Wooster/Orrville
Digital History Project

How do you build racial justice in a small Midwestern community over time?

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The NAACP reaches across the nation, creates history, and advocates for Civil Rights in rural and urban areas.

The history of the Wooster/Orrville NAACP reveals how ordinary people sustained civil rights activism across generations. Lesser known local chapters made equally important strides in the fight for racial equality, notably in the rural areas of the Midwest.

Many are familiar with the work the NAACP has done on a national level. One major victory for the NAACP was the Brown v. Board lawsuit, which ordered desegregation of schools.

When considering history in areas such as Wooster and Orrville, Black stories are often dismissed because they exist in predominantly white communities. This exhibition examines the question: How do you build racial justice in a small Midwestern community over time?

Exploring generational and individual impact and ties to the national movement provides insight into the work of the NAACP at the national and local level.

Telling the stories of those involved in the Wooster/Orrville NAACP tells us what it was and is like to create racial justice for the Black community in a rural space.

Introduction written by Celeste Probart. Edited by Jordan Biro Walters, PhD and Elora Agsten, MSLIS.