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As we honor Black History Month this February, Toledo’s stories of resilience, community and entrepreneurship stand front and center. While many remember the legacy of Tulsa’s Greenwood District as the iconic Black Wall Street, our own city’s roots in economic self-determination and neighborhood unity run deep along Dorr Street, once Toledo’s own Black business corridor. Keeping that history alive is Doris Greer, a lifelong Toledo resident whose memories of community offer direction for our present and future.
A front porch of commerce and connection
Before highways and redevelopment reshaped the landscape, Dorr Street was much more than a thoroughfare. It was a living, breathing community hub where shopkeepers, professionals, neighbors and families wove their lives together. Greer recalls a walkable world where students walked to school, neighbors shopped locally, and business owners knew multiple generations of families. Community members were caretakers who kept watch, stepped in when disagreements flared, and protected kids like their own.
“We felt safe,” Greer told Asia Nail of The Sojourner’s Truth, “Not that we did not have disagreements, but we knew each other.”…