Sifford, Charlie, 216
Siger, Bella, 305, 323
Sigma Pi Phi, 74
Simla, India, 188
Simms, William, 65
Simon, John, 54–55
Sims, Zoot, 220
Sinatra, Frank, 214, 215, 218, 219, 220
Sissle, Noble, 138–39
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (Fugard), 330
Skirts Ahoy! (film), 219
“Skylark” (song), 213
Smith, Al, 79
Smith, Bessie, 324, 325
Smith, Jimmy, 238
Smith, Wendell, xv, 88, 120–21, 272, 288
background of, 234
baseball integration crusade of, 233–35, 243–44, 246
Baseball Writers roast denounced by, 246
as Courier sports editor, 231–32, 234
death of, 268–69
on Gibson’s death, 255–56
major league dreams of, 234
in move to Chicago Herald-American, 266
pro tryout for Robinson sought by, 238–39
Rickey and, 243, 247–48, 258
rift between Robinson and, 266–67
Robinson and, 240–42
Robinson-Dodgers scoop of, 257–58
Robinson’s Courier “diary” ghostwritten by, 243, 260, 263, 264
Robinson’s relationship with, 233, 240–42, 246–48, 254, 263, 268, 326
“Solitude” (song), 146
“Something to Live For” (song), 146, 148
“Sophisticated Lady” (song), 145
Southern Democrats, 280
Spangler, Thelma, 146
Sparrow, Roy, 111
Spear, N.C., 303
Spearman, Charles, 204
Spearman, Martha Grace, 204
Spectacular, N.Y., 2
Spielberg, Steven, 184
Sporting News, 266
Squirrel Hill (neighborhood), xxiii
Stanford, Theodore, 184
Stanky, Eddie, 258, 261, 264
Stanley, Ed, 258
Stanley Theatre (Pittsburgh), 96, 131, 145, 146, 194
“Stardust” (song), 197, 201
Stargell, Willie, 326
steel industry, 30–31, 33, 34–39, 58
Stein, A. C., 68
Stephens, Jake, 101, 107
Stevens, Aquilla, 28
Stevens, Eliza Brackston, 28
Stewart, Rex, 203
Stewart, Slam, 224
Stilwell, Joseph, 186
Stilwell Road (Ledo Road), 185–88, 189–90
Stitt, Sonny, 194
stock market crash of 1929, 76
“Stormy Monday Blues” (song), 201
Stotz, Edward, 130
Strayhorn, Billy, xv, 122, 324–25, 335
Catlin as piano teacher of, 128–29
childhood and youth of, 125–27
classical music as first love of, 134
drug store job of, 126, 134–35, 144–45
as Ellington’s collaborator, 147–48
Ellington’s first meeting with, 145–46
as Fantastic Rhythm composer and lyricist, 124–25, 134, 146, 148
first piano of, 127
homosexuality of, 135, 147
Lena Horne’s friendship with, 150–51
in move to Harlem, 147
Westinghouse High School music studies of, 124, 133–34
Strayhorn, James, 125–26
Strayhorn, Jobe, 126
Strayhorn, Lillian Young (mother), 125, 126, 147
Strayhorn, Lilly (grandmother), 126
Streeter, Sam “Lefty,” 105, 106
Strip District (neighborhood), xxiii, 325–26
Sugartop (neighborhood), ii, 4, 44, 143, 155, 179, 325
Sukeforth, Clyde, 241, 242, 259, 265
Sullivan, Maxine, 192, 214
Supreme Court, U.S., 160, 177, 301
Brown decision of, 293
Sweet, Ossian, 72
Syria Mosque, 12, 214
Taft, Robert, 280
Taft, William Howard, 62
“Take the ‘A’ Train” (song), 147, 148
“Talk O’ Town” (Courier column), 71, 83–84, 271
Talmadge, Herman, 283
Tannehill, Adamson, 44
Tanner, Benjamin Tucker, 41
Tanner, Henry Ossawa, 46
Tatum, Art, 222, 225
Taylor, Billy, 218
Teddy Hill Orchestra, 202, 203, 204, 207
Temple, Shirley, 157
10th Cavalry Regiment, 81–82, 180
Terrace Village, 316, 318, 321
Tesla, Nikola, 33
textile industry, 32
Thaw, Harry Kendall, 63–64
Theatre Owners Bookers Association (TOBA), 132–33
Third Ward Voters League, 96
“This Is the Inside Story” (song), 215
This Is Your Life (TV show), 327
Thomas, Dave “Showboat,” 238
Thomas, Dylan, 328
Thomas, Hawk, 90
Thompkins, James, 187
Thompson, James Gratz, 169–70, 172
Double Victory Campaign suggested by, 170
Thompson, Melvin, 283
Thomson, Ernest, 290
Thornbury, Will, 226
366th Infantry Regiment, 182, 183
367th Infantry Regiment, 91–92
369th antiaircraft regiment, 193
370th Infantry Regiment, 183
Thurmond, Strom, 280, 281
Tiant, Louis, Sr., 117
Till, Emmett, 294
Time, 181, 314
Tinker, Hooks, 104, 105–6
Tito brothers, 93, 107, 119
Toiler’s Life, The (Harleston), 50
Tonight Show, 228
Tony Awards, 332, 334
Trees, Joe, 77
Trocadero (Los Angeles nightclub), 149, 150
Trujillo, Rafael, 118, 119
Truman, Harry, 277
black voters and, 281
civil rights and, 279–80, 281
and desegregation of military, 281
