The Civic Season

Discover the achievements of African Americans in medicine, journalism, the arts, activism, and during World War II in the Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation exhibition on June 17. 

Learn about the African American experience through Pittsburgh’s role in the abolition movement, the Underground Railroad, Pittsburgh’s groundbreaking jazz scene, and sports teams during a free, guided tour on June 24.

The History Center and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will welcome new U.S. citizens during a special Naturalization Ceremony on June 27. 

Join the History Center’s African American Program for a panel conversation on urban renewal in the Hill District on June 27. Local leaders will discuss how redevelopment has shaped the community’s past, present, and future.  

Museum docents will lead a special tour of Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation and Clash of Empires exhibitions to discuss George Washington’s Pittsburgh and Western Pa. connections on July 1. 

Celebrate the spirit of America with historical demonstrations and period games at Meadowcroft’s 18th-century frontier area and 19th-century rural village on July 2.  

Reflect upon the civic legacy of Pittsburgh and find objects in the museum relating to civics and democracy on July 4. Examine past campaign buttons in the History Center’s collection and design your own button inspired by your vision for democracy.  

Join the Fort Pitt Museum for its annual Fourth at the Fort event in Point State Park on July 4. At 1 p.m., Fort Pitt Museum staff, scouts, and local veterans will help kick off the Fourth of July holiday by raising a 36-foot American flag.  

The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibition, presented in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and award-winning author Candacy Taylor, offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising Black middle class. The exhibition is on view through Aug. 13, 2023.  

The History Center is partnering with the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia to showcase a new exhibition, Wars of Empire and Liberty, featuring the revolutionary art of Don Troiani. The exhibition, which opens in the museum’s fifth floor Barensfeld Gallery on Saturday, July 1, will include more than 25 original works of art along with rare objects from the History Center’s collection. 

The History Center examines the bold experiment to create a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” in its dynamic online exhibition, American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith. Developed in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the exhibit showcases the history of how we’ve voted, protested, and engaged with our politics, from the nation’s formation to today. The exhibit was on view at the History Center in 2021.