AKRON, Ohio — The city is honoring the achievements of Black residents to commemorate Black History Month through a series of banners installed downtown along High Street and through interviews featured on Akron’s social media.

What You Need To Know

  • Akron is honoring the achievements of Black residents through a series of banners and interviews

  • The banners showcase current and past Akron residents, from athletes and scientists to poets and police

  • The city is interviewing Black community leaders who will be featured on the city’s social media pages

  • The city is also offering incentives for those shopping at more than 60 Black-owned businesses in Akron

The banners showcase current and past Akron residents, from athletes and scientists to poets and police, “who have inspired our community, progressed our city, and made history in Akron and beyond,” the city said in a release.

The city is also interviewing Black community leaders who will be featured on the city’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The interviews cover the leaders’ vison for the future and thoughts on creating equity in the city, the city said.

Mayor Dan Horrigan said it’s important to acknowledge the achievements of those featured on the banners and the contributions the Black community has made to the city of Akron throughout the year.

“It is vital that we continue to work each day to ensure we create more opportunity, equity and hope throughout the city to light the way for the next generation of trailblazers,” he said.

Those featured on the banners include:

  • Aimee Wade: First Black female executive director of the ADM Board of Summit County
  • Charles Gladman: First Black chief of the Akron Fire Department
  • Christine Fowler-Mack: First Black female superintendent of Akron Public Schools
  • Dorothy Jackson: First Black woman appointed to mayor’s cabinet as deputy mayor for intergovernmental affairs
  • Ed Davis: First Black president of Akron City Council
  • Edward Irvine: First Black chief of the Akron Police Department
  • Emilia Sykes: Minority Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives
  • Fritz Pollard: First Black quarterback and coach in pro football
  • Gus Johnson: First Black professional basketball player from Akron
    Akron is showcasing Black leaders who have inspired the community and made history locally and beyond. (Courtesy of the city of Akron)
  • Harold Stubbs: First Black law director in Akron
  • Helen Arnold: First Black woman elected to the Akron Board of Education
  • James Williams: First Black Akron resident appointed to U.S. Attorney General of northeast Ohio
  • Bishop Joey Johnson: Senior Pastor, Chair of the Racial Equity and Social Justice Task Force
  • Joseph Rouhlac: First Black Judge elected in the city of Akron
  • LeBron James: Four-time NBA Champion, philanthropist and hometown hero
  • Marco Sommerville: Former Akron City Council president, deputy mayor for intergovernmental affairs, and first black member of Summit County Board of Elections
  • Margo Sommerville: First Black Woman elected president of Akron City Council
  • Marian Hall: Founder of the Summit County Committee for Adequate Welfare
  • Martin Chapman: First Black administrator of Akron Public Schools
  • Rev. Raymond Burgess: First Black member of Summit County Council
  • Ray Dove: First Black chemist to work in the Akron Tire Industry
  • Rita Dove: 1987 Pulitzer-Prize winning poet and first Black Poet Laureate of the U.S.
  • Sylvester Small: First Black superintendent of Akron Public Schools
  • Tamiyka Rose: First health equity ambassador for Akron and first Black deputy chief of staff

The city is also offering added incentives for those shopping at more than 60 Black-owned businesses in Akron this month when using the city’s Akronite app.

 

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