Ambiente Comité Presidenta: Cheryl A. Goff Trabajamos para garantizar que las comunidades estén equipadas para participar en una planificación de la sostenibilidad y la acción climática que integre políticas y prácticas para promover la justicia alimentaria, defender la equidad en el transporte, defender los derechos civiles y humanos en la gestión de emergencias y facilitar la democracia participativa. Citizens’ Climate Lobby: Constituent Call for Action on Farm Bill Act We want Congress to stand strong on its commitment to our forests. Ask your members of Congress to protect the Farm Bill investments in climate-smart forestry allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act. Go to this Link for Forests to send your message to your Members of Congress. When you put in your personal information, the site will direct you to the message to be sent. It will send to your senators and your representative.

Educación Comité Presidenta: Barb Friedhoff Scott Gregorio El trabajo del Comité de Educación NAACP de Wooster/Orville defiende el suministro de recursos y la participación de los miembros para brindar una cultura escolar positiva y una enseñanza de alta calidad para todos los estudiantes de las escuelas públicas de Wooster/Orville. Tenemos la intención de mantener informados a nuestros miembros y al público en general sobre lo que sucede en nuestras escuelas y alentar a todos a ser partidarios activos de la equidad y la inclusión. Seguimos las reuniones del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Diversidad de las Escuelas de la Ciudad de Wooster y hacemos nuestra parte para promover la integración de experiencias y planes de estudios multiculturales en nuestras escuelas, la contratación de maestros de aula diversos y la capacitación sobre prejuicios implícitos necesaria para todos los empleados escolares. Se estudian las condiciones y los materiales educativos locales que podrían ser racialmente despectivos o afectar a grupos minoritarios y se trabaja para publicitar y abordar los problemas donde se encuentran. El comité también gestiona el programa de becas NAACP de Wooster/Orville en colaboración con la Fundación Comunitaria del Condado de Wayne. Si está interesado en unirse a este comité, por favor contáctenos: Barb Friedhoff: barb.friedhoff@gmail.com Scott Gregorio: gregorys@sssnet.com Becas disponibles Ganadores de premios anteriores 2026 NAACP Scholarship Awards The Wooster/Orrville NAACP recently awarded scholarships totaling $8,200 to five area students: Orrville High School Graduate Makiya Lovett University of Dayton Wooster High School Graduate Amara Hendrix University of Akron - Wayne College Wooster High School Graduate Jaiyana Pearson Charles Follis Scholarship recipient (University of Akron) Wooster High School Graduate Audriana Yeagley (Purdue University Fort Wayne) Wooster High School Graduate Jaden Clay (Ohio University) The Wooster/Orrville NAACP’s goal is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Congratulations Scholarship Awards 2024 The Wooster/Orrville NAACP recently awarded five scholarships to area students totaling $7,400. Recipients and their post-secondary education choices include: Wooster High School graduates Aiden Holford, son of Ian & Alicia Holford - University of Cincinnati, Zhade Ellis, son of Sterivon & Misha Ellis - University of Akron, and Jackson Readinger, son of Alma Readinger - Ashland University. Wayne County Career Center graduate Journey Kaleal, daughter of Janet & Jonathan Kaleal - The Wayne County Career Center. Smithville High School graduate, Shayna Lowe, daughter of Rex & Connie Lowe-Charleston Southern University. The Wooster/Orrville NAACP’s goal is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Messages from Scholarship Winners... click the videos below Journey Kaleal Aiden Holford Zhade Ellis

1980s: The National Story Comes to Wooster Written by Haruka Ueda & Abby Frock. Edited by Jordan Biro Walters, PhD and Elora Agsten, MSLIS. The Wooster/Orrville NAACP was an important facilitator for promoting dialogue about racial equality throughout the community. It expanded its activism and increased awareness by connecting with other NAACP branches and prominent figures. During Black History Month in 1989, the Wooster/Orrville NAACP organized a weekly lecture series featuring guest speakers on topics related to Black history. Speakers included Terry Kershaw, Professor of Sociology at the College of Wooster, Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold of the Cleveland Municipal Court, and a panel of local teachers. Rosa Parks in Wooster, Ohio Another important facilitator for change was The Freedom Fund Banquet. The event is a dinner and fundraiser for the Wooster/Orville NAACP’s continued civil rights activities. The Banquet also recognizes achievements in the Civil Rights