COLUMBUS, Ohio — Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in American history.
This year's theme, "African Americans and the Arts," focuses on the major influences Black Americans have had in literature, music, film and other forms of cultural expression.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS IN CENTRAL OHIO
The Ohio History Connection is hosting a series of events from webinars to in-person events and exhibits highlighting the importance of Black History Month and the achievements Black Americans had locally and nationally.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library is holding various events, both in-person and virtual, at many of its branches throughout the month. The events range from a history pop-up to celebrating African American achievements in science to a song and dance session with BabaaRitah.
Click here for more events in central Ohio.
STORIES OF EMPOWERMENT, PRESERVATION AND CHANGE
This month, 10TV is featuring stories of Black community leaders in the Columbus area and their ongoing journeys to preserve and shape history to this day.
On Feb. 5, Tracy Townsend sits down with Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts and her battle with her health. She discusses how to address the social determinants of health and the need for cultural competency, as well as how patients can learn to advocate for their health.
On Feb. 12, Dave Holmes tells the story of many former athletes like former Ohio State and NBA player Lawrence Funderburke using their experiences on the field and court to empower Black youths and their families.
Ohio was a free state during the Civil War, but that doesn't mean African Americans were safe and they remained unsafe and segregated for decades after. Many brave people fought for freedom and civil rights in the state.
On Feb. 19, Andrew Kinsey looks at the efforts to preserve that history for this generation and more to come.
Black business owners are working hard to build generational wealth in Columbus. On Feb. 26, Angela An looks at the generational legacy of a local business preserving Black history through a rare collection of artifacts.
HONORING BLACK HISTORY IN CENTRAL OHIO
Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson learned to draw and paint before she could speak. Her family lived in Poindexter Village, the nation’s second public housing community, and much of Robinson’s work depicts life there. Her work was also inspired by her Uncle Alvin, the family storyteller. Robinson described her own work as “filling the blank pages of American History.”
Robinson died in 2015, leaving most of her art, writings, and personal property to the Columbus Museum of Art. The museum established the Aminah Robinson Legacy Project in 2020. Her home studio is now a residence for Black artists and writers.
Palladium of Liberty
Columbus’ first Black weekly newspaper, the Palladium of Liberty, was published in 1843 by editor and activist David Jenkins and a group of free African Americans. The paper held a strong anti-slavery stance and advocated for civil rights for African Americans and equal education for Black children. There were 32 issues of the Palladium of Liberty before the newspaper folded in 1844.
Second Baptist Church is the oldest African American Baptist church in Columbus and still serves as a sanctuary in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood. It was formally established in 1836 at the request of 16 Black members of the First Baptist Church.
The Second Baptist Church congregation split in 1847 over the issue of slavery. Abolitionist members formed the Anti-Slavery Baptist Church, which was pastored by Rev. Dr. James Poindexter. The congregation reunited eight years later under Poindexter’s leadership.
Second Baptist Church has an active congregation today and is the mother of 10 area churches.
The Kwanzaa Playground was built in English Park in 1995 as a joint effort between the Olde Town East community and the city of Columbus. It is also known as the Children’s Africentric Playground. It was inspired by the African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” Designed in the shape of a human to represent the first ancestor, the Kwanzaa Playground focuses on positive African American images. Seven local artists contributed to the park, including Queen Brooks who created the archway.
Michael Bivens made history in January when he was sworn in as the first Black mayor of the city of Whitehall. Bivens said he hopes the city will grow under his leadership and that he plans to bring together people from different backgrounds to foster innovation.
10TV interviewed Bivens on Jan. 1 at his swearing-in ceremony. He said a few decades ago no one would have dreamed of a Black man being elected to the office of mayor in Whitehall. He hopes his election inspires others and creates a path for those who want to follow in his footsteps.
“It reminds me of the hope and possibilities that exist in this nation. Because if there is anything we can do in the United States, we can change,” he said.
The first African American-owned farm in Delaware County was established in 1835 by a freed slave from Virginia named Abram Depp. He and his wife built a small community on the land and used the farm as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Depp rang a bell, which still stands outside of the barn, to signal the “all clear” to African Americans on their journeys to freedom.
Depp’s daughter, Lucy, sold a portion of the land to her cousin in the 1920s. He established an African American community there in 1926 and named it Lucy Depp Park after Abram's daughter. The neighborhood still stands and many of the homes are original.
Rev. Dr. James Poindexter moved from Richmond to Columbus in 1838. Trained as a barber since the age of 10, Poindexter opened a shop on North 4th Street across from the Ohio Statehouse. His legacy did not stop at the door of his shop, though. He became an influential political, religious, and social justice leader in Ohio and across the United States.
Poindexter was the first African American to serve on Columbus City Council and the School Board. He was also a trustee for the State School for the Blind and a member of the Ohio State Forestry Bureau.
Poindexter was the pastor of the Anti-Slavery Baptist Church before becoming the leader of the Second Baptist Church, where he served for 40 years. Poindexter Village, the nation’s second affordable housing community, was named in his memory.
Berwick Alternative teacher Jeannette Johnson received the Helen Jenkins Davis Award in January. She received the award for promoting diversity in her second-grade classroom. Johnson encourages her students to share their own cultures and traditions and brings guest readers into her classroom to show the children how diverse Columbus is.
The award is named after Helen Jenkins Davis, who was hired by Columbus City Schools in 1918 and was the first African American educator in the district. Davis was the daughter of a freed slave and promoted human rights and equality despite facing discrimination herself.
