Honor Our Veterans 2023

On Saturday, November 11, 2023, from 11:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie branch of ASALH “Honors Our Veterans” with an exciting and informative presentation moderated by Richard A. Stewart, Jr.

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About Richard A. Stewart, Jr. (aka Stew)

Stew’s professional career included 30 plus years in law enforcement which began as an 8th grade safety patrolman in 1963, at St. Richard’s Catholic School.  Richard served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) (1966 – 1973).  This included a tour in DaNang, South Vietnam (1968 – 1969) and 1970, the Military Police.

Upon being Honorably Discharged, Stew served 1 year working as an Allegheny County Jail Corrections Officer.  In 1977, he joined the City of Pittsburgh Police Department where he worked for 1 ½ years. Richard, then, transferred to The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, where he worked from August, 1978, through September, 2005.  Upon retirement in 2005, as a Deputy Commander, he was the highest ranking African American in the Sheriff Department’s 200 year history. 

Stew’s educational journey took 30 years, (1975 – 2005), to complete.  On May 10, 2004, Richard received his Associate in Science, Administration of Criminal Justice Degree from The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) (Boyce Campus). His Bachelor of Science, Law Enforcement Degree on December 17, 2005, was obtained from Point Park University.

Richard’s community involvement includes more than 30 years with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as the current PA State Conference Western Sectional Director; President, former 1st Vice President, former Criminal Justice Committee Chairman, and former Membership Chairman of the Pittsburgh Branch; The PA State Conference NAACP Audit Committee Chairman, Executive Committee Member, and Vice Chairman Criminal Justice Committee.  Richard is, also, a founding member of The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) Pittsburgh Chapter, former Vice President and the former treasurer. He was a former United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots program manager in Pittsburgh from 1986 to 1996. On April 30, 1999, Richard was a Chapel of Four Chaplains Recipient.  Stew was a 2014- 2015 Jefferson Award Recipient, and has been a Freedom Unlimited Board Member for 20 plus years.  Richard is, currently, a 2019 FBI Citizen’s Academy Graduate Alumni.

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Signature Project: Historical Marker on Negro Mountain Grantsville, Garrett County, MD

HISTORICAL MARKER HONORING BLACK FRONTIERSMAN WHO DIED IN FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR UNVEILED IN GRANTSVILLE, GARRETT COUNTY

Historic Site on National Road Nominated by the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History 

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MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION: HISTORIC MARKER

GRANTSVILLE, MD (October 12, 2023) – Members of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Pittsburgh Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History hosted a celebration today for the formal unveiling of the Historical Marker for Negro Mountain African American Historic Site in Garrett County. The marker commemorates an unknown African American frontiersman who died May 24, 1756, fighting alongside Col. Thomas Cresap during a battle against the Native American French allies.  

Negro Mountain African American Historic Site Marker atop the National Road in Garrett County, Maryland, is a rare commemoration of African Americans’ role in the history of Colonial Maryland,” said Ronald B. Saunders, President of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and History.”

“Negro Mountain African American Historic Site Marker atop the National Road in Garrett County Maryland is a rare commemoration of African Americans’ role in the history of Colonial Maryland. It also shows the unique collaboration among the Maryland Department of Transportation, Secretary’s Office, Dr. Artie Travis, Vice President of Student Affairs at Frostburg State University and the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH)located in Pittsburgh Pa, to tell the story accurately of the brave Black frontiersman for which the mountain was named.”

Historic Marker Press Release, October 2023

On this auspicious day in the year of our Lord twenty twenty three, the Rankin Mon Valley Pittsburgh Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) would like to congratulate Mr. Ronald B. Saunders President of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH for its successful efforts in getting the first historical marker on Negro Mountain. We are impressed by your hard work and patience through this project. It has been a long time coming but is so necessary for the African American community as this designation bestows a sense of pride in our history…when so many seek to erase African American history.

October 2023 Dr. Cheryl R. McAbee, Esquire
Rankin/Mon Valley/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Section
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, INC.

Official Ceremony: October 12, 2023

Negro Mountain African American Historic Site Marker Ceremony on October 12, in Garrett County Maryland at high noon. This historic marker will reside on Negro Mountain in Garrett County, Maryland into perpetuity. Wherein this marker will sit atop Negro Mountain, which is the highest point on the National road. The National Road runs from the State of Maryland to the great state of Illinois. 

You may also be advised that two Dr. Edna B. McKenzie signs sit atop Negro Mountain with the name of ASALH. 

This is considered a major achievement of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) located in Pittsburgh Pa to preserve and to tell the story accurately of the Black/Colored/ Negro/ Afro-American/ African American frontiersman for which the mountain is named.  

“History is often complicated, complex, and confusing.” —Unknown

Ashe.  
Asante Sana. 
Ronald B. Saunders

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Signature Project: Historical Marker for the Banishment of African Americans from Johnstown PA

100 years ago, Blacks had 24 hours to leave Johnstown, Pa.
‘One of the most horrific racial injustices in Western Pennsylvania’

Read Full Article in The New Pittsburgh Courier

Our most sincere congratulations are extended to Branch member Cody McDevitt for being the driving force in obtaining a historical marker for the banishment of African Americans from Johnstown Pa on September 7, 1923. 

This was one of the greatest ethnic cleansings in the history of Pennsylvania. Please see the attached.

View Rosedale InvitationDownload

I plan on going to Johnstown Pa on November 9th at 12:00 noon to support Cody in this most important accomplishment. I will be departing from the Dollar Bank Parking lot at 10:00 AM at the Miracle Mile Shopping Center which is located in Monroeville Pa. We will take Route 22 to Johnstown. 

Our Negro Mountain Historic Marker ceremony held on October 9, 2023 has been featured in many newspapers. We have been invited to be a part of several podcasts and a TV program. I would like to thank and congratulate all of you who participated in the planning and execution of the program and for all who attended. 

Negro Mountain African American Historic Site in Garrett County Maryland is the first Black History Marker in Garrett County Maryland. Our Branch made history by changing forever the historical landscape in Garrett County Maryland. 

Ashe,

Blessings, 
Ronald B.

Building Black Futures Together

In honor of Black Philanthropy Month, Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH Welcomes Jamye Wooten, Founder & CEO, CLLCTIVLY 

August 12 at 11:30 – 1:30 PM ET

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Description

On the forefront of digital strategy working at the intersections of faith & social justice, Jamye Wooten’s work has spanned the globe – advising nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and corporations in their efforts to engage their constituencies. More recently, Wooten, a co-founder of Baltimore United for Change, launched CLLCTIVLY in 2019,  place-based social change organization using an asset-based framework to focus on racial equity, narrative change, social connectedness, and resource mobilization. CLLCTIVLY has mobilized over $1,000,000 to Black-led and Black-owned businesses in Greater Baltimore. 

Biography

Jamye Wooten is the creator of the #BlackChurchSyllabus and the Black Theology Project 2.0. Launched in 2017, the Black Theology Project serves as a knowledge-base system curating theological resources for Black Lives. Jamye is the chair of the Black Church Food Security Network and serves on the board of trustees for Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary. He also sits on the advisory boards of the Center for Interreligious Engagement and Social Impact at Union Theological Seminary, Metro-Urban Institute at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race. 

Jamye has organized and documented social movements from across the United States, United Kingdom, and Africa. He is the former program director of the Collective Banking Group, Inc. (CBG), a Christian ministry that draws together leaders from the faith, business, and public service sectors to develop and enhance economic empowerment strategies for the African American community.  

“When we launched in 2019, folks said, ‘Why are you just focusing on black-led,'” CLLCTIVLY founder Jamye Wooten said. “When the pandemic hit, and the murder of George Floyd happened, people began to get it. People began to look for places where they could support black-led organizations.”

CLLCTIVLY is the organization behind We Give Black. 

ASALH_August2023Download
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Job Descriptions for Docent and Interpreter at the Woodville Plantation in Bridgeville, PA

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT

Woodville Plantation, Bridgeville PA

Historical Context:

Laurence Glasco, a history professor at Pitt, and students in his History of Black Pittsburgh class traveled to the Woodville Plantation Wednesday evening and listened to Windhorst detail the lives of Western Pennsylvania slaves. Glasco takes his class to this plantation — which had the most slaves in Western Pennsylvania — every semester in order to expose them to black history in Pittsburgh that most people are not aware of.

“This trip tries to make the point that blacks were here from the very beginning of the city. They were here even before there was a city,” Glasco said.

https://www.history.pitt.edu/news/students-visit-plantation-learn-about-local-history-slavery

Neville House circa 1936. Photo Credit:  Charles M. Stotz Photographs, 1901-1975, MSP 21, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center

Woodville Plantation Position Descriptions

IMPORTANT NOTE: THESE ARE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS.
No specific degree or educational background is required.
Individuals must be 16 years old or older.

Training and information is provided by the Neville House Associates (NHA). Additionally, docents are encouraged to conduct their own research as well. This information, once approved by the NHA, can be used to supplement the information given during tours. The NHA may provide and require appropriate uniform/clothing to be worn during tours.

Interested in Volunteering? Email nevillehouseassociates@gmail.com for full details.

DOCENT:

Individual will lead tours of the house, ancillary buildings, and grounds during regularly scheduled hours of operation, as well as during special events, tours and rentals.

Individual should be able to competently and articulately communicate to visitors and public information regarding:

  • The history of Woodville/Bower Hill residences and farms, as well as information about the individuals who lived and worked there
  • The architecture and interiors of the Woodville house
  • The history of the Whiskey Rebellion, in particular the events at Bower Hill in 1794
  • General information regarding the time period interpreted at the Woodville site-1780 to 1820.

HISTORICAL INTERPRETER

Individual will recreate a persona, utilizing either first- or third-person interpretation techniques, to competently and accurately provide the account of an individual living during the period of 1780-1820 to the visitors of Woodville during regularly scheduled openings, special events, tours and rentals.

Additionally, historical interpreters may be the focus of special events held at the Woodville site.

An Historic Interpreter may recreate:

  • A particular individual who was associated with the Woodville/Bower Hill farms.
  • An individual who demonstrates a particular skill practiced during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
  • A particular individual who was relevant to the historic period interpreted.
Contact nevillehouseassociates@gmail.com

Why Celebrate Juneteenth?

Dr. Edna B.McKenzie, Hampton Roads, Rochester NY, and Manhattan Branches of ASALH Presents

A Juneteenth Program Featuring 
Dr. Kris Manjapra, Professor of History, Tufts University

June 19 at 2-4 PM ET

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Description

Kris Manjapra works art the intersection of comparative global history and the critical study of race and colonialism.

Resistance as Community: “Practicing radical scholarship aimed at breaking down disciplinary boundaries and exploding the walls separating the university from larger and more diverse communities.

Biography

Dr. Kris Manjapra, Professor of History, Tufts University

Kris Manjapra, born in Bahamas, is professor of history at Tufts University, and is the author of 5 books on race, colonialism, and diaspora, including Colonialism in Global Perspective (Cambridge University Press). 

He is the author of Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation (Penguin UK), recently shortlisted for the New England Book Prize.  He founded the nonprofit, Black History in Action, devoted to the struggle against gentrification in Boston.  He also works closely with Project South (Atlanta) and Southern Echo (Jackson) on community education initiatives, and serves on the Reparations Committee of Scholars for Social Justice. 

Web: www.historiesofresistance.com Twitter: @histresist 

Virtual Meeting via ZOOM: Register in advance for this meeting.

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Love Warriors and Battle Scars-An Analysis of Black Healing and Black Resistance

Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH Welcomes Author, Leader, and Professor, Dr. Johnathan White

May 13 at 11:30 – 1:30 PM ET

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Description

“How could a people chronically hated still produce so many love warriors… Where did Harriett (Tubman) come from?” —Dr. Cornel West

“In America I was free only in battle, never free to rest. And he who finds no way to rest cannot long survive the battle.” —James Baldwin

The history of Black people is a history of resistance. But to continue the fighting, there must be healing. There must be living to fight another day. An analysis of Black studies reveals innumerable “Love Warriors” who wielded love in the face of savage oppression assaulting the spirit, minds and bodies of Black people,

Yet, Black destruction has been thwarted and is not eminent. Black people are a healing people, loving, living and fighting, time after time. We will explore examples in religion, (deliverers of transcendent faith messages); examples in the arts (Harlem Renaissance and Hip Hop); and examples in social activism, of healing resistors. One cannot endure or wage the freedom struggle without healing from persecution, violence, dehumanization and grief. Healing rooted in love, is essential to Black freedom.

Biography

Dr. Jonathan JeVon White
was born in Norfolk, VA. He
graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a B.A. in Political
Science. He earned his doctorate from the University of
Pittsburgh specializing in modern U.S. and African American
history. His dissertation examined Black jazz musicians in
Pittsburgh before and after integration, and how collective
memory re-imagines the past.

