Scranton Stories is an oral history video series featuring 33 individuals who have lived or worked in the city of Scranton. These videos are part of the larger project, Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story, which is a community-wide exploration of themes such as history, belonging, and identity. DiscoverNEPA will share these unique, personal “Scranton Stories” in the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.
Resilience, Leadership, and Hope for the Future
Cathy Ann Hardaway’s parents, a Black man whose family settled here in the early 1800’s and a white woman whose Welsh immigrant family arrived in the later 1800’s, met during a time when there were beliefs held by the community and their respective families that their inter-racial marriage was wrong. Despite this, they married and raised a family in the home they owned in Center City, where Cathy recalls the rich sense of community growing up.
Life changed in the 1960’s when her father died and, shortly thereafter, the Scranton Redevelopment Authority (SRA) demolished their home and neighborhood, as part of national urban renewal efforts. Cathy sees this “redevelopment” as fundamentally destructive to a community she treasured in what had been a diverse, predominantly African American neighborhood and questions why specifically that area was eliminated.
As a longtime community leader, Cathy feels a sense of belonging in Scranton but has also had that called into question at times because of the color of her skin. She is hopeful that, with education and because of the struggles they’ve faced, the youth of today will guide us to a kinder future.