Movement each year. One of the most notable guest speakers in the 1980s was Rosa Parks. She is recognized as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” for spearheading a year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. Wooster/Orrville NAACP member Lydia Thompson was responsible for bringing Rosa Parks to Wooster. NAACP Meeting Discussing the Invitation of Rosa Parks (Image courtesy of Wooster Public Library). Before the boycott, Parks worked as an active member of the NAACP in Alabama, investigating cases of racial injustice and advocating equal rights. In 1944, she helped organize the Committee for Equal Justice for Recy Taylor, a Black woman who survived a sexual assault. The committee recruited supporters across the U.S., and it was later called the “strongest campaign for equal justice to be seen in a decade.” Her lifelong commitment to social justice continued through her work with the NAACP and alongside leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Midwest was not an exception to her impact. Her visit to the Freedom Fund Banquet in Wooster was meaningful to many residents, as it acknowledged the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement. Her visit also highlighted that people across the nation worked toward the same goals. In 2002, Wooster’s City Council legislated to name an unnamed road through Christmas Run Park “Rosa Parks Way” in honor of her contribution to justice. Rosa Parks Avenue: 143 Park Ave Wooster, OH 44691 (Wooster Digital History Project). Oral History Moment Lydia Thompson reflects on bringing Rosa Parks to Wooster (20:39 – 27:00). " I called her. I could have cried. " Lydia Thompson, Oral History (23:01). Marching for Martin Luther King Jr. Day The Wooster/Orrville NAACP participated in regional and national issues. Former branch president and founder James Harris described one of the major highlights from the time of his leadership as a national campaign accomplished in the 1980s. The national NAACP organized a campaign to collect one million signatures in support of establishing Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday. Harris and the Wooster/Orrville NAACP participated in a series of marches from Cincinnati to Columbus to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. These marches were organized by the Cincinnati NAACP chapter as a part of the larger national campaign. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was finally recognized as a national holiday in 1986. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Oral History Moment In this segment, James Harris discusses the national NAACP movement to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday (48:35 – 52:04). When James Harris was asked about the most influential thing the NAACP did for the Wooster/Orrville community, he said “Just being here was the most important thing.” James Harris significantly contributed to fighting racial discrimination on a regional scale. " Just being here was the most important. " － James Harris Oral History (52:04) The Fight for Equitable Education in Northeast Ohio Cleveland City Schools During the 1980s, educational institutions confronted racial segregation, particularly in public schools, higher education, and faculty representation. Segregation limited educational opportunities for many Black students. While segregation was not legislated in Cleveland as it was in southern cities, racial divides were marked by geography and neighborhood demographics. Many Black families were concentrated on Cleveland's East Side where there were fewer schools, businesses, and economic opportunities. Students gather with balloons at Kenneth W. Clement Elementary School on September 29, 1980, the year that desegregation was fully implemented in Cleveland City Schools. (Image courtesy of Cleveland Civil Rights Trail). Cleveland City Schools on the East Side suffered from decades of overcrowding while predominantly white schools on the West Side hosted empty classrooms. Legal change occurred in 1980 when U.S. District Judge Frank Battisti ruled that Ohio’s State Board of Education was responsible for maintaining segregation in the school system. It resulted in the court requiring Cleveland City Schools to desegregate. The mandate included a busing plan, which transported students to schools outside their neighborhoods to achieve racial balance, and encouraged open enrollment. Unfortunately, and as in many other Northern cities, formal desegregation was not entirely successful. Many white families left city districts as a part of "White Flight" to Cleveland's developing suburbs. This once again left Cleveland City Schools as a predominantly Black district with fewer resources than predominantly white schools. Judge Frank Battisti was in charge of the Cleveland public school desegregation