An Important Ohio Pioneer

An Important Ohio Pioneer

February 2006 - Black History Month

By U.S. Senator Mike DeWine

From the Wright Brothers and their daring first flight to Thomas Edison and his revolutionary inventions, many pioneers have called Ohio home. Yet, in spite of his service as a soldier, minister, journalist, politician, lawyer, and author, one Ohio pioneer is often forgotten. A son of the Civil War era, George Washington Williams was ahead of his time, paving the way for thousands of African Americans to follow in his footsteps at pulpits, Statehouses, and printing presses for generations to come. February is Black History Month, and it is a chance to reflect on the stories overlooked and excluded from the history books. George Washington Williams is one of Ohio and America's great stories and one that we must tell.

Born to a free family in Pennsylvania, Williams came to live in Cincinnati after fighting in the Civil War to preserve the Union and end slavery. He eventually became the pastor of Cincinnati's Union Baptist Church and wrote for the Cincinnati Commercial. In 1879, Hamilton County residents sent Williams to the Statehouse in Columbus to represent them. Even while facing daily discrimination at restaurants and boarding houses, he introduced bills to regulate law enforcement in large cities and to repeal the prohibition of interracial marriages. In the end, his colleagues in the Ohio House rallied around him and joined in denouncing racial prejudice, calling Williams "a gentleman of intelligence, culture, and high moral standing," saying that he was "cruelly and needlessly insulted" by discrimination. By standing up to discrimination, he helped give other minority leaders the courage to try and enact change.

Williams served only one trailblazing term at the Statehouse, but in that time his mark on Ohio's history and the Nation's history was so great that the George Washington Williams Memorial Room at the Ohio Statehouse was the first to be named after a single person. Today, you can visit that room, view his official portrait and personal mementos, as well as photographs of other early African American legislators.

But Williams' history as a legislator is only part of his story. While visiting the Memorial Room, you can also see a copy of his book, History of the Negro Race in America 1619-1880. This pioneering prose remained the only book chronicling African Americans in this country for decades. President Chester Arthur was so impressed with Williams' accomplishments, he appointed him Ambassador to Haiti before leaving office. Unfortunately, however, then-President Grover Cleveland revoked the appointment.

Williams did not let this setback stop him on his mission to improve the lives of the oppressed. In 1885, Williams led a trip oversees, where he attended an antislavery conference in Brussels. This prompted him to go to the Belgian Congo in Africa. There, he witnessed unspeakable atrocities that caused him to publicly criticize Belgium's policies toward natives in the Congo. His outspoken opposition to the treatment of Africans began what some have called the first human rights movement.

George Washington Williams' life is an inspiration and a cause for celebration. His story reminds us of a simple, but powerful truth - that a single, committed person can change the world for the better. Although he was a true citizen of the world, he will always be remembered as an Ohio pioneer. This February, we celebrate his story as an essential part of our collective history.

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