Nestled in Pittsburgh’s East End Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood is the Belmar Gardens housing cooperative. At its conception, the community was celebrated as a solution for middle-income African American families who found…

  Photo of William A. Johnston. Johnston grew up in Sewickley, Pa. He enlisted in the Army Air Force at the age of 17 and served as a Second Lieutenant…

  Crawford Grill #2, c. 1975. From the McBride Sign Company Photographs, Detre Library & Archives at the History Center. The Crawford Grill in Pittsburgh’s Hill District served as the…

  For many people, time off from work or school is an opportunity to engage in physical activity, whether it’s hunting and fishing, enjoying swings on a playground, or a…

At the height of the movement to rid the nation of slavery – the abolitionist movement – Martin R. Delany was one of the more charismatic and practical leaders of…

  The Heinz History Center’s African American Program is dedicated to the preservation, dissemination, and interpretation of the life, history, and culture of Africans and African Americans in Western Pennsylvania.…

Viola used by Paul Lawrence Peeler, Sr., as a music teacher in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Like many other major American city school districts, Pittsburgh’s public school system has a history…

Portrait of Mary Lou Williams, New York, N.Y., c. 1946. Photo by William P. Gottlieb, courtesy of the Library of Congress. As an American jazz hub during the 1930s, Pittsburgh…

Mary Ann Carlton (1839-1921), a former slave, used cotton cards to contribute to the sharecropping of her family. In the late 18th century, American citizens knew that the road to…

Page from a Camp Johnson pamphlet, 1953. Camp Johnson Records, 1939-1995, MSS 229, Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center. In the early 20th century, “fresh air” camps began sprouting…