Our second Black History Month spotlight goes to a pioneer of medicine in the Cincinnati area, Lucy Oxley – the first African American to graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Lucy Oxley was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1912. During her childhood, her family moved to Cincinnati, as her father was named rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. As a young girl, Oxley looked up to three of her uncles who became doctors and knew early on that she wanted to be one too. She graduated early from Woodward High School and joined the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s six-year undergraduate and medical program.
During her time at UC, Oxley excelled, working hard to earn her spot in the group of top fifteen students who would have the chance to intern at General Hospital (UC Medical Center). However, she was refused an internship spot. When she questioned Dr. Alfred Friedlander about why she wasn’t given an internship, he said to her, “Lucy, you are a negro, and we don’t want you.” Oxley replied, “Well Dr. Friedlander, I wouldn’t change that for anything.” Rising above the prejudice, she went on to complete her internship at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, DC, and returned to Cincinnati to join her classmates for graduation on June 5, 1936.
After graduation, Oxley became a medical director for student wellness at Bennett College in North Carolina, and then Wilberforce College here in Ohio. Following that, she had a daughter, Francine, and returned to Cincinnati where she started her general practice. In 1945 she began working in cancer research alongside fellow UC grad, George Sperti. A few years later she returned to full-time practice in family medicine where she cared for thousands of patients and families.
Later in life, Oxley was diagnosed with lung cancer but continued to treat patients up until her passing in 1991. She is remembered today for her dedication to those she cared for and for paving the way for young African Americans who aim to make a difference in the medical field just as she did.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
For the continuing blog series on this project, project archivist Julianna Witt provides a timeline of events from the filing of the case in 1974 to its settlement nearly a decade later.
May 29, 1974
Bronson v. Board of Education of the City of Cincinnati is filed on behalf of Mona Bronson, and other school children by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to address racial isolation in Cincinnati’s public schools. The lawsuit is filed against the Cincinnati Board of Education, Ohio State Board of Education, State Superintendent, Attorney General, and Governor.
January 30, 1975
The affirmative defense opinion by Judge David S. Porter of the District Court is declared. Judge Porter raises the question whether the decision in the earlier Cincinnati desegregation case Deal v. Board of Education is still viable in the 10 years since the decision and if the same matters can be re-litigated. Judge Porter finds that the decision in Deal v. Board is still acceptable, and the doctrine of res judicata is acknowledged. This doctrine prevents the plaintiffs from relitigating arguments prior to the July 1965 Deal v. Board decision.
April 23, 1975
The plaintiffs file an appeal that transferred the case to the Sixth Circuit Court. Judge C.J. Lively and Judge Harry Phillips find that res judicata does not apply and instead collateral estoppel, which is the least strict of the two re-litigation doctrines. They introduce the fact that this does not prevent the plaintiffs from bringing forth post-July1965 evidence that occurred after Deal v. Board. Pre-Deal v. Board evidence can also be offered, however, only if the evidence is introduced on behalf of children born or not of school age as of July 1965 as long as it does not contradict earlier arguments. A rehearing of the appeal is denied, and the case is returned to the District Court.
June 27, 1980
Judge Porter retires and the case is transferred to Judge Walter H. Rice. Judge Rice issues “Entry Setting Forth This Court’s Interpretation of Sixth Circuit Opinion in Bronson v. Board of Education” which asserts Judge Porter’s affirmative defense opinion.
October 14, 1980
The plaintiffs file a response memorandum with the court that introduces the dual school system theory which was argued in two United States Supreme Court cases, Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman and Columbus Board of Education v. Penick. Both cases ended in 1979 and evidence in both found that in the Cincinnati schools, dual school systems were existent in May 1954, the date of the Brown v. Board decision. Since this was not discussed in Deal v. Board, the plaintiffs maintain that the case does not have to follow collateral estoppel completely.
