Fallen Heros

Fallen Heroes
As you read the names of these deceased civil rights leaders inscribed in the Prayer Circle of Freedom Corner, reflect on their contributions to the struggle for human rights.

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Alexander J. Allen
Executive Secretary of the Urban League of Pittsburgh from 1950 to 1959, he led efforts that expanded both public and private housing opportunities for African Americans, lowered employment barriers, and desegregated public accommodations, including public swimming pools.

Judge Homer S. Brown
The first African American appointed to the Pittsburgh school board and elected Judge of Allegheny County Court and later to the Court of Common Pleas, he served seven terms in the Pennsylvania Legislature. He introduced the Fair Employment Practices Act and led a probe of the school board that resulted in the hiring of the first black teacher in the Pittsburgh public schools. He was instrumental in the passage of the "Pittsburgh Package," bills that launched the first Pittsburgh Renaissance and created the Housing Authority, which he served as a charter member. He was a founder and the first president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the NAACP.

Dr. Charles J. Burks
Graduating second in his class from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1943, he interned at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis when Pittsburgh hospitals refused to accept him. After service in the Army, he became the first African American physician to be granted hospital privileges in Pittsburgh (1948, at Montefiore Hospital). In the 1960s, with strong community support, he pioneered the use of methadone in addressing the growing problem of drug abuse by establishing Pittsburgh Black Action (now PBA, The Second Step).

Hazel Garland
The first woman to join the editorial staff of the Pittsburgh Courier (1946) and later its first female editor-in-chief (1974) as well as the first African American woman to hold that position for a nationally circulated weekly newspaper, she twice served as juror for the Pulitzer Prizes. Her numerous honors included the National Headliner Award of Women in Communications, Inc., and recognition as "editor of the year" by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

Mal Goode
The first African American correspondent on network television news, he joined ABC News in 1962 at age 54 and was immediately assigned to cover the United Nations. He also covered the Cuban Missile crisis, the 1964 and 1968 national conventions, and many of the major events of the civil rights movement. His career began as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Courier, and he subsequently was a commentator for KQV and WHOD, which later became WAMO, radio stations. A lifelong advocate for civil rights and social justice, he was a friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, an advisor to seven U. S. Presidents, and mentor to a generation of newsmen.

Judge Thomas H. Harper
An active participant in the civil rights movement, he served as counsel for the NAACP at both the state and local level and was an outspoken advocate for nondiscriminatory jury selection. The state's first African American public defender, he was appointed Criminal Court Judge by Governor Milton Shapp in 1971.

Charles (Teenie) Harris
Nicknamed "One Shot" by former Pittsburgh Mayor David Lawrence because he was able to get the picture he wanted the first time, the Pittsburgh Courier photographer documented four decades of Pittsburgh's black history—athletes, performing artists, politicians, working men and women, children, and everyday life in the Hill District—including all the major events of the civil rights movement. In more than 100,000 photographs, he captured a sense of the vibrancy and strength of the community during an era when positive images of blacks were rare.

William (Bouie) Haden
A forceful and outspoken leader in Homewood-Brushton, he led residents in protests against unfair housing and employment practices, promoted voter registration, and opposed family planning clinics, which he felt were targeting black neighborhoods. He also published a civil rights newsletter called The Thrust and, although he was viewed as a militant, he believed in interracial understanding and was a major influence in tempering the violence that erupted in the wake of Dr. King's assassination.

Alma Illery
As early as the 1940s, she worked to integrate area hospitals and increase opportunities for African American children by establishing Camp Achievement in Fayette County and operating it for more than 40 years. A tireless fundraiser, she was active in the community and successfully lobbied Congress in 1944 to designate January 5 as George Washington Carver Day nationally. Homewood's Alma Illery Medical Center was named for her.

Clyde Jackson
A strong advocate for economic development in the African American community, he founded the United Black Front in 1968, initially as a social service agency to aid victims of the riots, and was a prime mover in the Black Construction Coalition, which developed the Pittsburgh Plan and secured more than 1,000 jobs for African Americans in the construction industry. He created and operated Wylie-Centre Industry, first black-owned nail factory in the world and, in the 1970s, headed the Greater Pittsburgh Business Development Corporation, successor to the United Black Front.

Daisy Lampkin
A true pioneer in the struggle for civil rights, she led campaigns for women's suffrage, consumer rights, fair housing, and racial justice long before they became popular issues,. She raised thousands of dollars for the NAACP, which she served as national field secretary (1935-47) and the Urban League, and was a founder of the Lucy Stone Civic League and the National Council of Negro Women. She was vice president of the Pittsburgh Courier and twice served as alternate delegate to the National Republican Convention before she switched her party allegiance to support Franklin Roosevelt. She remained active politically and in social causes until her death in 1965.

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Louis Mason, Jr.
From his role as industrial secretary for the Urban League of Pittsburgh through 24 years of public service on the Mayor's Commission on Human Relations and City Council, of which he was president for seven years, he worked tirelessly to increase employment and housing opportunities for minorities. He was an active member of the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations.

