When Clarion English professor Dr. Brian Roberts ’91 decided to pay tribute to his heritage and how he became who he is, he did it in the way that he knows best – the written word. More specifically, Roberts, who worked to revive the Black Studies minor in 2019, embarked on a project to pen a trilogy of plays that told the stories of his grandfather, uncle and father and their experiences as Black men in America.

He completed “Edward’s Blues” and “Hugh’s Blues,” and he is in the process of writing the third play, “Danny’s Blues,” about his father. “Edward’s Blues” focuses on African-American blue-collar workers, ministers, and World War I soldiers and veterans who lived in the Hill District in Pittsburgh during the early part of the 20th century.