February 11, 1982
Judge Rice decides collateral estoppel is still in effect as there is not sufficient evidence to suggest that Cincinnati schools had a dual school system but enough reasoning to consider if evidence is brought forth. The plaintiffs cannot relitigate the exact arguments that were discussed in Deal v. Board. However, they do not have any restrictions when it comes to pre- or post-July 1965 evidence that was declared in 1975 and 1980.
December 19, 1983
Judge Rice accepts the suburban school districts’ motion for summary judgement and dismisses them from the case. In the court pleadings, Judge Rice explains the reason for dismissal as the plaintiffs were unable to produce sufficient evidence to find the suburban school districts guilty of unlawful segregation. Cincinnati Board of Education and the State defendants have not been excused.
April 6, 1984
A settlement is reached and agreed by both sides without going to trial. This does not include the suburban school district defendants, as they were dismissed. The matters of the settlement include:
The Cincinnati Board of Education has seven years to reduce the current Taeuber Index of Dissimilarity score by 17 points. This index measures racial composition within a school compared to the district.
The Board can decide how they will reduce racial isolation. However, they must claim responsibility to achieve the target Taeuber Index score.
The State will provide financial assistance for efforts in reducing racial isolation with some restrictions.
A committee will meet yearly to review the district’s progress.
This project has been made possible in part by grant RH-104772-24 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this blog post do not necessarily represent those of the NHPRC.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
ARB is pleased to welcome Julianna Witt, who was hired as the project archivist dedicated to this project. Julianna will be writing a series of blog posts documenting her work and the discoveries she makes while organizing the NAACP records. Her first post below highlights some records related to earlier desegregation efforts in Cincinnati, most notably the Deal v. Cincinnati Board of Education case filed in 1965.
Julianna writes:
The Cincinnati NAACP collection regarding the Bronson court case includes material on various desegregation cases in Ohio and across the country gathered by the NAACP and the plaintiffs’ attorneys as research into prior cases and precedents. Most referenced was an earlier Cincinnati education desegregation case, Deal v. Cincinnati Board of Education which was filed with the NAACP in 1965.
Detail of the first page of the transcript of proceedings in the Deal v. Cincinnati Board of Education lawsuit, 1965.
The plaintiffs in Deal argued that the Cincinnati Board of Education had engaged in segregated practices which did not give African American students equal education opportunities. The 6th District Court ruled that there was no evidence that the Cincinnati Board of Education was intentionally causing racially imbalanced schools but that the schools were a result of the racial makeup of specific neighborhoods.
After Deal, the Cincinnati Board of Education passed a resolution on December 10, 1973, which would redistrict all Cincinnati Public Schools attendance districts and called for full desegregation of schools by fall of 1974. This plan was soon canceled when new, more-conservative, school board members were elected and rescinded the resolution. The board then passed a voluntary integration resolution in January 1974. This new resolution reestablished the prior Cincinnati school attendance districts which had been altered to promote integration, called for voluntary open enrollment, expanded alternative school programs, and canceled all efforts to achieve full integration by fall of 1974.
Bronson v. Board of Education was filed in 1974 to re-establish the December 1973 resolution and to discuss racial isolation inside the schools. The Deal case was quickly reintroduced to determine if res judicata or collateral estoppel applied, which would prevent the re-litigation of the issues found in the earlier case. The 6th District Court found that the doctrine of collateral estoppel applied since the two cases argued that the Cincinnati Board of Education was participating in racial discrimination, and they would not retry the same matter. The court did allow post-1965 racial discrimination to be tried in the Bronson case and pre-Deal evidence could only be introduced if it was regarded as new and relevant on an individual basis.
Detail of the first page of a memorandum regarding the court case Bronson versus Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati, 19xx.
