Notable African-Americans made mark on Dayton area

Downtown art exhibit called ‘The Preacher, The Poet, The Vision.’

Visual Voices, an annual downtown art exhibit, has for more than a decade, framed the accomplishments of area African-Americans, many of whom have made significant contributions behind the scenes.

The 2018 Visual Voices exhibit on display in the Wintergarden of Dayton’s Schuster Center is called “The Preacher, The Poet, The Vision.” It was designed to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the voice of Dayton poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Here are excerpts from the lives of five notable figures who have been featured in past displays:

Toddler at the keys

Roy D. Meriwether began a life-long musical career when he crawled onto a piano bench and played a song as a 3-yearold. He began performing in Dayton hotels, and at age 4 he landed a gig playing at a General Motors convention in Memorial Hall. That job afforded him the down payment on his family’s first Cadillac.

Meriwether turned professional at age 18. He drew crowds for decades to hear him perform blends of jazz, blues and gospel laced with classical blends.

Like mother like daughter

In 1939, Ethel C. Prear was the first African-American woman to run for a seat on the Dayton Board of Education. She went on to found the Southern Ohio Lay Council and become a licensed evangelist.

Her daughter Exine Prear-Wilson was one of the first African-American women to hold a registered nurse’s position at the Dayton VA Medical Center. She was the first African-American nurse to work in the Dayton Public School System.

Acting with Muhammad Ali

Ted Ross Roberts was inspired to go into show business after he won $5 singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in an amateur talent show. The win propelled him to his first stage roll in “Big Time Buck White,” in which he starred with Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay.

Roberts went on to star as “The Lion” in the stage production and movie “The Wiz.” He won the Tony Award for best performance by a featured actor in the musical.

Playing trumpet for Aretha Franklin

Charles Spencer had a long-time career teaching music in Dayton Public Schools. He also played trumpet for Aretha Franklin and The Temptations when they performed in the area.

His influence on students was demonstrable. His mentoring helped Deforia Sims Lane win a scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, which led to her careers in opera and music therapy.

“Fifty years later, my music therapy interns, medical school students and oncol- ogy patients receive the life-changing/saving experience of music,” wrote Sims Lane, who grew up in Dayton and serves as associate director of the Seidman Cancer Center and Director of Music Therapy at University Hospitals of Cleveland.

This year’s exhibit runs through March 30 at the Schuster, 1 West Second St., Dayton.

“From Classical To Funk,” a textile piece created by artist Andrea Walker Cummings, honors Charles Spencer who had a longtime career teaching music in Dayton Public Schools.

“Through the Years With Roy D. Meriwether” was created by artist Craig Screven. Meriwether’s musical career began when he played his first song on the piano at age 3.

“What Goes Around, Comes Around” is a mixed-media piece created by Frances Turner that honors Ethel C. Prear and her daughter Exine Prear-Wilson.