Artha Woods

Last updated
Artha Woods
Member of the Cleveland City Council
In office
1977–1990
Personal details
Born
Artha Mae Bugg

Atlanta, Georgia, US
Died(2010-05-10)May 10, 2010
Cleveland, Ohio, US
OccupationBusinesswoman

Artha Woods (died May 10, 2010) was an American businesswoman and politician who served as a Cleveland City Council member and clerk. She also managed boxers, [1] owned a millinery shop, [2] [3] and, in 1984, founded the Artha-Jon Junior Models' Guild, one of the first modeling and charm schools for Black women. [4] [5]

Contents

Later inducted into the Models Hall of Fame, [1] she was often referred to as "Lady Artha." Known for her efforts to fight racism and sexism, she was "named an honorary Italian at Holy Rosary Church" in Cleveland and "was blessed by Pope Paul VI in Rome for her work with Catholic leaders," according to Cleveland's Plain Dealer , which quoted her as having said: [6]

"There was always rebellion in me, but I rebelled in a productive way, even in the face of blatant segregation."

Early life

Born as Artha Mae Bugg in Atlanta, Georgia, Artha Bugg relocated with her parents and siblings to Cleveland, Ohio where she began her schooling as a kindergarten student and later became the valedictorian of her class at Central High School. She then attended the Western Reserve School of Education, and later married, adopting the married surname of "Woods." [1]

Career

Woods worked for the Ohio Bell telephone company, first as a typist, when she was hired in 1941, [7] and later becoming the first Black switchboard operator. [2] [8] She also owned and operated the Cedar Avenue Millinery Shop. Billie Holliday was one of her customers. [2] [9]

Elected to represent Ward 18 in 1977, she helped the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Playhouse expand and pressed for minority contractors. [10] As a means to reduce graffiti, she proposed legislation that would require people to register when they purchase cans of spray point. [11] [12] To reduce prostitution, she wrote down license plate numbers and made personal phone calls to talk to the wives of men interacting with the prostitutes. [13] [14]

In 1978, she became the first Black president of the Modeling Association of America International. [1] Later promoted by Ohio Bell to the position of public relations manager, she retired from the company in 1982. [15]

Death and legacy

Woods died in Cleveland on May 10, 2010. [16]

Upon her death, AT&T established the "AT&T Artha Woods Scholarship Award" to honor her work in the community. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOIO</span> CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Shaker Heights, Ohio

WOIO is a television station licensed to Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD and Lorain-licensed CW affiliate WUAB, the latter station transmitting over WOIO's full-power spectrum via a channel sharing agreement. WOIO, WUAB and WTCL-LD share studios on the ground floor of the Reserve Square building in Downtown Cleveland, with WOIO and WUAB sharing transmitter facilities in suburban Parma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WUAB</span> CW affiliate in Lorain, Ohio

WUAB is a television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD and Shaker Heights–licensed CBS affiliate WOIO, the latter station whose full-power spectrum WUAB transmits over via a channel sharing agreement. WUAB, WOIO and WTCL-LD share studios on the ground floor of the Reserve Square building in Downtown Cleveland, with WUAB and WOIO sharing transmitter facilities in suburban Parma.

WVIZ is a PBS member television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Ideastream Public Media alongside classical music station WCLV and co-managed with Kent State University–owned WKSU, the NPR member for both Cleveland and Akron. The three stations share studio facilities at the Idea Center on Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland; WVIZ's transmitter is located in suburban Parma, Ohio.

WQHS-DT is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language networks Univision and UniMás. Owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision, it is the only full-power Spanish-language television station in the state of Ohio. WQHS-DT's studios and transmitter are located on West Ridgewood Drive in suburban Parma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTAM</span> Clear-channel news/talk radio station in Cleveland

WTAM is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and carries a news/talk and sports radio format commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, and is a clear-channel station with extended nighttime range. WTAM is also Northeast Ohio's primary entry point station in the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKNR</span> Sports radio station in Cleveland, Ohio

WKNR – branded as 850 ESPN Cleveland – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flagship station for the Cleveland Browns Radio Network; the Cleveland affiliate for the Ohio State Sports Network, and the radio home of Je'Rod Cherry and Tony Grossi. The WKNR studios are currently located in the East Bank of The Flats in Downtown Cleveland, while the station transmitter resides in the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton, And due to the 4-tower array at the site, WKNR’s daytime signal can be heard as far as Mansfield, and even as far as Newark and Zanesville. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WKNR is available online.

WCPN is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, featuring a public radio format as a repeater of Kent–licensed WKSU. Owned by Ideastream Public Media, the station serves the western portion of Greater Cleveland and parts of surrounding Northeast Ohio. By virtue of WKSU, studios are located at Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland, while WCPN's transmitter resides in the Cleveland suburb of Avon. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WCPN broadcasts over four HD Radio channels and streams online.

WCLV is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, carrying a fine art/classical music format. Owned by Ideastream Public Media, the station serves both Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio as the home station for the Cleveland Orchestra and an affiliate of the BBC World Service.

