(75 posts)

How a nod to Confederate troops wound up inside an eagle cage at Pittsburgh’s National Aviary

Clockwise from left: The plaque inside Pittsburgh’s National Aviary; Confederate cavalrymen are pictured inside Western Penitentiary; a rendering of the prison on what is now Pittsburgh’s North Side. (📸: Illustration by The Incline / Photos via University of Kentucky Special Collections and Digital Programs and Wikimedia Commons) Maybe you’ve never noticed it before — the […]

Uncategorized / July 14, 2020

Meet the Castle Shannon man liveblogging his COVID-19 case

The COVID Chronicles. (📸: Sean McGrath) Sean McGrath tested positive for COVID-19 and started driving.  The 43-year-old from Castle Shannon was hours from home at a family summer camp he’d planned to attend with his 11-year-old daughter when the results of a 15-minute PCR test put an end to that. “My daughter melted down in […]

COVID-19 / July 6, 2020

Pennsylvania’s Confederate monuments are coming down

The Pennsylvania State Capitol building is pictured. (📸: Governor Tom Wolf on Flickr) Four historical markers and monuments recognizing Confederate troops and milestones in Pennsylvania will be taken down amid a national reckoning about the appropriateness of similar public displays. The decision follows conversations between Gov. Tom Wolf’s office and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum […]

Uncategorized / June 30, 2020

Why ‘nothing has changed’ since Antwon Rose’s death

Protesters gather outside the Allegheny County Courthouse after the police shooting of Antwon Rose II in June of 2018. (📸: @rossilynne) Today marks two years since the police killing of Black teen Antwon Rose II just outside of Pittsburgh. Video of the shooting went around the world and prompted demonstrations at home, the arrest and […]

Uncategorized / June 19, 2020

Celebrating Juneteenth in Pittsburgh 2018

How to commemorate Juneteenth 2020 in Pittsburgh

Marchers during the 2018 Juneteenth parade in Downtown Pittsburgh. Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Juneteenth Celebration Facebook page Juneteenth 2020 is here and at a pivotal moment for African-American history — one marked by widespread protests and urgent conversations about racism, police brutality, and Black life in America. And while it’s a relatively new state […]

History / June 18, 2020

Should you cancel the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette? The answer may surprise you.

The Post-Gazette building on the North Shore. Incline file photo Updated: 5:51 p.m. June 14 Readers have been asking us this question lately: Should I cancel my subscription to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette?  And while consumer boycotts can certainly be effective tools for bringing about institutional change, they may not be the best tool for dealing […]

Uncategorized / June 12, 2020

A Black archivist in Pittsburgh, at the crossroads of Black history

Sam Black, director of African American Programs at the Senator John Heinz History Center, pictured at the Fulbright Germany Transatlantic Seminar in Washington, D.C. last fall. (📸: Courtesy of the Senator John Heinz History Center) Someday we’re going to have to explain all of this.  The pandemic. The lockdowns. The 21st century breadlines. The deaths […]

COVID-19 / June 11, 2020

Why Pittsburgh just endorsed 8 police reforms that ‘can’t wait’

You’re probably hearing a lot about #8CantWait. So what exactly is it? (📸: @campaignzero) Updated: 4:50 p.m., June 18  Eight use-of-force policies championed by reformists have been endorsed by Mayor Bill Peduto, with some already in effect here. The mayor’s backing of the so-called “8 Can’t Wait” reforms comes after blistering criticism of police actions […]

Uncategorized / June 5, 2020

The procrastinator’s guide to Pittsburgh’s 2020 primary: Snail-mail edition

And (some of) the candidates are… (📸: Incline illustration) Updated: 12:09 p.m. June 2 What a long, strange primary it’s been.  And because so much has happened in the last (*checks notes, bulges eyes*) two months, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that an election was even happening. In a way, it kind of wasn’t.  In this […]

Uncategorized / May 18, 2020

Highlighting the Helpers: The food bank workers at the center of a hunger storm

Volunteers at a food bank event at PPG Paints Arena in April. (📸: Courtesy of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank) The images were stunning and daunting and grim.  Hundreds of cars waiting for emergency food in Duquesne. The same at the Butler County Fairgrounds, and PPG Paints, and the airport weeks later.  During this pandemic, […]

COVID-19 / May 14, 2020