Pittsburgh councilman proposes bill that would outlaw 'hateful activities'

Pittsburgh employees and elected officials would face penalties including censure, suspension, termination and fines if found guilty of “hateful activities” under an amendment to the city’s code of conduct introduced in City Council on Tuesday.

Councilman Ricky Burgess of North Point Breeze sponsored the bill, calling it his next step in combating systematic racism in Pittsburgh.

“Racism is a crisis in Pittsburgh,” Burgess said following a council meeting. “One of the ways that racism is perpetuated is through hateful activity. This is a continuation of my effort to reduce systematic racism and institutional racism in our city and hopefully dismantle the tools which those who perpetuate this system use.”

The amendment defines hateful activity as any action that incites or engages “in violence, intimidation, harassment, threats, or defamation targeting an individual or group based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.”

Burgess said it would be up to the city Ethics Hearing Board to determine after a complaint is filed whether an employee’s conduct is hateful. The board would also be responsible for meting out punishment, he said.

Penalties range from public censure to a fine of $1,000 for each violation. The board can also recommend that the mayor suspend or terminate an employee, among other things.

Burgess could not point to any specific example of an employee engaging in hateful activity, but he offered a hypothetical.

“Let’s assume an African American — maybe a member of council — wanted to progress in some way, and let’s just say another member of council or member of council staff decided to slander and defame that person through an unproven whisper campaign,” Burgess said. “They could engage in cyberlynching, nasty activities, unsubstantiated rumors and there would be no consequence to that. To me that kind of behavior is unacceptable in a city of our time.”

Burgess has been a longtime advocate of racial equality in Pittsburgh. He and Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle of the Hill District last year pushed through legislation designed to combat racism. They also successfully sponsored a bill declaring racism a public health hazard following a report that outlined stark inequalities between whites and blacks in Pittsburgh.

A panel of experts assembled by Burgess and Lavelle in December presented testimony about those problems.

“I think it’s important to have a very thorough public, participatory conversation about what’s the standard of our city,” Burgess said. “I believe there’s no place for hateful activities. There’s no place for libel, slander and defamation of people, but it is the vehicle sometimes that some people use to perpetuate institutional racism and its effects in our city. To be a great city we cannot allow that to continue.”

He said he intends to call for a public hearing and meeting to address hateful activities.

Council is expected to discuss the legislation and hold a preliminary vote during its Standing Committee meeting on Jan. 22.