rebel Democrats seized control of the 13th Ward Democratic Committee in Homewood-Brushton and East Hills. Washington was elected the first Black Democratic ward chairman. He made these observations 23 years later at a community forum on “Black Politics in Homewood: 1960 to 1983.”

Washington described the intense level of community organizing, widespread enthusiasm, and high expectations that sustained the struggle over a two-year period. He said the rebel Democrats canvassed door to door, published their own community newspaper, and, among other activities, held a get-out-the-vote motorcade with over 200 vehicles. The rebel Democrats were fighting for their share of Pittsburgh’s patronage system—the jobs and community services traditionally awarded to local white ethnic groups through machine party politics.

Since then, the patronage pie has shrunk. The backbone of Pittsburgh’s economy, the steel industry, has left the United States, relentlessly seeking cheap labor abroad. The city’s population fell from nearly 700,000 in 1950 to approximately 300,000 by mid-2006. Homewood’s population plunged from over 30,000 in 1960 to under 10,000 in the 2000 U.S. Census. Fifty years ago, Pittsburgh was the 12th-largest American city. Today, it is not even in the top fifty. Early in the 20th century, African Americans and European immigrants flocked to Pittsburgh in search of employment. By the end of the century, people were leaving in droves, looking for jobs elsewhere.

Fifty years ago, the governor of Pennsylvania, Allegheny County commissioners, and the mayor of Pittsburgh handed out thousands of state, county, and city patronage jobs to their political supporters. Since then, many of these jobs have transitioned to civil service positions, and government workforces at the state, county, and city levels have significantly shrunk.

The once-thriving patronage system that the 13th Ward rebel Democrats fought so hard to access is now long gone.

White people benefited the most when the region’s steel economy was booming. Black people suffered the most when the economy collapsed.

Since 1960, the following individuals have served as 13th Ward Democratic chairmen: Linn Washington, Larry Huff, James “Jimmy” Johnson, Euzell “Bubby” Hairston, and Charles “Chuck” Frazier. By far, Hairston had the longest tenure, serving from the first Pittsburgh school board elections in 1976 until either 2000 or 2002. Over the past four decades, 13th Ward residents have received some employment opportunities and patronage, but even in the most prosperous times, these opportunities were insufficient to meet the community’s needs. They barely made a dent in the dire economic depression that has gripped the 13th Ward during the past four decades of regional economic stagnation.

Community residents often demonized committee members for not delivering more patronage. In turn, committee members and others criticized the community for low voter turnout.

“If you don’t vote, you can’t demand anything,”

they would reply.

Most of this criticism is sincere, often heated, but usually misleading. It frequently focuses on the personalities of ward chairmen or specific committee members, accusing them of being arrogant, dishonest, or self-serving. Even when these accusations are true, they are secondary to the main issue. The Democratic committee organization operates from the top down. Most 13th Ward committee members care about their neighborhood but have very little political power to address its challenges.

Many people in Homewood and beyond do not fully understand the structure and purpose of the committee organization. That is the primary issue.

•  “What do committee members do?” they ask.

•  “How much does a committee job pay?”

•  “How much money does the ward chairman make?”

These questions are asked every day.

Fundamental to these inquiries are vital issues related to Black electoral politics that must be addressed—but not in this article. Anyone concerned about these issues should read David Covin’s important essay, “The Length of Memory,” published in the Summer 2001 edition of The Black Scholar. It explores political questions that Black Americans have been wrestling with for decades.

Understanding 13th Ward Committee Politics

The late Edward Cooke, former treasurer of Allegheny County and a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh, taught his students that the Democratic and Republican Parties organize their respective local, state, and national committees to mobilize voters and win elections.

In the 13th Ward, there are 19 voting districts.

Polling locations include the Frankstown Avenue Salvation Army, the old East Hills Elementary School, and other sites. Every four years, one Democratic committee woman and one Democratic committee man are elected in each district by registered Democratic voters. These 38 committee members then elect the ward chairperson. They are not paid for serving on the committee.

Homewood-Brushton and East Hills are located in the 38th State Senatorial District. Registered Democrats in this district also elect several representatives to the state Democratic committee.

The Republican Party follows the same process.

However, the 13th Ward Republican committee is nearly dormant due to the low number of registered Republican voters in the ward.

Democratic ward committee men and women are members of a private political organization—the Democratic Party. They do not hold public office and only represent the registered Democrats in their districts.

Political Battles in the 13th Ward

The most significant political fights in the 13th Ward take place during the Democratic primaries.

For example, in the 1984 presidential primaries, the Democratic committee supported Walter Mondale, while the community overwhelmingly backed Jesse Jackson. Five years later, the local Democratic Party officially endorsed Frank Lucchino for mayor, but many 13th Ward committee members broke ranks and supported the Black mayoral candidate Byrd Brown.

During Bubby Hairston’s tenure, the 13th Ward Democratic Committee consistently delivered a predictable number of primary votes to its political allies, particularly County Commissioner Tom Forester. This is simply the nature of internal party politics.

The Struggle for Political Power

In the 1960s, Black Americans had high expectations for political power, particularly through voting rights. During the height of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in the New York Times (March 13, 1965):

"Voting is the foundation stone for political action. With it, the Negro can eventually vote out of office public officials who bar the doorways to decent housing, public safety, (and) jobs...To do this, the vote is essential."

Black voter registration surged after the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed. Thousands of Black politicians have since been elected nationwide. However, the full promise of political power envisioned by the 13th Ward rebel Democrats, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Black community at large has never been fully realized.

Both the Democratic and Republican Parties have worked to protect the status quo. Nationally, the Republican Party built its resurgence on racial politics, utilizing the so-called “Southern Strategy.” Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and both George Bushes benefited from this approach.

Voter Turnout: A Complex Issue

Voter turnout in the 13th Ward is dynamic, not stagnant. It varies by district and responds to specific elections and candidates. Critics who claim that low Black voter turnout is simply due to “apathy” are missing the bigger picture.

As one former Pittsburgh schoolteacher told me,

“We don’t have anyone to vote for.” Think about that.

Around the world, in countries like the Congo, Haiti, and Venezuela, impoverished people endure long lines and harsh conditions to vote for candidates who champion their interests. But in Pittsburgh’s 13th Ward, neither the Democratic nor Republican Party aggressively represents the fundamental interests of Black residents.

And, in the words of Malcolm X, these Black folks “got sense enough to know it.”