Voices of History: Stories of family

Welcome to Voices of History, a PA Humanities project inspired by the works of renowned playwright August Wilson and designed to showcase the voices of everyday Black Pennsylvanians. We launched the project in Pittsburgh, inviting community members to gather and share personal stories about life in the 20th and 21st centuries in the Steel City. Fifteen people were selected to professionally record their stories to start a statewide archival collection. Their stories are of struggles, triumphs, family, community, and more, and we’re excited to share them now. 

In these videos, you’ll hear remembrances and reflections on family, and the many ways in which family nourishes us, inspires us, protects us and gives us a home, in every sense of the word. Each video brings the individual stories to life in the storytellers’ own words, enriched by archival photos.

“Grandma’s Chair”

Dr. Ervin Dyer is an award-winning journalist who is now executive director of the August Wilson House. He remembers visiting his grandmother in Virginia and sitting at the kitchen table, where he told her all about school and what was happening in his life. She’d smile and listen intently as he talked about nap time, the playground, and childhood delights, making him feel like each and every story he told was special.

“And so when I think of my grandmother Susie, I always think of her in that chair and the dreams she gave me, that it was important to tell your stories, that my story mattered. And what she really gave me, when I think about it, was the opportunity to dream that I could become a writer. Just by her listening, just by her paying attention to me.”

“We Ain’t Sellin”

Carol Hardemon’s grandmother was left widowed and homeless with two small children after her husband died and they no longer qualified for public housing through the steel mill where he’d worked. In the 1940s, at a time when African Americans faced many barriers to purchasing a home, she found a way to not only become a homeowner in the Hill District but also create a hub of family life for herself and future generations. 

“We had so many good times there, regardless of what was going on. I remember there was 20 of us, close to maybe 25 sometimes, staying in the home at the same time and we had to share the bathroom and share the kitchen and share everything, but everybody in the house knew their place. … We were blessed so long ago because so many generations have lived in that home and now we still live in the home.” 

“The Receipt”

Debbie Norrell’s parents came to Pittsburgh from Richmond, Virginia for work, and put a down payment of $1,778 on construction of a new home in Penn HIlls in 1954. After a reverse mortgage situation threatened their ability to keep the home in her mother’s senior years, the family fought to make sure that the property her parents built stayed with them and helped create generational wealth.

“We didn’t want to walk away from our family home because my mother and father rolled quarters to come up with the down payment on this house. And even though both of them had passed I would have felt like we were disappointing them to just walk away from a house that they worked so hard (for).”

“Pennley Court”

Damon Young felt like he was living in an amusement park when his family moved from an all-white neighborhood to East Liberty when he was a kid in the 1980s. As his independence grew he was allowed to explore more of the neighborhood, but after a scary man’s scary dog ate his prized basketball at the playground, Young learned more than one lesson about fear, and what family will do for each other. 

“And so my dad’s like, OK, well if I see this guy, he’s got to buy you a new ball. Now what I didn’t tell my dad at this time was that this guy who had the pit bull was, like, 6-6, 6-7, muscles everywhere. He had tattoos, and this was before (people) had tattoos. If you were tatted up back in 1992 it just meant something different than if you’re tatted up today.”

“Acts of Service”

Wanda Wallace Pitts never imagined she’d be pregnant before she entered the 11th grade in 1968, but she found community at a school for pregnant teens on Pittsburgh’s North Side where she could continue her education. The girls encouraged each other and looked out for one another. She gave birth to twins in January 1969.

“I feel so blessed that I was able to make it through these trying times when none of these services are available now. … Young girls need inspiration. They need to be able to ask questions without being ashamed.”

The Voices of History project in Pittsburgh is made possible through the generous support of The Heinz Endowments, Erie Insurance, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and individual donors.