Their Story

Through archival images, reconstructed memories, and firsthand accounts, this documentary examines how the labor demands of a wealthy white community shaped the emergence of a proud and resilient Black community in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.
Drawing from Their Story, an anthology of community voices, the film brings lived experience to life through the oral tradition—pairing personal recollections with a rich collection of archival photographs and recorded interview audio. Together, these voices recount how Black men and women found work on large estates and within white households, and how those relationships—marked by proximity, dependence, and familiarity—shaped daily life on both sides. As memories unfold, the film traces how steady employment, shared spaces, and long-term connections contributed to the growth of a robust Black community, while revealing the complex and often unspoken dynamics that defined interactions between Black workers and their white counterparts. Told by the people who lived it, the film preserves a community’s history as it was remembered, shared, and passed down.