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Transcript
My name is DaVonna Graham. I am currently a full time graduate student. I am working on a doctoral degree in urban education at the University of Pittsburgh, and my research interest centers on positive racial identity development, urban education, of course, and community education for black children.
I’m very close to my family, have a very tight knit close family, and I think that they’ve always been encouraging of me to explore things I was curious about and to always pursue education. I think the person who inspires me and inspired me most was my grandfather. He and I were very close. He was almost like a second father to me. I’ve always been grateful for the relationship that we had. We could talk about anything, and now that he is no longer with us, I readily think about some of the lessons that he taught me and use those as further inspiration and encouragement to pursue my goals. The Hill District had one of the first public housing projects in the country, one of which was Whiteside Road, and my grandparents were one of the first five families to move into Whiteside Road housing projects, and that was on both my mom and my dad’s side. They both grew up there, they grew up together, and then, when I was a child, my parents moved to the east side, but my grandparents stayed on the Hill on Whiteside Road, which is really where I grew up. My family has always been very socially and civically engaged in community. I grew up with a social justice orientation. So what that means to me is that when I or someone near me sees a problem in our community, that is our responsibility to try to solve those problems. Growing up in the Hill District, I’m very familiar with the richness in our history, the people who have come through this community, who’ve lived in this community for my own heritage, my family. I’m proud because I know that other people also value this community, which is why you see all the development in the Hill District now, and so I want to continue to make sure that I am a part of that development, and that it doesn’t become the narrative of someone else. The idea of highlighting what assets exist in the Hill District is important. People know me for being almost like a Hill District cheerleader. When I think about what it means to be from the Hill District, to be black, to be a woman, to be a young person, I want to always be on the side of justice for people that are in this community, people that may come into this community, and so I’m just proud to be here, and I hope that I continue to be a positive influence for those around me.
The opportunities that I was given to be a part of decision making for this community, sitting at tables with policymakers, all of those sorts of experiences shaped me to think that I had a responsibility and an opportunity to shape what happens in my community. So I think because I know that already, what my obligation is now is to make sure that young people who are growing up in this community now understand that they also have the opportunity and the responsibility to make sure that the Hill District continues to grow, and it continues to grow for those families who started here.
The Hill District is unique from other communities that have experienced a cyclical pattern in its history. People moving in and people moving out, business development, cultural changes, and right now we’re seeing an influx of people that did not used to live in this community, types of businesses that we did not have just 10 to 15 years ago, and so in some ways, I’m encouraged by that because I see the Hill District growing in ways that people might not have anticipated for a community like this, but I’m also cautious, and maybe I should say cautiously optimistic, about who this community will be for in the next few years. When I think about some of the young people that frequent the G Center, I want to make sure that the Hill District is built up in a way that is beneficial to them and to you, and not for people who just come into our community.