Theodore Berry, first African American mayor of Cincinnati
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GLORIFYING THE LION is a program that CET produced, in association with the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, in 1995. The program features conversations with leading African American Cincinnatians about growing up in our community, employment, education, the use of public facilities -- all part of the story of the struggle for equality in our community in the last half of the 20th century.

Sheila Adams, former president and CEO, Urban League of Greater CincinnatiThe moderator for these conversations is Sheila Wilson, who at that time was president of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati. Each conversation featured a different group of civil rights leaders. These discussions, titled ROAD TO EQUALITY, are being released for viewing online in the next two weeks.

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Hall of Heroes: Leslie Edwards Hall of Heroes: Leslie Edwards

This is the story of Tuskegee Airman Leslie Edwards, whose is featured as part of the Hall of Heroes at Winton Woods Primary North School, a tribute to veterans that was started at the school ten years ago by retired teacher Glenn Grundei.

What has resulted is an impressive display of picture frames containing letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, uniforms, and medals of honor, mostly from WWII. Here is an interview with Tuskegee Airman Leslie Edwards, whose story is featured as part of this display.
 
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WWII Hero John Leahr WWII Hero John Leahr
Tuskeegee Airman John Leahr talks about his experience during WWII. The Tuskeegee Airmen played a special role escorting bombers into enemy territory and helped many other airman come back from their missions alive.
 
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WWII Hero Carl Tuggle WWII Hero Carl Tuggle
Carl Tuggle shares his experiences in the Navy during WW2. Mr. Tuggle chose to join the Navy because they were less segregated than other branches of the service.
 
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Trailblazer Award Winner Judge Nathaniel R. Jones Trailblazer Award Winner Judge Nathaniel R. Jones

Just The Beginning Foundation, which held its 2006 conference in Cincinnati, has named four new Trailblazer Award winners. They are District Court Judge George Leighton, the Hon. Constance Baker Motley, Professor Charles Ogletree, and the Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones. Video courtesy of Zone Communications and BRIDGES for a Just Community (formerly NCCJ).
 
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YMCA Black Achievers YMCA Black Achievers

An interview on one of the area's most established programs that inspires and encourages teens of color toward paths of success, the YMCA Black Achievers Program hopes to reach out to 500 students in this upcoming school year. This video also includes information on how you can become involved and make a difference!
 
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A Family's Pride

Angela Corley, who works at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, tells CET about her aunt Wilhelmina Jakes, who sparked the the Civil Rights movement in Tallahassee, Florida, 50 years ago.
 
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Dreamkeepers Zo Wesson Dreamkeeper Zo Wesson

Early on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2007, Alphonzo Wesson, Executive Director of the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati addresses an audience at the annual Dreamkeepers breakfast. Remembering the words of encouragement he received as a child, Wesson says that young children need their dreams back. He reminds the audience: "The dream in the mind of one man is the reason we are here today."
 
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James Ramage on the Black Brigade
Dr. James Ramage, author and professor at Northern Kentucky University, speaks at the museum named in his honor about Cincinnati’s Black Brigade.
 
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Mapping Our Tears - Lt. John Withers

Lt. John Withers recounts a difficult decision to defy regulations and shelter two victims of Dachau on his army base.

 
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Mirror to America - John Hope Franklin

John Hope Franklin speaks about his autobiography, Mirror to America: One Man's Fight for Civil Rights.

 
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The Integration of the Federal Judiciary

This panel at the Just the Beginning Foundation Conference celebrates the integration of the federal judiciary with judges' stories.

 
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Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni – poet, writer, educator, and activist – talks of Rosa Parks and shares historical perspective of the Civil Rights Movement.

 
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Fisk Jubilee Singers

Recorded live in 2005 at the CET studios, the program features popular vocal selections performed by the Fisk University Singers.

 
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Sharon Draper Shares Curricula

Sharon Draper shares curricula on the Slave Pen and the Underground Railroad at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's Teacher Institute.

