WARREN – In the 78 years the NAACP has been in the area, industries have left, policing has changed and there is still a lot that needs to be accomplished to create a more stable and partnered community, according to speakers at a Black History Month event on Saturday.

The Warren Branch of the NAACP hosted “78 Years in the Valley: Trumbull County Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” at the ACOP Center, 2051 Niles Road SE. Attendees were treated to stories of some residents older than the 78 years the advocacy group has been in the Valley, the perspectives of those today and the hope of tomorrow.

President of the local branch, Annette McCoy, said the chapter would like to see its membership grow and the organization will be working to get voters registered before the primary election. The NAACP is planning to address Governor John Kasich’s expected signature on a bill cutting funds to Planned Parenthood, is working on economic development and a slew of other issues pertinent to the community as a whole.

“Your actions can be fruitful. But you have to work toward it and you have to have a leader. And you have to go to the meetings and you have to stick to what comes out of the meetings,” Sonny Morgan, 81, said. “There is a lot we can do. But we have to listen. We have to get the information out.”

Morgan told the group about life in Warren decades ago, when he participated in a 30-person march where he worked at a General Motors plant to bring awareness to the fact that they had no black people in management positions.

It worked.

After the march through the plants, and a drive to Detroit to amplify their voices, management positions slowly achieved some diversity.

Morgan said the industrial employers in the area were open to hiring blacks before that, in kitchen, janitorial and production positions.

It was a time when, “policemen walked the beat. And we were proud of ours cops. It was a time when we knew our policemen and they knew us and we respected each other,” Morgan said.

Kids had a place to go, the “Browns Club,” where youth paid a quarter to go to dances on a weekly basis. Every payday, “dudes came out looking clean, in their best suits,” Morgan said.

It was when manufacturing in the Valley started to slow that the impact on the black population in Warren was felt, Morgan said.

“There were so many industry jobs, we didn’t think of going to school,” Morgan said. “But, as soon as those jobs started twiddling down, we were the first to lose jobs. We weren’t ready for it.”

Back then, jobs were easy to come by, even if the ratio of black to white employment still wasn’t reflective of the population, Morgan said.

McCoy shared her experiences during school integration, being a part of the first classes who were bused to school when she was in seventh grade. She graduated in 1974.

“I was naive to what was going on – parents didn’t necessarily share their fears with their kids and I am happy to say I didn’t have a negative experience,” McCoy said. “It was new, and we had an excellent education, there were a lot of opportunities for success.

When Morgan graduated from Harding, he said there were 10 black students out of 136, four boys and six girls.

Dr. Kimberly Jackson-Pinn said she moved to Ohio from Los Angeles to go to medical school in Athens.

“There were hardly any black people there, even fewer in medical school,” Pinn-Jackson said. “There is a need for diversity in the medical field, so doctors understand the needs of their patients, and the issues that impact the African American community.”

Pinn-Jackson made her home in Warren following a residency at St. Joseph Warren Hospital, with her husband the Rev. Dr. William Pinn.

She said she has been in the community for six or seven years and wants to give talks about medical issues and also help people understand the Affordable Care Act.

“It has been a good experience, I have been welcomed with open arms,” Pinn-Jackson said.

Rev. Pinn moved to Warren from Indiana and he said he sees the potential in Warren.

“I think we can build on it and achieve greatness,” Pinn said.

Understanding the impact of dwindling industry because it happened in Indiana too, Pinn said education must be priority. With a background in the subject, Pinn is taking his experience into the real world with a mentoring program hosted at the ACOP Center 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays.

Pinn is working to provide mentors with the youth who need them, offering character building, tutoring and advocacy for students. He said they could use more volunteers.

rfox@tribtoday.com