Ohio has awarded nearly $11.7 million in Historic Preservation Tax Credits to restore four historic buildings in downtown Columbus. Preserving history is important, and these buildings deserve to be protected. But many people in our community are asking a different question.

What happened to the history of Bronzeville?

Once known as the heart of Black Columbus, Bronzeville was filled with Black owned businesses, restaurants, hotels, theaters, clubs, churches, professionals, and families who built a thriving community despite segregation. Over the decades, much of that history disappeared through urban renewal, highway construction, demolition, and redevelopment.

Today, millions of public dollars are available to preserve historic buildings downtown. So why wasn't the same commitment made to preserve more of Black Columbus before so much of it was lost?

How many historic Black buildings could have been saved?

How many Black owned businesses that shaped this city exist today only in photographs?

How much of our children's history has been erased because the places where it happened no longer exist?

History should never be measured by the value of a building alone. It should also be measured by the people, the culture, and the communities that gave a city its identity.

If we are serious about preserving Columbus' history, then Black history deserves the same urgency, the same investment, and the same commitment as every other part of our city's past.

The Black Wall

Find the pattern. Ask the questions. Demand the accountability.