Tucker, Helen A., 38, 59
Tucson Times, 73
Tuesday Evening Study Club, 47
Tulane Drama Review, 329
Tuskagee Airmen (99th Pursuit Squadron), 181–82, 193
Tuskagee Institute, 38
black pilots trained at, 181
24th Infantry Regiment, 81–82
“Two Sleepy People” (song), 146
Two Trains Running (Wilson), 335
Udin, Sala (Sam Howze), 307, 339
Underground Railroad, 41, 42–43, 319, 325
United Automobile Workers, 171
United States League, 240
Unity, Pa., 65
Urban League, 160–61
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), 315, 316, 317, 318, 321, 323
urban renewal, xvi, 314, 315, 316, 323, 326, 335, 338
Urban Times-Record, 326
U.S. Steel Company, 58, 67, 79, 314
Van Cuyk, Chris, 267
Van Heusen, Jimmy, 220
Vann, Albert, 54
Vann, Jesse Matthews, 6, 21, 60, 86, 128, 157, 159, 165, 279, 288–89, 326
as Courier publisher, 282, 288, 326
as Courier treasurer, 168
death of, 327
marriage of Robert Vann and, 61
women reporters championed by, 282
Vann, Robert Lee, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 16, 21, 22, 52, 66, 89, 108, 151, 154–55, 156, 173, 179, 197, 281, 327
anti-discrimination campaigns of, 68
Berlin Olympics covered by, 158–59
blacks in military as cause of, 156, 161–62, 165
cancer of, 163, 164
Cap Posey and, 59–60
childhood and adolescence of, 53–56, 81
Cleveland speech of, 81–83
college education of, 56–57, 60
as Courier’s majority owner, 72
as crusader, xiv–xv, 67–69, 156
death
of, 164–65
FDR administration’s sidelining of, 156–57
FDR criticized by, 160
in FDR’s 1932 campaign, 81–85
FDR’s meetings with, 80, 162
in feud with J. W. Johnson and Du Bois, 72–74
in founding of Courier, 50–51
Justice Department appointment of, 86–88, 157
in law school, 60
legal career of, 61, 65–66
marriage of Jesse and, 61
in move to Pittsburgh, 57–58
named Courier editor, 62
in remaking of Courier, 64
as Republican loyalist, 78–79
sensationalism disliked by, 70
sleeping car porter job of, 60, 74–75
social circle of, 59–60
in switch to Democratic Party, 80–81
writing staff assembled by, 70–71
Vashon, John, 41
Vaughan, Sarah, xvi, 194, 219, 220
in Billy Eckstine Orchestra, 211, 212
with Earl Hines orchestra, 209–10
Veale, Bob, 326
Veeck, Bill, 265
Veterans Administration, 276–77, 279
Vigilance Committee, 42
Virginia Union University, 56–57
Volkwein’s Music Store, 127
V for victory sign, 170
Wagner, Honus, 235
Walker, Dixie, 258, 259
Walker, Frank, 174–75
Walker, Zachariah, 64–65
Wallace, Joe, 187
Waller, Fats, 222
War Department, U.S., 179, 184–85
Fort Bragg shakeup of, 167
War Production Board, 177
Wartime Prohibition Act (1919), 92
Washburn, Patrick, 176
Washington, Booker T., 38, 41, 57
Washington, Chester “Ches,” xv, xxiv, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9–10, 11, 12, 16, 22, 70, 99, 103, 117, 120, 138, 139, 166, 282
Louis and, 4–5, 13, 14, 17, 256
Washington, D.C.:
discrimination in, 273
Homestead Grays games in, 120
Washington, George, 30
Washington Post, 11
Washington Senators, 244
Waterford, Conn., 331
Waters Training School, 55–56, 60
Watts High School (Pittsburgh), 98–99
Waugh, Evelyn, 158
Wavell, Lord, 188
Webster, Ben, 206
Wells, Ida B., 176, 271
Western University of Pennsylvania, 40, 57, 59, 60
see also Pittsburgh, University of
Westinghouse, George, 33, 44, 128
Point Breeze estate of, 43
Westinghouse High School (Pittsburgh), 3, 123–24, 132, 133–34, 224
West Virginia, USS, 169
West Virginia State College, 234
Wheaton, John Frank, 65
Whitaker, C.S., Sr., v
Whitaker, Edith McColes, v
White, Stanford, 63–64
White, Walter, 71, 74, 162, 171
Wiley, Caroline, 45
Wiley, James, 193
Wiley, Thomas, 45
Wilkins, Roy, 9, 162, 294
Wilkinson, J. L., 100, 244
William Morris Agency, 200
William Penn Hotel (Pittsburgh), 86, 312, 313
Williams, Beatrice, 171
Williams, Bobby, 104
Williams, Chester, 104, 109
Williams, Della, 289
Williams, Joe, 206–7
Williams, Joe “Smokey Joe,” 100–101, 102, 105
Williams, John, 133
Williams, Juan, 292
Williams, Lou, 214
Williams, Marvin, 239
Williams, Mary Lou Scruggs, xv, 192, 206-7, 325
as musical prodigy, 132
Williams, Paul, 288, 289
Williams, Tennessee, 334
