Shaylah Brown stories, Page 7
Colter Harper hosting book launch for ‘Jazz in the Hill’
Colter Harper’s book “Jazz in the Hill” explores the musical genre through the lens of conversation and community as a catalyst for change. Harper provides a direct look at the dialogue between musicians and listeners, as well as the connection between the community and its people. At a book release...
Alma Speed Fox street naming ceremony happening Saturday in the Hill District
Alma Speed Fox Way will be unveiled on Saturday in the Hill District. The sign to be featured above the Kirkpatrick Street sign will pay homage to the enduring legacy of the woman of the same name known as the Civil Rights Mother of Pittsburgh. The honorary street-naming ceremony, taking...
Citizen Science Lab, Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens partner on STEAM education
The Citizen Science Lab and Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens began a five-year partnership on March 21 to empower Penn Hills youth through STEAM Education. The partnership kicked off at DeAvry A. Thomas Community Center in Penn Hills, where students were guided in creating a science experiment, fondly called...
Hit Like A Girl teaches women how to golf
Golf courses are where the deals are made — it’s a business sport. Juanita Lomax, founder and CEO of Hit Like A Girl, found this to be the case during her 20-year tenure in corporate America. Being unskilled in a club-and-ball sport predominantly saturated with white men, Lomax knew she...
BOOM Concepts celebrates 10 years as a hub for artists, community in PittsburghVideo
A chance meeting with Darrell “DS” Kinsel at a Hill District bus stop 10 years ago ended up launching Cue Perry’s art career. Perry said had it not been for the founders of BOOM Concepts, Kinsel and Thomas Agnew, he wouldn’t have realized it was possible to have a career...
Michelle Gainey, Fantasy Zellars curate ‘Resilience and revolution’ exhibit
First Lady of Pittsburgh Michelle Gainey is creating spaces for Black and brown artists to showcase their work. A recently opened exhibition, “Resilience and revolution: Honoring Black History and Women’s History through art” at the Dentons Cohen & Grigsby Gallery Downtown, honors Black history and women’s history through art. It...
CROWN Act at front of mind for Black Pittsburghers
The goal of the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) is to protect against racial-based hairstyle discrimination. Not only is it becoming a national issue because of the Darryl George case, but it’s a topic that’s being discussed locally, as well. State Rep. La’Tasha D....
Grandma B’s in the Hill District serves breakfast with a side of personality
On any given morning, laughter, jokes and smiles fill Grandma B’s Café in the Hill District. The smell of bacon cooking fills the air. A sign on the wall reads “Always Be Grateful.” Customers say they feel the warmth and love when they walk in. The atmosphere truly feels like...
Imani Batts creates sustainable fashion line with Catherine Trendz
Upcycling fashion designer Imani Batts is making waves in Pittsburgh and beyond as a trendsetter and sustainable fashion designer. Her thrift store finds are reworked into strikingly distinct, one-of-a-kind pieces. The most recent fashion show for her brand, Catherine Trendz, was the “GRWM” Runway Experience on Saturday at Velum Fermentation...
100 Black Men of Western PA, Pittsburgh Public Schools host African American History Challenge
A question about Pittsburgh’s first Black college stumped participants in the 30th African American History Challenge Bowl: A Legacy of Academic Excellence. The longtime collaboration between Pittsburgh Public Schools and 100 Black Men of Western PA, Inc., took place on Friday at Pittsburgh Greenway. Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne N....
Black history comes to life at Barrett Elementary through interactive museum
Community members have said that Steel Valley School District and Barrett Elementary have some of the best Black History Month programming for students. On Thursday, the district hosted its fifth celebration since 2019, featuring its Black History Month Living Interactive Museum. Students displayed their artwork, and some students and community...
Allegheny County Bar Association Homer S. Brown Division launches children’s book celebrating Black lawyers
The Homer S. Brown Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association is celebrating its first children’s book, “Black Lawyers of the Burgh: An Anthology,” with the community on Saturday. The book, published earlier this month, profiles 28 local Black attorneys and judges and their career journeys. The theme for the...
