Black Lives in Pittsburgh

The mission of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania (the Chamber) is to continuously improve business and professional opportunities for African American Business owners and professionals. The material available in this online collection documents some of the history of the AACCWP through past announcements on programs and events.

This oral history collection consists of transcripts, cassette tapes, project working files and background organizational records of the interviews conducted during the African American Jazz Preservation Society of Pittsburgh (AAJPSP) Oral History Project (1995-1999). The project documents individual African American Jazz Musicians in Pittsburgh as well as their efforts to organize. The content of the interviews span from 1904 to 1999.

Homer S. Brown became a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association in 1923. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1934 and became the first African-American appointed to the Pittsburgh Board of Education (1943), and elected (1949) as Allegheny County Judge. He served as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County from 1956 to 1975. This digital collection consists of select speeches and articles written by Brown.

An African American literary magazine published quarterly by Sandra Gould Ford (editor and founder) between 1987-1994 whose mission was to explore the Black American experience through literature and art.

Visual images from the 1920s-1950s show group portraits from conventions and youth conferences, individual portraits of Urban League Fellows and Urban League staff, housing and work conditions for black employees, and children at Camp James Weldon..