Willkie, Wendell, 163–64, 165
Wilson, August, xvi, 302
army service of, 310–11
blackness as viewed by, 336, 337
blues and, 323–24, 325, 328, 330–31, 335, 336, 340
Century Cycle of, 332–33, 334–35, 338–39
childhood and youth of, 304–11
death of, 339–40
Hill residents’ stories absorbed by, 327–28, 330, 338
journeyman playwriting by, 329–30
marriage of Brenda Burton and, 329
marriage of Constanza Romero and, 338, 339
marriage of Judy Oliver and, 329, 338
in move to St. Paul, 329
poetry ambitions of, 328, 329
racism and, 307–8
Richards as mentor of, 331, 332
as voracious reader, 304, 310
writing career chosen by, 311–12
Wilson, Daisy, 303, 306, 310, 332, 340
Wilson, Freda, 311
Wilson, Jud “Boojum,” 101
Wilson, Judy Oliver, 329, 338
Wilson, Shadow, 201, 202, 210
Wilson, Tom, 105
Wilson, W. Rollo, 70
Wilson, Zonia, 303–4
Winchell, Walter, 18, 215, 262
Winchester, Va., 26
Winton, N.C., 55
WLIB-AM, 300
Wolk, Abraham, 314–15
Woodruff, Johnny, 158–59, 193
Woodson, Caroline Robinson, 40
Woodson, Carter, 271
Woodson, Jemima, 40
Woodson, Lewis, 40, 42, 46, 325
Woodson, Thomas, 40
Working Girls Home, 47
Works Progress Administration, 85
World Series, of 1947, 266
World War I, 67, 82, 91–92
black soldiers in, 156, 168
Prattis in, 156
World War II:
black correspondents in, 178, 179–88
black troops in, xv, 23, 176, 178, 180–88, 193
in Burma, 185–86
Courier’s “Double V Campaign” and, 151, 152
Italian campaign of, 182–83
Japanese surrender in, 189
U.S. entry into, 151, 168
World War II homefront, black workers in, 177–78
Wright, Johnny, 247, 248–50, 253
Wright, Richard, 310
Writt, John, 44–45, 46
Wylie Avenue, 23, 46, 47, 59, 64, 71, 93–94, 95, 96, 130, 135, 137, 193, 204, 304, 317, 319, 325
“Wylie Avenue” (Courier column), 97–98
Yale Repertory Theatre, 332
Yale School of Drama, 331
“Yankee Doodle Tan, A (the Double V Song),” 172
Yankee Stadium, 1, 10, 13–14, 103
Yates, James, 291
YMCA (Centre Street), 4, 6, 114, 128, 319, 326
“You Don’t Know What Love Is” (song), 213
Young, Felix, 149, 151
Young, John H., III, in black veterans’ rights crusade, 277–79
Young, Lester, 206, 220
Ziff Corporation, 70
Simon & Schuster
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Copyright © 2018 by Mark Whitaker
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Interio
r design by Ruth Lee-Mui Map by Paul J. Pugliese
Jacket design by rex bonomelli
Jacket photographs by charles ‘Teenie’ Harris/Carnegie Museum of Art/Getty Images
All photos courtesy of Getty Images/Teenie Harris Archive/Carnegie Museum of Art with the exception of page 302, Copyright ©, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2017, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Whitaker, Mark, author.
Title: Smoketown : the untold story of the other great Black Renaissance / by Mark Whitaker.
Other titles: Untold story of the other great Black Renaissance
Description: New York : Simon & Schuster, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017019428 (print) | LCCN 2017020491 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501122439 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501122392 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501122422 (trade pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: African Americans—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh—History. | African Americans—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh—Intellectual life. | African Americans—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh—Social conditions—20th century. | African American athletes—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh. | Jazz musicians—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh. | Pittsburgh (Pa.)—Intellectual life—20th century. | Pittsburgh (Pa.)—Civilization. | African Americans—Intellectual life—20th century.
Classification: LCC F159.P69 (ebook) | LCC F159.P69 N487 2018 (print) | DDC 305.896/073074886—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017019428
ISBN 978-1-5011-2239-2
ISBN 978-1-5011-2243-9 (ebook)
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