WWGK was a commercial daytime-only radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, that broadcast on 1540AM from 1947 until 2022. Last owned by Good Karma Brands, it featured ESPN Radio programming at the time of closure, co-owned with ESPN affiliate WKNR. The transmitter tower for WWGK was located on Euclid Avenue at East 81st Street in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WARF</span> Sports radio station in Akron, Ohio

WARF is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, known as "Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler" and carrying a sports format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WARF serves the Greater Cleveland and Akron metro areas as an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio and VSiN. The station also carries play-by-play of the Cleveland Monsters and Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball, and Spanish broadcasts of Cleveland Guardians home games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Fuldheim</span> American journalist and anchor (1893–1989)

Dorothy Fuldheim was an American journalist and anchor who spent the majority of her career at The Cleveland Press and WEWS-TV, both based in Cleveland, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Cleveland</span> List of historic sites in Cleveland, Ohio, US

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Cleveland, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regina Brett</span> American journalist (born 1956)

Regina Brett is an American author, inspirational speaker, podcaster and newspaper columnist currently writing for The Cleveland Jewish News. Her columns are syndicated through Jewish News Service. Brett's debut book "God Never Blinks" has been translated into 24 languages, and she has written 9 books for the Polish market, which have sold 900,000 copies.

Hattie Larlham is an American nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for more than 1,600 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state of Ohio. Services provided encompass medical, work training and employment, recreational, educational, and residential, catering to both children and adults.

Jeff Phelps is a Cleveland, Ohio sportscaster who currently works as the television pregame/postgame host for Cleveland Cavaliers telecasts on Fox Sports Ohio, the pregame/postgame host for Cleveland Browns radio broadcasts, and is a midday co-host on WKRK-FM in Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Browns Radio Network</span> Regional play-by-play radio network

The University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 24 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Browns, a professional football team in the National Football League (NFL). Andrew Siciliano is the team's lead announcer, Nathan Zegura serves as commentator and Je'Rod Cherry is the sideline analyst/reporter. Jim Donovan served as lead announcer following the team's return in 1999 until his retirement prior to the 2024 season.

Gladisa Guadalupe is an American artistic director. She was the co-founder and former artistic director of the current Cleveland Ballet, founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Appling</span> American conductor

William Thomas Appling was a renowned American conductor, pianist, educator and arranger. As a conductor he led the William Appling Singers & Orchestra for almost twenty-five years and conducted other choirs and musical organizations, premiering new works by many American composers. As a pianist he played under the batons of conductors including Robert Shaw, Louis Lane, and Darius Milhaud, and he was the first African American to record the complete piano music of Scott Joplin. As an educator he taught at American schools and universities including Vassar College, Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Institute of Music and Western Reserve Academy. He made a number of recordings as both conductor and pianist, and his choral arrangements have been performed and recorded by such prominent ensembles as Chanticleer, Cantus and Dale Warland Singers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Segall, Grant (2010-05-10). "'Lady Artha' Woods served on Cleveland council, managed boxers and more". Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Stokes, Louis (2016). The Gentleman from Ohio. Internet Archive. Chicago : Ohio State University Press. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-8142-7424-8.
  3. ↑ Mountain, Martha S. (1975-02-04). "Hats Off to Model Lady". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  4. ↑ Patmon, Bill (1 August 1996). "Artha Woods, Cleveland clerk of council, leagership defined". Call & Post; Cleveland, Ohio. pp. A2 – via Proquest.
  5. ↑ "Top junior model can't wait for '66". The Plain Dealer. 1965-09-20. p. 47. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  6. ↑ "ARTHA WOODS-BLUBAUGH Obituary (2010) - Cleveland, OH - Cleveland.com". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  7. ↑ "Promoted at Ohio Bell". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1967-11-03. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  8. ↑ Wade III, James W. (2010-05-12). "Artha Woods, political and civic leader dies". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  9. ↑ Mountain, Martha S. (1975-02-04). "Hats Off to Model Lady". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  10. ↑ Oldenburg, Chloe Warner (1985). Leaps of Faith: History of the Cleveland Play House, 1915-85. C.W. Oldenburg.
  11. ↑ George Hayduke (1988). Spite, Malice and Revenge: The Complete Guide to Getting Even - An A-Z Collection of Every Trick in the Book - Paladin Press. pp. 423–424.
  12. ↑ "Cleveland studies law to stifle graffiti artists". The Newark Advocate. 1985-11-27. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  13. ↑ Feagler, Dick (1978-09-29). "Public service has its limits". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 30. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  14. ↑ "Tattling councilwoman dares ACLU wrath". The Tampa Tribune. 1978-09-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  15. ↑ "AT&T to honor "Lady" Artha Woods with scholarship". Call & Post, All-Ohio edition; Cleveland, Ohio. 29 September 2010. pp. C2 – via Proquest.
  16. ↑ Wade III, James W. (2010-05-12). "Artha Woods, political and civic leader dies". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  17. ↑ "AT&T to honor "Lady" Artha Woods with scholarship". Call & Post, All-Ohio edition; Cleveland, Ohio. 29 September 2010. pp. C2 – via Proquest.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.