|
20 Ways to Honor
Black Toledo in 2020
By Ravi Perry
Guest Column
2020 has been a whirlwind. Between a critical presidential
election, COVID-19, and protests against police brutality
that began with the abhorrent 8 minutes and 46 seconds of
George Floyd’s murder several months ago, many have sought
new ways to engage in community. Below is a list of options
residents and organizations in Toledo ought to consider to
truly demonstrate that Black lives really do matter:
1.
Rename Door Street is named for a former mayor during the
civil war
2.
Toledo Public Schools can rename a school After Toledo’s
First Black Mayor and former Toledo School Board President
Jack Ford - minimizing his legacy to a few blocks on
Nebraska is to pigeon hole his influence to a neighborhood
while he was a statewide leader.
3.
Everyone can donate to the African American Legacy (AALP) to
help them sustain Black Toledo history.
4.
AALP, Toledo Lucas County Public Library and the Toledo
Museum of Art should collaborate on an exhibit featuring
Black Toledoans in images, and art produced by Black
Toledoans.
5.
Jupmode, the undisputed king of Toledo Pride, can develop a
merchandise line honoring Black Toledo history and
contemporary issues
6.
The University of Toledo can name a building after a native
Black Toledoan
7.
Bowling Green State University needs to rename Shatzel Hall,
Perry Hall, after Dr. Robert Perry, the founding Chair of
the Department of Ethnic Studies, and establish an endowed
professorship in his name.
8.
The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo can organize the 2021
Young Artists at Work (YAaW) program, first directed by Dr.
D. LaRouth Perry - to feature a summer collection on Black
people, neighborhoods, and issues in Toledo.
9.
The Toledo Area Metroparks can work with the Arts Commission
of Greater Toledo to install Black sculpture art created by
Black Toledo artists in area metroparks
10.
The Toledo Zoo can hold a naming contest for a newly birthed
animal reflecting the name(s) of a famous Black Toledoan(s)
11.
The City of Toledo and City Council can rename the council
chambers room after the city’s first Black council member
12.
The Toledo Catholic Diocese can highlight Black priests and
deacons that have served in Toledo and tell the stories of
Black Catholics fighting for social justice
13.
The Toledo Symphony can organize a new season featuring the
music of famous Black musicians of Toledo such as Claude
Davis, Art Tatum, and Mozart Perry
14.
Toledo’s Fortune 500 Companies can establish scholarships in
each Toledo Public Schools high school for Black graduating
students with aspirations to work in corporate America.
15.
Toledo Ticket Company can print Black Toledo facts on their
parking garage tickets
16.
Facing a wave of retirements amid COVID-19, Jeep’s Toledo
North Assembly Plant can partner with Toledo Technology
Academy and Career Technology to help keep Black talented
youth in Toledo and to address its employee shortage
17.
Toledo Lucas County Port Authority can rename the airport, a
terminal, something after somebody Black that made
significant contributions to Toledo’s transportation
industry
18.
The Toledo Blade can denounce racism in all its forms by
assessing their history of coverage concerning African
Americans, including the many racist editorials and articles
in their past such as “Reason to Racism,” a national
embarrassment to the city. The Blade can devote an entire
special issue to major moments in Black Toledo history that
they covered, including images, videos, interviews, and news
print.
19.
The Toledo Repertoire Theatre can revive Makeda, Queen of
Sheba – the libretto opera written by a Black Toledoan and
first performed with the David Carter Symphonic Choir at to
rousing acclaim 20 years ago
20.
Preserve Toledo can create a Toledo Black history trail that
highlights things like where Anita Baker was born, Art
Tatum’s house, the first Warren AME, the site of the Black
Panthers, etc.
This is just the beginning and admittedly numbers 7 and 8
are conflicts of interest – but to say “we don’t know what
to do” is a lie that has long been told in far too many
spaces. These are just some ideas. My hope is that every
organization, every institution, every household in this
great city truly embraces the Black diversity that is
central to the Toledo story in America.
Ravi K. Perry, a native of Toledo, is Professor and Chair of
the Department of Political Science at Howard University.
For more history on Black Toledo, read Perry’s first book,
Black
Mayors, White Majorities
documenting Toledo’s Black political history and/or
Alkalimat and Patterson’s book
Black Toledo: A
Documentary History of the African American Experience in
Toledo, Ohio.
Perry currently resides in Washington, D.C.
|
