Cincinnati’s Black History: A Legacy of Resilience and Achievement

Cincinnati was founded across the Ohio River from the slave-allowing state of Kentucky.

• Despite the prohibition of slavery before the Civil War, certain aspects of Cincinnati’s history remained inhospitable to Black residents.

One year after Ohio became a state, the legislature adopted the “Black Codes.”

• These laws aimed to restrict freed slaves from entering the state.
• Black individuals entering Ohio were required to pay a $500 bond for good behavior and provide court papers proving their freedom.
• While these laws were loosely enforced in northern Ohio, they were strictly enforced in Cincinnati.

Pastor William Allen organized the first African American church in Cincinnati.

• Located at the corners of 6th and Culvert Street, it became an early station of the Underground Railroad.
• Despite being burned and rebuilt thrice (1812–1815), its history symbolizes resilience.
• In 1824, the Allen Temple African Methodist Church was founded, becoming Ohio’s second all-Black and first nationally affiliated Black church, and it remains one of the largest AME churches in Cincinnati.

Thousands of Black residents leave the city and seek refuge in Canada.

• Fueled by riots instigated by whites targeting Black citizens.
• Established the Wilberforce Colony.

Photo Credit: BlackPast.org

A devastating riot erupted in Cincinnati, marking one of the worst in American history.

• White dockworkers, primarily of Irish descent, attacked Black residents, believing they were taking their jobs.
• Tragically, 56 people lost their lives, and over 200 were injured.
• For the first time, the Black community united and elected Major J. Wilkerson, a mulatto, as their leader.

Gilmore High School, the first private high school for Black students in Cincinnati, opened its doors.

• The Gilmore School, a community hub, fostered solidarity among Cincinnati’s African Americans through cultural events, social gatherings, and organizing.

Tensions in race relations escalated after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act.

• This act allowed for the return of escaped slaves from one state to another.
• In 1856, the Garner family, including Margaret Garner, faced arrest in Cincinnati.
• Margaret and her family had escaped slavery to Cincinnati but were subsequently subdued.
• Tragically, rather than see her children returned to slavery, Margaret killed her 3-year-old daughter and injured her other children.

The Cincinnati Independent Colored School System was established.

• Funded by tax dollars from Black property owners, it aimed to provide education for Black students.
• Peter Humphries Clark, an African American Socialist and grandson of William Clark from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, became the first teacher and superintendent.
• Clark advocated for an all-Black high school, and when Gaines High School opened in 1866, he left his superintendent position to become its principal.

“The Black Brigade,” one of the early all-black military units in the Civil War, is formed in Cincinnati and works throughout the war building fortifications and roads and doing guard duty.

• Despite vital contributions, the Black Brigade faced discrimination and was not recognized until 1869, when Cincinnati compensated them.

Joseph Early made history by becoming the first African American elected to public office.

• He grew up in Walnut Hills and served as a constable.
• He was the third Black mail carrier to work for the US Post Office.
• Later, he became a ward boss, helping many Black residents secure employment.

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• Parham was the principal of Cincinnati’s Black schools from 1866 to 1890.
• In 1896, he became the first Black man nominated to the Ohio Legislature.

Granville T. Woods, known as “The Black Edison,” settled in Cincinnati.

• He educated himself and was remarkably inventive.
• He held more than 60 patents, including one for a telegraph system that allowed moving trains to communicate with each other and train stations.
• His invention significantly improved railway efficiency and safety.

Wendell P. Dabney, son of a Virginia slave, established The Union, a newspaper for Black Cincinnatians.

• The most influential African American newspaper, The Union, continued publication until he died in 1953.

Charles Henry Turner, a native of Cincinnati, earned a BS degree (1891) and an MS degree (1892) from the University of Cincinnati.

• He became a noted authority on the behavior of insects and was the first researcher to prove that certain insects can hear.

Raymond Garfield Dandridge, born in Cincinnati in 1882, attended Hughes High School.

• Despite being paralyzed by polio at 29, he became an early 20th-century poet.
• His works were published between 1917 and 1928, and he is often compared to Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Artie Matthews arranged the first published blues song, “Baby Seals Blues.”

• After moving to Cincinnati, he and his wife, Anna Howard, founded the Cosmopolitan School of Music, a music school for African Americans.

About 15 Cincinnatians, led by Wendell Dabney, established the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP.

• This occurred only six years after W.E.B. Du Bois founded the national civil rights organization.
• The Cincinnati chapter was considered a radical group and initially held secret meetings in members’ homes.

