Explore Valley’s important role in black history
From the plantations of 19th century Mississippi to the steel mills of 20th century Youngstown to the board rooms of any major 21st century metropolis, work has long been a defining trait of the black experience in America.
It is therefore fitting that this year’s Black History Month observances throughout February focus on the theme of “African-Americans and Labor.”
It comes on the centennial of the creation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car and Maids by labor organizer and civil rights activist A. Phillip Randolph. That union became the first African-American labor organization to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor.
Before and after that 1925 groundbreaking event, the labors of African-Americans paralleled other aspects of their social, family, political and religious life: a patchwork quilt of success interwoven with struggle.
The successes have been many.
African-American labor’s contribution to the nation dates to their first centuries in the United States as they played a pivotal role in building America’s early infrastructure. Though still legally enslaved, they helped reap a robust American agrarian economy, performing the back-breaking labor of producing such commodities as cotton and tobacco.
As America shifted to a more commercial and industrial economy in the late 19th and 20th centuries, black Americans also invested heavily. In that arena, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley played strong roles.
As our region’s industrial economy grounded in steelmaking grew by leaps and bounds early in the 1900s, Greater Youngstown became an attractive destination for African-Americans suffering the brutality of legalized segregation and discrimination in the South.
During the first phase of the Great Migration from 1910 to 1930, 12,616 blacks reportedly settled in theYoungstown metro area. The promise of better wages and more civilized working conditions rose as the primary motivators for them to move northward.
That trend intensified during the second wave of the Great Migration from 1940 to 1965 with an additional 20,000 African Americans moving to Greater Youngstown. The outbreak of World War II resulted in a large number of white men leaving their well-paying steel mill jobs in the Valley, creating an employment void for unskilled labor that African-Americans from Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi were more than willing to fill.
The impact of those migrants and their descendants can still be felt today. In 1940, for example, blacks represented 11 percent of the population of Youngstown, rising to 44% today. In Warren, African-Americans comprised 8 percent of the population at the outbreak of World War II compared with 28% today.
But all was not rosy in those early days of the migration. Menial jobs, lower pay rates, lack of advancement and blatant discrimination endured. That dovetailed some of the same evils of rabid racism that characterized the African-Amercans’ struggle in other aspects of life.
For example, blacks in the Youngstown area were not permitted to sit on the main floors of many theaters, and the famed Idora Park ballroom had a roped-off section of its dance floor from which blacks dared not stray.
The Civil Rights Act of 1965 put an end to formal and informal segregation in the workplace and in other aspects of American life and paved the way for African-Americans to become full partners in the American Dream.
Though great strides have been made, full equity in that dream remains elusive for many 60 years later. In economic terms, it’s evident in substantially higher jobless rates for blacks. It’s also evident in median family incomes where black families in Ohio earn an average $42,100 compared with a statewide average of $65,700.
For many African-Americans the struggles in work and other aspects of life that have so typified the black experience over the centuries have not been completely erased. That’s one reason why Black History Month remains a vital time not only to celebrate the contributions of African-Americans but to accent the need to continue marching toward a more just and colorblind society.
The proud 100-year tradition of using February — birth months of Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass — to reflect on black history plays out all month in the Valley.
On this first day of the month, for example, the popular African Marketplace takes place at Youngstown State University’s Kilcawley Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at which vendors will offer a wide variety of African cultural goods. Watch this newspaper for other BHM activities by churches, educational institutions and community groups throughout the month.
People of all races are urged to take part in these informative and educational events. In so doing, we can play one small role in celebrating black achievement in the workplace and other sectors of American life. We can also continue to labor to make our nation and our Valley a more inviting and more inclusive place for all.