Building Community: A Black History Month Spotlight with Lynnette Morris
The URA is celebrating our Black employees during Black History Month. These employee spotlights are a small way of showing our appreciation for the important work they’ve done for the URA, the City of Pittsburgh, and beyond.
Lynnette Morris, an Engagement Analyst with the URA, started here almost 10 years ago as an Administrative Assistant in the Commercial Lending Department.
In her role as an Engagement Analyst, she is the first point of contact for new and growing businesses interested in URA loans and technical assistance. “I’ve seen a lot of clients come through with ideas for a new business and they’re able to make it a reality because of the URA believing in their vision,” Lynnette said. Lynnette has five children and seven grandchildren.
She has always encouraged them to reach for the stars and to know that they can achieve their dreams. “The important thing is being a good role model to them, to teach them a good work ethic,” she said, “My youngest grandchild is five, and he wants to be a doctor. His sister who is 13 wants to be an architect. My 16-year-old granddaughter wants to be a psychiatrist, and her 13-year-old brother a civil engineer. Another 16-year-old granddaughter wants to be a nurse. Her twin brother is interested in Sports Management because of his uncle who took that route and works for the NBA.”
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and because of my work in Commercial Lending and hearing about other people’s success stories, I’m currently on the way to starting my own business,” she said.
Read the rest of the interview to learn more about Lynnette’s life in Pittsburgh and beyond.
What story do you want to tell?
I was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in the Hill District. I went to A. Leo Weil Elementary School when I was young, and then I went to Fifth Avenue High School for 7th & 8th grade.
Not all schools had the same quality education. Fifth Avenue didn’t have enough books for each student. I remember them copying books, so there would be enough to go around. The school closed in 1976, and they bused us to Brashear High School. They merged parts of the Hill, Hazelwood and Beechview.
My class was the first class to go through the first four years of high school there. The first couple of years there was a lot of racial tension. There was a riot that broke out in 1977. I remember riding home through Mount Washington, and rocks were being thrown at our bus. I was sitting next to the aisle and bent down to tie my shoe, and the girl next to me was hit in the eye with a rock. I thought, “Wow, that could have been me.”
What was it like growing up in Pittsburgh?
I grew up in a two-parent household with four siblings. I was taught to treat others how you want to be treated. No matter how others may treat me I try to follow those words daily. As a young black kid, I was protected by my parents who guarded me from seeing a lot of injustice in my community and around Pittsburgh. As I grew up into adolescence, I saw a lot more.
A few days ago, the Pittsburgh Courier reported that Pittsburgh tied for the worst city for Black professionals. Black professionals might give the city mixed reviews, but statistics around homeownership and business ownership rank Pittsburgh toward the bottom.
I want to be part of the change and make Pittsburgh a more inclusive place for all. It’s so important as a part of an organization to be approachable and show that we care. It makes people have a positive outlook on who the URA is. It hasn’t always been that way, so I take pride in working to change that view of the URA.
What’s changed in Pittsburgh since you were young?
The schools have changed, families are smaller now. When I left Pittsburgh in 2005, There weren’t as many students in the schools, and they were threatening to close some of them. I was living in Crafton Heights at the time, and they were going to close Schaeffer Elementary where my youngest was in kindergarten.
I, along with other parents, went before the Board of Public Education to fight to keep it open. They kept the school open for one more year but closed it the following year. It was time for me to go, so I moved South. Education is very important to me.
What advice do you have for a younger version of yourself?
I would give myself this quote from former First Lady Michelle Obama: “Each of us carries a bit of inner brightness, something entirely unique and individual. A flame that’s worth protecting. When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it. When we learn to foster what’s unique in the people around us, we become better able to build compassionate communities and make meaningful change.”