William DeHart Hubbard, a product of Walnut Hills High School and the University of Michigan, became the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal for an individual performance at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France.

Frank A. B. Hall, was one of the first Black police officers in Cincinnati and became the city’s first Black detective.

• As a Republican, Hall achieved another milestone by being elected to the Cincinnati City Council.
• His election was made possible by adopting proportional representation in 1927, facilitating minority representation.

Dr. Lucy Oxley, a graduate of Woodward High School, became the first African American woman to earn her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Young civil rights activist Fred Shuttlesworth moved to Cincinnati and became involved with the local NAACP chapter.

• Shuttlesworth began pastoring at Revelation Baptist Church in Cincinnati, using it as a base for civil rights organizing. He later founded and pastored the Greater New Light Baptist Church in the city in 1966.
• Though he later became renowned for his leadership in the Birmingham campaign against segregation in the 1960s, Shuttlesworth’s early work in Cincinnati laid the groundwork for his future civil rights achievements.

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Penn Zeigler became the president of Major Federal Savings and Loan, the first Black savings and loan institution in Cincinnati.

• In 1967, he won the mayoral election in Lincoln Heights.
• Zeigler’s civic accomplishments included active involvement in the Boy Scouts of America, where he earned the prestigious “Silver Buffalo” award.
• He was also the first African American to serve on Cincinnati’s Dan Beard Region Boy Scout Council.

The Urban League of Greater Cincinnati is established.

• The Urban League aimed to improve the Black population’s economic, social, educational, and cultural conditions.
• Early trustees included Ted Berry and William McClain.

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Ezzard Charles, a Cincinnati native, became the first heavyweight boxing champion from the city.

• His achievements were later recognized by renaming Lincoln Park Drive to Ezzard Charles Drive.
• In 1990, Ezzard Charles was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

NAACP activist Marian Spencer faced discrimination when told that her children would not be allowed to swim at a segregated pool.

• Despite Marian Spencer’s activism, areas like Sunlite Pool (a pool for Black residents) within Coney Island remained segregated until 1961, when black patrons were finally admitted after the NAACP won a case against Coney Island to integrate the pool and park.
• Marian Spencer became the first female president of the local chapter of the NAACP in 1981 and was the first Black woman elected to Cincinnati City Council.

Chuck Harmon broke barriers by becoming the first African American to join the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Club.

• He played both third base and outfield for the team.

Cincinnati replaced the proportional representation system for electing city council with an at-large system.

• Initiated by the local Republican party because they were concerned about having their first Black mayor.

William McClain became Cincinnati’s first city solicitor, making him the first African American in the United States to hold such a high municipal legal office.

• He also served as a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge and Municipal Court Judge from 1975 to 1980.

Lawyer William Lovelace became Hamilton County’s first Black municipal court judge, appointed by Ohio Governor James Rhodes.

Photo Credit: Hamilton County Courthouse circa 1960s
(cardcow.com)

Peter Frakes was arrested for “loitering” near the Abraham Lincoln statue in Avondale while picketing for his cousin’s innocence in a murder conviction.

• Incensed Black leaders organized a protest meeting that escalated into widespread rioting.
• Seven hundred Ohio National Guard soldiers intervened to restore order, leading to one fatality, 63 injuries, and 404 arrests.

Theodore Berry became Cincinnati’s first Black mayor during a time when the council chose the mayor.

• 1932, elected as president of the Cincinnati NAACP chapter.
• 1938, appointed as the first Black assistant prosecuting attorney for Hamilton County.

The NAACP went to federal court to desegregate Cincinnati Public Schools.

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Under the “top vote-getter” system of choosing the mayor, Democrat Dwight Tillery became Cincinnati’s first popularly elected Black mayor.

J. Kenneth Blackwell, a former Cincinnati councilman and mayor, achieved another history milestone by becoming the first Black to hold one of Ohio’s state constitutional offices.

• Governor Bob Taft appointed him to the vacant state Treasurer’s office.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened on the banks of the Ohio River downtown.

• Its purpose is to tell the history of the struggle for freedom in the United States through exhibits and programs focusing on America’s battle to rid itself of the ugly scourge of slavery and treat all its citizens with respect and dignity.

State Senator Mark Mallory became the first African American elected mayor under the city’s 4-year-old direct mayoral election system.

• His father, William Mallory Sr., served in the Ohio House for 24 years.