Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Website Records History Of Cincinnati's Black Community

Used with permission
/
Cincinnati Black History
CincinnatiBlackHistory.com is an effort to fill a gap in preserving African-American history.

There's a new website aimed at collecting personal stories and telling the history of the region's African American community.

Cincinnati Black History is a partnership between The Cincinnati Herald and Black Agenda Cincinnati. CEO Dwight Tillery says people can upload pictures and share their stories online.

"What typically happens is the local historical society will pick certain blacks that they will highlight and that's it," Tillery says. "But there's a whole lot of history in Cincinnati."

Tillery came up with the idea after revisiting journalist Wendell P. Dabney's 1926 book Cincinnati's Colored Citizens.

"Since [the 1920s], I have not been able to find that kind of historical recording of what blacks have done and contributed to the city."

He'd like people to share stories and images that tell that history. "Where did they go? Where were those places for fun? How they migrated to certain areas; how many black doctors we have now versus back then. We're looking at all of that kind of information to be able to collect and make available."

Stories are sorted into categories such as business, slavery, sports, the arts, civil unrest and more. There are tutorials online to guide you through the process.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.