This is a series about neighbors helping each other in Wayne & Medina counties, produced in partnership with Community Action of Wayne and Medina.
Some Black residents of Wooster are calling on the city to do more to improve race relations. The city's population is predominantly white. Just 3.5% of residents identify as African American, according to U.S. Census data.
One African American woman, Allison Allison, is working to promote inclusion through art. (No, you aren't seeing double. That's her real name.)
“People question my name all the time,” Allison said. “They think I'm making it up, and I always say if I was going to make up a name, it wouldn't be Allison Allison.”
Allison was born Allison Artis-Welch in Toledo and later got married to a man with the last name Allison.
They’ve since divorced, but she kept the name.
“I believe marriage is supposed to be for life, and so I signed on to be Allison Allison for life,” Allison said.
Allison is an artist and community activist in Wooster. She is the founder of Art of Inclusion, a program promoting representation and diversity in the city.
Humble beginnings in Wooster
Allison’s life has totally changed since she first moved here, she said.
It was 2008. She was pregnant and had been living with a friend in Millersburg in Holmes County.
She said she had several racist experiences in Millersburg that ultimately led her to move, including having the police called on her for a disturbance the first night she moved in, she said.
“In Toledo, there's just people of color everywhere,” Allison said. “Like I knew racism existed in Toledo, but I was naive. I remember I used to say a joke, like, ‘I didn't even know I was Black until I moved to Millersburg.’”
Allison decided to move to Wooster, the largest city in Wayne County.
At first, she stayed in a women’s shelter ran by OneEighty, a local domestic violence and addiction recovery nonprofit.
“That first night. I thought, ‘What are you doing? You know, at least in Millersburg you had your friend,’” Allison said. “’Now you have no one, absolutely no one in the city.’ And I remember being very terrified.”
It did not take long for her to experience racism in Wooster, Allison said. It first happened when she went in for a check-up during her pregnancy.
“They treated me terribly. They judged me because I was an eight-month pregnant mom living at a shelter,” Allison said.
Allison had her baby, went through the shelter’s programming and got on her feet. Sixteen years later, she’s an artist, office administrator and mom of four.
But she still faces racism in her daily life, she said.
“I’m tempted to say it’s getting worse,” Allison said. “Just the other day, I was walking into a store as an older man was coming out, and he told me to get away from him.”
Turning art into activism
Allison has been a member of the Wooster-Orrville chapter of the NAACP for several years. After the death of George Floyd sparked conversations across the country about race, Allison and other NAACP members spoke to city council about race relations in Wooster, she said.
"I thought, 'Oh, we need some art,'" she said. "I'm not a politician. I'm an artist."
She suggested putting up artwork around the city.
“I basically asked for murals, for the city to put up murals that were inclusive, that had people of color,” Allison said. “And they agreed. They said, ‘Actually, that's this is something we all agree on.’”
But it was up to Allison to do the work, she said. She started her Art of Inclusion initiative and secured a donation from a community member for her first mural, which was unveiled in 2022.
The mural, titled "We the People," showcases people of different sizes and colors along the outside walls of local nonprofit Community Action of Wayne/Medina.
Now, Allison hopes to find a building to house the program and serve as a community space. She wants people to gather there — to do art projects, children’s programming and to build community.
“Build bridges is the main thing, to connect organizations. There's a disconnect in Wooster, and a lot of that has to do with stereotype, I admit,” Allison said. “There's a lot of programs, things to do, that people aren't aware of, and there's a lot of places that people of color generally don't feel comfortable going into.”
Allison’s second mural, "The Journey," was unveiled in October. It's on the outside walls of OneEighty, the nonprofit that helped her when she first came to Wooster.
It shows an inspirational path of stepping stones leading to a tree, and a sun that doubles as a compass. This was made to symbolize the path toward addiction recovery, she said.
The mural is directly across from the shelter where she once stayed 16 years ago.
The younger version of herself would be shocked to learn of her later accomplishments, Allison said.
“If I could say something to her, I would just say that you have no idea the amazing stuff you’re about to do,” Allison said. “I know you’re scared and frightened and alone, but you just have no idea of the plan.”
Allison is designing a third mural and working with other community leaders to try to find a permanent space for Art of Inclusion.
