Influential Ohioans

Written by Charlotte R Ellzy, Boundless Fiscal Specialist, DEI Committee Member 

African Americans have a rich history here in Ohio and, I want to encourage you to take advantage of the many events and celebrations going on throughout Central Ohio in February.  Let’s meet a few significant African Americans who have shaped Ohio's history. 

George Washington Williams, Cincinnati, OH  

Williams became the first African American elected to serve in the Ohio House of Representative in 1880. 

Hallie Quinn Brown, Wilberforce, OH  

Brown was a renowned educator, writer, public speaker and activist. After receiving her Bachelor of Science from Wilberforce University in 1873,. she went on to teach in Mississippi, South Carolina and Dayton, Ohio. She also held positions as dean of Allen University in South Carolina, lady principal (dean of women) at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and professor of elocution at Wilberforce University. The Hallie Q. Brown Memorial Library at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio is named in honor of Brown. 

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Cleveland, OH  

Tubbs represented Ohio’s 11th District (east side of Cleveland) in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2008. Tubbs Jones was the first African American woman elected to Congress from Ohio. 

Wil Haygood, Columbus, OH  

Haygood was a journalist for The Washington Post. His front-page story about long- time White House butler Eugene Allen was the inspiration for the feature film The Butler (2013).