Lucas County marks Black History Month with program on ‘Black Americans and Labor’

Lucas County Board of Commissioners hosted a Black History Month program during its Feb. 4 meeting that included musical performances, historical presentations and appeals from local labor and civil-rights leaders to support children and organized labor.

The program, introduced by Commissioner Cabecki, featured a video pledge of allegiance presented by Martin Luther King Junior Academy for Boys and a rendition of the Black National Anthem by Dr. Tracy Pearman. The program’s announced theme for 2025 is “Black Americans and Labor.”

The event brought a mix of historical overview and personal testimony about the role of labor in African American life. Darlene Sweety Newberg, introduced as the new president of the NAACP Toledo Branch, said the chapter will focus on education and legal protections for workers and employees, noting the legal protections that remain under state and federal law: “You still have those basic rights,” Newberg said, listing race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry and disability as protected categories.

Speakers repeatedly called for practical action to support children and workers in the community. Mohammed Washington urged congregants and attendees to pair prayer with action, saying, “you don’t need permission to tell somebody that they are special,” and to spend time and resources where they will benefit children. Dave Fleetwood of Greater Northwest Ohio AFL-CIO and Labor’s Local 500 recounted his own path from incarceration to union leadership and described collective bargaining as a vehicle for long-term career and retirement security: “The difference between a job and a career is that when that job is over, that’s it,” Fleetwood said, adding that union jobs he described provide wages, health care and pension.

Other presenters placed local history in a national context. Andre Washington of the A. Philip Randolph Institute reviewed Randolph’s role in organizing porters and in the civil-rights-labor nexus; Andre Wright, described as a Toledo jazz musician, spoke about music and community outreach and said arts engagement can be an avenue to reach young people.

Commissioners acknowledged the program and recognized Crystal, the county’s DEI director, and her colleagues Lee Utley and Reverend Willie Perryman for organizing the presentation. Commissioner Lopez invited residents to attend other Black History Month events in Lucas County and Toledo during February.

The program included a mix of cultural performance, historical remarks and calls for community action aimed at youth support and labor participation; no formal county policy changes were taken as part of the presentation.