Everyone knows about Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and other important African Americans that have helped shape our country, but few know about the ones that have Northeast Ohio ties.
There are many influential African Americans who have left their mark in history, and done so right here in Cleveland, Ohio.
Take a look at our list below and learn more about these prominent figures as we recognize them for Black History Month:
Garrett Morgan - March 4, 1877 - July 27, 1963
- Born near Paris, KY, and moved to Cleveland in 1895
- Invented gas mask & electric traffic lights
- Invented sewing machine belt
- First African American in Cleveland to own a car, and developed a friction drive clutch
- One of the original members of the NAACP
- Opened an all-black country club in Cleveland
- Started the African-American Newspaper Cleveland Call in 1920, later named Call and Post
George Peake - 1772 - September, 1827
- Born in Maryland
- First African American to settle permanently in Cleveland in April 1809 with his wife & 2 sons
- Considered a wealthy family in that time period
- Invented the NEW hand mill used for grinding grain
John Brown - 1798 - March 30, 1869
- CLE’s wealthiest black citizen in the late 1820's
- 40yr barber, most notable
- Joined with John Malvin & other Cleveland African Americans to organize a school for black children
- His shop was often the final stop in the underground railroad for slaves that crossed Lake Erie to freedom
- His stepdaughter, Lucy Stanton, became the first black woman to complete the Ladies Course at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH
Jane Edna Hunter - December 13, 1882 - January 19, 1971
- Born in Pendleton, SC
- Founded the Working Girls Association in 1911 in CLE, which became the Phillis Wheatley Association in 1912
- Provided lodging, training and work placement to single African American girls who migrated north for work, like herself
- In 1943 she founded the Women’s Civil Rights League of Cleveland
- Established the Phillis Wheatley Foundation scholarship fund and later a similar scholarship fund, named after herself
- Held executive offices in National Association for Colored Women (NACW)
- Graduated with honorary degrees from 4 universities:
- Fisk University, Allen University (SC), Central State University (OH), an the Tuskegee Institute
- Today, she has 2 buildings named in her honor
- The Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Department of Children and Family Services building at 3955 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland
- The Jane Edna Hunter Museum at the Phillis Wheatley Center at 4450 Cedar Avenue, Cleveland
Carl B. Stokes - June 21, 1927 - April 3, 1996
- Born in Cleveland, OH
- American politician of the Democratic party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland in 1968
- Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was the first African American to be elected mayor of a major U.S. city
- His greatest accomplishment as mayor was opening up city positions to African Americans and women
- First African American member of the Democratic Party elected to the Ohio House
- Strong supporter of civil rights & welfare issues
- Became the first African-American television news anchor in New York City, NY
- Served as a Cleveland municipal judge in 1983 and 1984
- He & his brother, Louis Stokes, symbolize the growing acceptance of African Americans in politics
Zelma Watson George - December 8, 1903 - July 3, 1994
- Born in Hearn,TX
- Moved to Cleveland to study African American music at the Cleveland Public Library
- Considered to be 1 of the first black women to assume a typically white role by headlining “The Medium”, an opera at Karamu Theater
- Served on national government committees during the Eisenhower administration
- She was a good-will ambassador and an alternate U.S. delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1960-61
- From 1966-74 she was the Director of the Cleveland Job Corps where it experienced tremendous growth
- After retiring from job corps, she lectured, wrote and taught at Cuyahoga Community College in the Elders Program
- Today, there is a shelter for homeless women and children named in her honor under the Salvation Army
- She was selected by the Greater Cleveland Women's History Committee as one of the "Women Who Shaped Cleveland”
- Today there is a roller skating facility in her honor “Zelma Watson George Roller Skating Facility” for children & families on Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. 44104
Fannie Lewis - June 6, 1926 - August 11, 2008
- Born in Memphis, TN
- Moved to the Hough neighborhood in Cleveland in 1951
- Prominent figure in the Hough riots of 1966 through her tireless efforts to improve the neighborhood
- Became a recruiter for Neighborhood Youth Corps, a project to help people find work
- In 1969 she was promoted to a recruitment coordinator position with the organization
- Inducted into the Ohio Women Hall of Fame in Columbus, OH in 1996
- Active in her community, she sought council and lost 5 times before winning in 1980, where she served until her death
- In 2003, council passed the Fannie Lewis Law. It required projects the city funds with more than $100,000 to use Cleveland residents for 20 percent of the work
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. - Dec. 18, 1912 - July 4, 2002
- Born in Washington, DC
- Graduated from Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1929, and later attended Western Reserve University at Cleveland
- His father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., became the first African American general for the U.S. Air Force, after starting as a volunteer in the Spanish-American War
- Was The General and Commander of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II
- He stood up to the military establishment in advancing the cause of black soldiers during the time
- Flight school "General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Aviation High School" on the North Marginal in Cleveland, OH was created in his honor in 1975
- School was thought to have the nation's only high school-level aviation mechanics course at the time
- It also offered training in aviation electronics and air traffic control.
- Closed in 1995 due to finances
- Listed as one of the 100 greatest African Americans in history
