Lawrence McCullough: Pittsburgh can use the arts to fight intolerance

Pittsburgh has the opportunity to take the lead in a federal initiative that enlists the arts to inspire empathy and combat intolerance.

United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture is a set of strategies and funding resources introduced by the Biden-Harris administration to counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on American democracy and public safety.

It posits a simple goal: How can artists discourage bigotry in their community and guide resilience and recovery if public incidents of intolerance do occur?

Recently, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson visited New Hazlett Theater to meet with Prime Stage Theatre directors Dr. Wayne Brinda and Connie Brinda and Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh educators Christina Sahovey, Emily Loeb and Nick Haberman.

Prime Stage had received an NEA grant to create an original play titled “Perseverance” recounting the extraordinary life of Polish Holocaust survivor Melvin Goldman, whose postwar journey of healing and renewal found a lasting home in Pittsburgh during the 1950s. “Perseverance” premiered in April as part of the annual enGAGE program presented by Prime Stage and the Holocaust Center to educate Pittsburghers about the evil of genocide. Through live performances at New Hazlett and video showings via the Global Classroom, the play reached audiences in six countries.

Citing the power of live theater as a teaching tool, Jackson noted that the arts can play a unique and essential role in preventing hate and division. United We Stand, she said, is a way to nationally recognize those everyday efforts by local artmakers.

Many Pittsburgh artists and arts groups are already active in creating messages of tolerance and social justice, from Alisha Wormsley’s “There Are Black People in the Future” and the “Stronger Than Hate” campaign by designer Tim Hindes to 1Hood Media’s “Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh” and Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s “Dreams of Hope” bolstering LGBTQA+ youth.

This fall’s Violins of Hope exhibit sponsored 43 events across Allegheny County shedding light on the Holocaust, including a premiere of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s “Sounds of the Sun” on the fifth anniversary of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue massacre. Next spring, Pittsburgh Opera’s“The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson” will portray the birth of Pittsburgh’s groundbreaking National Negro Opera Company.

For two decades City of Asylum has served as the world’s chief sanctuary for writers in exile, and new theater works from actor/playwright Elizabeth Elias Huffman (“Not My Revolution”) and Point Park University composer Yan Pang (“One-Log Bridge”) address challenges faced by Pittsburgh’s recent immigrants.

Band Together Pittsburgh gives performance opportunities to those on the autism spectrum, while Film Pittsburgh’s ReelAbilities Festival celebrates the artistic expressions of people living with disabilities.

Storyburgh’s “The Demilitarized Zone” presents gatherings that spotlight personal stories fostering civil discourse; Pittsburgh Poetry Collective’s workshops, slams and open mic events provide a welcoming space for writers seeking common ground among an array of differences.

The city’s vibrant visual arts scene offers a steady stream of thoughtful, compassionate messaging, from Kyle Holbrook’s anti-violence murals and group shows by Women of Visions, #notwhitecollective and Visual Arts Coalition for Equity to gallery exhibits like “Trigger Warning” at Sweetwater Center for the Arts tackling America’s complex relationship with guns.

What if there were a coordinated, ongoing effort matching Pittsburgh artists with nonprofit agencies to create education programs that specifically advanced the ideals of United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture?

A committed consortium of area businesses, media and philanthropic organizations could develop a “United We Stand-Pittsburgh” campaign that used the arts to help Pittsburghers of all ages in every neighborhood find ways to express and encourage tolerance in their daily lives.

Pittsburgh has an abundance of culture, a deep sense of public spirit and a proven history of problem-solving innovation.

Can we bring those assets together to make our city not only stronger than hate, but a national leader in preventing hate from ever taking root?

Lawrence McCullough is a Mt. Washington resident and has been an organizer of arts and nonprofit community ventures since 1973.