Description: Glass plate negative showing Walter Black (1895- ), a Youngstown, Ohio, steelworker, in 1920. Walter Black was born in 1895 in Knoxville, Tennessee. During World War I, Black moved to Youngstown, and like many other African Americans, he sought employment in the steel industry. In 1915, Black found a job at Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company's Hubbard blast furnaces. African Americans had largely been excluded from jobs in the iron and steel industry prior to the First World War. During the war, however, a severe labor shortage led many steel companies to actively recruit African Americans for employment; as a result, thousands of African Americans migrated from the South to take new jobs in the industrial North. Starting as a common laborer, Black worked his way up to cinder snapper, scrap man, stove tender, and assistant blower. Eventually, Black became a blast furnace foreman--one of the first African Americans to be promoted to foreman in the Youngstown District. On August 16, 1920, a worked named A.S. Morris was overcome by poisonous gas while working at the top of the #2 Hubbard blast furnace. Black climbed to the top of the furnace and carried Morris to ground level. Morris, who had stopped breathing, was revived when Black applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. This photograph was taken shortly after he saved Morris's life. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02994
Subjects: African Americans -- Employment; Blast furnaces -- Ohio; Ohio Economy -- Economy -- Labor; Steel industry and trade--Ohio--Youngstown--History;
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio); Trumbull County (Ohio)
 

Description: This print illustration shows Laura Smith Haviland (1808-1898) holding a pair of manacles and a device on a table. She was an anti-slavery advocate from Adrian, Michigan. Haviland established the first Underground Railroad station in Michigan, made many trips to the South to start slaves on their way to freedom and opened a school for African Americans. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_E450.H38_1984_aaeo_womansl_001
Subjects: African Americans; African American women; Abolitionists;
 

Description: This 4.5 by 6.5-inch (11.43 by 16.51 cm) photograph shows Daniel A. Payne, who in 1863 became first African American president of Wilberforce University. Payne was born in 1811 in Charleston, South Carolina to free parents of mixed black, white, and American Indian ancestry. In 1835, he moved north to enroll in a seminary. He was licensed to preach in 1837 and ordained in 1839. Although affiliated with several denominations, Payne eventually settled on the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which ordained him bishop in 1852. In his ministry, Payne focused on education as the key to empowerment. In 1863 he was able to raise enough money to purchase Wilberforce University on behalf of the A.M.E. Church. Between 1863 and 1876, Payne provided leadership as president of the university, which became a respected leader in educating African Americans. Wilberforce University was established in 1856 in Green County under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was named for William Wilberforce (1759-1833), an English abolitionist. When the African Methodist Episcopal Church purchased the university in 1863, Union Seminary, which the A.M.E. Church founded in 1844, also became part of Wilberforce. The university was the first to be owned and run by African Americans. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1277_792530_109
Subjects: African Americans; Education; Universities and colleges; Students
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio)
 

Description: A large group of African Americans of all ages pose for this picture, taken by traveling photographer Albert J. Ewing, ca. 1896-1912. Like most of Ewing's work, it was likely taken in southeastern Ohio or central West Virginia. Born in 1870 in Washington County, Ohio, near Marietta, Ewing most likely began his photography career in the 1890s. The 1910 US Census and a 1912-1913 directory list him as a photographer. A negative signed ""Ewing Brothers"" and a picture with his younger brother, Frank, indicate that Frank may have joined the business. After 1916, directories list Albert as a salesman. He died in 1934. The Ewing Collection consists of 5,055 glass plate negatives, each individually housed and numbered. Additionally, the collection includes approximately 450 modern contact prints made from the glass plate negatives. Subjects include infants and young children, elderly people, families, school and religious groups, animals and rural scenes. In 1982, the Ohio Historical Society received the collection, still housed in the original dry plate negative boxes purchased by Albert J. Ewing. A selection of the original glass plate negatives were exhibited for the first time in 2013 at the Ohio Historical Center. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV71_b06_f357
Subjects: Ewing, Albert J. (1870-1934); Portrait photography--United States--History; Children; African Americans
Places: Ohio; West Virginia
 

Description: A resolution commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Buffalo Soldiers by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F05_A
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; Buffalo Soldiers Day; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates; Anniversaries
Places: Kentucky
 

Description: Bernard S. Proctor in uniform, wearing a jacket and hat, standing in front of a large crowd behind him. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS23_B03F17_B
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Proctor, Bernard Shaw; Tuskegee Airmen; World War II; 99th Pursuit Fighter Squadron; 332nd Fighter Group; Men; United States Army Air Corps; United States Air Force; Military uniforms; People
 

Description: Congressional Recognition presented to the National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations, in honor of the Colonel Charles Young Celebration View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F05_F
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Coalition of Black Veterans Organization (NCBVO); National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); United States of America
 

Description: A certificate remembering, honoring, and recognizing Colonel Charles Young for his military service by Senator Robin L. Webb and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_H
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Kentucky
 

Description: Bernard S. Proctor and Benjamin O. Davis Jr. posing for a photograph at a Tuskegee Airmen event. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS23_B04F32
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Proctor, Bernard Shaw; Tuskegee Airmen; Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.; World War II; 99th Pursuit Fighter Squadron; 332nd Fighter Group; Men; United States Army Air Corps; United States Air Force
 

Description: Bruce Rauner, Governor of the State of Illinois, proclaiming June 1, 2016 as a day of recognition honoring Colonel Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers in Illinois. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F05_G
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Springfield (Illinois)
 

Description: House Resolution 1070 recognizing the opening of the Colonel Charles Young temporary exhibit and the presentation of the bronze maquette in his honor. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_D
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Illinois
 

Description: A resolution recognizing the contributions of Colonel Charles Young and designating June 1, 2010 as Colonel Charles Young day in the District of Columbia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_C
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: District of Columbia