Carnegie Museum of Art honors Audre Lorde’s 90th birthday
Audre Lorde was born in New York City and was a prolific writer and poet whose work addressed the state of the world, confronted inequities, and brought to light the tossing aside of Black queer women. On Sunday, what would have been Lorde’s 90th birthday was celebrated at Carnegie Museum...
Drake and J. Cole wow old and new fans at PPG Paints Arena
Two legends can co-exist, and they did it Friday night as the Drake with J. Cole: It’s All A Blur Tour-Big As The What? hit the PPG Paints Arena stage for the first of two nights. It might have been snowy and cold outside, but Drake and J. Cole brought...
Ellis School Black History Month fashion show honors August Wilson, Ann Lowe
The Ellis School held a fashion showcase on Thursday, paying homage to pioneers in Black culture — playwright and author August Wilson and fashion designer Ann Lowe. Students strutted down the runway in fashions of different eras that represented each decade of Wilson’s play. “Eras of Style: Celebrating August Wilson’s...
2 Black Pittsburgh trailblazers left their mark on the city’s fashion scene
Time marches on, and with it, the memories of two of Pittsburgh’s Black fashion trailblazers. Amy Stephenson, a fashion designer on the North Side, and William Pryor Sr., a master furrier in the Hill District, founded some of the first Black-owned businesses in Pittsburgh. The two were friends and often...
A look at 3 Pittsburgh Black love stories
In Pittsburgh, Black love is thriving. The power of romantic Black love is not just about hearts and flowers, it’s about standing strong together in a world that can often be traumatic for Black people to exist in. Here, three couples share their experiences. High school sweethearts Casaundra Williams made...
Rising Pittsburgh artist Gloria Nyambura Mwarage talks about her love of music
It is a surprisingly warm afternoon in late January when Gloria Nyambura Mwarage, also known by her stage name GNM, walks into Field Day cafe in Lawrenceville. Mwarage’s peaceful aura complements the nature-esque atmosphere of the café, complete with monstera leaves and other plants in the space. Her voice flows...
Mentoring Partnership holding ‘Combatting White Saviorism’ training
Sophia Duck, training and engagement manager at The Mentoring Partnership, remembers seeing “The Green Book.” The movie is about a Black pianist who had a white chauffeur to accompany him through the Deep South in the early 1960s, using a guide for Black people. The book allowed them to have...
Poet Terrance Hayes reads at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in celebration of Black History Month
The light beamed down on Terrance Hayes on Saturday afternoon as he stood center stage in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s lecture hall. The award-winning poet and South Carolina native read several poems from his selections “So to Speak,” “American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin” and others, as...
Pittsburgh honors 102-year-old Natalie Green
Everyone calls her Grandma, a title that holds a lot of love and endearment for Natalie L. Green, 102. She was honored on Thursday when the City of Pittsburgh dedicated Feb. 8 to her for her many years of service, education and great inspiration. Green’s mind is sharp and her...
Westmoreland History Education Center kicks off Black History Month with discussion on The Great Migration
In the early 1900s, migration to the north was painted as a utopia for Blacks in the south — but that was not accurate. “It was not easy, but the obstacles, oppressions and subjugation does not define African Americans. It is a part of their story, but the beauty of...
Stop the Violence Pittsburgh holds annual Black History Month summit and essay contest
Stop The Violence Pittsburgh held its sixth annual student Black History Month Summit and Essay Contest Wednesday at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Oakland. The summit brought out more than 600 students from regional high schools, including Aliquippa High School, Oakland Catholic High School, Fox Chapel Area...
Hill District residents ‘overwhelmed with joy’ that Salem’s Market is open
The Hill District has a grocery store again. Salem’s Market & Grill opened its third location at Centre Heldman Plaza on Thursday morning, ending a nearly five-year span in which the Hill District was left without a local grocer following the closing of Shop ‘n Save in March 2019. Guests...
Black-owned 2C Premium blends success with specialty coffee
When her two children were young, Teresa Hunt was a single parent constantly on the go, shuffling them between sporting events and daily activities — and her constant companion was coffee. When her kids left home for college, she took advantage of her newfound free time. Now the founder of...