 
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The Honorable Theodore M. Berry, Sr. has lead the people of Cincinnati for most of his life. He was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1905. He graduated as valedictorian of his class at Woodward High School, but he didn’t get that position without a fight. Even though the school administration found his essay to be the best, they refused to allow an African American to assume that position. Mr. Berry wrote another essay under the pen name of Thomas Playfair. That essay was chosen and Berry was then permitted to speak as valedictorian, he was forbidden to walk in the commencement procession. An attorney by profession, Mr. Berry was a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. He served at President of the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP and won a seat on Cincinnati City Council in 1949. The Honorable Mr. Berry became the first African American to serve as Mayor of the City of Cincinnati in 1972. The late President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, called him to Washington to serve as Assistant Director of The Office of Economic Opportunity. He later served as the first board chair of the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency. He died in 2000. A pioneer in the field of human relations, Virginia Coffey was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1904 and grew up in Michigan, where she received her degree in education. In addition, studied sociology at the University of Cincinnati, and received a master’s degree from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. At the age of twenty, she came to Cincinnati to teach at Stowe School in the West End. She quickly became involved with the NAACP and her lifetime of dedication to the fight for civil rights began. While with the Mayor's Friendly Relations Commission, she worked to remove racial barriers in restaurants and public facilities. She was promoted to Director when the commission was reformulated into the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission. Her knowledge and expertise in the field of race relations led to her serving as a Race Relations Consultant to seven cities in England in 1961. Mrs. Coffey was honored in 1993 as of one of Cincinnati's Great Living Cincinnatians. She died in 2003.
A pioneer in the field of education, Dr. Lawrence Hawkins was among the faculty at 12th District School when the experiment of black and white teachers working together was first conducted in the Cincinnati Public Schools. He was the first African American to serve as Assistant Superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools, Dean at the University of Cincinnati and Senior Vice President at the University of Cincinnati. In addition, he was the first African American Principal of a Cincinnati public secondary school with an integrated faculty. Dr. Hawkins has also been active within the City of Cincinnati serving on and chairing many committees and advisory panels, including founding co-chair of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. His honors and awards include his 1989 recognition as a Great Living Cincinnatian. Born in 1922, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth came to Cincinnati in 1961 from Alabama where he was a prominent civil rights leader who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1957, the same year he survived yet another attempt on his life, he joined with Dr. King, the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and others to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference., an organization committed to nonviolence in the civil rights struggle. While he embraced that sentiment, he himself was headstrong and sometimes combative, qualities which led him to leave his congregation in the south and move to Cincinnati. Using his expertise and strategies in the struggle for civil rights, Rev. Shuttlesworth spearheaded many of the marches and rallies for equal opportunity in Cincinnati. Rev. Shuttlesworth founded and was pastor of Greater New Light Baptist Church. He retired in January 2006 and gave his last sermon on March 18, his 84th birthday.
ROAD TO EQUALITY - ROUNDTABLE #1

Pictured, top row, left to right: Theodore M. Berry Sr.; Virginia Coffey. Bottom row, left to right: Lawrence Hawkins, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. The discussion's moderator is Sheila Wilson.

