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“Their Story” Sewickley Valley African-American history documentary director reveal
June 6, 2023 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
The selection of a director/filmmaker to lead the production of a documentary film focused on Sewickley Valley’s Black community will be announced at a free event on Sunday, June 25, at The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center (formerly The Tull Family Theater).
Early in 2022, community members gathered to review digitized photos of Sewickley’s African American community from the early 1900s to present. The preservation and accessibility of these images—first collected by the Sewickley Community Center and the Daniel B. Matthews Society of St. Matthew AME Zion Church—attracted resounding community support. In February, a volunteer group established the Their Story Committee to advance the production of a documentary film to make the history of Sewickley’s Black community more widely known.
After months of interviews, the committee selected and is ready to introduce the director/filmmaker leading the documentary project at a gathering featuring bites and live music from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, at The Lindsay Theater, 418 Walnut St., Sewickley.
In addition to announcing the director/filmmaker, Their Story Committee leaders will discuss new developments for the ambitious project. This work builds on the book, Their Story: The History of Black/African Americans in Sewickley & Edgeworth, published in 2000 by the late Sewickley resident Bettie Cole.
Project co-chairs Gwen Strickland, daughter of Cole, and Stratton Nash—working alongside Committee Members Gloria Cook, Floyd Faulkner, Susan Kaminski, Tim Lee, Shelley Murray, Carla Nash, Stratton Nash III, Joyce Parker, Bob Patterson and Dorinda Taylor—are reaching out to community members to gather photos, oral histories and memories to be reviewed for inclusion in the documentary.
Entertainment at Sunday’s event will be provided by the Mark Strickland Quartet, featuring Thomas Wendt (drums), Tony DePaolis (bass), Max Leake (piano) and Mark Strickland (guitar). Gist Catering will provide appetizers; wine and soft drinks will also be provided.
RSVPs are welcome at [email protected]. On Sundays, metered parking on the street and in the municipal lot adjacent to the Theater is free.
