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BLM Juneteenth
Just a few blocks away,
literally within walking distance and due south towards
Indiana Avenue, the Community Solidarity Response Network of
Toledo, along with the Frederick Douglass Community
Association, celebrated Juneteenth, a Black Lives Matter
Day, at the FDCA. Dozens of vendors set up booths inside and
outside of the FDCA presenting an array of goods from
black-owned businesses. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors had
the opportunity to purchase items such as pillows, jewelry,
fragrances, candles, books.
The purpose of the event,
said organizer Washington Muhammad, was to feature the work
of black entrepreneurs and connect them with an audience.
Other organizers were Julian Mack and Jodie Summers.
African American Sports Legends Hall of Fame
At the east end of Dorr
Street, in the Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor
Willie Perryman hosted his neighbor (African American Legacy
Project’s Executive Director Robert Smith) for the annual
induction of some of Toledo’s sports legends into the AALP’s
Hall of Fame. Eleven athletes were inducted this year in a
ceremony directed by master of ceremonies Tom Cole of BCSN
and the Taylor Automotive Family. Each athlete was presented
by a HOF committee member and was given a kente cloth and a
plaque as his or her achievements were related to the
audience.
This year’s inductees
included:
·
Ron “Butch” Allen is the only Toledo athlete to receive
All-City honors in baseball, football, basketball and track
and field and a former member of the Cleveland Indians
organization;
·
Crystal Ellis was the first African American to play on the
Bowling Green State University basketball team (All
Mid-American Conference Team in 1956) and a former principal
and superintendent with Toledo Public Schools;
·
Kamesha Hairston, a First Team All-City Basketball athlete
for three years, All-American at Temple University, named
A-10 Player of the Year, first team all A-10 twice, all
defensive team three times and was the nation’s fourth
leading scorer and part of three A-10 championship teams.
She became a WNBA player and later played overseas in Italy
and Spain;
·
David Jones, football and track and field athlete at Scott
who set a high school triple jump record in 1977 that still
stands today. Jones was the first African-American athlete
enshrined in the John Carroll University Hall of Fame for
his football and track exploits;
·
Dickie Jones played football and track at Scott also and was
selected to the 1962 All-City Track Team. He attended
Central State and started coaching football in 1966, one of
the founders of the Mid-City Football League;
·
Jeremy Lincoln is a retired NFL player. A graduate of
DeVilbiss, Lincoln earned a scholarship to the University of
Tennessee in football and ran on two national championship
track teams. Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1992, he played
nine years in the NFL and then created the Jeremy Lincoln
Foundation. Unable to attend Saturday’s ceremonies, he was
represented by his mother Deborah Roberts;
·
Mel Long graduated from Macomber and then joined the Marine
Corp serving in Vietnam in 1966-67, earning the Bronze Star
and Navy Cross – the most highly decorated veteran to play
professional football. He played on the standout UT teams
that won 35 straight games, then played in the NFL for three
seasons with the Cleveland Browns;
·
Lawrence Moreland is the “father of modern boxing” in
Toledo. He started the Brand Whitlock Area Gym, along with
Al Perales, that brought in boxers from all over the city.
Moreland died in 2004 and he was represented by his son,
Larry Moreland;
·
Kelvin Ransey attended the Ohio State University and is
still the second leading scorer of all time. He was selected
fourth overall in the 1980 NBA draft and played six years,
leaving at age 27 to start his own full-time ministry.
·
Ann Strong Jaynes is a Libbey graduate who earned All City
honors in basketball, volleyball and track as a high jumper.
She attended Cheyney State and was part of the school’s 1983
Final Four team. She played professionally in Spain.
·
Chester Trail also graduated from Libbey and earned All
State honors in basketball and baseball. He attended BGSU in
order to play both sports and joined the New York Yankees
organization in 1964, playing five years with the Yankees
and two with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He began in
the ministry in 1976 ad has been the pastor of Grace Temple
Church COGIC since 2001.
The Sports Legends Committee is comprised of a host of
sports legends, among others, including: Brandynn Adams,
Douglas Allen, Leroy Bates, Robert Bates, Land Battles,
James Coogler, Terry Crosby, Robert Goree, Wes Harper,
William Hayes, Jackie Jackson, Edward Jones, Willie Loper,
Marcus Newbern, Eddie Norris, Robert Shorter, Keith Mathis
Smith and George Snelling
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