www.teachingcleveland.org
Issue 1 aims at the heart of Ohioans’ citizen initiative powers. Here’s how we won them
“As the stench of corruption worsened, Ohio produced more strong reform leaders than any other state. Most notable were the Rev. Herbert S. Bigelow of Cincinnati’s Vine Street Congregational Church, Cleveland Mayor Tom L. Johnson, the Rev. Washington Gladden of the First Congregational Church of Columbus, and Toledo Mayor Samuel M. “Golden Rule” Jones.”
by Mike Curtin
The inside story of how Larry Doby broke the American League’s color line 76 years ago
by Terry Pluto, Cleveland.com Wednesday July 5, 2023
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Harold Burton: From Cleveland Mayor to Supreme Court Justice (video)
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Shaker resident Harold H. Burton was Mayor of Cleveland, U.S. Senator and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. His father Alfred accompanied Peary to the North Pole and his sister was the children’s author/illustrator Virginia Lee Burton.
Historian Joe Blake explores Burton’s political career and his legacy, including Burton’s tenure as a Republican Mayor during the New Deal, and his Supreme Court appointment just as the Court began to reexamine judicial support for segregation. Cosponsored by the Shaker Historical Society.
If you haven’t heard about the Black girl who won the first national spelling bee in the U.S. 115 years ago, you’re not alone: even many in her family didn’t know about Marie C. Bolden’s feat until after she died, decades later.
“It’s astounding to me” that she never talked about winning a gold medal in front of thousands of people, Bolden’s grandson, Mark Brown, told NPR.
But back in 1908, Bolden’s victory made national news and upended racist stereotypes, less than 50 years after the Civil War. The 14-year-old did it by being perfect, spelling 500 words flawlessly to lead her hometown team, Cleveland, Ohio, to victory in the city’s then-new Hippodrome Theater.
“She never talked about this award, this amazing accomplishment,” Brown said. “But even Booker T. Washington mentioned [it] in his speeches.”
Boleden’s win was dramatic and unprecedented: Cleveland’s team was trailing in a field that included teams from New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Erie, Pa., near the end of the contest, according to contemporary accounts. But then Bolden vaulted her team to the top prize.
She never showed off the gold medal she won — in fact, her family isn’t sure what became of it — but in interviews after her win, Bolden told reporters she had studied hard for the competition, saying she wanted to help her city win, and that her mother and father wanted her to win.
“When I felt nervous at the Hippodrome, it steadied me to think of these things,” she was quoted telling The Plain Dealer. “I just kind of gritted my teeth and made up my mind that I wouldn’t miss a word.”
It was only after Bolden died that her family realized her place in history. Going through a box of her belongings, Brown says, they found a newspaper clipping from The Plain Dealer relating the story of the Black mail carrier’s daughter who out-spelled hundreds of white kids.
After her stunning victory, Bolden was hailed by “a storm of applause” and congratulations from hundreds of people, including members of the team from New Orleans, according to Indiana’s South Bend Tribune.
Cleveland hosted the spelling contest in June 1908, using it as a marquee event to kick off the National Education Association’s conference. The contest is recognized as the first nationwide spelling bee by Guinness World Records — which also notes Bolden’s role.
The famous Scripps National Spelling Bee, which began in 1925, held its finals this week. Bolden’s accomplishment drew renewed attention in 2021, when Zaila Avant-garde became the first African American to win the Scripps contest.
Bolden’s story then drew the interest of Babbel, the language-learning software company, which contacted Brown after researching his grandmother’s win.
“Her parents and friends helped her memorize words, and she read a newspaper each day to perfect her spelling,” said Malcolm Massey, a language expert at Babbel. “It’s a blueprint for today’s would-be Spelling Bee champions.”
African American Cultural Garden celebrates Juneteenth, adds Civil Rights Trail marker
by Paris Wolfe, Cleveland.com June 14, 2023
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William L. Phillis is a former teacher, principal, superintendent, and assistant superintendent of public instruction. He is currently the executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding.
Leaders of the Ohio Senate seem to be inebriated with power.
With a super majority, they do what they want. They are in a position with a super majority in both chambers of the legislature, to overpower the Governor’s office if they wish.
Senate Bill 178 would neuter the State Board of Education by transferring most of the duties of the State Board of Education to the Governor’s office. The move is counter to Article VI, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution.
In 1953 Ohioans, with a constitutional amendment, removed the state education agency from the governor’s office by establishing an independent state board of education.
A history lesson — which some state officials would ignore — is in order.
Ohio did not have a state school officer until 1837, when the legislature enacted the office of superintendent of common schools and employed Samuel Lewis as superintendent. After three years, Lewis resigned, and the legislature repealed the law which established the position.
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The Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851 called for the common school system.
Delegates debated, but ultimately rejecting the idea of establishing in the constitution a state officer for education.
In 1853 however the legislature enacted legislation providing for a state commissioner of common schools to be elected on a three-year cycle. During the constitutional convention of 1912, delegates crafted language to replace the state commissioner of common schools with a superintendent of public instruction.
Ohioans approved the amendment, and the legislature attached the position to the governor’s office.
In 1953, Ohioans passed a constitutional amendment as follows:
There shall be a state board of education which shall be selected in such manner and for such terms as shall be provided by law. There shall be a superintendent of public instruction, who shall be appointed by the state board of education. The respective powers and duties of the board and of the superintendent shall be prescribed by law.(Article VI, Section 4)
Ohioans removed the superintendent of public instruction and thus the state education agency from the governor’s office.
In the 1990’s Governor Voinovich requested the legislature to allow the governor to appoint State Board of Education members as a means to gain control of the state education agency.
The legislature gave Voinovich the authorization to appoint eight members in addition to the eleven elected members. This action paved the way for a dysfunctional environment that continues to this day.
State officials should restore the state board to an all-elected body to regain the credibility and the respect the state board had from 1956 to the Voinovich era.
The people of Ohio passed the 1953 amendment to make the state board of education a fourth branch of government.
Senate Bill 178 would thwart the will of Ohioans. But that does not matter to some current state political leadership.
The redistricting fiasco is another proof that the will of the people is of no concern to some current state officials.
Senate Bill 178 should be ditched.
William L. Phillis is a former teacher, principal, superintendent, and assistant superintendent of public instruction. He is currently the executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding.