Race and Renaissance: African Americans in Pittsburgh since World War II

Chapter 5 Toward the New Century: Forging Their Own Renaissance

172 While many of Pittsburgh’s young people responded to hard times and declining economic opportunities by moving elsewhere at the end of the twentieth century, most African Americans stayed and fought for jobs and business opportunities in Pittsburgh’s evolving postindustrial economy. In the Hill District, some black workers took eight- to ten-week crash courses that were designed to improve their test scores on qualifying exams for apprenticeships in the building and construction trades. William Garner, who completed apprenticeship training with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, later underscored the heavy commitment of time and work that his program entailed: “You have to commit five years of your life. Nothing is going to be given to you. . . . You have to work hard. You have to take the initiative to learn, to show up on time and to be dependable.” When she lost her job at the U.S. Steel Corporation in Irwin, Lois Brown returned to school and then entered the field of social work, serving as a counselor for the “economically disadvantaged .” Alonzo Wilson, the electrical supply laborer mentioned previously in this book, enrolled in Carlow College’s Hill Program for adult 55 Toward the new century FoRging TheiR oWn Renaissance TrotterDay text.indd 172 4/14/10 11:12 AM Toward the new century • 173 students, explaining, “I haven’t really established myself in anything. . . . I’ve chosen school to get around that.” Even before deindustrialization took its full toll on black youth, Will Thompkins recalled how his father impressed upon him the value of education. “My father would say, ‘Get as much education as you can,’ which was his way of saying, ‘Don’t do the backbreaking work I’ve done all my life’ as a laborer.” A 1967 graduate of Oliver High School, Thompkins later became vice president of programs and services for the Urban League of Pittsburgh (ULP).1 Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the business world, some former steelworkers created their own ventures to counteract the loss of industrial jobs. When Bobby J. Hunt lost his job at U.S. Steel’s Homestead works in 1983, he went into business for himself. He opened a hair care business and trained eighty black hair stylists in the city of Pittsburgh. By the early 1990s, Hunt owned beauty shops in Penn Hills, East Liberty, Downtown, and the city’s North Side. “Most young blacks,” he said, “don’t even feel they are part of society. It’s very difficult for them. Some are so energetic and talented, but they need help.”2 On the city’s North Side, Delorese Ambrose, a college professor, created a diversity and employment consulting and training firm. Ambrose described diversity training as preparation for understanding “all aspects of social differences: race, age, gender, education, culture, and lifestyle.”3 Established black businesses like the Pittsburgh Courier, Robert Lavelle’s real estate company, and Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association continued to provide employment opportunities and business services to the city’s black community. As mainstream news media, real estate firms, and financial institutions gradually opened their doors to black commerce, these well-known black businesses lost some of their customer base. In response to this changing business environment for African American realtors, Gloria Spearman purchased a franchise from Realty World and opened an office in East Liberty in 1988. However, new, highly successful, black-owned enterprises such as Milton Washington ’s Allegheny Housing Rehabilitation Corporation; Randy Harper ’s American Micrographics Company; and Ron Davenport’s Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation, the nation’s largest minority-owned broadcasting company, helped to improve the employment and entrepreneurial climate for blacks in postindustrial Pittsburgh.4 Grassroots, direct-action campaigns for equal employment persisted into the late 1970s and 1980s. Under the leadership of Harvey Adams, chief of police for the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, the NAACP reTrotterDay text.indd 173 4/14/10 11:12 AM 174 • Toward the new century established and maintained positive relationships with area churches; built a strong interracial coalition of social justice organizations; and demanded jobs for blacks on Renaissance II building and construction projects. According to Debran Rowland, city editor for the Pittsburgh Courier, the NAACP “took on a new face” during the 1980s. At one point in negotiations with city officials and contractors, Adams declared, “should these firms not fulfill their obligations to the black community and set realistic goals modeled after federal mandates, then this coalition...