Myrtle Johnson Bell
Ohio teacher, administrator and community activist, and the first African-American assistant high school principal in the Cleveland Public Schools
Ohio teacher, administrator and community activist, and the first African-American assistant high school principal in the Cleveland Public Schools
American advocate for peace and human rights
African-American community activist, columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the first woman to serve on the board of the Cleveland Transit System
African-American civil rights lawyer and civic activist
A long-time employee of Cleveland’s Recreation Department who worked “to help children to form good social patterns of behavior through recreation.”
Educator, the first African-American administrator in the Mount Pleasant area, and an advisor/director with the Phillis Wheatley Association
Ohio civic activist and political strategist
The first African-American woman judge in Ohio and the first to sit on the Ohio Industrial Commission, the highest state position ever held by an African-American woman at that time.
The first African-American woman elected to the Cleveland Board of Education
Today, both the American Musicological Society and the Society for American Music recognize African American music as worthy of scholarly study – thanks in large part to her work.