PRINTING PRESS—Jesse Vann with a Typesetter at the Pittsburgh Courier office in the Hill District on Centre Avenue. The Courier had its own printing press.
The history of the Black community in Pittsburgh is complex and vibrant. While many people and events shaped how the community grew, several prominent milestones highlighted the importance of Black innovation, equality, and leadership.
Women’s Suffrage Movement
While the national women’s suffrage movement was moving at full speed, Pittsburgh’s predominant leaders highlighted the importance of the intersection between women’s rights and the rights of the Black community. Daisy Lampkin took an early role in the local movement by joining the Lucy Stone League (formerly the New Negro Women’s Equal Franchise Federation) and eventually becoming president. Her future roles in the National Council of Negro Women, as the founder of the first Red Cross chapter for Black women, and eventual Field Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), put Pittsburgh at the forefront of women’s liberation and the advancement of civil rights.
Success of the Pittsburgh Courier
In 1907, an unknown aspiring writer started the Pittsburgh Courier for the city’s Black community. Under new leadership in 1910 by attorney Robert Lee Vann, The Courier skyrocketed to national attention by the 1930s. With the most extensive circulation of any Black newspaper in the country, The Courier was a vocal advocate for civil rights and improved living conditions for Black citizens. During the 1932 presidential election, The Courier urged voters to support Roosevelt and transition away from the “party of Lincoln” towards a future with more promise for equality. Many Black writers and illustrators had the opportunity to share their gifts with the world as employees at The Courier. They included Charles “Teenie” Harris, whose photographs and artwork of the Black experience are now housed at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The Courier remained a crucial voice for the Black community until its closure in 1965.
Jazz at the Crossroads of the World
Billy Strayhorn
Beginning in the early 20th century, especially after World War I, the Hill District became well-known as a predominantly Black community. The area was anchored by important landmarks such as the Pittsburgh Courier building and the Lincoln Restaurant, the only place Black diners could sit down for a meal in downtown. During the decades of the 1920s-60s, the “crossroads of the world” became a national hub for jazz. Because of Pittsburgh’s location on the route between New York City and Chicago, it served as a stopping point for many famous jazz musicians. The local culture that grew up around jazz and music prompted many other successful business ventures in the area, including the famous Crawford Grille. Musical legends (including Billy Strayhorn, Ray Brown, and George Benson) were born and raised in the world of jazz in the Hill District and helped put Pittsburgh on the map as a vibrant musical city.
Founding of the National Negro Opera Company
On the heels of the jazz revolution happening in the Hill District, Pittsburgh’s Black community was gaining recognition on the national music stage for another reason: its opera house. Classically-trained musician Mary Cardwell Dawson opened the nation’s first Black opera company in 1941 and trained many local musicians over the years. Performers from the company were invited on national tours. They brought renewed attention to the musical talents of Pittsburgh’s Black community.
Protecting the Hill District on Freedom Corner
As buildings in the Hill District aged during the 1950s, city officials began clearing the area and demolishing entire blocks to make way for newer community buildings and housing. Despite the area’s significance to the Black community, plans forged ahead to turn much of the area’s history into a testament to urban renewal. In 1960, Civil Rights activists took a stand on Freedom Corner at the Central Avenue and Crawford Street intersection. As a literal and symbolic demand, the protest called for renewal projects to include low-income housing and to preserve as much of the Hill’s historic vibrance as possible. Freedom Corner became a gathering point for many future Civil Rights actions and a symbol of dedication to the Hill and Black communities.
Freedom House Ambulance Service
Amid the national Civil Rights movement, local leaders in the Black community continued to innovate and take a stand for the health of their communities. In 1967, leaders from Freedom House Enterprises (a group that advocated for voter registration and provided job training) worked with physician Dr. Peter Safer to implement a new ambulance and paramedic-training system. Residents of the Hill District often received poor medical care, and transportation to a hospital involved calling the police since ambulance services didn’t yet exist. By hiring Black men from the Hill and training them with the newest skills, the Freedom House Ambulance Service successfully paved the way for modern paramedic services. Their dedication to and respect for the local community was noteworthy. The group pushed back against city officials who wanted to (and eventually did) disband the service in favor of a city-run organization.
Without the leaders and community members who participated in these historical events, Pittsburgh’s Black community would not have the same empowering soul that it does today.
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