He is an Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State University Greater Allegheny. He has taught courses in history, African American studies and leadership development. He co-founded the Study of Hip-Hop Conference and the Stewart and Jones Scholar Leadership Program. He is a founding member of the Crossing Bridges committee which serves the surrounding community. In addition, he chairs the Anti-Racism Task Force at Penn State University Greater Allegheny. He is also creator of the Black Woman Reaffirmed video project. His upcoming album, “Love Algorithms”, is an eclectic mix of poetry, hip-hop and spoken word.

Dr. White is a board member of the Langston Hughes Poetry Society. In addition, he served as lead instructor of the Full Armor Institute, mentoring young Black men at Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Moreover, Dr. White has conducted Black history workshops and seminars on living a vibrant lifestyle that synthesizes faith and the pursuit of social justice.

Dr. White was awarded the Dr. James Robinson Equal Opportunity Award honoring those who fight for equity atPenn State in 2021. He received the highly competitive
Atherton Excellence in Teaching Award in 2021 as well. Finally, in 2022, Dr. White was a Pittsburgh Courier Men of Excellence honoree. He was recognized for his contributions
in the field of education.

Virtual Meeting via ZOOM: Register in advance for this meeting.

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President’s Circle Featuring Dr. Sharita Jacobs Thompson

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Dr. Sharita Jacobs Thompson, Professor of Social Sciences

Dr. Sharita Jacobs Thompson is a Professor in the Social Sciences Department at Prince George’s Community College, teaching courses in United States and African American History. 

Sharita Thompson is a Professor in the Social Sciences Department at Prince George’s Community College, teaching courses in United States and African American History. She serves as an independent scholar and consultant, providing training to police departments across the country. 

She teaches a course titled The History of Policing in African American Communities (which includes a curated tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture), conducts implicit bias training, and facilitates conversations around social and racial equity topics and structural and institutional racism. She also provides consultation for Ford’s Theater, the National Park Service, and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Sharita served as a subject area expert on CNN’s This is Life with Lisa Ling, the History Channel documentary, Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War, and appeared on the CSPAN3 series Lectures in American History. She is a former Assistant Professor of Civil War Era and Africana Studies at Gettysburg College. Her research focuses on Black Marylanders’ experiences during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. Thompson recently completed a book chapter, “The Failed Promise of Reconstruction,” included in an edited volume titled The Civil War in Maryland Reconsidered (Louisiana University Press, 2022). 

She was the Co-Chair of ASALH’s 2023 Black History Month Festival. One of ASALH’s  signature Black History Month programs featured the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch in a program titled Resistance and the Black Press where Branch member, Tamara M. Saunders was one of the panelists. 

*Dr. Sharita Thompson is the wife of Robert Thompson who is the cousin of  McKenzie Branch Member, Ruth Ann Still. 

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Ruth Helen Washington

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Ruth Helen Washington, First Black Recipient of “An Outstanding Science Teacher” Award in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

At age 75, Ruth Helen founded FAGANY, Inc (Financial Aid to Gifted Needy Youth) and was able to award scholarships to qualifying students in the Philadelphia School District before turning it over in 2003 as the FAGANY Fund to the African American United Fund of Pennsylvania. 

Ruth Helen Washington is the only surviving charter member and past first president of the Dover Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.  She was also a member of the Philadelphia section of the The National Council of Negro Women, Inc (NCNW).

Whenever 97 year old Ruth Helen Washington is asked where she was born, she responds proudly by saying,  “It was in the small town of Mayesville,  South Carolina, birthplace of Mary McLeod Bethune.” However, she grew up in Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, and was raised by her aunt and uncle following the demise of her mother at three and half years old.

After graduating from West Philadelphia High School in 1942, she was able to attend college with the financial assistance of the New Deal program and graduated cum laude from Morgan State College in 1946 with a B.S. degree in Biology. She then enrolled in graduate school at Howard University after being awarded a fellowship. She graduated from Howard University in May 1948 with a M.S. degree in Zoology. 

In September of 1948, Ruth Helen was employed as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Delaware State College, an HBCU. Becoming an avid reader of Black History based on her awareness of the need to maintain her students’ levels of high self esteem, her goal was to include the contributions of Black people in her Biology lesson plans whenever possible.  

