Akron

While tire magnates like Harvey Firestone and John Seiberling were propelling Akron’s rubber industry to the top, its African-American citizens were busy building and fortifying the Rubber Capital of the World, supplying a tenacious workforce and cultivating a rich cultural and social environment. Great African Americans such as Rita Dove, Howard Hewitt, and James Ingram were born out of Akron and inspired all of America. Akron reveals the substantial contributions made to the community by African Americans through vintage images and supporting history, illuminating the churches, schools, labor forces, social organizations, athletics, and nightlife that played such an important role in making Akron the great city it is today.