Smoketown by Mark Whitaker

Posted by on Dec 11, 2019 in | Comments Off on Smoketown by Mark Whitaker Smoketown The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance by Mark Whitaker Simon & Schuster, 432 pp., cloth $30 Smoketown tells a story at once inspiring and tragic: the tale of how Pittsburgh became home to one of the nation’s most dynamic black communities before urban redevelopment and civil unrest gutted its vibrant cultural center, the Hill District. The Hill, once dubbed the...
read more

From The Editor

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on From The Editor Welcome to our special commemorative edition of Pennsylvania Heritage underscoring the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s annual theme for 2010, “Black History in Pennsylvania: Communities in Common.” In this edition, you’ll find informative, thought-provoking features on the Keystone State’s African American experience, heritage, and culture over a...
read more

Cumberland Willis Posey Sr., Entrepreneur

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Cumberland Willis Posey Sr., Entrepreneur Cumberland Willis Posey Sr. (1858-1925) never let his circumstances define him; instead, he turned them into opportunities – not just for himself but also for his community. Born on August 30, 1858, to former slaves Elizabeth Willis Posey and Alexander Posey, he grew up in Port Tobacco, Maryland. His mother died when he was seven years old, and his father, a minister, moved the family to...
read more