IN TOUCH WITH: Community Activists Harold and Hana Stith

By Betty Miller Buttram
Of Fort Wayne Ink Spot

August 21 was hot and humid in Fort Wayne. With that type of weather in play, I decided to meet the walking caravan that had convened by Douglas and Calhoun streets at the African/African American Historical Society Museum across from Friendship Baptist Church. I drove to the museum and waited for the walking caravan on the front steps of the museum with three seasoned seniors who were wise in their decision like me. We were part of the folks who would be attending the unveiling of the walkway named for Hana and Harold Stith.

As we waited for the walking caravan, these seniors were reminiscent of the museum and how it was a highly motivating place for the African Americans in Fort Wayne. One of them talked of the leadership of the black physicians and black ministers in the community and how things were blooming here for the black folks. The Stith’s helped unfurl those blossoms.

I met Mrs. Hana Stith at Turner Chapel AME Church shortly after I moved here in 2014 and joined the church. She was a beautiful person with a radiant smile and always so elegantly dressed; she was also a great resource for me as an Ink Spot writer.

Harold Stith was 87 years old when he departed this life on May 20, 2009. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army in World War II, a retired plumbing and heating contractor and the first African American to receive a master’s Plumbing license in Indiana in the 1960s.

Stith was also a professional boxer in New York City in the ‘40s. Up until the time of his death, Harold trained young men in the boxing ring and sat on various community boards including the Kiwanis Club.

Hana Lee (Bryant) Stith was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 25, 1928, and passed away on September 5, 2018. Mrs. Stith attended school in Fort Wayne and graduated from Central High School in 1946. She met Harold Stith one summer while on vacation visiting cousins in New York City. She attended Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio.

The two married in 1948 and lived in New York City until 1951. They came to Fort Wayne for a family visit, and Mr. Stith decided that he wanted to stay and so they moved here. Mrs. Stith received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Saint Francis in 1960 and 1965, respectively. Many years later, she received her certification in Guidance and Counseling from Purdue University.

Stith was the first African American teacher in Fort Wayne Community Schools retiring in 1996 after 36 years. She was also a community activist for years in Fort Wayne. As a youth, she was a member of the NAACP. In her adult years, she was a member of Fair Housing Group; the Redevelopment Commission for 12 years; served on the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission and the Fort Wayne Board of Safety.

She was a lifelong member of historic Turner Chapel AME Church, serving in numerous ways from a Sunday school teacher to an 18-year-member of the Trustee Board. Her final duty was as the church historian.

On February 1, 2000, she founded and opened the African/African American Historical Society Museum. This was the culmination of a life-long dream and the result of her having researched and collected materials for 35 years. At the African/African American Historical Society Museum, she was the CEO and director until February 2013. Under Mrs. Stith’s direction, the museum became a vibrant educational and social hub of Fort Wayne’s Black and minority community and became known as the premier museum of African American history in Indiana.

At the unveiling was attorney Robin Stith — Harold and Hana’s daughter — as well as Danita Jones, the Stith’s niece, and Robin’s cousin. Among the participants were Geoff Paddock, Councilman of the 5th District, and Rev. Bill McGee of Imani Temple Church.

After the ceremony, Condra Ridley, an AAHS board member, offered me a ride back to my car, I asked her about the history of the museum, and this is what she told me:

“We are presently in need of members because we are in the process of revitalizing the African American museum project and we are looking to do some other projects with the Society. The museum is only one project of the society… So, we would like to increase our membership, seeking a corporate sponsor who can contribute a significant amount of money to the museum, and we think the city could very easily put us on a budget line… (But) in the meantime, we want more members because we want people to give us new ideas; we need some fresh blood in the organization so that we can move our project forward…

“The museum is not open right now because of COVID-19 and we don’t have any staff. All our board members are volunteers… We still have Dr. John Alden, the director since 2013…We are willing to consider anything to raise money because this building is the most historic African American building in the city. It was originally the Phyllis Wheatley Center and that was a place where African Americans who resided in Fort Wayne did all their programming for their youth…

“It morphed into many things over the years. It stayed empty for a lot of years and then the African American Historical Society approached the Ministerial Alliance who owned it and they gave it to the Museum for 10 years and then they sold it to us in 2009.”