James McCoy, Jr.
As President of Local 1904 of the United Steelworkers, he was a strong advocate for fairness in hiring and promotion, both with industry leaders and his fellow Steelworkers. With other community leaders, he formed the United Negro Protest Committee (later called the United Black Protest Committee) in 1963 and helped to organize the statewide NAACP Labor and Industry Committee. In 1967, he founded Freedom House Enterprises, an economic development initiative that attracted federal and foundation money to establish the Freedom House ambulance service, which was the forerunner of the city's emergency medical services unit. With Frankie Pace, he initiated the billboard at Freedom Corner to protest further redevelopment in the Hill.

Jake Milliones
A psychologist by training and a grassroots activist by nature, he was a member and then President of the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education during the tumultuous period of desegregation He promoted increased hiring of African American teachers—and performance standards for all teachers and students. As the Hill's first district-elected City Councilman, he worked closely with the Crawford Square development project, pressed for the revitalization of the Ammon Recreation Center, and supported needed housing and health care services. An avid foe of apartheid in South Africa, he was arrested for leading pickets to protest the sale of kruggerands. Before entering public life, he worked with Sala Udin to found the House of the Crossroads, a therapeutic community for drug rehabilitation, and remained active on its board.

Margaret Milliones
From her election to the Pittsburgh Board of Education in 1976 until her death two years later, she was a crusader for school desegregation and quality education for all children. She fought to retain school counselors and reading specialists during budget cuts. Active in the civil rights struggle in the South during the 1960s, she was a founder and chairman of the Pittsburgh Black Women's Forum and the Black Action Society and served on boards of the American Civil Liberties Union and the local and national Urban Leagues. Margaret Milliones Middle School is named in her memory.

Matthew Moore, Sr.
A lifelong civil rights activist locally and nationally, he marched with Dr. King in Mississippi and Selma, Alabama, and served on the national board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Locally, he was a founder of the United Negro Protest Committee, led numerous demonstrations for jobs, and is credited with obtaining more NAACP memberships than any other volunteer. He received the first Homer S. Brown Humanitarian Award from the NAACP.

Frankie Pace
A vocal champion of the poor, she spoke out to Pittsburgh Mayor David Lawrence and U. S. Senators about the need for community representation in Model Cities and other poverty programs. She founded and, from her Centre Avenue music store, operated the Citizens Committee for Hill District Renewal (CCHDR), a grassroots organization dedicated to halting the inroads of urban redevelopment in the Hill and to fostering economic development there. She raised thousands of dollars for CCHDR and other organizations, including African American churches.

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Florence S. Reizenstein
Born in Homewood, she was a lifelong leader in fostering human relations and advocating for human rights. She was a founder and long-time member of the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations as well as its predecessor organizations and of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. As a member of the Urban League Board, she worked with NAACP Secretary Marion Jordon to establish the Negro Education Emergency Drive (NEED). Her commitment to public education is reflected in the Board of Education's decision to name Florence Reizenstein Middle School in her honor.

Francis C. (Frank) Shane
An early civil rights activist for the United Steelworkers of America, he pressed for equal opportunity provisions in union contracts with steel producers before it was mandated by law, and as executive secretary of the union's Committee on Civil Rights in the 1950s and '60s, he lobbied for fair employment legislation. He coordinated the union's participation in the 1963 March on Washington.

Judge Henry Smith, Jr.
Long active in the NAACP, he chaired the Pittsburgh Branch's Legal Redress Committee when it sued the City of Pittsburgh to integrate the Highland Park swimming pool in 1951. Elected to the Court of Common Pleas in 1968, his long judicial career and community activism reflected his commitment to fairness and human rights.

Everett E. Utterback
General Counsel of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, he worked tirelessly with the NAACP to bring many legal challenges before the benches of justice in the years before legal redress was possible under the legislation of the 1950s and '60s. He also served on the boards of Soho Community House, Camp James Weldon Johnson, and the YMCA.

Robert L. Vann
Legendary editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, he served as counsel when the paper was founded in 1910, became editor three years later and later president, a position he held until his death in 1940. He championed African American entrepreneurship and used the Courier to crusade for better housing, education, and employment for African Americans.

Rev. Elmer Williams
As pastor of the Sixth Mount Zion Church from 1969 until his death in 1990, he combined the ministry with social activism in addressing community problems. Under his leadership, 28 houses were purchased in what is now Elmer L. Williams Square, behind the East Liberty church, to provide low-cost rentals to residents, and the church launched a pre-school Christian academy. As director of the Pittsburgh Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), he advanced job training opportunities for minorities, and as a member of the Pittsburgh Board of Education, he fought for school desegregation and quality public education.

Robert E. (Pappy) Williams
A 1950 Ebony magazine article noted that Pittsburgh boasted two of only 21 black judges in America—Homer S. Brown and Robert E. Williams. The first black ward chairman, he was a powerful political leader for more than three decades (1931-1964). He was influential in the appointment of the first black police lieutenant, patrol car officer, and fire captain. His influence led to the election of Judge Brown, City Councilman Paul F. Jones, and State Representative K. Leroy Irvis.

Walter C. Worthington
Historian, playwright, actor, and community activist, he promoted African American political involvement through the Northside Civic League and the Negro Democrats of Allegheny County and participation in the labor movement as a member of the Steelworkers Organizing Committee and of Local 615 United Radio, Electrical, and Machine Workers of America. He wrote plays and performed for many years with the Curtaineers, a Pittsburgh acting troupe, and chaired the committee that raised funds for and developed the African Heritage Classroom at the University of Pittsburgh.