Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance

by Mark Whitaker

Today black Pittsburgh is known as the setting for August Wilson’s famed plays about noble, but doomed, working-class citizens. But this community once had an impact on American history that rivaled the far larger black worlds of Harlem and Chicago. It published the most widely read black newspaper in the country, urging black voters to switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party, and then rallying black support for World War II. It fielded two of the greatest baseball teams of the Negro Leagues and introduced Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pittsburgh was the childhood home of jazz pioneers Billy Strayhorn, Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner; Hall of Fame slugger Josh Gibson—and August Wilson himself. Some of the most glittering figures of the era were changed forever by the time they spent in the city, from Joe Louis and Satchel Paige to Duke Ellington and Lena Horne.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, African American, American History, Music, Audiobook

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2018

About the author

Mark Whitaker is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, My Long Trip Home. The former managing editor of CNN Worldwide, he was previously the Washington bureau chief for NBC News and a reporter and editor at Newsweek, where he rose to become the first African-American leader of a national newsweekly.

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are all familiar with the Harlem Renaissance but how many of us know about the Pittsburgh Renaissance? This book reveals a history of black culture during the 1920-40s which occurred in a rather unexpected place.

The Steel City did not have a large African-American population but what a population it was! Many of the greats of entertainment, especially music and sports, started their careers there in the Hill District and Homestead. The major impetus to their success was the African- American newspaper, the Pittsburgh Courier which built up a nationwide readership. Owned and managed by African-Americans, the paper found, supported, and advertised the talents of individuals who may never have had the opportunity for stardom otherwise. Such names as Billy Strayhorn, Lena Horne, Errol Garner, and Billy Eckstine suddenly were being recognized nationally in the music scene. And the baseball teams of the Negro League, the Homestead Grays and the Crawfords had such stars as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson who eventually made their way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It is a story of pride, strength, and achievement during the years of Jim Crow and how the strong will of the cast of characters prevailed. An interesting and informative book which holds a few surprises. Recommended.

[ColumbusReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoketown is an excellent and fascinating look at what’s been called Pittsburgh’/Steel City’s Black Gilded age and Pittsburgh’s Black Renaissance. The period spotlighted here begins in the 1920’s and takes you through the 1950’s.

Pittsburgh is a city that I visited once in the early 80’s and knew very little about. I know that it’s always depicted as a blue collar, steel town and a place where Warhol was born. That’s about it.

This book highlights the greats in sports, music, politics, journalism and business. I was particularly fascinated with the piece on The Pittsburgh Courier, which was the most influential black newspaper in America at the time. It even usurped the better known black newspapers in New York, Chicago and the Michigan Chronicle in Detroit. The Courier was instrumental in convincing many black voters to switch from the Republican To the Democratic Party and an endorsement by them was coveted by many politicians including the presidential candidates in the 30’s and 40’s.

There’s also excellent portraits of some native Pittsburghese’s and some who were not born or raised in the steel city but connected to the city in some way. Jackie Robinson was one of those who was represented by Wendell Smith, a writer for the Pittsburgh Courier who recommended a young Jackie Robinson to Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey. Also, Lena Horne who had several connections to Pittsburgh including her first husband, Louis Jordan who was from there, and her longtime friendship with the great jazz composer, Billy Strayhorn. She even resided in Pittsburgh for awhile and later inducted into Pittsburgh’s Jazz Hall Of Fame.

There are many other great stories here including jazz greats, Mary Lou Williams, Earl Fatha Hines, Billy Eckstine and Erroll Garner, among others. Also, stories on other sports luminaries like Joe Louis and the great Satchel Paige. Another highlight of the book is the chapter on Pittsburgh native and America’s greatest black playwright, August Wilson. The book is worth it for this piece alone and Mr. Wilson is certainly worthy of a full-fledged biography of his own if there’s not one already.

This book is extremely well written and includes some wonderful photographs inside as well. Pittsburgh and particularly black Pittsburgh should be extremely proud!

[victor harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The vitality of the black culture in Pittsburgh is adeptly covered in this fascinating trip through the ups and downs of the black community there. Boasting of homegrown talent, the city also attracted other quality performers including the likes of Charlie Parker. With a first-rate media outlet (The Courier) and a growing population as it was a magnet for many blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South, Pittsburgh also became a force in politics. The trend toward blacks becoming part of the FDR Democratic coalition got a boost from that media as they became disenchanted with the Republicans who expected the votes without any commensurate rewards.
While it once enjoyed its heyday as a beacon for the arts, urban renewal would demolish many of the landmarks and parts of the Hill district where black culture thrived.
Smoketown is both a testament to the city in its grand moment upon the stage and an indictment of policies that helped lead to demise of its vibrant black community.

