PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh (https://www.publicsource.org/category/faith-and-religion/)
‘Black lives matter’ shouldn’t be a controversial cry, said Rev. Gavin Walton, pastor and organizer. “Christians in America should always have affirmed that.”
One year into the pandemic, some faith communities in the Pittsburgh area aren’t returning to normal. They’re redefining it.
Ali R. Abdullah’s grandparents helped turn 1930s Pittsburgh into a hotspot for African-American Islam. Now he’s uncovering that history — and a deeper self-understanding.
Meet Ali R. Abdullah as he explains the significance of being an African-American Muslim in the Pittsburgh region and what you should know about Pittsburgh’s role in Islamic history in the United States. For a deeper look into what Ali uncovered about his own family’s connection to religious history in the area, check out the story by PublicSource faith and religion reporter Chris Hedlin: “Pittsburgh was once a Black Muslim refuge.”
TRANSCRIPT
Jourdan: Hello, everyone, welcome back. It's me, your host, Jourdan Hicks, community correspondent for PublicSource. Welcome back to another episode of From the Source. Now, this week, we have yet another interesting Pittsburgher who you should meet and someone who you could learn a little something from to expand your worldview of our area and the people who bring our region to life.
As conversations heat up over development plans for the Lower Hill District, one voice is drawing religious history into the spotlight. Bethel AME Church, founded in 1808, was once a thriving congregation and center of learning and social activism. As part of the Lower Hill redevelopment project of the 1950s, the City of Pittsburgh seized the church by eminent domain and demolished it, despite eminent domain laws excluding churches from their reach.
Faith leaders and religious nonprofits in Pittsburgh are helping underserved Black communities to access COVID-19 vaccines — and to trust the science behind them. Here’s how.
How are Pittsburgh medical professionals grappling with their religious faiths amid the COVID-19 pandemic? How are they drawing upon religious traditions to withstand stress, grief, and uncertainty? PublicSource spoke with six Allegheny County healthcare workers to find out.
