Members of Pittsburgh Presbytery to Hold Special Viewing of Pitt's Free at Last? Exhibition on Slavery Among Area's Early Settlers

PITTSBURGH-The Pittsburgh Presbytery-representing 150 Presbyterian congregations throughout Allegheny County-is hosting Pittsburgh Presbytery Night at the Senator John Heinz History Center to allow its members to view free of charge the exhibition "Free at Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries."

The event will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. March 19 in the McGuinn Gallery of the Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Strip District. Members and friends of local Presbyterian congregations as well as church and community leaders are invited to attend. Reservations are requested and can be made by calling 412-323-1400 ext. 312.

Created and mounted by the University of Pittsburgh Office of Public Affairs in observance of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Pittsburgh and the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, the exhibition is built around 55 handwritten records that document this area's decades-long involvement with Black slavery and indentured servitude.

The records, dating from 1792 to 1857, were discovered in 2007 by staff in the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds Office. They were later transferred to the Heinz History Center by then-Recorder of Deeds Valerie McDonald Roberts.

Roberts, a graduate of Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and now manager of the County Department of Real Estate,

will deliver remarks at the event. Pitt Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill, executive-in-charge of the exhibition, also will deliver an address, and both will answer questions. It was Hill who, after closely studying the documents, took the lead in organizing the "Free at Last?" exhibition.

According to the Rev. Karen Battle, director of Justice Ministries and Mission, viewing "Free at Last?" is directly in line with the goals of the Presbytery, which focuses on addressing systemic injustice and discrimination within its bounds.

"We're looking at racism and its implications in Allegheny County, but we felt we needed a historical perspective," said Battle. "This exhibition is an important endeavor, and we believe it can begin a dialogue around the issue of racism and how we live in Allegheny County today."

Featured in the exhibition is Henry Highland Garnet, a former slave and the founding pastor of Pittsburgh's first Black Presbyterian church-the 140-year-old Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church. Garnet escaped to freedom on the pretext of attending a funeral and traveled to Pennsylvania by wagon and foot with his family of 10. In addition to founding Grace Memorial, Garnet was once president of Pittsburgh's Avery College.

The Rev. Douglas Portz, acting pastor to Pittsburgh Presbytery, said, "Understanding the past helps us to understand the present, and the work that still must be done to fashion a hopeful, more just future."

Pittsburgh Presbytery serves 40,834 members in Allegheny County. Its roots date back to the mid 1700s, when on Nov. 26, 1758, the first protestant service west of the Allegheny Mountains was conducted at Fort Pitt by the Rev. Charles C. Beatty, a Presbyterian minister. In 1778, the Rev. John McMillan helped to establish several churches in Allegheny County that were instrumental in forming the current presbytery.

"Free at Last?" runs daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 5. For more information, visit www.pitt.edu/news/free-at-last/.

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