McKeesport honored its legacy and trailblazers in the community Saturday through a Black History Month event with McKeesport HBCU VISION.
The award ceremony, held at the McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center on Arboretum Drive on Saturday afternoon, honored nurse JoAnne Rodgers and librarian Arlene Harvey of McKeesport.
It brought out many McKeesport residents.
JoAnne Rodgers was the first Black school nurse in the McKeesport Area School District in 1971, and Arlene Harvey was the first African American to retire from the Carnegie Library of McKeesport.
“My organization is to uplift and inspire. It is specifically to uplift students who attend HBCUs from the McKeesport area, but it is also to uplift the community as a whole,” said Denise Sinkler, founder of McKeesport HBCU VISION, which honors historically Black colleges and universities.
“This is to give focus back to true legacy of McKeesport,” Sinkler said.
“I am really grateful,” Rodgers said.
“I am glad that this is finally happening,” Harvey said. “It was hard to do what we did during that time.”
Both women had proclamations read in their honor by U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, as well as proclamations from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, which were read by their family members. Residents spoke of their interactions with Rodgers and Harvey.
“Finally. I wasn’t expecting this, but it has been a long journey for us,” Rodgers said. “When I worked with the kids, and the children really liked me, some of the parents found out that I was African American, and they became upset about that.”
Similarly for Harvey: “The kids were always glad to see me. It gave them someone to talk to, and I could encourage them.”
McKeesport resident Gary Murphy came out to see his good friends being honored.
“I am definitely proud,” Murphy said. “These are two outstanding individuals that I have known for years.”
Jakarra Lowery, the granddaughter of Rodgers, feels proud that McKeesport is honoring its history and legacy.
“But this is something that McKeesport always does. This isn’t unusual around here, they give everyone their flowers in McKeesport,” Lowery said. “I was raised in that loving environment. I was inspired by that all the time. They love on people, and I was raised to do the same thing.”
LaLa Harper said Rodgers was her nurse when she was in elementary school.
“She was always amazing, and it was always good to see someone who was a reflection of yourself in a position like that,” Harper said. “She was a hero.”
Harper added: “With all the negative publicity that McKeesport gets, it is good for our children to see that there are people in our community who have done positive things that paved the way for them to do amazing things as well.”
