Growing up, state Rep. Aerion Andrew Abney, D-Manchester, did not learn about the four Black men who signed the petition to create Allegheny County. He learned about Benjamin Richards, his son Charles Richards, David Saven and David Betty during his own journey into politics. Abney recently wrote an op-ed piece about the four men who signed the 1788 petition, in honor of Black History Month. “It is always important to bring attention to the legacy and the historical relevance that Black people have made to Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and this country,” he said in a phone interview. “We should be doing this all year around.” At a time when Black history is being erased, “I wanted to use my platform to speak truth to power,” he said. Joining with 738 other men who wanted to split from Westmoreland County, the four men signed the petition almost eight years after Pennsylvania passed the Act of Gradual Abolition, which eliminated lifetime enslavement and instituted a term limit for p...