Erasure is when a couple like Luther and Maudelena Johnson make history: he with a photo studio and she as a musician and music teacher. And,
Erasure is when all that’s left of the Johnson studio is a parking lot (and a bronze plaque). And,
Erasure is when all that’s left of your suburban home is a vacant plot of grass.
Any questions?
Yesterday evening I took home two Pittsburgh Black Media Federation Robert L. Van awards of excellence in journalism. One was for my February 2023 feature on Pittsburgh’s Central Amusement Park, the first Black professional sports stadium in Pittsburgh (and maybe the United States). The other was for my June 2023 profile of historian Ralph Proctor Jr.
The awards are not mine alone. The article documenting Proctor’s life is his, too. I simply added a few hundred words to his already rich story. Proctor died earlier this year at age 85.
Dr. McDonald Williams was a literature professor and accomplished educator. He died in 2019 at age 101 after lobbying to have his father and uncles’ contributions to sports history recognized by the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office. There is still no historical marker commemorating the Williams family’s achievements.
Thank you professors Proctor and Williams (and Dr. Williams’ family) for your collaboration. These awards belong to you, too.
And, I couldn’t have won these awards without the support of my NEXTpittsburgh editor, Brian Hyslop. He makes my work better and he nominated me for these awards.