Pittsburgh Celebrates Black History Month 2025

Susie King Taylor, teacher and nurse, achieved many firsts in a lifetime of overcoming adversity and helping elevate others out of slavery. As the author of Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S.C. Volunteers, she was the only African American woman to publish a memoir of her wartime experiences. 

Susie Baker was born into slavery near Savannah, Georgia in 1848. Despite Georgia's harsh laws against the formal education of African Americans, she attended two secret schools taught by black women. Her literacy proved invaluable not only to her but to other African Americans she educated during the war. She became free at the age of 14 when her uncle led her out to a federal gunboat plying the waters near Confederate-held Fort Pulaski.

Baker and thousands of other African American refugees found themselves seeking safety behind Union lines on the South Carolina Sea Islands. She soon attached herself to the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first black regiment in the US Army. First organized by Major General David Hunter, the military governor Rufus Saxton would become the driving force behind the unit’s creation.

Taylor originally worked as the regimental laundress and throughout the war would perform the essential duties of cooking and washing. However, her literacy proved most useful and enabled her to serve as the reading instructor for the regiment of former slaves. The unit’s white abolitionist colonel, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, later wrote of his men, “Their love of the spelling-book is perfectly inexhaustible.” 

Taylor married Sergeant Edward King of the First South Carolina in 1862. Together they remained with the unit until it was mustered out of service in 1866. Postwar, the Kings moved to Savannah, Georgia. She hoped to continue her teaching career and opened a private school for the children of freedmen. Unfortunately, her husband died the same year, and a public school opening caused her private school to fail. By 1868, Taylor was forced to find work as a domestic servant. 

She moved to Boston in 1872 where she married Russell Taylor in 1879. She devoted much of the rest of her life to work with the Woman’s Relief Corps, a national organization for female Civil War veterans. She died in 1912, ten years after publishing her memoir.

Source: National Park Service

John Woodruff overcame the obstacles of poverty and prejudice and embodied the strength necessary to become a world-class middle-distance runner renowned for his daring exploits in winning the 800-meter race in the 1936 Olympic Games. John’s prowess as a track athlete first became evident in high school. In his first competition for the Connellsville High School Track Team, he won both the 880 yard and mile run. By the time he graduated in 1935, he had set new school, county, WPIAL, and PIAA records. He also achieved national acclaim when he broke the high school mile record with a winning time of 4:23.4.

Ironically, because he was denied employment at a local factory because of his race, he accepted a full athletic scholarship to attend the University of Pittsburgh. As a college freshman track star, he was selected to be a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic Team after placing first in the 800- meter race at the Olympic Trials with a time of 1:49.9, a tenth of a second shy of the existing world record. His crowning achievement came in the Olympic Games in Berlin. In one of the most exciting and storied races in Olympic history, Canadian Phil Edwards set an extremely slow pace with Woodruff boxed and trapped inside by the other runners. Knowing he had to break loose, John decided his best, though most dangerous option, was to come to a stop. The move allowed the pack to run around him. Then at 6’ 3” with a stride estimated to be almost 10 feet, “Long John” Woodruff sprinted to the outside and moved to the front of the pack. Though he lost the lead on the backstretch, Woodruff regained it on the final turn to win the gold. Woodruff became one of the 18 African American members of the U.S. Team to medal in these games, joining seven others in winning gold.

Woodruff also won the 1937 AAU title in the 800 and both the 400 and 800 IC4A titles from 1937 to 1939. He and his teammates on the national team set the world 4×880-yard relay record. Woodruff graduated from Pitt in 1939 with a major in sociology, then earned his master’s degree from NYU in 1941. He entered military service in 1941 as a second lieutenant and was discharged as a Captain in 1945, then re-upped during the Korean War, leaving as a lieutenant colonel in 1957. Woodruff served as the battalion commander of the 369th Artillery, later the 569 Transportation Battalion New York Army National Guard.

After the War, Woodruff lived in New York and then in New Jersey and coached young athletes and officiated at local and Madison Garden track meet and working as a teacher and in public service. He is remembered in his hometown where the oak tree sapling from Germany’s Black Forest he was given to commemorate his victory in Berlin towers over the end zone at Connellsville stadium. Each year the town holds the annual John Woodruff 5-K Run and Walk in his honor.

Learn more about the history of sports in Pittsburgh from the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center.

Source: Pittsburgh Downtown Parntership 

In 1951, a young mother of five named Henrietta Lacks visited The Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding. Upon examination, renowned gynecologist Dr. Howard Jones discovered a large, malignant tumor on her cervix. At the time, The Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of only a few hospitals to treat poor African-Americans.

