Ohio's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Written By Steven J. Smith

Rev. William Simmon's writes in his book Men of Mark: 1849-1890 Eminent, Progressive and Rising about dozens of men who were the Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Thurgood Marshals, John H. Johnsons and Jackie Robinsons of the second half of the 19th century. Simmon chronicles the lives of men like Nat Turner, Frederick Douglas, David Walker, Henry Highland Garnett and Touissant L 'Ouverture. One name that jumped out at me was Rev James Poindexter of Ohio. Rev. Poindexter is from my home state of Ohio and according to family a distant relative of mine.

The recent emergence of genealogy services such as Anecestry.com enabled me to do some research and to find out if Rev. Poindexter was actually a relative. I was excited to learn more about a man that history writes, "The State of Ohio has had within its borders one of the strongest men in the United States, a man whose soul has been on fire on account of the outrages perpetrated against colored people, and who never lost an opportuity to speak and write with vigor against all species of outrages and to ally himself persistently with those elements that look toward the bettering of the condition of those for whom he advocated. His philanthropy has not, however, confined itself to his own race; but those who know him have always done him the justice to say that his interest extended to all classes who are oppressed and downtrodden."

"One of the strongest men in the United States" is how my great, great, great grandfather was described. Yes after a few day of research I was able to fill the generational gaps between Rev. Poindexter and myself. It truly was an inspiration to find that a relative of mine soul was on fire to help the downtrodden of his time. He was the pastor of 2nd Baptist Church in Columbus, he was a member of the Columbus Board of Education, also a member of the Columbus City Council and a member of the Ohio Bureau of Forestry. Wherever he served he was a tireless advocate for all people who suffered under the harsh laws and oppressive conditions of the 19th century.

As a pastor and active member of the community I gain so much from the life lessons learned from this giant of Ohio. Rev. Poindexter masterfully navigated the currents of religion, politics, education and business on behalf of the people of Ohio. Today we can gain inspiration from him as we fight against unemployment, the drug trade, dysfunctional family units and a broken educational system. If Rev. Poindexter and others could overcome slavery, lynching, no voting rights and limited to no access to education we can overcome the issues facing us today.

The God that equipped Rev. Poindexter still exists today. The question is does the faith and courage exist today as it did in men and women back then? I dare to say yes. I make it my point to teach my congregation what James Weldon Johnson eloquently wrote about the "faith that the dark past has taught us and the hope that the present has brought us." This faith and hope is in Bible where it says that faith is, "the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen." With natural vision we can not see how our young men can get off the street corners, how our young women can reduce teenage pregnancy, how the revolving doors of the prisons can stop turning, or how the divorce rate can be reduced. But I stopped here to tell you that if we pick up the supernatural glasses that eye doctor God can prescribe we can see how to overcome and we can overcome.