 
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EDMUND C. CASEY - Dr. Edmund Casey pioneered in the medical field becoming one of the first African American physicians allowed to serve on the staff of Cincinnati's hospitals. Specializing in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases, Dr. Casey is currently in private practice and a member of the staff at both Deaconess and Christ Hospitals. Having served on numerous local and national medical committees and boards, Dr. Casey was also Chairman of the National Medical Association's delegation to the People's Republic of China in 1972. Dr. Casey died in 1997. MARIAN SPENCER - Born in Gallipolis in 1920, Marian Spencer became a member of the NAACP when she was 13. Her life is a series of “Firsts.” Mrs. Spencer was one of the primary leaders for integration of Coney Island as well as all public facilities in Cincinnati. She was the first African American woman ever elected to Cincinnati City Council also serving as Vice-Mayor of the City from 1983 to 1985. Mrs. Spencer was the first African American to serve as President of the Women's City Club and the first female to head the local branch of the NAACP. Mrs. Spencer was Chair of the Education Committee for the NAACP in 1974 and was responsible for getting the plaintiffs together for the Bronson v. Cincinnati Public Schools law suit. The suit, however, was not settled for another 20 years. Mrs. Spencer also served as Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission as well as President of the 9th Street YWCA, and as a member of the board of trustees of the University of Cincinnati (from which she graduated in 1942). She has received many awards and honors for her contributions and work, including the YWCA Career Woman of Achievement, the Humanitarian Award from the Freedom Heritage Foundation in Columbus, and, in 1998, she was honored by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber as a Great Living Cincinnatian.
FRED SUGGS - Fred Suggs was born in Florence, Alabama, moved to Cincinnati in 1942 and studied business law, journalism and photography at the University of Cincinnati. He began his career as a photographer in 1952, operating a studio in the West End. He actively worked to change the practices of many businesses in that area that refused to hire African Americans. In 1955, Mr. Suggs founded NIP Magazine, the city’s oldest African American publication, in order to show the community what life was like for African Americans. He served as its publisher, editor and CEO until 1990. While photographing and covering Reds games for NIP he was the first African American to integrate the Press Box at Crosley Field. Mr. Suggs was instrumental in founding the West End Knothole Association. He was a lifetime member of the NAACP and helped integrate downtown retail stores and lunch counters. He started the YMCA's Black Achievers Program and served on boards for the Metropolitan YMCA and Walnut Hills YMCA. He also served on the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce's Minority Business Committee and Regional Purchasing Council and was a former president of the West End Community Council. An athlete all his life, he ran his first marathon when he was in his 70s. He died in 2002 at age 82. ERNIE WAITS SR. - Ernie Waits, Sr. spent most of his life being a catalyst for change in civil rights. He worked actively to open the doors of organized labor to African Americans and became an international representative for the United Auto Workers. In 1946, he challenged the city's political parties and successfully integrated the Democratic Party of Hamilton County. Mr. Waits was Cincinnati's first African American disc jockey and was one of the first African American radio broadcasters in the country and he remained a broadcaster throughout his life. Mr. Waits was the first black manager of a local car dealership, the first black executive at the Cincinnati & Suburban Bell Telephone Company and the city's first African American New York Stock Exchange registered representative. He died at age 84 in 2004. A civil rights activist from an early age, Mr. Waits was part of the group that integrated restaurants and entertainment facilities in Cincinnati.
ROAD TO EQUALITY - ROUNDTABLE #2

Pictured, top row, left to right: Edmund C. Casey; Marian Spencer. Bottom row, left to right: Fred Suggs; Ernie Waits Sr. The discussion's moderator is Sheila Wilson.

