It’s a coincidence that Valentine’s Day and Black History Month are in the same month, but the convergence of the two makes for some beautiful content spotlighting Black love all around the world. Black Burgh Love, an Instagram account focusing on Black love and Black couples in Pittsburgh, is bringing that concept to the local level, spreading positivity and love in the Steel City throughout the entire year.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “Black love” is pretty simple. It’s a movement to show Black people in love with one another, both in long-term relationships or married. The goal? To spread love and positivity because whether you’re single or married, seeing other people in love can be a balm or a mood boost you didn’t know you needed.
Black Burgh Love was started by Pittsburgh native Ronald Taylor, who grew up in Lincoln-Lemington and graduated from California University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Public Relations.
“I started Black Burgh Love after having a conversation with my friends at dinner about lack of representation locally when highlighting stories of Black Love,” says Taylor. "Me and my wife were actually in the process of planning our wedding whenever we noticed, when looking at photographers/videographers' social media accounts, that there were so many Black love stories that weren't being shared about the city of Pittsburgh because there wasn’t a universal account to share and grow the community.”
Black Burgh Love, which launched in May 2021, posts pictures of couples who submit their photos to the blog. Couples will message the page with their photos or be tagged by photographers and videographers at @blackburghlove or using the #blackburghlove hashtag.Taylor says that initially, he didn’t want to reveal his identity in order to keep the page focused solely on the couples, but some people didn't trust submitting their personal photos to a page when they didn’t know who was behind it.
Seeing that people were skeptical, Taylor decided to reveal himself to make sharing easier. Once he did, more couples came forward to help grow the page toward what it is today.
“We try our best to share every couple who reaches out to our page. Typically, we ask them to answer a few questions about their love story, how they met, etc. to help paint the picture to our followers,” says Taylor. “We usually ask them to send us clear personal pictures or professional photos/videos so the quality of the pictures meet the expectations of our vision. Typically, the turn around on the posting time is 1-2 weeks.”
Taylor says that this spring, Black Burgh Love will be launching their very own website, which will serve as the central location to celebrate Black Love stories through high-quality photos and videos.
More importantly, he says, the website will also be a resource for Black couples looking for advice and support, as well as married couples looking for professional videographers, photographers, caters, florist, and wedding planners.
Black Burgh Love instagram.com/blackburghlove