As medical records show, Mrs. Lacks began undergoing radium treatments for her cervical cancer. This was the best medical treatment available at the time for this terrible disease. A sample of her cancer cells retrieved during a biopsy were sent to Dr. George Gey's nearby tissue lab. For years, Dr. Gey, a prominent cancer and virus researcher, had been collecting cells from all patients - regardless of their race or socioeconomic status - who came to The Johns Hopkins Hospital with cervical cancer, but each sample quickly died in Dr. Gey’s lab. What Dr. Gey would soon discover was that Mrs. Lacks’ cells were unlike any of the others he had ever seen: where other cells would die, Mrs. Lacks' cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours.

Today, these incredible cells — nicknamed "HeLa" cells, from the first two letters of her first and last names — are used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, hormones and viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans. They have been used to test the effects of radiation and poisons, to study the human genome, to learn more about how viruses work, and played a crucial role in the development of the polio and COVID-19 vaccines.

Although Mrs. Lacks ultimately passed away on October 4, 1951, at the age of 31, her cells continue to impact the world.

Although these were the first cells that could be easily shared and multiplied in a lab setting, Johns Hopkins has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line. Rather, Johns Hopkins offered HeLa cells freely and widely for scientific research.

Johns Hopkins applauds and regularly participates in efforts to raise awareness of the life and story of Henrietta Lacks. Having reviewed our interactions with Henrietta Lacks and with the Lacks family over more than 50 years, we found that Johns Hopkins could have – and should have – done more to inform and work with members of Henrietta Lacks’ family out of respect for them, their privacy and their personal interests. Though the collection and use of Henrietta Lacks' cells in research was an acceptable and legal practice in the 1950s, the laws protecting research subjects have evolved. We at Johns Hopkins have been supportive of legal changes since 1951 that protect research subjects, and we are compliant with these requirements, including those related to informed consent.

We are deeply committed to the ongoing efforts at our institutions and elsewhere to honor the contributions of Henrietta Lacks and to ensure the appropriate protection and care of the Lacks family’s medical information.

Source: John Hopkins Medicine

Learn more about Lacks Legacy

“I been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me,
Sun has baked me,

Looks like between ’em they done
Tried to make me

Stop laughin’, stop lovin’, stop livin’–
But I don’t care!
I’m still here!”

-Langston Hughes-

2025 Black History Month began within the context of a would-be “dictator from day one” having launched  a vicious attack on “diversity, equity and inclusion.”   Nevertheless, Black Americans are “still here” - still here nurturing ourselves as well as others; still challenging and changing policies and practices that adversely impact people in a caste-like race-based society; and, still playing critical roles in closing opportunity gaps and enabling self-actualization for ourselves and others.  As such, we are daily making Black history!  

Just as the Lone Cypress tree on a Pebble Beach, California mountainside is still standing after having lost a large limb during a 2019 storm, the Altadena, California community as well as Black Americans across the country are  still standing notwithstanding the recent wild fire and a national election that put White, Entitled, and Inept (WEI) public officials in the highest political offices (See Jack Daniel, New Pittsburgh Courier, December 9, 2024, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) yield to White, Entitled and Inept (WEI).  Thus, it is worth bearing witness to the historical reasons why, like the mythological Phoenix, we will rise from and soar above the current ashes.

We are still here because many enslaved Africans in America never acquiesced to the inhumane circumstances inflicted upon them.  Instead, they broke farm tools in order to slow down work as well as “accidentally on purpose” set fires to crops. Denied family life and related rituals, the enslaved invented marriage traditions such as “jumping the broom.”  Creating opportunities for themselves, they used the Bible to nourish their spirits, cognitive development, and revolt plans.  Like the cunning “Brer Rabbit,” our forebears feigned ignorance when they in fact understood every word spoken by the enslaver. Some chose death rather than live as a slave.  Their unwavering quest for freedom produced effective leaders such as Gabriel Prosser, Harriett Tubman, and Nat Turner.

After the Emancipation Proclamation, grassroots movements were relentless in terms of fighting Jim Crow laws related to legal segregation; the denial of the right to vote; housing discrimination; and unequal access to public education.  Black children, college students, and other members of the grassroots sat in, marched, and boycotted until victories were won.  The Civil Rights battlefields are marked by events such as the March Across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Million Man March, March on Washington, and the Montgomery Boycott.  Lawyer warriors won cases that led to voting rights, the end of legal segregation of public schools, and the end of legal housing discrimination.  From the latter ranks came the accomplishments led by  Nathaniel S. Colley, Sr., Constance Baker Motley, Fred Gray, and Thurgood Marshall.  