case. (Image courtesy of Cleveland Civil Rights Trail). A photograph of the first day of school busing. (Image courtesy of Cleveland Civil Rights Trail). The College of Wooster and Student Activism Efforts to address racial inequality also extended to higher education. At the College of Wooster, President Copeland established the Committee on the Quality of Life for Black Students in 1982. The committee aimed to improve the experiences of Black students through increased recruitment, retention, and faculty diversity. Students themselves also became increasingly active in demanding further changes. In 1989, a group of students, led by Mark Goodman, occupied Galpin Hall and presented a list of demands for greater support of Black students. The demands included hiring more Black faculty and increasing financial aid. Goodman now serves as the President of the Board of Trustees at the College of Wooster, beginning in 2025. Black members of the campus community took action around 7 a.m. on a Thursday in April 1989. (Wooster Digital History Project). Students successfully occupied the Galpin Hall and locked the deans and administrators outside. (Image courtesy of WoosterHistory). The student movement inspired community involvement. In 1989, President Henry Copeland set a time to invite Black communities to discuss problems and solutions for equal opportunities in the Wooster community. Meanwhile, he requested an increased number of security officers around Beall Avenue to allow people to visit with greater safety. In addition, he requested that faculty devote two class periods to engage students in a discussion about racial discrimination on campus and in the community. The Galpin takeover and the successive changes are strong examples of how a small student community can promote and expand activism to the broader community. George Forbes and Black Businesses It was not until the 1980s that Ohio began implementing stronger protections for minority-owned businesses even though President Richard Nixon had issued Executive Order 11458 in 1969 to establish the Office of Minority Business Enterprise. The Ohio state government passed the Minority Business Enterprise Act (House Bill 584) in 1980. With the creation of this legislation, several of Cleveland’s Black political leaders, including George Forbes, the President of the Cleveland City Council, supported affirmative action and set-aside programs for minority businesses. Forbes demanded that entities follow the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity standards when they failed to do so. George Forbes was the first Black man elected as President of the Cleveland City Council and a founding partner of the first African American law firm in Cleveland . After earning a law degree, he became a strong advocate for Black communities and became one of the most influential Black politicians in Cleveland during the 1980s. George Forbes (left) and Carl B. Stokes (right), prominent African American leaders in Cleveland whose work in politics and public service contributed to the advancement of civil rights. (Image courtesy of Cleveland History Center). A Decade of National and Regional Engagement The 1980s brought greater social and civil rights improvements across Northeast Ohio. Building social justice in a small Midwest town in the 1980s meant broader engagement with national and regional issues. The Wooster/Orrville NAACP participated at many levels of activism, from the Martin Luther King Jr. Day marches to hosting Rosa Parks in Wooster. In Northeast Ohio, school segregation formally ended and economic opportunities improved for Black residents. Even though the 1980s saw marked progress in education, economics, and civic engagement, racial discrimination persisted. The Wooster/Orrville NAACP continued as a site of activism. Rosa Parks in the 1990s. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Sources and Further Reading Primary Sources Brucker, Barb. “‘Freedom Fund’ Banquet for Local NAACP.” Daily Record (Wooster, OH), September 18, 1978, 30. Brucker, Barb. “‘Still Fighting For Freedom’ Says NAACP Official.” Daily Record (Wooster, OH), September 22, 1979, 9. Budher, Glenn R. Letter to Colleague, 5 April 1989. Special Collection, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH. Colins, Bee. “NAACP Spokesmen Talk With Mayor.” Daily Record (Wooster, Ohio), January 22, 1980. Copeland, Henry. Letter to Members of the Campus Community, 29 March 1989. Special Collection, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH. Daisy Craggett and Clara Smith, “School Rooms,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 20, 1961. Harris, James. James Harris Oral History. Interview by Mady Noble, Beatrice Adams, and Greg Shaya. The Wooster Digital History Project: The College of Wooster, 2023. Johnson, E. E. “Mother