 
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John Blanton devoted his professional life to his first love - airplanes. Fresh out of college, his engineering career began with his involvement on the first jet aircraft engine. In fact, most of Mr. Blanton's career was devoted to the design of jet and rocket engines. He also worked on early nuclear programs which were related to designing nuclear powered airplanes and power plants. while at Bell Aircraft Corporation, he helped develop the world’s first supersonic aircraft, and was chief thermodynamics engineer at Frederick Flader Inc. He joined General Electric in 1956 and was named general manager of GE’s Aircraft Engine Field Programs in 1974, retiring in 1982. In 1991, Mr. Blanton became the only African American to ever be placed in the GE Engine Propulsion's Hall of Fame. He was also the first African American to serve on the board and as President of the board of Queen City Metro. He also led and served on an impressive list of community boards, including the Urban League, Dan Beard Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Cincinnati Zoo. He died in 2003 at age 81. REVEREND L.V. BOOTH - Rev. L. Venchael Booth was Pastor and founder of the Olivet Baptist Church in Silverton before his death in 2002. He was born in Mississippi in 1919 and was the fourth generation preacher in his family. In addition to attending Alcorn A&M College, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1940, Rev. Booth also graduated from Howard University School of Religion with honors and as president of his class. In addition to his pastoral calling, Rev. Booth has played a pivotal role in the city's fight for civil rights. In order to build quality, low-income housing, he became the first African-American to borrow a million dollars from a bank and used the money to build two church-run housing developments in Westwood. He worked with the Mayor’s Friendly Relations Committee and he NAACP. He served as President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention and as Chairman of the Hamilton County State Bank. Rev. Booth was also the first African American to sit on the board of the University of Cincinnati, a position which he held for 20 years. At the time of his death in 2002, he was still pasturing a church.
WILLIAM LAWLESS JONES - William Lawless Jones retired from military service a Lieutenant Colonel. He realized his life dream of teaching higher education as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. However, perhaps Mr. Jones is best remembered as an avid Jazz collector and historian. His personal collections dates back to 1933. He was a Jazz lecturer for the University of Cincinnati and the College-Conservatory of Music has named an award in his honor. Mr. Jones was Secretary of the Greater Cincinnati Council for Performing Arts, an organization founded for the purpose of promoting jazz in Cincinnati. DONALD SPENCER - A native of Cincinnati, - born in 1915 - Donald A. Spencer spent 18 years teaching young people following the receipt of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati. He then went on to become a very successful businessman as Cincinnati's first African American licensed realtor. He was named president of the Cincinnati Association of Real Estate brokers and a life member of the NAACP. Mr. Spencer, side-by-side with his wife Marian, was a moving force behind the integration of all public facilities in Cincinnati. Thanks to their efforts, the breaking down of barriers in amusements parks, theaters and restaurants became a reality. He served as membership chairman for the local branch of the NAACP and was responsible for increasing the membership from 196 members to 5,000. Mr. Spencer served on the Board of Trustees at Ohio University and was the first African American to serve as President. He has served on the boards of Ohio University – including two years as its president, Ohio Valley Goodwill, the Fenwick Club and was a founding board member of the Friends of Cincinnati Parks. In 2005, Mr. Spencer was honored by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber as a Great Living Cincinnatian.
ROAD TO EQUALITY - ROUNDTABLE #3

Pictured, top row, left to right: John Blanton; Rev. L. V. Booth. Bottom row, left to right: William Lawless Jones; Donald Spencer. The discussion's moderator is Sheila Wilson.

 
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TECUMSEH X. GRAHAM - The Rev. Dr. Tecumseh X. Graham was a graduate of Hood Theological Seminary and Livingstone College. A key leader in this country's fight for civil rights, his leadership and mediation-under-fire abilities have been crucial for Cincinnati especially during the 1960's. Dr. Graham taught Black History at both the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. He served on the Cincinnati Public School Board and on Cincinnati City Council, He was also a vice chairman of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission. The Reverend Dr. Graham was Executive Director of the Council of Christian Communions and former Pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. He died in 1998 at the age of 73. DR. BRUCE GREEN - While a dentist by trade, the late Dr. Bruce Green was prominently known for his diligent dedication to the civil rights movement. A former president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP, during his leadership years the NAACP conducted successful sit-ins and demonstrations which led to the opening of Coney Island and American Amusement Parks. Dr. Green also played a pivotal role in the opening of the skilled building trades to African Americans. He formerly served as Dental Director at Longview as well as president of the Longview Chapter of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Union.
MARJORIE B. PARHAM - Marjorie Parham was founder, owner and publisher of The Cincinnati Herald, a weekly newspaper, which provided a voice to African Americans in the 1950s. Among her many contributions to Cincinnati, Mrs. Parham was the first African American woman to serve on the Board of Trustees for the University of Cincinnati. She has also served as Chairman of the Board for Cincinnati State Community College. She was an active member of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center Project, Hamilton County American Red Cross, Greater Cincinnati Urban League, NAACP, the Metropolitan YMCA, and the Greater Cincinnati Community Chest and Council. Her awards include Business Woman of the Year, Outstanding Woman in Communications, YWCA Career Women of Achievement, an honorary doctor of technical letters from Cincinnati Technical College and, in 2000, Parham was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Cincinnati. ALLENE HINSON RENFRO - Allene Hinson Renfro was the first African American Remedial Reading Teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools at a time when such specializations were rare. In all, Mrs. Renfro devoted 30 years of her life to teaching and inspiring her students. She later joined her family owned and operated business, Renfro Funeral Home. Mrs. Renfro was the Secretary/Treasurer of Renfro Funeral Home and is a licensed funeral director. She was also very active on many local and national organizations where she has taken an active role in securing scholarships for African American students.
ROAD TO EQUALITY - ROUNDTABLE #4

