Pittsburgh Renaissance Project: The Stanton Belfour Oral History Collection
Reddit
Twitter
FacebookWhat's online?
The audio and transcripts from five oral history interviews selected from the Pittsburgh Renaissance Project: The Stanton Belfour Oral History Collection are available online. Interviewees include Selma Burke, Homer S. Brown, Robert R. Lavelle, Dr. Leroy Patrick, and Frankie Pace. A grant from the Recordings At Risk Program from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) made the digitization of these oral histories possible during the 2022-2023 academic term. As part of this project, all transcripts were machine-generated with minor edits for intelligibility and to identify speakers when possible. Transcripts may contain inaccuracies, misspellings, or omissions depending on original audio clarity.
A Notice on Harmful or Offensive Language
While using the Pittsburgh Renaissance Project: The Stanton Belfour Oral History Collection, please consider its context. These interviews were recorded in 1971-1973. Due to the nature of these historical materials, there are occurrences of language, positions, and values that do not align with our values and practices at the University of Pittsburgh.
When harmful, offensive, or misrepresentative language is present and part of the original archival materials, it is recognized as best practice to retain such information so as not to censor or alter the historical record and to maintain an understanding of the context and time period in which these items were first created.
What's in the entire collection?
This collection consists of 110 audiocassette tapes recorded in 1971-1973 as part of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Project conducted by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh with funding from the Buhl Foundation. These audiocassette tapes and associated transcripts are grouped into five subseries: interviews, seminars, lectures with Cutler Andrews and Stanton Belfour, discussions, and renaissance meeting. Interviewees included civic and political leaders as well as other important contributors to the physical, cultural, and educational changes made during the Pittsburgh Renaissance led by then Pittsburgh mayor, David L. Lawrence between 1949 and 1953.
About the Pittsburgh Renaissance Project and Stanton Belfour.
The Pittsburgh Renaissance Project: The Stanton Belfour Oral History Collection was initiated with the purpose of creating a new research source, a living record on the Pittsburgh Renaissance obtained from the oral reminiscences of Pittsburghers’ own lives and activities. These recordings and transcripts supplement documentary files and enrich the written record with first-hand accounts of Pittsburgh from the 1940s through the early 1970s, when the interviews were conducted. The grant project was funded by the Buhl Foundation and led by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. The interviews were conducted in 1971-1973.
Stanton Belfour [1906-1969] held several positions at the University of Pittsburgh such as assistant registrar and associate director positions, as well as manager of the Stephen Foster Memorial. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Belfour returned to Pittsburgh and became the director of the newly formed Pittsburgh Foundation. In addition to his work in philanthropy, Belfour’s interest in history, particularly the history of Western Pennsylvania, led to his involvement in the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical Association. He lectured at the University of Pittsburgh about American and Pennsylvania history in the University’s Extension Program. Belfour died prior to the start of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Project, and the oral history collection was named in his memory.
