Dunbar Home Becomes Historic Shrine
by: Dr. Clint Wilson
Prompted by a flood of letters from throughout the state and the nation, Ohio governor Martin L. Davey signed a bill enabling the state’s historical society to purchase and maintain the Dayton residence of the highly-esteemed Black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar as a permanent memorial.
Dunbar, who died in 1906 at age 33, was born in Dayton and his mother, Mathilda, had maintained the home until her death. The state’s action marked one of the earliest such honors given to a Black American in the nation’s history.
The poet was a gifted and prolific writer whose works received national and international acclaim and brought recognition of the cultural dimensions of the Black American experience.
The Chicago Defender noted the creation of the Dunbar memorial that still operates in Dayton under the care of the Ohio Historical Society.
POET’S DAYTON HOME WILL BE MADE SHRINE Cash Made Available to Save Property From Sheriff’s Sale
DAYTON, O., July 31 – Gov. Martin L. Davey, Friday night signed a bill appropriating $4,680 for the purpose of purchasing the residence of the late Paul Laurence Dunbar, 219 No. Summit street, this city. The home of the poet, which was preserved by his mother the late Mrs. Mathilda J. Dunbar, during her life time, will be preserved, together with his personal effects and mementos. Senator Paul P. Yoder of Dayton introduced the bill in the senate, which passed it with little opposition.
The house defeated the bill on July 15, but upon reconsideration the following day passed it with a record vote of 78 to 2. The Ohio Historical Society will have charge of the shrine. The governor’s office announced that letters were received from every city in Ohio, and from the leading cities in the country, urging the governor to sign the bill.
The Dunbar Memorial commemorating the life and works of the noted Race writer whose works, depicting the life of a struggling people, have been acclaimed through the years, will rival the [Edgar A.] Poe shrine in Richmond, Va. Literary societies throughout the world have been named in honor of the beloved poet.
The shrine will be the only one of its kind erected to a Negro in his country.
The act of the Ohio legislature is marked as a triumph over prejudice in the expression of appreciation for an artist, regardless of race, color or creed, comparable to the French monument honoring the famed [Alexandre] Dumas. -- Chicago Defender, August 1, 1936
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