We are boldly standing in America because, ever since  our arrival in America, Black mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, and other caregivers “made a way out of no way” by nurturing Black children who, despite “coming up the wrong side of the mountain,” achieved absolute distinction in various ways.  Literally, by the sweat of our brows, Black caregivers removed barriers to their children becoming artists, entrepreneurs, public officials, inventors, scientists, and recipients of awards such as Emmy, Grammy, Nobel, and Pulitzer prizes.  In the Capitol built by slaves, we witnessed a Black man serve as President and a Black woman serve as Vice President.  

Institutionally, we are significantly present, in part, because of the long history related to our churches not only being religious institutions, but also serving as the “institution of institutions,” i.e., a religious institution that also sponsored burial societies; held rent parties; provided mental health assistance; made available  youth guidance centers; and, served as the headquarters for launching civil rights protests.  Historically, the Black Church has been so important that it has been said, “Without the Black Church, Black Americans would not have had a prayer!”  Notwithstanding that rich legacy, now is the time to assess the current roles of the Black Church in advancing our quest for freedom, justice and equality.  We must do something analogous regarding the Black Press.

In 1827, when there were no mass media voices for Blacks, Samuel Cornish and John Brown Russwurm started Freedoms Journal.  In 1847, Frederick Douglass founded The North Star and, since then, the Black Press has played significant roles in terms of advancing Black life.  However, given the current newspaper reading habits of many Blacks and others as well as the onslaught of electronic media, we must ascertain the nature of and support the social justice roles of contemporary Black-owned and operated media.  We must become informed consumers of all media because, as Malcolm X warned, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth.  They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent.”  Given their political alliances, for example, it is essential that we be well-informed consumers regarding what is offered and what is not permitted to be offered on platforms owned by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. 

Notwithstanding the prior exceptional efforts whereby Black historical figures made the impossible possible, success for our pursuit of freedom, justice, and equality cannot be a matter of ongoing bootstrap operations.  This is true because there are many compound, complex, multivariate issues that must be addressed (See, for example, Caste: The Origins of Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, Reproductive Justice: an Introduction by Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger, and The Political Determinants  of Health by Daniel E. Dawes).  During 2025 and beyond, Blacks and other freedom seeking Americans must be catalysts in “bending the arc of the moral universe to justice” (See Martin Luther King Jr., 1968) by dismantling the pillars supporting a caste-like, race-based, patriarchal, homophobic, xenophobic society.  

Albeit that there is no single starting point for addressing the above long-rooted complex matters, one point of departure is the development of an informed and active electorate.  As John Lewis stated during a 2019 interview, “The vote is precious, it is almost sacred, it is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy.”  

Education too is fundamental to a democracy and, therefore, we must continually struggle for an educational system that promotes anti-bias and critical thinking.  On a larger scale, it remains the case, as Malcolm X stated, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” 

One thing we cannot do is acquiesce to the current scourge. We cannot, for example, continue to indiscriminately buy from companies that abandon programmatic anti-racist initiatives.  In our work places, we cannot simply “go along to get along” instead of “showing up and showing out” at events designed to protest injustice.  We must, as John Lewis advised, “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America!”  By doing so, we will be making Black history.

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

February 1, 2025

The City of Pittsburgh will begin its 2025 Black History Month celebrations by honoring the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC), the first African American opera company in the United States. Founded in 1941 in Pittsburgh, the NNOC broke racial barriers and provided a platform for African American performers in an industry that was predominantly white. 

Established by opera singer and music educator Mary Cardwell Dawson, the NNOC aimed to promote African American talent within the classical music world. Dawson's visionary leadership paved the way for Black opera singers to showcase their artistry and gain recognition on a national scale. 

“It is an honor for the City of Pittsburgh and I to celebrate the National Negro Opera Company and Mary Cardwell Dawson, as well as her amazing legacy in the opera world, African American, and Pittsburgh communities,” said Mayor Ed Gainey. “Not only am I proud that NNOC was the first African American opera company in the country, and widely successful in bringing African American voices to the front of the stage, I’m also proud to know that this company’s building is in my backyard.” 

The celebration included an opening reception on Monday, February 3, 2025, from 6–8 p.m. in the City-County Building’s Grand Lobby, which will also house a special Black History Month exhibit. The display will showcase the life and work of Mary Cardwell Dawson, the legacy of the NNOC, the National Opera House (NOH), and the cultural impact of both the NNOC and the Cardwell Dawson School of Music. Contributors to the exhibit include the Library of Congress, Carnegie Library, NOH, and Carnegie Museum of Art. 

For those unable to visit the Grand Lobby, the exhibit will be available online through the @PghEventsOffice on Facebook, Instagram, and X from February 3–28. 

