I submitted the photos to show there has always been constant positive representatives of healthy lifestyles and positive role models of black men in the community
This is a collection of advertisements about Babe Baker's Jazz Corner created by Jazz pianist and music composter Mr. Pat Kelly. Babe Baker's Jazz Corner was located at 3128 Reading Road. According to Mr. Kelly, Babe Baker's was "one of the best and most contemporary jazz clubs in Cincinnati in the late-50s and 60s [...] John Coltrane Quartet, Lester Young, and Miles Davis were among its many noted performers, as were Cincinnati's own noted Modern Jazz Disciples. Local tenor legend Jimmy McGary played there, with pianist Ed Moss leading a house trio for a time. Edward "Babe" Baker (1916-2005) had also been a jazz DJ on WSAI prior to opening his club and was a successful businessman and entrepreneur whose businesses suffered during the aftermath of the riots of 1968."
Attached is a photo of my dad (on the left with glasses) and our baseball team, which tells a different story of black Jewish relations. 3 of the white kids are Jewish, and 2 others who are brothers have an interesting story. As an adult looking at this picture, I notice a team that is predominantly black with a few white kids. I imagine many adults during that time noticed this. As a kid, however, I never noticed that the majority was black, as were most of the coaches who were also my mentors. We did not ignore that some kids were black and others white, but we primarily saw each other as friends. Growing up in North Avondale from a kid's point of view was special. And I admire the adults who inculcated a healthy to think about and not think about race.
Avondale Youth History Corps is a team of local students in grades 8-10 who served as paid members of the Avondale Neighborhood History Initiative in the summer of 2021. The members met at the Avondale branch library for five hours each week and studied the history of Avondale with a mentor from the University of Cincinnati. They scanned and documented items through two community scanning bees events, built local history binders for the library, and created a closing exhibition on significant individuals in Avondale history.
These articles reflect the hard and persistent work it took to make and keep North Avondale racially and economically integrated. My dad's point about the significance of a white family buying a house from a black family seems insightful and emblematic of the character of North Avondale and perhaps is underinvestigated. This is not to idealize race relations which were far from perfect, but rather that the arrow was moving in the right direction toward healing and repairing systemic racism. The street sign issue reminded me that while the picture of Heschel marching at Selma tells one story, addressing faded street signs tells another. Namely, who is to say that a grand gesture of support has a greater positive impact than the mundane improvement of street signs that benefitted the entire neighborhood? While being an ally to black people in their struggle is certainly commendable, the idea of a racially and economically diverse neighborhood with common struggles that have little or nothing to do with race also sends a powerful message of what a better world looks like.
This is a WCPO article, "I-Team: What nearly 50,000 eviction fillings in four years have done to Hamilton County" by Lucy May and Craig Cheatham on June 21, 2018. The article was clipped and preserved by Audley Scott.
I received this award when I made the honor roll in seventh grade at Woodward Middle School in Avondale. This award is important to me because making good grades is important to me.
This is a newspaper article "Clergy's business skills questioned by city panel" by Allen Howard in the Enquirer. The article was clipped and preserved by Audley Scott.
This is an article "Avondale Town Center rebuilt set" written by Mark Curnutte in the Enquirer on May 27, 2007. The article was clipped and preserved by Audley Scott.