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During her tenure as president of the Pitt Alumni Association (PAA), Valerie Njie spent much of her time and energy telling the Pitt story — highlighting to alumni, students and the broader community the best parts of the University.
Njie (EDUC ’71) remains an active member of the PAA, continuing to support and highlight the accomplishments of Pitt and its outstanding alumni. But in summer 2024, she turned her focus to telling her own story and, in doing so, became one of a handful of Pitt affiliates helping to launch a unique oral history project, “Voices of History.”
The statewide project, which aims to collect Black family histories in the 20th and 21st centuries, was launched in Pittsburgh by PA Humanities, a nonprofit that has been promoting culture and community in the commonwealth for half a century. The effort has since traveled around the state to Erie, Scranton and other cities. The 15 stories harvested in Pittsburgh speak of resilience, explore life in African American neighborhoods and reflect a legacy of pride and perseverance.
Njie — now a Pitt Board of Trustees member — remembers her father’s impact on the local African American community in the video “Black Credit.”
Njie said her dad saw the growing popularity and influence of TVs in American life and partnered with two other businessmen to start a TV repair business in the mid-’50s. Around 1960, her father went solo and opened WAM TV, expanding the company to sell TVs, stereos, major appliances and eventually furniture and carpeting. Until 2015, to Njie, her dad was just a successful sales and service man, which was surely why he was being honored at a Black History Month program she was emceeing. But Njie soon discovered he wasn’t being recognized for his business alone.
“I kept running into individuals who would say to me, ‘Ah, you’re WAM’s daughter. That’s where I got my first credit.’ I mean, over and over and over,” Njie said.
That mattered a great deal “back in the ’50s and ’60s, when Black folks weren’t able to get credit from major stores,” Njie added. “But if you went and you bought your appliances from my dad, he would take you to the bank and get you credit.”
When she arrived at the storytelling circle in 2024, Njie didn’t know what story she wanted to share with PA Humanities. She decided to talk about her dad because of the “huge influence he had on people’s lives” and how he “gave people the opportunity to do something that they would not have been able to do.”
Although Njie’s father passed away in his 50s, he had a profound impact on Njie and her siblings. The diligence he taught them was unmatched, she said.
“For all of my sisters and brothers, we all grew up with this work ethic: Do it and do it right and do it right the first time,” Njie said.
Njie is one of six Pitt people who shared their stories for the PA Humanities project.
- Sheila Beasley (CGS ’87), a communications professional, reflected on “East Liberty’s Italian Army.”
- Ervin Dyer (A&S ’11G, ’16G), a senior editor with Pitt Magazine, shared “Grandma’s Chair.”
- Janis Burley (A&S ’88), head of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, shared a story called “Swimming Pools.”
- Elayne Arrington (ENGR ’61) a pioneering engineer and former Pitt professor, shared “School Daze.”
- Damon Young, a noted author and the first writer-in-residence with Pitt’s David C. Frederick Honors College, shared a story called “Pennley Court.”
For Njie, the project emphasized the importance of continually sharing the stories of the people who came before you.
“We have to tell the stories,” she said. “Because if you don’t tell them, the stories are going to die.”
Photography courtesy of Valerie Njie