By Leo Shane III
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - Halle Berry has an Academy Award, Toni Morrison won a Pulitzer Prize and Jesse Owens earned four Olympic gold medals in one day.

But one state senator thinks those Ohio-born African-Americans have not received the accolades they deserve from their home state.

Last week, senators approved establishment of the Ohio African American Hall of Fame to honor black personalities from the Buckeye State. Bill sponsor Sen. Ray Miller, D-Columbus, said he expects the House to approve the measure later this year, and the hall to induct its first class in February.

"Ohio is home to 34 different halls of fame, including pork producers and polka dancers," he said. "But there is nothing to recognize specifically the significant achievements of distinguished African Americans."

The project will be funded through private donations, though organizers are working in cooperation with the Ohio Historical Society. Miller said already a number of Ohioans, both living and deceased, are being considered for the first class of inductees.

Vernon Courtney, director of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Dayton, said having such an event will be an important lesson for all Ohioans.

"American history and African-American history are one and the same," he said. "The problem is that, essentially, African-American history has been left out. This can help create a better understanding of how the two are intertwined."

He said he will push organizers to also include some lesser known figures like Charity Adams Earley, a World War II hero who delivered mail to soldiers and became the first black officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

Miller said the hall will induct 12 members a year, and eventually he hopes to establish a permanent state museum with displays and programs on the lives of hall members.

Hall of Fame candidates

Organizers of the new hall said a number of black Ohioans, both living and dead, are being considered for the first class of inductees next February. Among those under consideration, their accomplishments and Ohio connection:

• Kathleen Battle, Grammy winning opera singer, born in Portsmouth

• Halle Berry, Academy Award winning actress, born in Cleveland

• Charity Earley, World War II hero, lived in Dayton

• Harry Edison, Grammy winning trumpet player, born in Columbus

• Jesse Owens, Olympic gold medalist, lived in Cleveland

• Garrett Morgan, inventor of the traffic light, lived in Cleveland

• Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prize winning author, born in Lorain

• Carl B. Stokes, first black mayor of a major U.S. city, mayor of Cleveland

• Nancy Wilson, Grammy and Emmy winning jazz singer, born in Chillicothe