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BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPOTLIGHT:
Who is B. Marshall and What Does He Do?
William B. Marshall is the founder of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, a local grass roots organization created in 2012 to help curve Violence among Young adults and youth in Allegheny county and to educate the community on African American culture and history.
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Since it's founding, using his organization, Mr. Marshall has produced several youth educational programs and events such as the annual High School Students Black History Month Summit, and the annual Juneteenth Youth Fest, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Penguins and Steelers. Since 2018 these programs have serviced over 5,000 students in Western PA.
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In 2013 Mr. Marshall started the annual Pittsburgh Juneteenth Celebration, and in 2016, he started a re-enactment of the 1870 Grand Jubilee of Freemen Parade originally created by Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, the National Equal Rights League of Western PA, and other religious leaders of his day.
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In 2018 and 2019, Mr. Marshall created the Pittsburgh Black Music Festival and Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival, as a tribute to Black Musical icons from the City of Pittsburgh and Black food operators from the 18th and 19th centuries.
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With the production of his many festival events, in 2023, B. Marshall brought together over 100,000 attendees from inside Allegheny and across the country and helped generated $9 million dollars back into the economy, he helped some 200 local small business vendors create a economic impact of $1.6 million back into the local communities and produced and hosted the largest Juneteenth Celebration in the nation. These statistics were reported and released by VisitPITTSBURGH and Stop the Violence Pittsburgh in its annual Economic Impact Survey Reports for 2023.
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B. Marshall has partnered with various local organizations, the City of Pittsburgh, Corporate Businesses, Individuals and Groups to produce his many events and problems. These festival events celebration and promote the rich history of Black Pittsburghers from the founding of the City in 1758, highlight the cultural contributions of Black Pittsburghers since 1788 when Four (4) Black Men signed the original Petition to create Allegheny County, and promotes the spiritual aspect of Black Pittsburgh since the establishment of the first Black Church in Downtown Pittsburgh in 1808!
B. Marshall believes that it is his duty and responsibility to continue in the footsteps of community forerunners to promote inclusion, economic opportunities, social justice and equity for Black residences in Western PA!
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