First-person essays

Most recent stories in First-person essays

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  PublicSource

  

  ‘Go forth and tell our stories’: From harmful narratives to healing stories, words could turn the page for Pittsburgh’s Hill District

  publicsource.org - Ervin Dyer

  In 1994, I moved into the historic Hill District, a neighborhood often considered to be the cultural soul of Black Pittsburgh.I lived a short walk …

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  PublicSource

  

  For a time, it seemed the 31st Street Bridge was all mine. Why not give a Pittsburgh bridge to the people?

  publicsource.org - First-person essay by Laura Walsh

  I used to ride my bike to work every day from the North Side, normally across the 16th Street Bridge to the Strip District and then up Smallman …

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  PublicSource

  

  ‘I’m living a life I never knew I was supposed to live.’ Pittsburgh’s trans community embraced ‘radical optimism’ in the face of opposition.

  publicsource.org - Photos and text by Amaya Lobato-Rivas

  Content warning: This story contains references to suicide.Dozens of scattered tombstones poked out of the early spring grass like evergreen flowers. …

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  PublicSource

  

  We, the youth, mapped our feelings as we lived our lives in Homewood. The city must do better for our neighborhood.

  publicsource.org - The SPIN Project Youth Research Advisory Board

  We are a group of students from Westinghouse High School who were born and raised in Homewood.When we think about Homewood, we think about comfort …

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  PublicSource

  

  I learned how to pull a trigger, and the same lessons are crucial to addressing gun violence

  publicsource.org - First-person essay by Kalilah Stein

  When teaching me how to shoot, my grandpa told me to squeeze the trigger gradually, not too suddenly, and follow through, always follow through, and …

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  PublicSource

  

  Why I want to get back into a prison I left some 20 years ago — and then open it up to those in need

  publicsource.org - A first-person essay by Eric Miskovitch, as told to Rich Lord

  When I started trying to get back into the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh, I hadn’t yet begun to think about the potential use of the …