In June of 1962, Ruth Helen resigned from teaching college to accept the challenge of teaching in an urban high school in Philadelphia. In January 1963, she was appointed as a Science teacher at West Philadelphia High School (WPHS), her alma mater. All during her 23 years of service at WPHS, she clung to her belief that all children are gifted in one way or another and through her creative teaching strategies in Biology, demonstrated that many students assigned to non- academic classes could perform as well as academic students. Her unique teaching approach led to the Philadelphia School District appointing a re-evaluation committee first at WPHS then District-wide that carefully screened and evaluated students before assigning them to special and/or non-academic programs. 

Ruth Helen was the first Black recipient of “An Outstanding Science Teacher” award in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  In 1975, she was listed in the “Outstanding Secondary School Teachers of America.” She has published in The Science Teacher and The Journal of African Civilization. Ruth Helen continued to receive numerous recognitions throughout her career. For many years, she had been a noted political advocate for the Black community and continues to be a woman with a strong faith in her God.  She was a long time active member of the Philadelphia Heritage Branch of ASALH and was honored by them in 2019 for her efforts on its behalf. At age 75, Ruth Helen founded FAGANY, Inc (Financial Aid to Gifted Needy Youth) and was able to award scholarships to qualifying students in the Philadelphia School District before turning it over in 2003 as the FAGANY Fund to the African American United Fund of Pennsylvania. 

In 2019, the McKenzie Branch was scheduled to present a Certificate of Lifetime Achievement to Mrs. Washington at a ceremony at the Vincentian Home, located in the Stanton Heights section of Pittsburgh.  But due to the pandemic we were unable to hold the ceremony.  The certificate was later delivered by hand. 

*Ruth Helen Washington is the mother of McKenzie Branch member Diane Carroll. 

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Andrea Coleman

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Andrea Coleman is a local leader and a community activist for the Greater Hazelwood Community in Pittsburgh PA focusing on Lifelong Learning in Higher Education. She is a preaching and teaching prolific poet concerning Social and Human Justice and is a Disability Advocate of ADA Compliance and Awareness.

Andrea is the daughter of Helen Dennis, matriarch of the family with five living generations from Hazelwood. Andrea attended Grade school, Elementary School, and High School in Hazelwood and then moved on to pursue a career in the field of Education, graduating from Carlow University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Development and then a Master’s of Education in Curriculum Instruction in 2011. 

She held employment positions as a Private Duty Nanny.  She also worked at  the Downtown YMCA, Hazelwood YMCA, University of Pittsburgh Families of Excellence, under Jerome Taylor,  Ph. D., Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Beginning with Books, Western PA School for Blind Children, Children’s Institute, Pittsburgh Public schools, Andrea Coleman Family Daycare Home, St Edmund’s Academy, the Jewish Community Center, and currently is an Instructor in Senior Programming for Community College of Allegheny County. 

Andrea currently serves on the Carlow University Alumni Advisory Council, Advisory Council for Allegheny Health Network, Teacher’s Advisory Council for the Carnegie Science Center STEM Program, the 3C Cohort of the Center of Life Program in Hazelwood on Social Justice, the Committee of the Affordable Housing for the Hazelwood Initiative community, the Committee of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaboration Making a Greater Hazelwood, and is a member in good standing of the Edna B. Makenzie Pittsburgh Branch of ASALH under President Ronald Saunders. Andrea also sits on the Penn Hills Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Greater Pittsburgh Age Friendly Program Community Panel. 

She also founded the Garden of Different Abilities in Hazelwood in 2017, after suffering a stroke stemmed from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Awards include the Civic Leadership Academy, Frank E. Bolden Tuition Scholarship Award, Poise Foundation, Administrative Skills Award Diploma from Goodwill Employment Training Center, Proclamation from the City of Pittsburgh, Corey O’Connor for over fifty years of Volunteer Service in Hazelwood.

Andrea is a preaching and teaching prolific poet concerning Social and Human Justice and is a Disability Advocate of ADA Compliance and Awareness. She also has established the Black History Initiative in Hazelwood in addition to being a Mentor, Tutor, and Volunteer for the Hazelwood Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Andrea, as part of her community involvement, is currently launching a new Curriculum of P>U>S>H> which stands for Prayers Up Sends Hope to Domestic Violence. Andrea says, “I ain’t been around the world, but I been around the block”.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH