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Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Pittsburgh's Hill District has a proud African-American history that dates back to the early 19th century. Then, the area was called Hayti and had a small but growing African community that was cohesive and tightly knit. It was a free community where many Africans escaping slavery in Virginia and Maryland found safety and friendship. Once there, they were integrated into the community through marriage and the many organizations that fought for equal rights.

In January 1832, an organization was formed called the African Education Society. The aim was to address the inadequate schooling of African children and provide a positive community attitude. Later that year, the Theban Literary Society was formed with the goal of eliminating the moral gloom that "hung around" the community.

Hayti also was a force in the anti-slavery movement. Research reveals that young Africans here formed the nation's first Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society in 1838. And some of the city's first unsung abolitionists were in Hayti but never received the name recognition of Lewis Woodson or Martin Delaney. They were active and participated greatly in the quest for freedom and equal rights for the African community in Pittsburgh and became an important factor in the liberation of Africans still enslaved.

The name Hayti for the Hill District was quite fitting. Africans enslaved by the French on the Central American island of Dominica rebelled and liberated the island after a long struggle, renaming it Haiti. Those Africans declared themselves free in 1802 and were globally recognized as the first independent African nation in the Western hemisphere in 1804.

-- By John L. Ford, History Center school program manager