The papers of Cathryn Irvis, a local advocate of health and children’s rights, are heavily focused on the United Nation’s International Year of the Child (1979). Information about planning and organizing the conference at the state and regional levels are demonstrated through Irvis’ role as chairperson of the Pennsylvania Committee for the International Year of the Child. This collection documents activities and projects and includes correspondence, programs, and pamphlets. A small amount of material about Irvis’ interests, arranged as subject files, include African American and minority organizations, health care, education, the arts and politics.

Homer S. Brown became a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association in 1923. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1934 and became the first African-American appointed to the Pittsburgh Board of Education (1943), and elected (1949) as Allegheny County Judge. He served as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County from 1956 to 1975. The Papers of Homer S. Brown consist of biographical material, correspondence from his political and judicial career, photographs, and articles and speeches written by Brown.

Select portions of the Homer S. Brown Papers have been digitized and made available.

The K. Leroy Irvis Papers document the life of one of Pennsylvania's prominent politicians. Irvis, a Democrat, represented Pittsburgh in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1958-1988. Among his achievements, Irvis was elected Speaker of the House in 1977, the first African-American to hold that position in any state legislature in the United States since Reconstruction. The collection contains a wide variety of material, including correspondence, legislative material, interviews, photographs, publications, and campaign literature.

Sala Udin, an activist and community organizer at local and national levels, served on Pittsburgh City Council from 1995-2005, representing Council District 6, which includes the Hill District, downtown Pittsburgh, and portions of the North Side and Oakland. The bulk of the materials in this collection document his time on city council and include subjects such as African-American and minority history, employment, and culture; Pittsburgh's financial crisis; and police accountability.

This collection includes manuscripts, correspondence, publicity, and reviews of the work of author Albert French, encompassing the entirety of French's writing career from his first explorations with fiction in an unfinished manuscript to copies of all his published works.

Albert French (born 1943) is a Pittsburgh author and cousin of author John Edgar Wideman. After graduating from Penn Hills High School, French joined the Marines. He was sent to Vietnam and shot in the neck, but survived. French returned to Pittsburgh and pursued photography, eventually running his own magazine The Pittsburgh Preview. French then wrote his first novel Billy, which was published and received international acclaim. In 2007, Billy was adapted for the stage by David Barr and debuted in Chicago. French wrote three more novels and his memoir was eventually published, all favorably reviewed. Both Billy and Holly were translated into Dutch. French’s novels are centered on racism in America against Black people and are most commented on for their lyricism and authentic dialogue.