Meet the Black history makers of Chillicothe

CHILLICOTHE― Ohio's first capital has a diverse history of people who have made major contributions to Chillicothe, Ross County, and Ohio. The Chillicothe Gazette is taking a look at the Black history makers who have made a difference in the world and those who are actively making their mark.

Local historian and director of the David Nickens Heritage Center, Beverly Gray, is a Black history maker herself. She has made a career teaching others and documenting history. The past several years, she has been working to document the achievements of local people of color.

"They do things that often get no recognition for, but they are historic in what they're able to accomplish," Gray said.

Romaine Bayless

Chillicothe native Romaine Bayless is a jack of all trades, pursuing many diverse careers and hobbies.

Born in Chillicothe, Bayless graduated with honors from Chillicothe High School in 1963. She said she remembers being one of the few people of color at the school.

"I had very few African Americans in my classes. Almost nothing. Physical education and stuff like that but with math, English, physics, stuff like that, it was usually just me," Bayless said.

She pursued a mathematics degree at Ohio University, where she was also one of the only Black women in the program, and then worked at IBM in Columbus for over seven years.

Bayless decided to attend and support herself through medical school at the age of 28 for a change of pace. She opened a consulting business using her mathematics background to make money while in medical school.

For every obstacle she faced, an advocate was there to encourage her on her mission. Co-workers, close friends and teachers were there to support her education and beyond.

Shortly after graduating from medical school, she went to Guam with the Navy and worked as a staff obstetrician and gynecologist at the U.S. Naval Hospital.

Upon returning to the United States, she began a two-year fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine to study reproductive endocrinology and fertility. A pioneer in evolving gynecology, her team helped to develop In vitro fertilization (IVF) in the 1980s.

She started a private practice in Illinois before moving to Minnesota to join a medical practice in the early 2000s. She retired in 2015.

Bayless has always enjoyed spending her time traveling and photographing the world. For the past decade, she has been able to enter the hobby in full force.

She has visited 57 countries on all seven continents, where she has used her photographer's eye to document the culture, wildlife, night sky and more from each unique destination.

She continues to visit Chillicothe when she can and sends support to the First Baptist Church and the David Nickens Heritage Center.

James Lowe

James “Oody” Lowe started his first term as a Ross County commissioner in 2021, marking the county's first African American commissioner.

Prior to becoming a commissioner, Lowe spent 18 years on the Adena Board of Education, where he was also the first African American to serve on the board.

He is not the first person in his family to break boundaries- Lowe said his uncle, John Lowe, was also the first person of color to serve on the Frankfort Township Council.

Lowe was born and raised in rural Ross County and graduated from Adena Local Schools.

He is a six-year veteran of the US Army Military Police Corp. On his return to Ross County, he worked in law enforcement at the Chillicothe Polce Department for 28 years and an additional seven years with the Ross County Sheriff’s Department as a school safety officer.

He was called upon to run for commissioner and he decided to go for it.

"I just thought that they would need some different ideals and stuff like in the commissioner's office," Lowe said. "I guess the people of Ross County thought the same thing."

Although being a county commissioner is an entirely different experience than working with the board of education, Lowe said he has learned from current and former commissioners how to do the job.

Although he emphasized that everything is a team effort and he cannot take sole responsibility for any actions by the board of commissioners, Lowe said helping the county through the COVID-19 pandemic, working on the renovations for the Ross County jail and serving with Community Action have been the highlights as his time in office.

He thanks everyone in the office, including Dwight Garrett, Jack Everson, Cathy Primer and Brad Cosenza, for making positive change in Ross County.

"I'm not a politician. I'm just here to do my part to make things better," Lowe said. "We work together to make Ross County a better place to be."

Dorothy Bland

Dorothy Bland was the first person of color to be a Gazette publisher and the second Black publisher in Gannett history.

She grew up in Arkansas and pursued writing at a young age. She was the editor of her high school yearbook and was encouraged to pursue journalism in college.

Bland was a first-generation college student and received her Bachelor's degree in journalism from Arkansas State University, as well as an MBA in marketing from George Washington University and a Ph.D. from Florida State University.

She came to the Chillicothe Gazette in the early 90s as a publisher. She described the Gazette as a "good community newspaper," and said she has fond memories of Tecumseh Outdoor Drama, the Circleville Pumpkin Show, the Ross County Fair, working in the historic Gazette building, a replica of Ohio's first statehouse, and building relationships with Chillicothe residents.

She also wrote a column for the Gazette, writing opinion pieces on a variety of topics.

One opinion piece published Sept. 24, 1992, described Bland's experience moving to Chillicothe. She wrote, "When I turned right on Main Street, I was in awe of the downtown architecture and its strong respect for history... Downtown reminds me a lot of old-town Alexandria, VA., only prettier and a lot less congested."

During her 25 years in the news industry, she worked as a reporter, editor, publisher and more. She later began her teaching career as a director and professor at Florida A&M University and is currently a journalism professor at the University of North Texas.

She is currently working on a book about diversity, equity and inclusion in journalism. She is a proud member of The National Association of Black Journalists, which she said "helped me help others and afforded me a network and an opportunity."

"Everyday Black history is made across the world," Bland said. "I think it's important we acknowledge that."

About the series

The Black History Makers of Chillicothe is a limited monthly series about people of color who have made an impact in Ross County, whether they are historical figures or people who are actively making a difference in the community.

Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-349-1106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @BeckerReporting

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Meet the Black history makers of Chillicothe