of Civil Rights Movement Will Speak at Local NAACP Event.” Daily Record (Wooster, OH), May 11, 1989, 1. NAACP Cleveland Branch. “Freedom Fund Dinner.” n.d. https://clevelandnaacp.org/freedom-fund-dinner/ . Neely, Chanda. “Local NAACP Fund-Raiser Is Saturday.” Daily Record (Wooster, OH), October 24, 2006. Secrest, Barbara D. “Resident Enjoyed Program Put On By NAACP.” Daily Record (Wooster, Ohio), February 27, 1989. Spigos, Mark. “NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner on Oct. 11 Raise Money for Local Grads.” Daily Record (Wooster, OH), September 26, 2014. Staff Writer. “Council to Consider Rosa Parks Way in Park.” Wooster Daily Record, March 31, 2002. https://www.the-daily-record.com/story/news/2002/03/31/council-to-consider-rosa-parks/19609384007/ . Theoharis, Jeanne, Komozi Woodard, and Dayo F. Gore, eds. Want to Start a Revolution? Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle. New York: New York University Press, 2009. Chapter 5. Thompson, Lydia. Lydia Thompson Oral History Interview. Interview by Lawrence Walker and Greg Shaya. The Wooster Digital History Project: The College of Wooster, 2022. Wikimedia Commons contributors, "File:Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mathew Ahmann in a crowd.) - NARA - 542015 - Restoration.jpg," Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons contributors, "File:Rosa Parks 1996.jpg," Wikimedia Commons. WoosterHistory. “The Galpin Takeover (1989).” Additional information. December 5, 2025. YouTube video, 6:01. https://youtu.be/mA-5C8Jz7Tc . Secondary Sources “Desegregation of Cleveland Public Schools - Cleveland Civil Rights Trail.” 2024. Cleveland Civil Rights Trail. February 2024. https://clevelandcivilrightstrail.org/explore-the-trail/desegregation-of-cleveland-public-schools/ . Footlick, Jerrold K. 2015. An Adventure in Education . House-Soremekun, Bessie. 2009. Confronting the Odds . McLaughlin, Meghan. 2022. “Desegregating Schools in the North: The Cincinnati Board of Education and the NAACP.” Wittenberg History Journal 42: 53–69. https://wittprojects.net/ojs/index.php/whj/article/view/268 . The HistoryMakers. “The Honorable George Forbes’s Biography,” 2020. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-george-forbes. Wickliffe, Bryan. 2026. “Segregation in Columbus, Ohio Did It Ever Leave.” Open Works. 2026. https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/3871/ . Williamson, Terrion L. Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest . Cleveland, Ohio Best Publishing, 2020. Exhibit Home Next Decade

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Member Appreciation Event 2025 Member's Event Gallery A big thank you to all those who joined us in celebrations of NAACP Wooster/Orrville. Special thank you State President Tom Roberts Justin Gilmore Westminster Presbyterian Church We look forward to the 2026 Member's Appreciation Event. Executive Team

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday 2026 ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS Grades 1-3 Topic: In Jacqueline Woodson’s book ‘The Other Side,” two girls, one white, one black, become friends despite the fence separating them. Claire Audet Kean Elementary Third Grade - Mrs. Erika Ratliff Read Essay Kiyansh Gunikuntla Kean Elementary Third Grade - Mrs. Erika Ratliff Read Essay Preston Oyer Green Elementary Third Grade - Mr. Maibach Read Essay Grades 4-6 Topic: Was Dr. King’ decision to use thousands of black schoolchildren to protest in downtown Birmingham in 1963 too risky? Emmett Ramseyer Green Elementary School Grade 5-Mr. Maibach Read Essay Irelynn Cutlip Montessori School Wooster Grade 6 - Ms. Michelle Mann Read Essay Breylin Friend St. Mary School Grade 6-Miss McAllister Read Essay Grades 7-9 Topic: What was the effect across the nation of black school children facing fire hoses and police dogs in downtown Birmingham in 1963? Andrew Zvolensky Wooster High School Grade 8 - Mr. Michael Sexton Read Essay Kanishka Gunikuntla Edgewood Middle School Grade 7 - Ms. Courtney Robinson. Read Essay Emma Gatten Green Middle School Grade 8 - Mr. Maibach Read Essay Grades 10-12 Topic: Was Dr. King’s Birmingham Campaign the turning point in the Civil Rights Movement? Gunner Curtis Orrville High School Grade 11 - Dr. Dziczkowski Read Essay Kymber Bishop Rittman High School Grade 11 - Dr. Dziczkowski Read Essay Charlotte Cerniglia Waynedale High School Grade 11 - Dr. Dziczkowski Read Essay

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Capítulo Juvenil Presidente: Oliver Warren Our general assembly meeting is every last Tuesday of the month at 6pm at the Wayne County Public Library . (December 30th) All are welcome to join. (November 25th) Click the link below to read the latest edition The Wooster Blade

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