This year’s Black History Month celebration is presented by CitiParks Office of Special Events and sponsored by AARP Pennsylvania, 100.1 & AM 1020 KDKA NewsRadio, and WAMO 107.3. 

For additional information on the City of Pittsburgh’s Black History Month events, please visit www.pittsburghpa.gov/Recreation-Events/Special-Events/Black-History-Month and follow @PghEventsOffice. 

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Black History Month 2025 celebrates the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC), founded in 1941 in Pittsburgh as the first African American opera company in the United States. Mary Cardwell Dawson established the company with the goal of promoting African American performers in the opera world, which was predominantly white at the time. The NNOC was instrumental in breaking racial barriers within the classical music world, offering a platform for Black opera singers to showcase their talents and gain recognition for more than two decades.

• Opening Reception: Monday, February 3, 2025 from 6 - 8 p.m., Grand Lobby, City-County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh -- Public Invited to Attend
• Black History Month Display: February 3 - 28, Grand Lobby, City-County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh
• Online Content: February 1 - 28, follow us on @PghEventsOffice on Facebook and @PghEventsOffice on X for digital content including photos and memorabilia throughout the month of February

Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894 – 1962) was a trailblazer in the world of opera and classical music. This gifted opera singer and music educator served as the founding force behind the National Negro Opera Company. Dawson was committed to improving opportunities for African American musicians, particularly in the opera world, where Black artists faced significant discrimination.

Her vision for the NNOC was to create a space where African Americans could perform opera at the highest level and gain the same recognition and opportunities as their white counterparts.  She believed that opera was a powerful medium through which African American culture could be showcased and celebrated.

The National Opera House (NOH) is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring, preserving, and maintaining the historic home at 7101 Apple Street in Pittsburgh. This landmark building served as the birthplace of the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC), the first permanent African-American opera company in the nation. Founded by Miriam White and Jonnet Solomon, The National Opera House has established a mission to restore and maintain the historic house. This preservation continues a legacy of creative excellence that nurtures talent and widens access to opportunities.

NOH envisions 7101 Apple Street as an internationally recognized center for education and entertainment. The non-profit aims to:

• INSPIRE, EMPOWER, AND UPLIFT by providing access to arts and cultural experiences for all;
• BREAK DOWN BARRIERS by fostering inclusivity and creating opportunities for diverse voices;
• ACCELERATE CAREERS by supporting the growth of artists and cultural entrepreneurs.

NOH seeks to restore not only the physical structure of the building but also the spirit of entrepreneurship and education that thrived within its walls. The non-profit aims to create a vibrant hub where artists can connect, learn, and thrive, continuing the legacy of innovation and community that has defined this historic site. This site will serve as a monument to the courageous visionaries that created a legacy and changed the world.

Learn more about NOH at  https://www.nationaloperahouse.org/.

The President’s Lecture Series aims to engage and inspire the Carnegie Mellon community on issues of emerging and preeminent relevance to society. The series, launched by President Farnam Jahanian in 2023, brings a curated list of thought leaders and world leaders to campus over the academic year.

Tamara Tunie (CFA 1981)
Actor, Director and Producer 

Date: Monday, February 10, 2025, 4 - 5:30p.m.
Location: Simmons Auditorium, Tepper Building, 1st Floor 

Register Now

Through looking at the past, Lifting Liberty imagines what the future of an arts-anchored East Liberty could be.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is excited to welcome multimedia artist Njaimeh Njie and her latest visual art exhibition Lifting Liberty, displayed at KST’s lobby from Thursday, February 27 to Saturday, May 31. In the exhibition, Njie uses collages, photos, and text to meditate on the legacy of Black cultural spaces in East Liberty. The Opening Reception is on Thursday, February 27, from 6:00 - 8:00pm.

From Howe School of Dance to the Selma Burke Art Center to the Shadow Lounge, a constellation of creative places and people have shined bright for more than a century in East Liberty. Lifting Liberty highlights eight historical cultural spaces in the neighborhood. It pulls from archives and contemporary source material to amplify East Liberty as a hub of creativity, despite its history of cultural displacement.

“In my work, I tell stories about everyday life, particularly everyday black experiences through the lense of how the past shapes the present. That involves a lot of archival research, learning about the past through the people who have lived it”, said Njie.

Over the past 60 years, East Liberty, one of Pittsburgh's most historically diverse and culturally vibrant neighborhoods, has undergone significant changes driven by the lasting effects of redlining, urban renewal, and the Great Recession. In the past 15 years, neighborhood redevelopment has fueled rising market forces, shifting culture and resident demographics, resulting in a 24% loss of Black residents between 2009 and 2018. Amid these developments, a commitment to safeguard Black centered spaces dedicated to arts and culture remains vital, honoring the neighborhood's rich heritage and ensuring residents are celebrated.

