A new park and historical marker in Springfield celebrates the life of Sully Jaymes, a African American lawyer in Springfield during the first half of the 20th century and an equal rights activist.
The marker is located at the Sully Jaymes park in the 1600 block of Woodward Avenue. The park is part of a south side neighborhood redevelopment project led by Conscious Connect CDC. The organization acquired two vacant properties from the Clark County Land Bank which they turned into a community park.
Dr. Karlos Marshall, co-founder of Conscious Connect CDC, said that as a Woodward resident he remembered when dilapidated houses sat on both of the lots that make up the newly formed park - and stifled the hopes, dreams and aspirations of residents that passed by, before the lots were acquired through the Land Bank.
"This park is a nearly $100,000 investment into this south side neighborhood. And I would not want to call anywhere else home, because neighbors of the 1600 block of Woodward Avenue, they simply do not make ‘em like you anymore," Marshall told the crowd.
Conscious Connect CDC is dedicated to re-imagining and redefining underutilized spaces for the purposes of education, culture, peace and health, so that zip codes do not define the success of children and families.
A block party in a south side neighborhood in Springfield kicked off the dedication ceremony for the marker and new park.
Dr Raphael Allen, director of community outreach for the Springfield Foundation, told the crowd that, "by supporting this initiative, along with others, it is our hope that it will not only preserve our heritage, but educate our future generations about our collective past."
Kevin Rose, of the Turner Foundation, said that most people don't realize that Springfield had the largest per capita Black population in the industrialized north after the Civil War, and that's still making contributions today.
"And we need to do a better job of telling those stories..the amazing people that were in our community and made those contributions," Rose said.
Derek Pridemore, curator for the National Afro-American Museum, said that working with the Conscious Connect CDC has inspired him to begin the process of securing a Historical Marker for another famous Springfield Black activist and civil rights legend, Charlene Mitchell, the first Black woman to run for president.
Sully Jaymes was an African American lawyer and equal rights activist in Springfield during the first half of the 20th century. Working primarily with the city’s Black residents, Jaymes offered his services free of charge for those who could not pay.
Marshall told the crowd, "May Sully Jaymes Memorial Park be a place where the next generation of change agents may be inspired to reach higher. May we all, forever, remember and take on the collective responsibility of sharing the legacy of Sully Jaymes."
Here is what the full text of the Ohio Historical Marker for Sully Jaymes says:
Side A: Sully Jaymes was an African American lawyer and tireless activist for equal rights in Springfield during the first half of the twentieth century. Born on March 30 sometime between 1875-1880, he graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1901. By 1903, he opened a Black-owned law practice at 17-1/2 Main Street in Springfield. Working primarily with the city’s Black residents, Jaymes offered his services free of charge if clients were unable to pay. He was a long-time member of North Street A.M.E. Church. Jaymes served on the first Board of Directors of the Center Street YMCA (a safe-haven for young Black people), on the Board of Trustees at Wilberforce University, and as a Grand Chancellor of Ohio for the Grand Lodge, Knights of Pythias.
Side B: During his distinguished legal career in Springfield, Jaymes held briefs in cases such as that of Richard Dixon, the lynching victim of Springfield’s 1904 race riot, and that of several African Americans indicted in the 1906 and 1921 race riots. He played a prominent role during tense community discussions around school segregation at Fulton Elementary School. Jaymes helped lead the unsuccessful effort to stop the 1921 screening of Birth of a Nation at Springfield’s Memorial Hall. When Grace Bayless, a white woman accused of first-degree murder and facing the death penalty, requested Jaymes be appointed her defense attorney, the judge making the appointment in 1937 stated, “The Court considers this request as a tribute to your ability and influence before our courts and juries.” Sully Jaymes died on 20 January 1950.
