February is Black History Month, and Melvin Morgan Jr. has been working all month long on a project that honors that history by recognizing well-known African Americans in Uniontown.

Morgan, owner of AOP Visuals (Aopvisuals), a Christian-based photography business, has been using his talent to create Giants of Uniontown, a photo series focusing on a different member of the Uniontown community each day. Along with a photo shoot, Morgan conducts an in-depth interview with each person covering such topics as their inspirations, differences they hope to make in the community, and the messages they want to send to the city and African American youth.

Morgan said Giants of Uniontown is an idea that had been brewing for a few years.

“The idea came back in 2019, right before COVID,” he said. “My vision was for African American people who have been active in the community, or a big part of it, to be recognized – African Americans who own businesses, or maybe are heavily involved with the youth, or are simply trying to make Uniontown a better place.”

Morgan said he chose subjects based largely on those who have inspired or encouraged him.

“The people I picked were mostly people I’ve had good personal experiences and encounters with – people I’ve looked up to, people who’ve inspired and encouraged me, even if from a distance, from artists to preachers to athletes to teachers, politicians, electricians, hairstylists, DJs, and everything in-between,” he said. “African Americans have successful people here in Uniontown, a lot living and serving on the east side. I want our youth, especially our troubled youth, to see a future, to see they, too, can walk in the footsteps of people who have been and are big parts of the very same community they live in.”

Morgan started Aopvisuals five years ago but has been interested in and studying photography for twice that amount of time. “I first became interested in photography almost 10 years ago,” he said. “I took a photo of a seagull, perfectly frozen in motion, and thought it was cool.”

Morgan continued to shoot wildlife photos, and read articles and watched YouTube videos to teach himself the art of photography. Though this is the first year for his Giants of Uniontown series, Morgan’s talents are already being appreciated.

Angela Brown is a Uniontown city councilwoman who works in behavioral health and co-owns Brown Innovators. One of Morgan’s first featured subjects, Brown said the project has the potential to do a great deal of good in the community.

“One way to erase the divide is through education,” she said. “I feel, if others outside of this community actually see the good, hard-working residents in the city of Uniontown, they may be more compelled to join us in the efforts to bring life back into our community. We do not want to move from our lifelong homes. We love our community and want to bring back the days when we all were safe and thriving in life. Melvin’s vision sheds light on us all.”

Terry Vassar, co-founder of One Voice One Community, also was chosen and said he liked the idea of spotlighting people within the community. Vassar noted many of the community’s youth are unaware of the sacrifices and accomplishments of people they see daily, and the Giants of Uniontown project is helping to spotlight them.

“I thought it was a great thing to do because we always look to (recognize) people outside the community, but there are a lot of people right here doing things that these kids are seeing every day,” he said.

Morgan posts his photos and interviews on the AOP Visuals Facebook page and said he has received good feedback.

“The response has been amazing, just seeing everyone showing each other love,” he said. “Even if it’s just on Facebook, people are uplifting one another, sharing stories of how some of these giants helped them or even changed their lives. After seeing the outcome of this project, I want to do it again for February 2025.”

He also might consider expanding the scope of the project.

“This project was created to highlight Uniontown, but after seeing the response it got, I would love to highlight other towns throughout Fayette County in coming years,” he said.

To learn more about Giants of Uniontown, visit the Aopvisuals Facebook page at www.facebook.com/alwaysonpointvisuals.