Informed by the changes she has witnessed, the Pittsburgh-born and raised Njie uses her art as a celebration of the history of black cultural spaces in East Liberty: “I always want to center black communities’ sense of power and agency. I want to lift up this history of building community through making art. I want us to really think about and dream about how to continue that.”

“We are in a pivotal moment of transformation across institutions, structures, and communities—an opportunity to reimagine our relationships with one another and our built environments, with culture leading the way. There is much to learn from the cultural spaces that have shaped and activated East Liberty over many storied years, placing creativity and community at their core,” said Joseph Hall, KST’s Co-Executive Director.

The exhibition Lifting Liberty serves as a forerunner, building the excitement and setting the stage for KST’s upcoming Owning Our Future: A Symposium on BIPOC Institutional Ownership on Friday, May 16 - Sunday, May 18. KST is leading a groundbreaking national symposium that aims to reshape the future of accessible, equitable cultural spaces owned and anchored by BIPOC communities. During Lifting Liberty’s Opening Reception on February 27, there will be a special reveal, when the symposium’s detailed schedule and tickets become available.

Lifting Liberty is on view at KST’s lobby gallery. The gallery is open to the public during and one hour before every KST Presents event. Audience can arrive early and take a look.

Njaimeh Njie is a multimedia artist working across photography, film, collage, installation, and public art. Her storytelling practice centers everyday people, narratives, and landscapes, with a focus on how the past shapes the present. Njie has exhibited at Carnegie Museum of Art and the Mattress Factory, and she has presented at spaces including TEDxPittsburghWomen and Harvard University. Njie earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies in 2010 from Washington University in St. Louis.

This February, in honor of Black History Month, Hosanna House, Inc.'s Center for Aviation Technology and Training (CATT) invites the public to experience the inspiring legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen with free admission to the Tuskegee Airmen Museum. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to explore "Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight," a compelling exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

This powerful exhibit highlights the extraordinary achievements of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military pilots in U.S. history. Their courage, skill, and perseverance not only changed the course of aviation but also broke racial barriers, inspiring generations to pursue careers in flight and aerospace.

Guests will also have access to engaging multimedia presentations, historical artifacts, and immersive storytelling that showcase the impact of these aviation pioneers. To learn more about their legacy and what awaits you at the museum, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iIuibXrl38.

CATT & Tuskegee Airmen Museum Hours:

 Every Saturday & Sunday in February

 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Location: Sherwood Event Center, 400 Sherwood Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15221

The Center for Aviation Technology and Training (CATT) provides a pathway for STEM education and training in aviation, aerospace, and aeronautics that will lead to career opportunities and financial stability in the future.

Exposure to CATT will lead to pathways in education and job opportunities: to achieve two-year degrees in aviation-related programs from trade schools and colleges such as the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA), Community College of Beaver County (CCBC), and Hampton University and job opportunities and career paths as Professional Pilot, Air Traffic Control, Aerospace Management, Aerospace Maintenance, Aerospace Electronics, and more.

Visitors to CATT will learn about the Tuskegee Airmen by viewing The Black Wings exhibit currently on loan from the Smithsonian Institute. The exhibit, Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight chronicles the story of African Americans, who, despite facing racial barriers, attained great achievements in the world of aviation.

Programmatic Components are STEM education for preschool through adolescent age children, drone technology literacy for teens through hands-on flight training, and specialized training to prepare high school students to enter a two-year degree program from trade schools and colleges. Specifically, a Drone pilot career is an entryway into the continued education and career pathways of Aviation, Aerospace, and Aeronautics.

Partners:

• Premier Partner – The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
• Partners – Hampton University and Black Girls Drone

“Our goal is to end the life cycle of poverty. The Center for Aviation Technology and Training provides a pathway for education and training of black and brown children and teens that increases their capacity to stimulate career opportunities that help build a foundation of financial security in the future.”
Leon Haynes, Hosanna House, Inc. Founding CEO & President

Key elements are STEM Makerspace and flight simulation lab, Tuskegee Airmen Museum, and Interactive exhibit spaces for children and youth (indoor and outdoor).  CATT curriculum utilizes various learning modalities to foster learning: Instructor-led, Hands-on, Interactive displays, and Outdoor learning experiences.

Activities:

• Cockpit Flight Trainer
• Things that Fly Praxinoscope
• Land the Plane Maze
• Imagination Mirrors
• Wearable Wings
• Airport Play Table
• Outdoor Play Space