When Clarion English professor Dr. Brian Roberts 鈥�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 鈥� 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 鈥淓dward鈥檚 Blues鈥� and 鈥淗ugh鈥檚 Blues,鈥� and he is in the process of writing
the third play, 鈥淒anny鈥檚 Blues,鈥� about his father. 鈥淓dward鈥檚 Blues鈥� 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.