[Brian TramueL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading to learn, reading to smile... I learned & smiled a lot ;) Almost embarrassed to write that I had no knowledge of this rich (double entendre don't even ask me how) Philadelphia history. Looking for more information on Cumberland “Cap” Posey and the Pittsburgh Courier. That be' the learning part.

Shout out to Lisa for the recommendation.

[Marianne]

the reader for this on audio is amazing - should probably try it that way.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great example of why I love reading - sometimes you just can't tell what you're going to get out of a book. I picked this one up because of its Pittsburgh theme but the stories turn out to be absolutely global.

Centered around the Pittsburgh Courier, an early 20th century African-American weekly newspaper, the reader goes where the reporters go and that turns out to be not only the local clubs of the Hill where Billy Strayhorn, Lena Horne, and Billy Eckstine played and the ballgames of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, but also the Detroit boxing ring of Joe Louis, spring training with Jackie Robinson in Florida and New York, road building with World War 2 crews in Burma and a lot that I'm not even remembering right now.

Meanwhile, the story of the Courier is woven throughout; its financing issues, the publication rivalries, the reporters and editors who made the paper happen every week.

This is an incredible historical portrait of some truly remarkable Americans with a focus on their achievements despite the well-known obstacles in place throughout most of the 1900s.

I have to comment on the "sports" part of this - I am not a fan in any way, shape, or form, but the history of the Pittsburgh Negro Leagues and the heavyweight fights of Joe Louis were absolutely fascinating. These aren't chapters of play-by-play games but an intense study of the personalities and the politics surrounding baseball and boxing (and how it speaks to the overall climate) at that time. Completely absorbing.

I'd recommend this for any 20th c. history fan - you're bound to learn something new.

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about the Black Renaissance in Pittsburgh in the early 20th century. It’s a great story, one that was long overdue to be told. I’ve lived in Pittsburgh all my life and knew only vaguely what an outsized influence Pittsburgh’s black community had in the early decades of the last century. Many jazz greats came from Pittsburgh or had roots here. The Pittsburgh Courier was for decades the most influential black-run newspaper in the country, and was instrumental in both integrating major-league baseball and in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s.
The story of the decline of the Hill District, which I did already know, was also told.
The author focuses on influential individuals, such as Courier owner and editor Robert Vann an Pittsburgh’s first black industrialist, Cumberland Posey. I think my favorite chapter was the one about Evelyn Cunningham, the fashionable female black reporter who got tired of writing about tea parties and PTA meetings and perceived early on how important the Civil Rights movement would be.
The stories are very well-told; the characters vivid and mostly admirable, but even the numbers runners and drunks are portrayed colorfully and with compassion.
Like my reviews? Check out my blog at http://www.kathrynbashaar.com/blog/
Author of The Saint's Mistress: https://www.bing.com/search?q=amazon....

[Harriett Milnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoketown is a history of the Pittsburgh Courier, "the most widely read black newspaper in the country" which ws published from 1907 till 1966. Smoketown focuses on the 1920s till the early 1960s. The Courier, and its writers, were very involved in the promotion of sports figures, such as Joe Louis, and Jackie Robinson; it was also very involved in the promotion of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays, teams in the Negro League. It campaigned for many black causes, including pushing Major League Baseball to include black players.

Also a history of Pittsburgh in those years, the book showcases Billy Strayhorn, Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine, Erroll Garner and many other Pittsburgh musicians. Many of these musicians came up through the city schools' music departments.

August Wilson is also a focus of the book.

I was born in Pittsburgh, and found the story of the R.K. Mellon and the Pittsburgh Renaissance filling in a few holes in my education. The Pittsburgh Renaissance also included the teardown of the Hill District to build the Civic Arena. Unfortunately, they were unprepared to resettle the 8000 African-American dwellers of the Hill District; like many cities, they had torn down a vital community -- churches, nightclubs, historical structures, as well as neighborhoods. Many of Wilson's play are about these neighborhoods.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a 33-year member of the local newspaper staff, I already knew much of what was in this book -- but I still learned a lot that was new, and was very glad I took this enriching journey with Whitaker, an experienced journalist and author who has connections to Pittsburgh.

