When Dr. James H. McLemore, founder of SSDI, came to Pittsburgh in 1996 to pastor the Hill District’s historic Mother Bethel AME Church, he brought with him a contagious energy and a plan for stabilizing and strengthening particularly African American families headed by single women in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Spurred by a staggering statistic that placed Pittsburgh second in the nation for single-parent households headed by women, Dr. McLemore set out to provide services and a program to address the unique needs of a population that then constituted nearly 75% percent of families in the greater Pittsburgh area. Despite the enormity of the problem, few were taking notice of the plight of these households, most of them African American. Adapting the program model for Mother to Son, which he had operated in Ohio, Dr. McLemore worked closely with members of Bethel AME Church and more than 40 organizations that provided community based services. With $65,000 in seed money from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Dr. McLemore and a cadre of committed volunteers first opened for business in a 9’ x 12’ room in Bethel’s basement. Small Seeds Board Secretary and Bethel Church Trustee Katie Johnson, fondly remembers the many eight-hour volunteer days she worked to help build Mother to Son before paid staff members were brought on board.
The immense need for services eventually took Small Seeds beyond Bethel AME Church to other churches, housing projects, and community centers. Funding levels increased, and those leading Small Seeds successfully convinced dozens of community leaders and organizations that single mothers and their sons deserved their attention and intervention. The demand for Small Seeds’ programs and services reached new heights, and its infrastructure grew to include a diverse and professional staff. All of which never would have been possible if not for the love, faith, and hard work of Dr. James H McLemore.
He will be greatly missed.