Since its founding in 1837, Toledo has been home to a growing Black community whose successes and struggles have echoed those of a nation grappling with race, equity, and civil rights. The archives of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Department preserve the voices and perspectives that document Toledo’s rich and complex Black history. In this exhibit you can explore photographs, oral histories, news stories, scrapbooks, and other resources that recount the lives and experiences of Black citizens in Toledo and shed light on the progress for Toledo’s Black community that remains to be made.
