Personal Insights and Reflections: Black History Month and Hudson
By: Nicole Kowalski, Hudson City Council Member, At-Large
Contributors:
Tom Vince, Archivist and Historian at Western Reserve Academy
N.J. Akbar, Ph.D., Senior Principal & President of B4U Services and Executive Director of the Black Elected Officials of Summit County
We all know February is Black History Month, but I must admit that growing up I didn’t learn a lot of Black history in school. My school’s curriculum, like so many, focused on “American” history, which if you look at some textbooks you would think was mostly about white men. It was only as an adult that I started to question that version of history, realizing that there are so many untold stories of great Black Americans.
I started to really think about it, realizing how little about Black history I knew, and did what most people do when they don’t know something: I turned to Google.
I knew that just simply celebrating Black History Month would ring hollow if I didn’t put in the work for the history part of Black History Month.
First, let’s learn a bit more about Black History Month. My friend Dr. N.J. Akbar, also a contributor to this blog, reminded me that Black History Month is about more than slavery, the Civil Rights movement, and the Civil War. He told me to do some research on Carter G. Woodson who was a scholar and historian that helped to establish what we now call Black History Month. In 1926, Woodson launched “Negro History Week,” which was later recognized as Black History Month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. Woodson authored many books and publications celebrating the countless achievements of Black Americans.
Fun little fact from a proud Golden Flash, Kent State and Black United Students were the first to celebrate Black History Month in the country! They began celebrating in 1970, before Ford officially recognized it.
In addition to articles on Woodson, I did research on other well-known historic figures. The short stories in “These 21 Black women changed history forever” by Madeline Merinuk and Sarah Lemire (which is also a perfect segue into Women’s History Month in March) left me feeling so inspired. I encourage everyone to read this article, it’s a quick read and it also led to more research and deeper learning about these women.
After I went down a very informative and emotional rabbit hole, I began to ponder Hudson’s Black history. Google had less to say about this, but I knew that didn’t mean there was none, it just meant I had to search a little harder. Having to dig so hard to find the history I was looking for reminded me of this quote from Gerald Ford in his message on the observance of Black History Month, “…we can seize the opportunity to honor the too–often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Since I first made Hudson my home, I have heard so many people proudly speak of Hudson’s role as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Abolitionist John Brown’s childhood home is in Hudson, and our city’s founder David Hudson’s home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. This is incredibly important Hudson history that is worth mentioning. But America’s dark history of oppressing people through slavery and our eventual abolishment of this barbaric practice is as I remembered it – very often told from the perspective of a white person.
I am glad to know this history and am so incredibly proud that our city played an active role in the Underground Railroad. But I don’t want to make Black History Month a celebration of white people who were on the right side of history, and they wouldn’t want that either.
A few years ago, I attended an event hosted by the Hudson League of Women Voters where the Archivist and Historian at Western Reserve Academy, Tom Vince, was speaking. Mr. Vince’s knowledge on history, specifically the history of our town, was astounding. As I attempted to find more information on Black people who helped shape Hudson and create the community we know today, I realized that Mr. Vince was my best bet to figure out a starting point for continuing my research.
I reached out to him and sure enough, he was a wealth of information.
Mr. Vince shared a story with me about Rev. Samuel Harrison (1818-1900), who was a freed slave who attended school at Western Reserve Prep School in Hudson when he was a young man. Rev. Harrison eventually left Hudson in 1839. He was ordained a Congregational minister and became a minister at a church in Massachusetts. During his impressive life, he was named Chaplain to the first all-Black regiment in the Civil War, and was active in the Civil Rights and anti-slavery movement. Mr. Vince helped with the research for and appeared in a documentary partially filmed at WRA, A Trumpet at the Walls of Jericho: The Untold Story of Samuel Harrison, which was written, produced and directed by local Aurora resident Michael Kirk. Check out this press release from 2005 about the film which gives more info about Rev. Harrison.
If you would like to watch this documentary, it will be aired on Hudson Community Television this week at these times; Monday, Feb. 26 at 10:00 PM; Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 11:00 AM; Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 2:00 PM; Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7:00 PM; Friday, March 1 at 7:00 AM; and Saturday, March 2 at 11:00 AM.
This documentary tells Rev. Harrison’s story better than I ever could, so I encourage you all to watch it and learn about and celebrate this Hudsonite this Black History Month!
Mr. Vince also told me a story about William aka ‘Billy’ Branch. He encouraged me to purchase the book Hudson: A Survey of Historic Buildings in an Ohio Town, Hudson Heritage Association, Edited by Lois Newkirk. I easily found this book at Destination Hudson and purchased it there.
