Pittsburgh Black Lives Matter activist Tanisha Long featured on 'Today' show

A Pittsburgh Black Lives Matter leader was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday.

Tanisha Long, the founder of Black Lives Matter Pittsburgh and SW Pa., spoke briefly to hosts about her efforts to reach people in smaller communities across the region who might sympathize with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The segment kicked off My Today Plaza Celebrates America, a series highlighting people doing special things in cities across America.

During the 5-minute interview with Long, host Craig Melvin called her a rising star in Pittsburgh and “a hometown hero fighting for social justice.”

When asked how she responds to people who react to the movement with the phrase “all lives matter,” Long said, “If it makes it a little bit more palatable for them, just think of it as Black lives matter, too. Until Black lives matter to everyone, all lives can’t matter. And if you can watch videos of Black men and women in positions where they’re being murdered or persecuted and you’re so comfortable saying all lives matter, then you’re really not understanding the point.”

Long, originally from Avella in Washington County, said her favorite part of living in Pittsburgh is the sense of community.

“Everybody says it’s a ‘steel city’ and ‘Steelers city,’ but honestly it’s just a city of pride and love and acceptance,” Long said.

Melvin complimented Long’s black T-shirt, which read in white letters: “Dream like Martin, lead like Harriet, fight like Malcolm, think like Garvey, write like Maya.”

At one point, Melvin said Long was the founder of Pittsburgh’s Black Lives Matter chapter. She told the Tribune-Review in an interview that is incorrect.

“That is what we want to do,” Long said. “But we’re wanting to become a nonprofit based in education first. We just need time.”