GALLERY: Black History Month
Taken around 1955, this is a portrait of jazz pianist Art Tatum. Known as "Toledo's Blind Pianist" Tatum was born in Toledo, Ohio and was considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. His life and music are still celebrated today.
This portrait shows poet Paul Laurence Dunbar with his mother, Matilda Dunbar, ca. 1890-1900. He was born in Dayton on June 27, 1872 to freed slaves from Kentucky. He became one of the first influential Black poets in American literature, and was internationally acclaimed. In his career, Dunbar authored 12 collections of poetry, five novels, one play, and a large number of newspapers.
Ohio native Granville T. Woods, patented the induction telegraph system. Created in 1887, his invention sent messages to and from moving trains and helped railroad engineers avoid crashes, which revolutionized the industry.
Born enslaved in 1858, Anna Julia Cooper was one of the 1st Black women to earn a doctorate. An Oberlin College grad, she's also one of the most prominent Black scholars in U.S. history.
George Washington Williams is pictured here in this 1860s-era portrait from the Ohio History Collection. A veteran, pastor, politician and historian, Williams was the first African American elected to the Ohio Legislature.
In 2017, the State of Ohio designated Oct. 7 as “Moses Fleetwood Walker Day” to honor him as the first African American to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. A native of Mount Pleasant and a star athlete at Oberlin College, Walker played for semi-professional and minor league baseball clubs before joining the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association (AA) for the 1884 season.
Activist, educator and Wilberforce University graduate Hallie Quinn Brown was a founder of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, she traveled throughout the South teaching literacy to children denied the chance to read during slavery.
Garrett Morgan was a Black inventor, businessman, and community leader. He grew up in Cincinnati and moved to Cleveland where his most notable inventions were a three-position traffic signal and a smoke hood (a predecessor to the gas mask) notably used in a 1916 tunnel construction disaster rescue. Morgan also discovered and developed a chemical hair-processing and straightening solution. He created a successful company based on his hair product inventions along with a complete line of hair-care products, and became involved in the civic and political advancement of Black people, especially in and around Cleveland.
Born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1862, Carrie Williams Clifford was an early leader in the fight for Black women’s rights. An established journalist, political organizer and poet, Clifford's work pushed issues of injustice, sexism and discrimination to the forefront.
Carl B. Stokes served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland. Elected on Nov. 7, 1967, and taking office on Jan. 1, 1968, he was one of the first black-elected mayors of a major U.S. city.
Marion Motley was a Canton McKinley graduate who also starred at the University of Nevada. He shattered pro football's color barrier when he and Bill Willis signed to play with the Cleveland Browns in September, 1946. Motley is featured in the book Ohio's Autumn Legends, Volume I, written by Richland Source editor Larry Phillips.
Bill Willis, a Columbus East graduate and All-American at Ohio State, shattered pro football's color barrier when he and Marion Motley signed to play with the Cleveland Browns in September, 1946. Willis is featured in the book Ohio's Autumn Legends, Volume II, written by Richland Source editor Larry Phillips.
Born in Virginia and raised in Chillicothe, John Mercer Langston graduated from Oberlin College in 1849 and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1854, becoming Ohio's first Black attorney.
P. Ross Berry helped construct many of the buildings in downtown Youngstown. A master stonemason and bricklayer, his accomplishments include the Rayen School and the Mahoning County Courthouse.
Ferdinand Smith, a Springfield native, served in World War I in the 92nd Division, also known as the Buffalo Division. He fought in France and was honorably discharged in 1919. France awarded several honors upon this division, including the coveted Croix de Guerre for heroism.
“Never too old to learn,” is the description printed on the back of this 1930s-era image of Alfred Murphy. Formerly enslaved, the 105 year-old Murphy was learning to read and write thanks to a literacy class conducted by the Works Progress Administration in Columbus.
Legendary Ohio State University running back Archie Griffin was a Columbus Eastmoor graduate and to this day remains the only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy in the history of college football. The Heisman is the highest honor in college football.
Yvonne Walker-Taylor was the daughter of Bishop Dougal Ormonde Beaconfield Walker, president of Wilberforce University in the 1940s. Walker-Taylor was named the 16th president of Wilberforce University in 1984, making her the first female Black college president in the United States.
Former Ohio legislator Charleta Tavares is pictured here in 1993. In 1996, she was elected Minority Whip in the Ohio Senate — making her the first Black woman ever to hold a leadership position in the state legislature.
Born in Marietta, civil rights activist Constance Curtis Nichols was one of the founders of the Vanguard League — an organization dedicated to eliminating discrimination against Blacks in Columbus.
Jesse Owens graduated from Cleveland East Tech, became an All-American at Ohio State, and won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin despite the political pressure of Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime. Owens authored the greatest day in track history at the Big Ten Championships meet on May 25, 1935 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He set three world records and tied a fourth. Owens was ranked by ESPN as the sixth greatest North American athlete of the 20th century and the highest-ranked in his sport.
Charles Follis was the first black professional football player with the Shelby Blues in 1904. He was a Wooster product who played at the College of Wooster. Read more about him in Ohio's Autumn Legends, Volume I, available at Amazon.com.
Benjamin H. Fisher was one of Toledo's first Black attorneys. After graduating from the University of Michigan law school, Fisher was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1913. He was an Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor for 22 years.
Novelist Toni Morrison was born in Lorain in 1931. She’s considered one of the greatest authors in American history. In this 1974 photo taken by Jill Krementz, Morrison is seen in her office at Random House where she worked as an editor.
Col. Charles Young was the 1st Black man to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking Black officer in the Army.
Charles Harris Wesley was a prominent Black scholar, artist, minister and civil rights figure. He was the first president of Wilberforce University, founded Central State College and served as the first director of Afro-American Historical & Cultural Museum in Philadelphia.
Ellen Walker Craig, mayor of Urbancrest, Ohio, is shown here at her desk, in 1975.
Frank Robinson remains the only player in Major League Baseball history to win the Most Valuable Player in the National League (1961 with the Cincinnati Reds) and the American League (1966 with the Baltimore Orioles). He became Major League Baseball's first Black manager with the Cleveland Indians in 1975.
In July 1947 — three months after Jackie Robinson made history with the Brooklyn Dodgers — Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier with the Cleveland Indians. Doby was the first player to go directly to the majors from the Negro leagues. He became a seven-time All-Star center fielder and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Halle Berry of Cleveland won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama film Monster's Ball (2001), becoming the only woman of color to have won the award.
As featured on
History was always my favorite subject in school. I minored in it in college, and have found it fascinating since my grandmother introduced me to a book on the history of U.S. Presidents shortly after I learned to read.
