Title	Benjamin W. Arnett Photograph
Subject	African American Ohioans Ohio Government Education Civil Liberties Religion in Ohio Segregation--Laws and legislation
Place	Greene County (Ohio) Wilberforce (Ohio)
Description	This 1.8 by 2.3-inch (4.57 by 5.84 cm) photograph shows Benjamin W. Arnett (1836-1906), a member of the Ohio House of Representatives during its 67th session (1886-1887). Arnett, a Republican, represented Greene County. He was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. A teacher and bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Arnett moved to Ohio in 1867. He served as pastor and teacher at churches in Cincinnati, Toledo, Urbana, and Columbus. In 1886, as a Republican representative from Greene County in the Ohio General Assembly, Arnett introduced legislation to repeal the state's "Black Laws." First enacted in 1803, Ohio's "Black Laws" limited the freedom and rights of African American residents. Arnett was particularly concerned that state law did not ensure that black children had the same educational opportunities as white children. In 1887, statutes regarding education were changed; the state was thereafter required to provide equal opportunities to all children regardless of race.
Date of Original	1886 - 1887
Collection	House of Representatives Photograph Collection http://www.ohiohistory.org/africanam (for more information on African Americans in Ohio)
Source	Audiovisual material; P 206, State Archives Series 2733
Format	picture
Submitting Institution	Ohio History Connection
Rights	Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
Type	StillImage
File Name	Om871_806473_004.tif
Image Height	942
Image Width	724
File Size	669.312 KB
Date created	2008-12-19

Benjamin W. Arnett Photograph

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