Ellen Walker Craig-Jones made national Black history in 1972 when she became the first African American woman elected to the office of mayor of a city in the United States. Craig-Jones was elected as mayor in Urbancrest and served in that position until 1974. Before that, she was on the Urbancrest City Council for 12 years, according to the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Craig-Jones founded the Urbancrest Volunteer Civic Association and served as the first president of the Urbancrest Community Recreation Club. Columbus Mayor Tom Moody declared Sept. 10 as ellen Walker Craig Day in 1974. She was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994 and was awarded the keys to Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, according to the library.
Ralph Waldo Tyler was an African American journalist from Columbus who reported on the bravery and sacrifice of Black troops during World War 1.
Tyler was the first African American war correspondent and the only credentialed Black journalist reporting from the battlefield during World War 1. He reported on the experiences of Black servicemen stationed in France, according to the Ohio History Connection.
He went on to report for the Columbus Dispatch and the Ohio State Journal before going into politics. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Auditor of the Navy in 1907.
Dr. Nimrod Booker Allen always advocated for African Americans, but with the goal of racial integration and harmony, according to the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Allen graduated from Wilberforce University with a bachelor's in journalism and from Yale University with a bachelor's in sacred theology. He moved to Columbus in 1915 to become the executive secretary of the Spring Street branch of the YMCA.
Allen organized the Columbus Urban League in 1917 and served as its executive secretary for 33 years. He also founded Frontiers of America in 1936, which was then the only service organization focused on developing Black leadership in the Americas.
Allen died in 1977 and was inducted posthumously into the Columbus Hall of Fame, the Urban League Hall of Fame, and the Civil Rights Hall of Fame.
William Henry Brooks was born in Columbus in 1912 and would make history twice.
Brooks graduated from Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and passed the bar in 1938. He used his career to advocate for civil rights, including educators. He was also the vice president of the Columbus NAACP. He was appointed to the president of the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP in 1951, according to the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Brooks became the first Black judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court in 1963 and the first African American to work in the mayor’s cabinet.
The Kelton House
The Kelton House was built in 1852 by an abolitionist couple, Fernando Cortez Kelton and Sophia Stone Kelton. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad where the couple helped slaves seeking freedom.
Those freedom seekers included two young sisters from Virginia named Martha and Pearl Hartway. While Pearl continued her journey north, Martha stayed with the Kelton family for a decade. She met her husband through the family, and they married in the home’s front parlor.
E.E. Ward Moving and Storage is the longest continually owned Black business in the United States. It was recognized as a legacy business by the Small Business Administration in September 2023. The business was founded in 1881 by John T. Ward and his son.
Before the abolishment of slavery, John T. Ward was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. He covered a stretch just south of Columbus to just north of the city. He transferred people under the cover of night using a wagon and two horses, said E.E. Ward CEO Brian Brooks.
E.E. Ward stayed in the family for several generations until Eldon Ward retired. Brooks bought the company in 2001 and built a second location in Charlotte.
Dr. George Boston
Dr. George Boston served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War 2, but his service didn’t stop when the war ended. He dedicated his life to dentistry, graduating first in his class from Ohio State University. He went on to become the first Black dentist at the university's hospital, and the first tenured African American at the OSU College of Medicine.
Mayme Moore
Mayme Moore is affectionately remembered as the mother of the Columbus NAACP. She moved to Columbus in 1938 when the city was segregated. She was a founding member of the Columbus Branch of the NAACP and vice president of the National Negro Women’s Club.
Moore was also a civil rights activist. She marched in Washington D.C. alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and stood a few feet away from him when he delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963.
Poindexter Village
Poindexter Village opened in Columbus’ East side in 1940 and was the second public housing community in the United States. It was named after African American spiritual and political leader Rev. Dr. James Poindexter.
Poindexter Village opened with more than 400 units. It was a thriving community for many years, but drugs and crime moved into the area leading for calls to demolish the community. There were 35 original homes remaining in Poindexter Village in 2013 when all but two were demolished. The remaining structures were purchased by the Ohio History Connection, which plans to develop them into a museum.
Isaiah Tuppins
Isaiah Tuppins made history three times during his short life. In 1884, he became the first Black man to graduate from the Columbus Medical College and the first African American to graduate with a medical degree in Ohio, according to the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
He was also the first Black man elected to mayor in Ohio when he won the office in Rendville in 1888. He fell ill suddenly and died in 1889 when he was 33 years old.
The Lincoln Theater
The Lincoln Theater opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1928 under its original name, the Ogden Theater and Ballroom. It was built by, and for, African Americans in the segregated city of Columbus. It was the centerpiece of the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood’s entertainment center – the Block.
The Lincoln Theater became a popular venue for jazz musicians. One of the first entertainers on its stage was Sammy Davis Jr. When he was just 3 years old. Renowned musicians like Count Basie, James Brown, and Columbus’ own Nancy Wilson also graced its stage.
The Lincoln Theater was renovated and reopened in 2009 as part of a revival of the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood. It serves as a performing arts and education center.
Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson started making a name for herself as a talented jazz vocalist when she was a student at West High School. She won a talent contest sponsored by a TV station and was given her own program. She took her talent to local stages, performing in places like Kitty’s, the Lincoln Theater, and Club Carolyn, before moving to New York City and getting a recording contract. She went on to record more than 70 albums and win three Grammy Awards before she died in 2018 at the age of 81.
Granville Woods
Granville Woods was an inventor from Columbus nicknamed the Black Edison because of his talent with electricity. He started his electric company in Cincinnati in 1880 and filed his first patent four years later. He was most famous for inventing the induction telegraph, which used voice-over telegraph wires to send messages between moving trains, according to the Columbus Metropolitan Library. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.