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WHEREAS, Amy Bell Stephenson, born on March 8, 1925 as the eldest of 10 children of Lawrence G. and Mary E. Humphries, will be celebrating her landmark birthday of 95 years with family and friends;
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stephenson graduated from Allegheny High School in 1942, going on to attend The Pratt Institute of Fashion Design in New York City, which propelled her towards a career as a design sketch artist ; and,
WHEREAS, while in New York she met her husband Sam Stephenson, as they were to be blessed with two children, Sam Stephenson and Sharon (Stephenson) Watkins, a family that through the years has grown to now include four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren; and,
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stephenson returned to Pittsburgh where she worked many years for a uniform manufacturer in Bloomfield, during which time she began building a reputation as the Formal Dress Designer in Pittsburgh, culminating in the opening of her very own store in 1980, Amy’s Fashions; and,
WHEREAS, in 1997, along with her daughter Sharon, she became the first African American woman-owned business to be granted a license by Major League Baseball for items designed for the Roberto Clemente statue dedication at Three Rivers Stadium; and,
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stephenson moved to Western Avenue in the Northside where she operated her custom design shop until she retired in the early 2000’s, thereby further cementing her status as a pioneer in the fashion industry in Pittsburgh, in addition to serving as the union shop steward for a local manufacturer as she represented the local in her travels across the county in the 80s and 90s; and,
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stephenson has been an active member of Metropolitan Baptist Church for 90-years, sang in the Metropolitan Singers choir along with her three sisters and cousin Omelia Humphries-Ponder, is a member of the Missionary Society, and joined the Order of the Eastern Star and the Heroines of Jericho, where she served as the Worthy Matron and Secretary for many years; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare March 8, 2020 to be “Amy Bell Stephenson Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.