Bloneva Bond-"A Longtime Niagara Falls, New York Activist" (2014)

Much scholarly literature has been written on the electrical and tourist industry of Niagara Falls, New York. However, very little has been written on the African American community or specific individuals within that community. This seems unusual considering that Niagara Falls was a major terminus of the Underground Railroad. Many of the celebrated abolitionists, such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and William Still, traveled through Niagara Falls aiding fugitive slaves who sought out Canada as a land of refuge. (1) A number of unknown local individuals assuredly operated as conductor during this volatile period of American history. This history inspired Niagara Movement organizers to hold their first annual meeting in Fort Erie and Niagara Falls, Canada, both of which are a short distance from Niagara Falls, New York. (2) Only two scholarly works to date have been written on the African American community of Niagara Falls, a Niagara University master's thesis written by the Reverend James Banks that examines Black Niagarans from the early 1940s to the mid 1950s and a paper the author wrote in 2004 titled in Niagara Falls, New York, 1865 to 1965, a Survey. (3) This paucity of scholarly work motivated the author to research extensively the Niagara Falls, New York African American community, culminating in his unpublished manuscript, Blacks in Niagara Falls, New York 1849 to 1985. (4) This research conveys that Niagara Falls, similar to other municipalities with a significant African American population, had local history makers that operated independently and in conjunction with national events to make effective changes within their community and the broader surroundings. Accounts of these individuals are often not recorded in a systematic manner, due to a societal concentration on national events and a small interest in local history, particularly African American local history. When these history makers pass on, their histories are often either lost or are not readily available for future generations. This fact applies to such Niagarans as Charlotte Deft, John W. Pollard, the Reverend Millard Fillmore Clay, Dr. Charles B. Hayes, Alice C. Hayes, Joe Profit, Theodore Williamson, Arthur Ray, and Bloneva Bond. In an effort to save and record these histories and to encourage other to do the same, this article aims to contribute to local history by underscoring one of these prominent Niagarans--Bloneva Bond. She knew all the above mentioned individuals, except Charlotte Deli, whom she almost certainly had heard of. She is critical to Niagara Falls urban history because she was a longtime effective community activist leader who proactively fought against racism and class oppression and defied sexist restrictions for women, by making herself a dominant respected and feared force within the Cataract City. From the time she came to Niagara Falls until the early 1990s, Bloneva Bond actively committed her life to ensuring justice and equality for the least fortunate. Bloneva Bond was born September 11, 1918 in Daytona Beach Florida. Daytona Beach is on the northeastern coast of Florida., about 86 miles southeast of Jacksonville, 55 miles northeast of Orlando, and 242 miles north of Miami. Daytona Beach is also a little over 136 miles east of Rosewood, which is in the Gulf of Mexico region and noted for the massacre that occurred there in 1923. (5) When Bloneva was born, Daytona Beach was known for its wide extensive beaches right along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, while today it is known as a showplace for speed car racing. Bloneva grew up in a stable household with her mother and father present. (6) Her father worked as a waiter, while her mother might have largely been a stay-at-home mom. Her parents had three children, two boys and a girl. The children seemed to have had many lessons instilled in them, among them, family values, honor, respect, standing up for what was right, and making something out of themselves. …