Deal was commonly discussed in the court room which is evident in the various Bronson pleadings concerning pre-Deal evidence, prior decisions, and relevancy. The Cincinnati NAACP collection also includes other documentation regarding Deal besides pleadings, such as individual exhibits, interrogatories, correspondence, and newspaper clippings. During the ten years that the Bronson case was litigated, the plaintiffs’ attorneys continued to bring up Deal and other recent desegregation cases in Ohio and across the country in efforts to provide legal reasoning and support to desegregate the Cincinnati Public Schools and suburban school districts. The NAACP records currently being organized at ARB are proving to document not only the Bronson case of 1974, but earlier efforts to combat racial isolation and segregation in Cincinnati’s public schools.
This project has been made possible in part by grant RH-104772-24 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this blog post do not necessarily represent those of the NHPRC.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library a $109,349 grant to support a project to complete archival processing of the records of the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP related to the 1974 Bronson v. Cincinnati Board of Education, the city’s most significant legal case in the fight for school desegregation.
Filed in 1974, the Bronson case was not the first litigation to address segregation and discrimination in the Cincinnati Public Schools, but it was the first to create some accountability for the Cincinnati School Board. Housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB), the collection contains the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP’s records related to the case, including correspondence, court filings, background research on segregation in education in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, the conditions of schools, curriculum and how the Cincinnati Public Schools addressed the decree that was agreed upon as a result of the case.
“The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1974 filing of the Bronson v. Cincinnati Board of Education suit. This collection details a significant period in the history of the Cincinnati Public Schools and the history of education in Cincinnati,” said Chris Harter, university archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library. “This collection will be useful to students, faculty and researchers interested in the history of public schools in not only Cincinnati but throughout the United States.”
The Cincinnati NAACP collection complements two significant ARB collections documenting African American leadership and civil rights activism in Cincinnati, both of which contain materials related to the Bronson case. These include the personal papers of Theodore Berry, Cincinnati’s first African American mayor and mayor at the time of the Bronson case, which were processed in 2015 with the assistance of an Archival Projects grant from NHPRC. In addition, the personal papers of NAACP member, and later chapter president, Marian Spencer were processed in 2017. While these collections contain some documentation of the Bronson case and provide insight into the role of two specific individuals in the NAACP’s activism, the records of the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP will provide a view into the larger legal strategies, research and community activism involved with the court case.
ARB has hired project archivist Julianna Witt to organize the collection and create an online finding aid. Once fully processed, the Cincinnati NAACP Project records will be available for research through the online publication of a full-text searchable finding aid created using the ArchivesSpace collection management system. In consultation with the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP and local scholars and activists, the University of Cincinnati will sponsor a public program related to the history of public education in Cincinnati and civic engagement. In addition, a public exhibition will be designed and installed focusing on the lead up to and results of the Bronson case.
“This project aligns with the larger strategic directions of the University of Cincinnati and the Libraries,” said Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian. “The University of Cincinnati’s Next Lives Here strategic directions make a commitment to our community, particularly Cincinnati’s local public schools. In addition, making this collection widely available meets our goal to enrich and curate library collections that enable intellectual endeavors and to expand the visibility of diverse perspectives and voices.”
Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.
In this issue of Source, Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian, announces UC Libraries Strategic Plan, 2024-2027. This participatory and data-informed process to draft a Strategic Plan resulted in a renewed mission, Values and four Strategic Directions: Enrich Our Collections, Expand Our Impact, Strengthen Our Organization and Support Our Students.
This special issue of Source includes examples of how we’re already working to achieve the goals articulated in our Strategic Directions:
Enrich Our Collections. Social Activist with a press showcases recently acquired work of Amos Kennedy to the collections of the Archives and Rare Books Library.
Expand Our Impact. Read about Mac-Anthony Cobblah‘s, university librarian for the Sam Jonah Library at the University of Cape Coast, summer visit to UC Libraries, as well as an article about how three librarians from the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library launched a pilot 15-week Systematic Review cohort.
Support Our Students. Two recent UC collaborations – one with the UC Learning Commons to provide student and tutoring opportunities in Langsam Library and another with the Accessibility Resources Offices to revamp the Accessible Technology Space – are prime examples of how UC Libraries is working for students.
Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the website. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.
Attendees to the Open House can enjoy refreshments and door prizes as they view collection highlights, recent acquisitions and “spooky” books. Library staff will be on hand to meet and greet and ARB’s growing digitization space will be available for viewing.
The Archives and Rare Books Library acquires, processes, preserves and provides access to the University’s Rare Books collection, University Archives, Local Government records, Urban Studies collection and German-Americana collection.
“I use letterpress printing, but I use it to disrupt the segregated realms of fine printing and artists’ books.” –excerpt from “My Manifesto” in the new book Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer
To read Amos Kennedy’s manifesto is to glimpse into the passion and love that Kennedy holds for letterpress printing and his sincere believe in the power of the printing press. Kennedy is one of the leading practitioners of letterpress printing today, known mainly for his bold stylistic technique that foregrounds powerful messages against a colorful backdrop. He prides himself on being a “disturber of the peace” and a member of the “School of Bad Printing,” both of which point to the strong social activism presented in his work as well as the humor.
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Kennedy grew to study mathematics and began a career as a computer programmer, but his love of calligraphy and books led him to eventually leave the corporate world for the life of a printer and designer. He studied book arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but before that a visit to a printing demonstration at Colonial Williamsburg led Kennedy to purchase a Vandercook printing press and four cabinets of type, which he installed in his basement. Thus, a printer was born and, today, Kennedy operates a letterpress shop called Kennedy Prints! in Detroit, Michigan.
Selections from the “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks” series by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.
Kennedy’s work is preserved in numerous libraries, archives, and museums, and the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library is pleased to join that community. ARB recently acquired two sets of Kennedy’s work. The first is the poster series “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks,” which includes twelve posters that feature quotations from the civil rights activist over various typographic layers. In a 2023 interview, Kennedy described his technique this way:
“When you look at something like the Rosa Parks portfolio, you’ll see that there’s one layer that has dates that are significant to her life. Then there’s another layer that has places that are significant to her life. This continues for about four layers, because one of the things I like to do is envision people having that aha moment—when that poster has been on the wall for a considerable amount of time, and they see it every day, but suddenly, they turn their head a certain way, and they say, “Oh, the word Montgomery’s behind there. I never noticed that before.” And that will draw them in to look and study it more.” (– as printed in Citizen Printer, p. 69)
The second set of Kennedy’s works is comprised of 134 church fans bearing the names of individuals killed will working for civil rights in the United States from 1946 to 1968. The fans are accompanied by a series of standard road maps on which Kennedy has printed the number of individuals murdered in various states. The portfolio takes a simple object with strong ties to the Black church and creates a haunting, repetitive visual narrative. As Kelly Walters has written in Citizen Printer, Kennedy’s “use of the fan asks us to contemplate how the rites of funeral memorialization can serve as a tool for historical remembrance as well.”
Examples of Kennedy’s church fans and road maps.
As part of his manifesto, Kenney states: “Throughout history, the printer has had to choose to either resist or assist in the marginalization of knowledge. I made the choice: I resist.” There is no better summary of the work that Amos Kennedy has produced over the years, and ARB is proud to now help preserve his work as we look to diversify examples of printing and the book arts in our collections. We are working to create an online finding aid for the Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. Collection at ARB and hope to add to the collection in the future. Those who are interested in viewing materials from this collection can email ARB at archives@ucmail.uc.edu to schedule a research appointment. To learn more about Kennedy’s life and career, we recommend the excellent documentary Proceed and Be Bold!
Earlier this year, “eclipse fever” struck the Cincinnati area when a total solar eclipse was visible across portions of North America. The timing of the 2024 celestial event coincided with recent research on a group of photographs documenting an 1869 total solar eclipse housed in the records of the Cincinnati Observatory, which are preserved at the Archives and Rare Books Library. Those photographs will be featured in the upcoming public television documentary “Capturing Life” (1839-1869), the first episode in the series, The Big Picture: A History of Photography in Greater Cincinnati, produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
Photographs from an 1869 total solar eclipse and a handwritten letter on their origins are housed within the records of the Cincinnati Observatory at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library.
