The black population in the Alle-Kiski Valley grew about 15 percent over the last decade, but you won't see that growth reflected in the faces of local elected officials.
Local leaders were hard-pressed to name more than two black people serving as school board or council members, mayors or township supervisors in nearly 60 Valley communities.
In the cities of Arnold and New Kensington, which have the largest concentrations of black residents locally, officials don't believe there ever has been black representation on the councils or in the mayors' offices.
The number of black elected officials nationally and in Pennsylvania nearly doubled in the last 30 years, according to the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which has maintained the Black Elected Officials Roster since 1970.
Read more at Tarentum Valley News Dispatch.
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