Robert Lee "Rob" Penny was an American playwright, poet, social activist, and professor.
10 Facts About Rob Penny
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Rob Penny moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Hill District as a toddler, where he was raised.
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Porter, in particular, himself a creative, drew on Rob Penny's established reputation as a "straight ahead" poet, fusing the incantations of Bebop jazz and street lyricism into hard hitting graphic, terse poetics that spoke to street life.
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Many considered Rob Penny to be Wilson's mentor in those early days.
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Rob Penny's hire, along with other non-traditionalists academics, such as the choreographer Bob Johnson were part of the push to infuse the Black Studies curriculum with a wholistic Black Aesthetic to correspond to an advanced exploration of Black academics that Porter, in particular, thought should comprise Black Studies.
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Rob Penny's tenure established a foothold for the increased production of his art.
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Rob Penny, moved on to serve as chair of its Africana Studies Department from 1978 to 1984 after Porter's resignation from the Chairmanship.
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Rob Penny was a founding member of the Africana Studies Department.
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In 1976, he and Wilson co-founded the Kuntu Writers Workshop, which Rob Penny coordinated until his death on March 16,2003.
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The Pittsburgh City Council honored Rob Penny by presenting the Rob Penny family with a key to the City of Pittsburgh for his commitment to social activism, dedication to encouraging youth, and contributions to the greater Hill District community.