Voyageur’s production team conducted research on two subjects at the Archives and Rare Books Library for the series. Project Director, Tom Law, says the ARB staff helped him research documents about Dr. John Locke, a professor of Chemistry at the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Locke was the first American to display an early form of photography, “photogenic drawings,” at a bookstore in Cincinnati in 1839.
The September 1869 issue of The Philadelphia Photographer featured some of the photographs taken during the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition.
Voyageur will also show twenty-four rare photographs of a total solar eclipse from the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition to study and photograph the eclipse along its path of totality in the Dakota Territories in 1869. Voyageur learned about the 1869 expedition when visiting an exhibit created by Mandy Askins, Assistant Collections Manager at the Cincinnati Observatory Center.
In the documentary, Askins describes how Cleveland Abbe, Director of the Observatory, led a team of scientists and photographer W.C. Taylor to Fort Dakota (near present-day Sioux Falls, South Dakota), to study and photograph the solar eclipse on its path of totality. Taylor took twenty-four photographs of the event, which were later printed by John Wildman Winder for the Cincinnati Observatory. It is Winder’s photographs that are preserved in the Archives and Rare Books Library at the University of Cincinnati.
“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) closes with examples of how archival photographs are being used today in books, classrooms and exhibits seen throughout the world. Tom Law says, “The documentary is dedicated to the scholars, curators, archivists, and librarians who are preserving the region’s rich photographic heritage for future generations.” More information about this project, including three, free public screenings in October, is available on Voyageur’s website: https://voyageurmedia.org/
“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) is a collaborative project among dozens of scholars and institutions throughout Greater Cincinnati. Two project scholars have ties to the University of Cincinnati. Author, professor emeritus, and former head of the Archives and Rare Books Library Kevin Grace is serving as a project advisor. Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, a professor in art history in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, is featured in the segment on African America photographer James Presley Ball. Dr. Leininger-Miller is also serving as a project advisor.
The Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB) will soon begin utilizing new space at an offsite storage facility maintained by the University of Cincinnati Libraries. This will free up much needed collections space in Blegen Library for new acquisitions and newly organized materials. Consequently, ARB staff be taking part in a major collections shift during the weeks of September 16th and September 23rd.
During that time, services at ARB may be disrupted. This includes fielding reference questions and communications. We apologize for any inconvenience during this time but look forward to enhancing collection services following the shift!
As the University of Cincinnati Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library welcomes the 2024-25 College of Medicine students and faculty back to the academic calendar, they are greeted by the new installation of MEDSTEPS. The sculpture is the work of renowned artist and scientist Wolfgang Ritschel (1933-2010). It is located on the G-level of the Health Sciences Library.
Dr. Ritschel described MEDSTEPS as:
Stairs may have different purposes and meanings. Essentially, they are a means to reaching different levels, both literally and figuratively speaking. This sculpture uses stairs or, rather steps on a ladder, as a metaphorical form of expression in paying tribute to the development and advancement of medicine from its beginnings at the dawn of time – including Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, and Native American medicine with their symbols as shown in the stained-glass panels – to computerized medicine, along with corresponding “step-by-step” technological progress in diagnosis and therapy. Medicine and the arts were always intertwined, as is suggested by the common expression “medical arts.” In fact, in 15th-century Europe, physicians, pharmacists and artists all belonged to the same guild, a development which presumably originated with the use of mortar and pestle as a grinding tool for both pharmaceutical substances and pigments. I like to think of this as part of my personal and artistic statement in sculptures with a medical theme.
The sculpture is composed of stainless steel, gold leaf, stained glass, lead, polymer, paint, wood and measures 91” x 51” x 22”.