The book is built around personalities, and Pittsburgh's Black history in the 20th Century is filled with vivid people who made a major impact on national and world events. The focal point of the book is the Hill District, an area that sits above Pittsburgh's Downtown that started out as a mixed race neighborhood but eventually became the hub of Black entrepreneurship and vitality.

Whitaker focuses primarily on three areas where Pittsburgh made its mark: journalism, music and sports. Much of the book is framed around the story of the Pittsburgh Courier, the most widely read Black newspaper in the nation in the mid-20th century. Headed by Robert Vann, it was particularly instrumental on four issues -- encouraging Black voters to switch from "Lincoln's Party" to the Democratic Party to support FDR; championing Joe Louis as the new heavyweight boxing champ; helping identify and literally babysit Jackie Robinson as he entered the Major Leagues; and promoting equal treatment for Blacks in the military -- a goal that took decades to accomplish.

At one point, the Courier had a circulation of more than 400,000 around the nation, and during WWII, it had nearly 10 correspondents providing live reports on Black troops overseas. It is now, unfortunately, a shadow of its former self and the Hill District itself is a high-poverty area with few thriving businesses.

Of all the areas Whitaker covers, the one that had me most agog was music -- particularly the development of jazz from the 1920s through the 70s and 80s. Pittsburgh was absolutely chock full of brilliant artists -- Billy Strayhorn, the masterful arranger for Duke Ellington who wrote Take the A Train; Erroll Garner, Mary Lou Williams and Earl Hines as jazz piano pioneers; Billy Ekstine as the first truly famous crossover crooner (whose career was badly hurt by one photograph of white women leaning against him after a show) and as the bandleader who introduced Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker to much of America; and Lena Horne, the sultry cabaret singer and movie star. And that's just a few of the artists who emerged from Pittsburgh, many of them trained in Pittsburgh's public schools.

Like other Black business districts that were vibrant in more segregated times, the Hill's demise began as America became more open to hiring Black performers and other people of skill. Where the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords dominated the Black baseball leagues in mid-century, their star power and economic impact diminished greatly once the Major Leagues began to hire Black talent. The Hill District also was devastated by an urban renewal project that tore down much of its housing and never provided the replacement dwellings that had been promised, all to build a domed concert venue that is not even there anymore.

This is a great read for Pittsburghers, obviously, but I'd like to think it would have resonance for others who are interested in Black history in America. I learned a lot, and you will too.

[Porter Broyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to like it when two of your historical niches intersect in one book. For me this is such a book. I enjoy reading about Black History and histories about newspapers.

While the Pittsburgh Courrier is not the theme of the book, there are chapters dedicated to the paper and it plays a pervasive part in many of the other chapters.

The first few chapters of this book talk about this prominent black newspaper and its coverage of various sports. The rise of Joe Lewis as a boxing superstar and the black baseball team the Homestead Grays. The Grays had a number of young players (such as Josh Gibson and Smoky Joe Williams) who went on to the Baseball Hall of Fame. These sports stories are told in a fun way that if even if boxing/baseball are not your thing, you'll enjoy them.

Then there was WWII.

The Courrier garnered notability when it pushed for the "Double V" campaign. The "Double V" started when the Courrier started publishing articles advocating that blacks support the war efforts, but remember that they did not hold equality in the states. That they should be fighting for democracy both in Europe and in America--a "Double V" or double Victory. Needless to say, this caught the attention of the authorities who questioned the loyalty of the paper and the writers.

Then there was music. Again, the book covers the names of major musicians---Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vahagan, Charlie Parker, Billy Eckstine, and more. Music history is not an area of interest for me, but these names are so synonymous with bepop and jazz that I recognized them. They got their start in Pittsburgh!

How about literature? The playwright August Wilson was born in Pittsburgh and wrote ten plays centered in the city. Two of those plays won Pulitzer Prizes and one "Fences" was nominated for several Golden Globes and Oscars.

One of the fallacies that I see in books about places is that they often make tenuous claims to famous people or events. One story in particular had me questioning the connection between the story and reality:

The Jackie Robinson Story.

Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play in Majors. He never played for the Negro leagues in Pittsburgh. So, his inclusion in this book felt out of place. The way Smoketown was told, the Courrier writer Wendell Smith played a major role in Robinson's story. It pushed the bounds of credulity that I had to investigate. Was I ever wrong. The movie "42" is told from Wendell Smith's point of view! (NOTE: I ended up watching "42" last night.)