Pictured, top row, left to right: Rev. Dr. Tecumseh X. Graham; Dr. Bruce Green. Bottom row, left to right: Marjorie B. Parham; Allene Hinson Renfro. The discussion's moderator is Sheila Wilson.

 
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DOROTHY CUNNINGHAM BAILEY - Firsts are synonymous with the name Dorothy Cunningham Bailey. A native of Cincinnati and born here in 1911, Mrs. Bailey was a graduate of Walnut Hills High School and the University of Cincinnati. She received a master’s degree from Smith College in Northampton, MA and was also one of the first African Americans to hold such a degree. Her career began with the Hamilton County Department of Public Welfare and she was one of the first African American Social Workers with the City of Cincinnati, serving for over 17 years. Mrs. Bailey was also the first African American Professor in the College of Social Work at Ohio State University. She traveled to Russia, China, Africa and Europe to study how those countries treated their elderly. She died in 2002. JOSEPH A. HALL - As the first Executive Director of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, Joseph A. Hall served the league diligently for 25 years. He was a native of Warren, Ohio, moving to Cincinnati in 1947 to become executive secretary of the Community Chest’s Division of Negro Welfare. That division was dissolved the following year, as the Urban League was being formed. Under his quiet but firm leadership, the Urban League became an integral catalyst in Cincinnati's civil rights movement. Mr. Hall also served as an instructor at the University of Cincinnati. His awards and honors include his recognition in 1995 by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce as a Great Living Cincinnatian. Also during his lifetime he was a popular and highly respected guest lecturer and consultant to more than 150 local business firms. He died in 1998 at the age of 89.
EMILY SPICER - Emily T. Spicer has been shaking up the field of education in Cincinnati for decades. As a teacher, counselor, guidance coordinator, assistant principal of a high school and principal of a junior high school, she has educated, motivated and inspired thousands of Cincinnati's youth. She was the first woman, regardless of race, to serve as Principal of a public high school in Cincinnati. In addition, she was the first African American to serve as a board member and later President of the Green Hills/Forest Park Board of Education. She has also been active with the YMCA, YWCA, Black Achievers, Black Family Reunion and other organizations and in 2002 she was honored by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber as a Great Living Cincinnatian and was one of the first women honored by the YWCA as a Career Woman of Achievement.  
ROAD TO EQUALITY - ROUNDTABLE #5

Pictured, top row, left to right: Dorothy Cunningham Bailey; Joseph A. Hall. Bottom row, Emily T. Spicer. The discussion's moderator is Sheila Wilson.

 
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Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age

Dr. Kevin Boyle explores a time when African Americans in the north began the fight for civil rights.

 
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The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow - A Cincinnati Perspective

Tied to the airing of the PBS series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, this program was presented by CET in partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, and NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice) of Greater Cincinnati.

 
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Ira Berlin

Historian Ira Berlin discusses the history of slavery and race in North America and the larger Atlantic world.

 
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For educators and others who are interested in learning more about historical aspects of the struggle for equality in our area, visit the CET project Safe Passage.


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