A little shock wave went through the black community when earlier this month the Republican Party endorsed three blacks for City Council.

        And they make up the majority on the Republican ticket. They are Tom Jones, president of Avondale Community Council; Todd Ward, who ran four years ago; and Sam Malone, who was an independent council candidate in 1999.

        The GOP move was lambasted on local talk radio beamed to the black community, suggesting that it went against the grain.

        That means most blacks are Democrats or think they should be. And that concept is pretty well grounded in a firm belief that the Democratic Party with the likes of Franklin D. Roosevelt, started the trend of a better life for blacks.

        But history does repeat. Prior to the Roosevelt era, a lot of blacks were Republicans.

        And get this. The first three blacks elected to Cincinnati City Council were Republicans.

        They were: Frank A.B. Hall (1931-33), Dr. Richard P. McClain (1935-39) and Jessie D. Locker (1941-53).

        According to Wendell P. Dabney, who published a book, Cincinnati Colored Citizens, what is now the Hamilton County Republican Party was started by blacks.

        For those black Democrats who are aghast with such black affiliation with the Republican party, well, you'd have to blame Ol' Abe Lincoln for that.

        After Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a majority of blacks voted for Abe Lincoln's party for the next 60 years.

        ANDERSON TWP. — Former Cincinnati Bengal Solomon Wilcots will be the guest speaker for the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce annual Citizen of the Year banquet, at 6 p.m., May 14 at the Starlite Ballroom, 5994 Lineman St.

        Mr. Wilcots is an ESPN Cincinnati-based bureau reporter who covers football and provides NFL analysis for ESPN's news and information programs. He is an Anderson Township resident.

        The chamber will honor a citizen who has served the community either through a special project or a lifetime of community involvement.

        Nominees for large and small business awards will be announced, along with a teacher and student of the year; the civic volunteer and the civic organization of the year.

        LOVELAND — Stitches of hope and sorrow, expressed through fabric and thread, will be on display at the Loveland Branch Library, 649 Loveland-Madeira Road from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., May 4, kicking off Celebrating Quilts month.

        Branch manager Rosemary Ogg said more than 70 quilts are on display this year.

        Students from the East End, Columbia Tusculum and Linwood will receive special honors at an awards banquet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., May 9 at the East End Community Heritage School, 2760 Eastern Ave.

        Melissa English, banquet organizer, said the dropout rates in those communities have been estimated at 90 percent by the 12th grade.

        “With those kinds of odds, kids who stick with school deserve to be honored,” she said.

        Allen Howard's column runs Saturdays. Call: 768-8362. Mail: The Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.

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