As an Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh, Laurence Glasco is focused on African American history, both locally and globally. He has studied the history of Black Pittsburgh for the past decade and researched and narrated the recent exhibition on slavery in early Pittsburgh, “Free at Last?,” which is available on-line at http://www.library.pitt.edu/freeatlast. Professor Glasco has written numerous publications on the history of Black Pittsburgh and is currently working on a biography of K. Leroy Irvis; on “August Wilson’s Pittsburgh,” a study of Pittsburgh to accompany August Wilson’s plays; and with the Carnegie Museum of Art on a major up-coming exhibition of the photographs of Teenie Harris.
Glasco’s activities in Pittsburgh’s African American community go beyond teaching and research. He has received several awards for his community work, serves on the advisory committee to restore the New Granada Theater in the Hill, delivered a lecture at the Economic Mini-Summit on Black Empowerment and spoke at the opening ceremonies of the K. Leroy Irvis Science Center at CCAC. In addition, he works toward preservation of historic Black sites in Pittsburgh as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and a member of Young Preservationists Association.