Ohio Historical Marker will honor Sully Jaymes, Springfield activist and Black lawyer

Organizers plan to have multiple speakers talk about Jaymes and the marker’s importance. The event also will include music, a bounce house, games, books and free food while supplies last.

“Come help us celebrate this Springfield legend,” The Conscious Connect said in a social media post.

Jaymes opened his practice in Springfield in 1903 and “provided free legal services to the Black community during a time of profound racial tension,” according to the Clark County Heritage Center. “He was one of Springfield’s most tireless activists for equal rights.”

Karlos Marshall is the president and co-founder of The Conscious Connect and lead researcher for the project. He stressed the marker’s significance.

“It is extremely important that local Black history is properly archived and curated, so that the next generation of change-agents can be inspired by those who came before them,” he said.

Jaymes represented primarily Black clients, including Richard Dixon, the lynching victim of the 1904 riot, and other African-Americans indicted in the race riots of 1906 and 1921.

Paul “Ski” Schanher, who has guided tours about noteworthy Springfielders buried at Ferncliff Cemetery, described Jaymes as an activist for civil rights who exonerated several people of crimes for which they were wrongly accused.

Jaymes was born March 30 between 1875 and 1880, and he died in 1950.

Marshall said past reports noted Jaymes as Springfield’s first Black lawyer, but he said Broadwell Chinn was the first accepted into the Clark County Bar Association. Chinn also the first African American graduate of Springfield High School and the first Black student admitted by Wittenberg, Marshall said.

He and The Conscious Connect believe all people living in south Springfield should be within a 10-minute walk to a high-quality public park or green space.

The Woodward Avenue park, which now will be named the Sully Jaymes Memorial park, offers green space, a basketball court, benches and landscaping.

In addition to The Conscious Connect, sponsors for the marker included the Springfield Foundation, Turner Foundation and Ohio History Connection.

The Clark County Public Library and Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center supported the research project by collecting materials from their databases and archives on Jaymes.

The Springfield Foundation and Turner Foundation provided financial support for the marker.

“The Springfield Foundation chose to support this project to commemorate this important historical milestone and individual, which has contributed to our community’s unique history,” said Raphael Allen, Springfield Foundation director of Community Outreach.

The Ohio Historical Markers program began in the 1950s and is administered by the Ohio History Connection. The program has placed approximately 1,750 markers, and approximately 20 new markers are accepted into the program each year.

Laura Russell, Historical Markers program manager, said, “The Ohio Historical Markers program is very proud to celebrate Sully Jaymes and his remarkable life. His integrity and advocacy for his community should be an inspiration to all who read the marker. The Conscious Connect and all who worked to make this marker a reality are to be commended for memorializing Sully Jaymes and placing his history for all to learn.”

Here is what the full text of the Ohio Historical Marker for Sully Jaymes says:

Side A: Sully Jaymes was an African American lawyer and tireless activist for equal rights in Springfield during the first half of the twentieth century. Born on March 30 sometime between 1875-1880, he graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1901. By 1903, he opened a Black-owned law practice at 17-1/2 Main Street in Springfield. Working primarily with the city’s Black residents, Jaymes offered his services free of charge if clients were unable to pay. He was a long-time member of North Street A.M.E. Church. Jaymes served on the first Board of Directors of the Center Street YMCA (a safe-haven for young Black people), on the Board of Trustees at Wilberforce University, and as a Grand Chancellor of Ohio for the Grand Lodge, Knights of Pythias.

Side B: During his distinguished legal career in Springfield, Jaymes held briefs in cases such as that of Richard Dixon, the lynching victim of Springfield’s 1904 race riot, and that of several African Americans indicted in the 1906 and 1921 race riots. He played a prominent role during tense community discussions around school segregation at Fulton Elementary School. Jaymes helped lead the unsuccessful effort to stop the 1921 screening of Birth of a Nation at Springfield’s Memorial Hall. When Grace Bayless, a white woman accused of first-degree murder and facing the death penalty, requested Jaymes be appointed her defense attorney, the judge making the appointment in 1937 stated, “The Court considers this request as a tribute to your ability and influence before our courts and juries.” Sully Jaymes died on 20 January 1950.