Black History Month category, Page 2
Black Pa. country musicians celebrate the Beyoncé effect, invite new listeners to stick around
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. As Beyoncé’s rootsy new country singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” usher in a new era for the superstar, other...
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...
Black, proud and ready to make a difference, Allegheny County’s new chief public defender gets to work
When Lena Bryan-Henderson was growing up in Wilkinsburg in the 1970s, her family dinner conversations frequently revolved around civil rights. “It was table talk every evening almost — about the prejudices and the injustices that people who look like me had to endure,” she said. Then, when she was about...
‘There needs to be somebody that looks like me’: Pittsburgh nonprofit creates recreation opportunities for people of color
Jaiya Hughes loves everything about winter. When temperatures drop, Hughes, 10, cannot wait to don her snow coat and boots and hit the hills of her East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh, sled in hand. Her mother, Tazi Hughes, always joins in on the action. But when Jaiya sees fellow sled...
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...
TV Talk at TCA: Penn State grad consults on Hallmark’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’Video
PASADENA, Calif. – As part of its “Loveuary with Jane Austen” programming stunt, Hallmark Channel debuts a new production of “Sense and Sensibility” (8 p.m. Feb. 24) under its African American-focused Mahogany banner. A Penn State grad helped bring the story of the Dashwood sisters to life. Before she was...
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...
TV Talk at TCA: ‘Space Race’ profiles Black astronauts; Peak TV peaksVideo
PASADENA, Calif. — “The Space Race: The Untold Story of the First Black Astronauts” (9 p.m. Monday, National Geographic Channel; next day on Hulu, Disney+) profiles NASA legends past and present, including Ed Dwight, who had a successful military career before he was recruited to an Air Force training program...
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...
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...
Penguins partner with Black Girl Hockey Club to promote sport as part of Black History Month
Renee Hess remembers her first Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game — she was in Orange County, Calif., had wonderful seats, and there was a hockey fight, a novelty she said rarely occurs now. She was enamored by the sport. Today, she is the founder and executive director of California-based Black Girl...
Chemical hair straighteners and the impact on Black women’s health
Jasmine Green sat in the kitchen one afternoon in 2003, getting her hair done by her grandmother. Her curly coils were being parted in sections with a slender comb to reveal her scalp. Vaseline was placed on open areas between the parts. After the Vaseline, a thick, pungent white cream...
Black men have increased risk of prostate cancer
Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest son, Dexter Scott King, died from prostate cancer one week after MLK Day and only eight days before what would have been his 63rd birthday. His death has again emphasized the importance for Black men to be screened for prostate cancer. For reasons that are...
Gardening and growing food a form of liberation for the Black community
Amid winter’s gray skies and unpredictable temperatures, Black communities are reclaiming their narrative through gardening and growing food, a powerful act of resilience that fuels empowerment. Despite sometimes freezing temperatures, they sow seeds of change, heralding a season of growth and autonomy. Raynise Kelly and TaRay Kelly are owners of...
Hill District Library hosts event celebrating Black literature
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Hill District branch kicked off Black History Month on Tuesday with “30 Books in 30 Minutes.” Librarians went through a list of books by Black authors on their top must-read list, running the gamut from graphic novels to science fiction, with a little romance in...
Freedom House Ambulance Service honored at Pittsburgh’s Black History Month kickoff
In celebration of Black History Month, the city of Pittsburgh honored the contributions of pioneering Black people who built the foundation for modern-day emergency services. Black History Month kicked off Thursday at the City-County Building with a tribute to the Freedom House Ambulance Service. The event introduced an exhibit that...
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