Book 5 of 6 for Black History Month

[Myles Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Smoketown Mark Whitaker politely asks us to put some respect on Pittsburgh when we mention cities of Black excellence. As an Atlanta native, I have a superiority complex when this topic is brought up. When it comes to Black history few cities can compete with ATL's contributions, or so I thought. One cannot ignore Chocolate City or Harlem during this discussion but I was grossly undereducated on Pittsburgh's cultural significance. The fact that the city served as home to two Negro League baseball franchises highlights how Smoketown's importance was hiding from me in plain sight. Add in the fact that we can largely thank Pittsburgh's Black leaders for the sports landscape we enjoy today, shows how Smoketown has more to say. In many ways, Pittsburgh's luminaries fueled the achievements of Black Excellence in every facet of African American life from the arts to politics.

Outside of the big-name successes that can trace their roots and/or development to Smoketown, one major takeaway from Whitakers' book is the strong sense of community that existed in the Hill District. This sense of community inspired generations and I would argue is the most valuable asset that was stolen from us via urban renewal, deindustrialization, and desegregation. One cannot overestimate how impactful it must have been for a young Black person to have access to such inspiring figures despite their starting point in life. Not to drink too much from the pitcher of nostalgia, but the lack of cohesive communities seen on Sweet Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Harlem in NYC, Greenwood in Tulsa, and the Hill District in Pittsburgh greatly contrasts with the fragmented class-divided realities of contemporary life and is a major contributor to the colloquially termed "crash out" culture that has colonized too many minds.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pittsburgh in the early twentieth century featured a black renaissance to Rival that of Harlem. Author Mark Whitaker shares the history of Pittsburgh, centered in the Hill District, by telling the story of The Pittsburgh Courier, at one time the largest and most influential black paper in the United States; the story of famed musicians Errol Garner, Billy Strayhorn, Ahmad Jamal, Mary Lou Williams, and Billy Eckstine; the history of the Homestead Gray's and Pittsburgh Crawford featuring Hall of Fame players Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige; the story of how Pittsburgh blacks helped Jackie Robinson break professional baseball's color barrier; and the story of famed playwright August Wilson. But mixed into this is the tragedy of of Black Pittsburgh, beginning with the plans to revitalize Pittsburgh by destroying the Hill District, epicenter of this cultural boom. By the time of the Holy Week Riots, following the assassination of Dr. King, the Hill District and this cultural Renaissance were both gone.

I learned so much reading this book. It is a history we don't teach in our schools, a fact that diminishes us all. Whitaker tells this history as a conversation, encouraging his readers to learn more. Time after time I found myself searching out the music of the jazz musicians who started in Pittsburgh, I cried as a shared the story of the day the Pittsburgh Courier closed its doors for the last time, felt the pain od joy at August Wilson's funeral. This book has changed the way I look at my city.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive account of one of the most important yet underappreciated legacies of Pittsburgh's African Amercians from the Hill District. Readable, beautiful.

[Jason Rosenstock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!! Well-written tour-de-force history of black Pittsburgh's contributions to American history. Whitaker is an amazing story-teller and I found myself engrossed in his mini-biographies. He expertly tied together various threads and kept me moving from chapter to chapter. Some of it was familiar, some brand new. Superb!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and incredibly detailed book about a part of American history that hasn't had much notice-the mid-twentieth century African American Renaissance in Pittsburgh, in sports, music, journalism, and other areas. I was glued to the stories of writers, baseball players, and artists who created a cultural enclave in Pittsburgh. Well worth reading, for history buffs and anyone who enjoys a memorable book.

[Elizabeth Higginbotham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Untold Story of Smoketown: The Other Great Black Renaissance by Mark Whitaker was given to me by a friend. My mother grew up in Pittsburgh and I did spend some time there, so this book is telling the story of the many Black people who shaped the city and influence the larger American culture. The major themes are sports, music, the business men and women who create empires (and jobs for others). Capturing a moment in the early 20th century when the city was expanding and even though discrimination was blatant, where were natives and migrants that made their mark on the city. Most important and why Whitaker can tell this story is the Pittsburgh Courier, the newspaper started by Robert Lee Vann, that grew in circulation and had offices in many cities. The Courier, initially competing with the Chicago Defender, but both newspapers make their mark and supported important causes, like integrating sports, the double V campaign in World War II, and publicizing the experiences of Black Americans.

I never knew so many singers and musicians had roots in Pittsburgh. There stories are amazing, but you can see how networks and support are critical to success. In the face of discrimination, those leaders, both in legitimate business and shady doings, like number running, used their resources to aid the community. People sang in Black owned clubs, hotels and other establishments on the Hill. Business leaders supported two Negro League teams means that these players have a regular income and a change to shape their own lives. Also they played White teams in exhibition games, leading up to integrating the national league.

