People of the Year
Just over a week before Christmas, after months on the frontlines caring for people during the pandemic, five Pittsburgh hospital workers became the first recipients in the city, and among the first in the nation, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In a city that ranks among the top for health care jobs in the country,…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Politics
Recognition for State Rep. Ed Gainey is long overdue. He has been a consistent fighter for workers, for his community, for public transit, for anti-racist efforts, for criminal justice reform, for just about every issue progressives hold dear. And he does it without hogging the spotlight. Take, for example, an amendment Gainey advocated for this…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Theater
When the pandemic hit earlier this year, City Theatre had to cancel, postpone, or move performances completely online. The immediate future for local theater was unknown. City Theatre’s annual fundraiser, originally scheduled for September, was also sidelined. But the South Side theater company came up with an inventive live experience this fall that brought joy…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Visual Arts
Since opening in 2014, BOOM Concepts has seen its fair share of adversity, from being one of the few Black-owned and run spaces in a historically racist city, to surviving the problematic Penn Avenue reconstruction project that impacted many businesses and arts venues in Garfield. It’s no surprise, then, that BOOM co-founders DS Kinsel and…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Literature
In March, local author Deesha Philyaw moderated a visit by civil rights activist Tarana Burke at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, right before the pandemic closed everything down. Just one month before that, she was celebrating the official book release of TENDER, an anthology she published with local poet and artist vanessa german,…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Activism
Where wasn’t 1Hood this year? The activist organization had a presence at dozens of Black Lives Matter protests throughout Pittsburgh, and served as an ally for other burgeoning activists. 1Hood also accomplished an extensive Get Out The Vote effort for the 2020 election cycle, using live forums on social media and events near satellite voting…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Business
During the continued reckoning against racist police violence this summer, something else started to happen. Anger spread further, and racism in businesses, publications, and other arenas was also called out. There were also calls to support more Black businesses, which is partially what inspired college student Kyley Coleman in May to create the Instagram account…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Food and Drink
“Pivot” has been the word of the year for the food industry, and Don Mahaney of Scratch & Co. has championed it, serving his community with every step. In March, Mahaney responded to the needs of neighbors by converting his Troy Hill eatery in Pittsburgh’s North Side to a grocery stocked with hard-to-find goods, toiletries,…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Health
It’s hard now to recall the period of the pandemic when most people didn’t have facemasks on hand, and many were scrambling to make sure doctors, frontline workers, and everyone else had adequate protection from the virus. Operation Face Mask was formed in April as a group of volunteers, led by professional tailor Jenn Gooch,…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Music
As venues shut down across the city during one of the most difficult years in recent memory, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra found a way to shine, coming up with creative ways to bring music into people’s homes. Soon after the stay-at-home order began in spring, the PSO began posting intimate daily videos, self-produced by its…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2020: Labor
Alexis Johnson basically became a one-woman labor movement throughout 2020. When her union at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlighted how the paper banned the local journalist from covering the Black Lives Matter protest movement after she sent out a satirical tweet, Johnson took up the mantle and ran with it. She became a spokesperson for anti-racism…
