‘We Are our Brothers Keepers’

nurses-and-sims-001 — FOXY FEATHERS—Beverly Phillips, Sylvia Griffin, Frances Watts-Richard, Julia Culliver, Ada Raines, Vannie Boyd, William Snyder, Veronica Snyder and Cheryl Powell

On June 21, at the beautiful LeMont Restaurant The Pittsburgh Black Nurses in Action (PBNIA) presented their Sixth Annual Evelyn Paige-Parker Scholarship Brunch with the theme “We Are our Brothers Keepers.” The keynote speaker was William Simmons, MD, President of Gateway Medical Society. Simmons spoke on changing the shape of your mountain. He told the audience that you can follow your own dream and not be hampered by the impossibilities that others put upon you. Some of the things that changed the shape of his mountain: mentors, persistence, networking, getting into the best school that you can and not being afraid of being the only person of color in the class.
Each year the PBNIA presents scholarships to outstanding students in nursing programs. This year’s honorees: James C. Byers, Robert Morris University; Brittany Latchie, UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing; and Emerald Huggins, Duquesne University. Also this year, PBNIA presented its first “Our Brothers Keepers” Award to a person who has given back in the community. The award was presented to William Snyder Jr. Snyder is one of the co-founder of the Pittsburgh Major Taylor Cycling Club. Through that club he has taken Black youth on cycling trips to the nation’s capital, toured central Pennsylvania and conducted bike rodeos throughout the city.
Through his efforts, national sponsors have been made aware of the needs of local Black youth.
The mission of PBNIA is to reduce health disparities among African-Americans and other minorities in the Greater Pittsburgh area through education and awareness, and to support the nursing profession through mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration with other medical and health promotion organizations.