The nature of segregated housing also changes. Initially the Hill district was integrated, with Black people and immigrants from many nations. Over time, the place of the Negro community changes, from the Lower, Middle and Upper Hill to other sections of the city with urban renewal and the riots after Martin Luther King’s death. The wealthy Black people move into upper income districts, but many Black people spread to other sections of the city, where again they face discrimination. Many sections did remain integrated, but most importantly there were educational opportunities for many. Pittsburgh has checkered past, as high schools like Schenley and Westinghouse had Black students, but there were few teaching opportunities for people in the public-school system. It took a lot of work to negotiate race in that city.

The chapter on Wendell Smith, the sports editor who traveled with Jackie Robinson as he entered major league baseball is interesting. They are both battling racism, but in different ways. Whitaker, a reporter himself, does justice to the men and women who worked to identify and report critical stories that kept people informed and pushed their own thinking and actions around critical issues, like voting.

Whitaker ends the book with a chapter on August Wilson, born Frederick August Kittel, Jr. in 1945. Wilson, who took his mother's last name, grew up with a troubled father and problems in schools. His mother wanted the best, but he leaves school and reads in the library. He listens to people and finds jazz. His plays are about the struggles of people in the Hill district, which was disappearing around him. His plays do provide important visions of the city, and have taught many audiences about external and internal tensions in Black life. Whitaker appreciates the Pittsburgh Cycle that Wilson created, but in his own book, he looks carefully at the actions of Black people who worked hard to create spaces and lives for themselves and others.

[Bill Lucey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as compelling as the Black Renaissance in Harlem, was the Black Renaissance in Pittsburgh, in the city’s Hill District (located on the slopes above downtown Pittsburgh), which, beginning just prior to World War I, became the cultural center of black life in Pittsburgh and a vital center of jazz.

In his splendid book, “The Untold Story of Smoketown: The Other Great Renaissance,” author Mark Whitaker, with clear, crisp, writing, takes readers through a highly entertaining kaleidoscope of black culture, chronicling, for example, the jazz bass-baritone of Pittsburgh native Billy Eckstine and jazz pianist Erroll Garner, where their sounds could be heard wailing through the streets of Wylie Avenue, Fullerton Street, Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, the very heart of the neighborhood’s entertainment district.

In addition to the sweet sounds of jazz, baseball quickly became king in Pittsburgh during its historic renaissance. Pittsburgh, after all, boasted two baseball teams in the Negro Leagues: The Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawford’s, with the 1932 Crawford’s featuring two giants: Satchell Paige and Josh Gibson.

As readers will quickly discover, along with jazz, journalism played a prominent role in Pittsburgh’s Black Renaissance, especially with the influential reporting turned in by Wendell Smith, who played a key role in pushing for integration of African-Americans in Major League Baseball, and recommending Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn Dodger owner Branch Rickey.

Evelyn Cunningham, was another pioneer in American journalism, whose reporting for the Pittsburgh Courier played an influential role with her coverage of the Montgomery boycotts in Alabama, her shoe leather reporting of Martin Luther King Jr’s historic push for civil rights, along with covering the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, which desegregated schools.

While New York City will always be known as the melting pot of America, with immigrants from 25 countries inhabiting Pittsburgh in the early part of the 20th century, it is small wonder that Whitaker is able to depict Pittsburgh's diverse, multi-cultured population in such splendid fashion, while rendering it a significant (and not to be overlooked) slice of American urban history.

-Bill Lucey
WPLucey@gmail.com
June 8, 2018

[Alycia Bencloski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading more about Western Pennsylvania history this year. I'm really enjoying it. This book is very informative for those wanting to look back at black history in and around Pittsburgh. I especially enjoyed learning about music and industrial history in the Pittsburgh area.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book 10 stars, that is how much I loved it.

As a teen I was always interested in the Harlem Renaissance era of the black timeline in our country because it gave us Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston. I never thought about how creativity and black wealth were rising in other places and I definitely would not have pegged Pittsburgh to be that area. I am sure as we broach 2020 we will see more articles about how blacks were making moves in Chicago and St Louis.

But this book was really great and it brought together a lot of my favorite artists like Billy Strayhorn and Lena Horne and August Wilson to show how little known names (on the national scale) like Cumberland Posey, Robert L Vann and Edna Cunningham helped to create a community that cultivated their area and helped to spread throughout the country.

