Community Ink: Cody McDevitt

Program Type:

History

Age Group:

Adults
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Program Description

Community Ink: Local Author Series

This community-focused series is designed to spotlight and celebrate the literary talent of Western Pennsylvania. This platform creates space for local authors to share their work, discuss their creative process, and connect directly with readers. These events feature book readings, lectures, signings, and Q&A sessions, fostering an intimate and interactive atmosphere. We've hosted authors like Marie Benedict, Brooke Barker and Boaz Frankel, Andy McPhee, and Clare Beams to name a few.

Our hope with Community Ink is to strengthen ties between authors and their local audience; showcase writers across genres, from fiction and poetry to memoirs and academic works; offer insights into the writing process, publishing journey, and the power of storytelling while providing visibility and encouragement for authors to thrive within their community.

Event Details

Join author Cody McDevitt as he shares more about his book, Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania. In 1923, in response to the fatal shooting of four policemen, the mayor of Johnstown ordered every African American and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for less than seven years to leave. They were given less than a day to move or would face crippling fines or jail time and were forced out at gunpoint. An estimated two thousand people uprooted their lives in response to the racist edict. Area Ku Klux Klan members celebrated the creation of a "sundown town" and increased their own intimidation practices. Figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out in Pittsburgh against it as newspapers throughout the country published condemnations.

 

This program is generously funded by the Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area.

Cody McDevitt is an investigative reporter based in western Pennsylvania. He has won a Golden Quill and awards from the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association and the Pennsylvania Associated Press Media Editors Organization. He co-authored Pittsburgh Drinks: A History of Cocktails, Nightlife and Bartending Tradition and Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania, for which he won a Bronze Medal in the IPPY Awards in 2021.

Disclaimer(s)

Adults Only

Adults 18+ only please.

Registration

Please register online or call the library at 412-828-9520 (SCL).

Your Registration

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