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A Thread: Ohio is the most underrated, even sometimes disrespected, state of this US of A. It’s time we put some respect on Ohio’s name—one of the most influential states in America (historically).
I recently exchanged numbers w/ someone from California, who chuckled at the fact that my number showed up w/ an Ohio area code. They were dumbfounded by the idea that I was from Ohio. “Who’s from Ohio?”, they said.
Being from Ohio but having lived in NYC for some years, this isn’t the first time someone from the coasts has given me a similar response... but this time I felt slighted.
I feel it's time we give Ohio some of the respect it deserves... Here’s some brief known and little-known evidence as to why Ohio is truly the 'Heart of America' as one of the most important states of America's history, folklore & present.
For starters & at random, Ohio has had more US Presidents (8) than any other state & was given the nickname “Mother of Presidents”… half of which died while in office; William H. Harrison, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding (random fact).
Both America’s Pastimes, new & old, Pro Football & Pro Baseball find their roots in Ohio. Ohio is home of the 1st @MLB team, Cincinnati Red Stockings & also where the @NFL was founded (Canton, OH).
So yeah, when all 100 million of you are watching the Super Bowl again this year, remember it traces back to Ohio...give some thanks!
Ohio is birthplace of Thomas Edison, one the most influential, not just inventors, but Americans of all-time. Much of the world we live in today is legacy of the work of Thomas Edison.
Edison not only invented the first commercial electric light bulb. His phonograph invention launched a global recorded-music industry & his thousands of patents and processes of inventions paved a wave for American innovation.
Edison's inventions gave birth to three enduring industries that pervade and dominate American culture today: electrical power, recorded music & motion pictures
Ohio was also home to the ‘Black Edison’, Garrett Morgan. Just as brilliant, Garrett’s genius of invention gave us the traffic light system that we know today. In addition, the predecessor of what we now recognize as the gas mask.
Ohio is birthplace of flight & aviation, thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright from Dayton, Ohio … that’s right there would be no flying without two brothers from Ohio!
So if you ever been “flewed out”, trying to get “flewed out”, did the flying out or you’re actually doing the flying. Private or commercial, makes no difference, all respect is due to the Wright Brothers from OHIO.
And guess what? Ohioans didn’t just stop with being the first in air… The first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, is from Ohio. Ohio also subsequently gave us another Man on the Moon (I,II,& III) in the music genius of @KidCudi.
The Underground Railroad... Ohio was to the Underground Railroad what a first down is to football.
Although there were several networks through the country, Ohio had the most active network of any other state with around 3000 miles of routes used by escaping runaways.
As the 1st post-colonial free-state, Ohio was bordered by 2 slave states: Virginia and Kentucky. Just north of the Ohio River, where the state get its name, Ohio's land symbolized a touchdown to freedom to thousands of formerly enslaved Black Americans escaping north.
Many stayed, travelled further north to Canada, or continued to return in aid of other runaways.
The Underground Railroad was an internet before the internet. With a coded language of its own. It was a network of esoteric understanding, that still amazes many in present-day in how it successfully operated for the hope of freedom.
It was in Ohio where Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, met and learned the stories of escaped and formerly enslaved Black Americans. Their stories and experiences influenced her writing.
The impact of Stowe's anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, had a profound effect on shifting the consciousness and attitudes of White America toward slavery. Laying the groundwork for the Civil War.
The cultural impact & legacy of the book live on today, through the popularization of a number of stereotypes (Mammy, Uncle Tom) about Black people...the negative associations, to an extent, overshadowed the historical impact of the book as a vital anti-slavery tool.
John D Rockefeller, while born in New York, it was Northern Ohio where he became America's 1st billionaire & the name Rockefeller became synonymous with financial wealth, monopoly, philanthropy, & oil. He was the Bezos of his time, and possibly the richest man in history.
While a controversial symbol as related to monopoly in an era of ruthless greed, the legacy of his riches, family and philanthropy lives across the Manhattan skyline, universities, and beyond. Which, again, began in Ohio.
@Apple, how could such an iconic American brand not be link to Ohio? While we know Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, @Apple was also co-founded by Roland Wayne from Cleveland, Ohio.
Now in the most Cleveland of Cleveland fashions, Ronald later sold his 10% stake of Apple for $800 before ever seeing any profits. Even though, if it wasn’t for his early mastermind with Jobs and Wozniak, it’s hard to say I’d even be tweeting from an @Apple iPhone right now.
Ohio is birthplace of the goddess that is @IAMANITABAKER, who showed us ‘Sweet Love’.
Ohio is the home of the O'Jays who invited us on the 'Love Train'
And Ohio is the home of Zapp & Roger who introduced us to 'Computer Love'.
More than that Roger, the lead of Zapp is the pioneer of the talkbox or vocoder—a sound that revolutionized our modern music, preluding the autotune era.
Which is to say, we probably wouldn’t be able to appreciate @TPAIN, @1future, @lilbaby4PF or hell anyone using auto-tune if it weren’t for the influence of Roger Troutman from Dayton, Ohio.
Ohio was the birthplace and home of the Isley Brothers, arguably one of the most important American bands of all time—they are our favorite artist’s favorite artists.
The Isley Brothers who gave us 'Footsteps In The Dark (Pts. 1 & 2)' that also inspired this @icecube classic.
The Isley Brothers who gave us this bedroom classic 'Between the Sheets', that later influenced and inspired 'Big Poppa'
Ohio also gave us another band formed in Cincinnati, The Deele. A group best-known for bringing @KennyEdmonds & @LA_Reid (Ohio Native) to prominence. It was following the success of this group and beyond that they founded LaFace Records together.
You know the record label, that pretty much gave us music from @Usher, @OfficialTLC, @tonibraxton, @Outkast and more. Yup, that musical thread finds its roots back to a band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 80s.
Ohio was the home of one of the America’s greatest writers, full stop—Toni Morrison. Black, white, man or woman. The lyricism of her prose, give further evidence of the embodiment that Ohio is as the heart of America.
Centered in Black American Literature, Toni's writing embodies the beautiful, powerful, evocative, gut-wrenching, complexity that America is…Birthed from Ohio.
You actually can’t even have a wedding without Ohio coming too. Because we know you’re going to play America’s unofficial wedding anthem ‘All of Me’ from Ohio born, @JohnLegend. The first Black man to achieve EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status. Yeah we're everywhere.
Born in Ohio, one of America’s greatest filmmakers, Steven Spielberg. The director who’s given a blockbuster for each of the last (5) decades. What would America be without; Jaws, Indiana Jones, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, & more classics he’s produced?
Ohio is home to the comedic genius that is, @DaveChappelle. One of the greatest comedians of all-time, if not this century, who’s become a true American folk hero that transcends comedy... & while Dave wasn’t born in the state, its Ohio that’s inspired the genius of his work.
Ohio was also home to Rudy Ray Moore, aka Dolemite, who many consider The Godfather of Rap. And while yes, most of our Iconic hip hop figures are from the east and west coasts, the world of hip hop was preluded by an Ohioan.
I've got more... but gonna take a breath, for now.