It should definitely be assigned as supplemental reading for American History classes and if I was a teacher in Pittsburgh it would be mandatory.

Pick it up. It’s a lot of info but a fast and engaging read.

[Maggie Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject is super interesting and the writing is good, but I hate the way it's laid out. It's done chronologically, which was detrimental to my enjoyment of it because it jumped from person N to person P and then asked me to remember things from three chapters before about persons F and H that I just didn't because of how much time had passed between the time I read that chapter and the one I was currently reading. I think I'd have enjoyed the book much more if it had addressed all of the baseball stuff in one section, all of the music stuff in one section, and all of the key newspaper stuff in one section. It would have been far easier to access the interconnected nature of Pittsburgh's black renaissance if the book hadn't jumped around so much.

[Scott Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book about the history of my hometown. It is a great compliment to the coffee table book I remember "Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City" by Stefan Lorant which essentially ignores the history of blacks in the city. This book shows the rich history of jazz musicians, journalists and sports figures from Pittsburgh and the central role they played in integrating Baseball, the Civil Rights movement, and the history of Jazz. Greats like Billy Eckstine, Billy Strayhorn, Earl Hines, Ahmad Jamal, and many others, as well as writers like August Wilson. The book is a bit disjointed but a fascinating history that his been ignored for too long.

[Rich Engel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This nonfiction book about the Hill District and the great strength of the Pittsburgh Courier was a decent read. In some ways a collection of mini-bios of Billy Strayhorn, August Wilson, Cum Posey and others well known in arts and sports. But there's also a lot about the Courier, how they helped turn black opinion away from the GOP, and several fascinating people who worked on the paper like Evelyn Cunningham. Some minor mistakes and typos were noticeable and disappointing to me, and living here and already knowing quite a bit of this info takes away from the impact compared to someone reading this outside Pittsburgh.

[Sarah Grebinoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives the reader a look into the people of Pittsburgh's Hill District at its prime and how The Pittsburgh Courier rose to become THE black newspaper in the country. So many fascinating stories about people like Robert Lee Vann, Gus Greenlee, and Jackie Robinson.
Definitely an interesting read!

[Sarah Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating history of the African American community in Pittsburgh. It goes into all facets of life—- bootleggers, Negro baseball leagues, high society and many musical artists who were shaped by their time in Pittsburgh. Definitely worth reading.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until I listened to this book, I never realized how important Pittsburgh PA was to so many aspects of Black America in the 1940s, 50s and beyond. The book was eye-opening and filled my head with so many facts I'm sure I won't remember even a quarter of them in just a couple of weeks.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. It was well written and organized. I learned a lot about Pittsburgh, history, culture, and civil rights in general.

[Drick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoketown recounts the history of the African- American community of Pittsburgh, PA in the early to late 20th century. During that time Pittsburgh was the home of a vibrant Black middle class out of which came many musicians ( Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines,Erroll Garner), writers ( August Wilson), athletes (Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson) and many more who spent time in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Courier was the pre-eminent Black newspaper in the country and played a significant role in promoting black athletes (Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson & two Negro League baseball teams) and political events - particularly black support of FDR. However in the 1960's as manufacturing left and with it jobs, and the city business leaders wanted "urban renewal" in the Hill District - Pittsburgh preeminent black community - all of that went away.

I found it interesting to read this book in conjunction with social psychiatrist Mindy Fullilove, who has looked at the social and psychological impact of this renewal on this community. In many ways the story of Pittsburgh's black community is a microcosm of what has befallen black communities across the United States and is worth reading not only for the locals but for all interested in racial justice.

[John Marricco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! Although I am slightly biased as I grew up above Sharpsburg off Kittaning Pike from 1969-1989, then graduated from Pitt in 1993 with a degree in psychology. I also enjoyed many classes with Rob Penny as my professor. Due to the racism of my mother and the ignorance of my Italian immigrant father, this book taught me many things I never knew about my home town. But you do not have to be from the 'Burgh to enjoy this book. With hopes of becoming a civil rights leader myself, this book is a must for anyone interested in "real" American history.

[Maxwell Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

So happy I could get this from my local library. It taught me about a monumental section of Pittsburgh history that I knew very little about. Each chapter could be its own book, but Whitaker does a wonderful job of tight storytelling filled with compelling stories and colorful characters. Smoketown gave me an appreciation for the history of the Hill District and the genius it produced, while also causing me to mourn its inevitable negligent destruction by the powers that be. Should be required reading for anyone who does or once called Pittsburgh home.