The Elmore Family of Braceville, Ohio (photo courtesy of Trumbull Country Tourism Bureau)
Ohio Life

Film Shares the History of the African American Community of Braceville, Ohio

See “History Forgotten and Now For All to See” Feb. 16 at the Robins Theatre in Warren.

See a documentary film that shares the African American heritage of the Trumbull County community of Braceville, Ohio, at Warren’s Robins Theatre Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. Known as the largest rural African American community in Ohio from 1920 through 1960, Braceville played a role in the Underground Railroad and grew during the Great Migration of the 20th century, as African Americans from the south moved north to find new opportunities. 

Presented by the Braceville African American Heritage Museum and the Braceville Community Foundation, “History Forgotten and Now For All to See” shares interviews and real-life stories of the community’s early African American residents, highlighting the challenges they faced and the strength and resilience with which they met them. 

Braceville is or was home to several notable African Americans, such as Negro Leagues baseball legend Ted Toles Jr., author Brian Broome, college deans Barbara Broom and Joyce Elmore, pitmaster Guy Hughes and boxers Randy Stephens and Earnie Shavers. “History Forgotten and Now For All to See” shares how the area came to be a settlement for African Americans and the ways early citizens of the area shaped the community. 

Tickets for the one-day showing of the documentary are $10 and can be purchased in advance online.

For more information about the Braceville Community Foundation, visit bracevilleplatt.orgFor more information about the Braceville African American Heritage Museum, visit baahm.org

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