Here is part of Mr. Vince’s account of Mr. Branch: “He is perhaps the first Black person to own property and a regular house here in town. Billy Branch, reputedly a former slave from Virginia, came to town shortly after the Civil War and became a drayman and general handyman at Western Reserve College and the Academy. He used to meet the trains and take students and their baggage up to the campus where he acted as a handyman. He soon was able to buy (and perhaps he even built) the house at 24 Owen Brown Street (see Newkirk book, p 228), and lived there until the early 20th century (it must have been until 1907 or later), and the house is still known (on the HHA marker) as the William Branch House. There is also a decent photo of him in the Newkirk book, and the WRA Archives has a similar photo of him in our files. He moved to Cleveland in his declining years, supposedly with the financial backing of Hudson benefactor, James W. Ellsworth (1849-1925).”
Hudson Memory has a catalog of some of Hudson’s oldest homes, similar to the Newkirk book. Their website has information about the house at 24 Owen Brown street, the “William Branch House.” Here is the excerpt: “This Victorian-era home, built in 1880, is treasured by many because of its builder and owner William Branch (ca. 1808-1920). Uncle Willy, as he was called, was an illiterate former slave, born and sold in Virginia, who moved north and settled in Hudson in 1865. In Hudson, Branch was a drayman at Western Reserve College. With the aid of his horse Fred, he moved the trunks of many students in and out of Western Reserve College. Nearly every student came to love him. The house has had few alterations. Indoor plumbing and heat have been added and the roofline may have been changed.”
Mr. Branch is again mentioned on this website in reference to the home located at 86 Maple Drive.
As I was reading all of this, I realized that address seemed very familiar to me. My friends Ron and Suzanne Strobl live there! I reached out to them, and they immediately invited me to their home to learn more about “Uncle Billy,” as they affectionately called him.
They shared documents with me that Mr. Vince and others helped them obtain, including extensive information on their home as well as Billy Branch’s obituary. One of the documents described the William Branch House as “one of the most historically significant houses in the village.” (1) Notably, the William Branch House historic marker was the first Hudson Heritage Association marker awarded to a house built by a Black person in Hudson.
The Strobl’s have put a lot of work into their home to honor the historic nature of it and Uncle Billy’s legacy. It is beautifully furnished with antiques, and I could easily imagine it being decorated similarly when Billy Branch lived there.
Documents they shared with me indicate that Branch was once a slave owned by Jefferson Davis. He ended up in the area because he followed the Confederate army working in the mines. After the Civil War, it is thought that he settled in Hudson because of the town’s passion for abolitionism. Another document describes how the students loved to hear him sing. It reads, “We paper boys would occasionally get him cornered and after repeated requests listen to him sing.” (2) The author speculates that the songs he sang were old slave songs. In nearly every document I read, Uncle Billy is described as being beloved in the community by all. Uncle Billy died at the age of 103 years young.
This history of both of these Black Hudsonites is something every resident should be familiar with.
This summer as many of you plan travel arrangements, if you are looking for a great museum to visit that also has great online resources I would encourage all of you to consider the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington D.C. The next time you plan a trip east, put this on your list of stops to make. If you don’t plan on making a trip out that way any time soon, peruse their website which has a plethora of articles and resources. If you are looking for a more local stop to learn about Black history, check out the John Brown house in Akron, which has exhibits on his life and contributions. I also found the resources provided by the History Channel to be very comprehensive.
To round out this post honoring the many contributions of Black Americans, I want to share with you a list of Black inventors whose innovations helped shape technology and some of the modern conveniences we enjoy today. If you are like me, it may be the first time you are learning about these contributions, which perfectly illustrates why Black History Month and continued learning about Black history is SO important.
Lewis Lattimer: evaporative air conditioning system, improvements to the filaments for light bulbs
Henry T. Sampson: the gamma-electric cell, patents for propellants and explosives which were used in solid rocket motors
Garrett Morgan (Cleveland resident): three-way traffic signal, an early gas mask, hair straightener
Marian Croak: Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology
Marie Van Brittan Brown: a home security system
Frederick McKinley Jones: refrigerated trucks
Philip B. Downing: a street letter box that resembles what the USPS uses as dropboxes outside of their facilities
*Please note this is NOT a complete list of Black inventors, you can read more on a few of these Black inventors here!
I hope many of you take a similar journey of learning in this last week of Black History Month. I have tried to link all my sources within the blog when applicable to make this learning a bit easier.
Happy Black History Month!
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Have questions? Want to share your thoughts with me on this issue or a different one? As always, I would love to have a conversation! Email me directly at nkowalski@hudson.oh.us.
