City Planning and Engagement Menu

Proposed Renaming of Bank Street to Rep. William L. Mallory Street

Background

The Committee of Names has received a motion (Motion 202400761) from Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney to change the name of Bank Street to Rep. William L. Mallory Street, in honor of Rep. Mallory’s contributions to the West End community.
 

Proposed Project

Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney has made a motion to rename Bank Street in the West End to “Rep. William L. Mallory Street” in honor of Representative Mallory’s contributions to the Cincinnati community and his historic significance as the state’s first Black House Majority Leader. Below is the statement from the Vice Mayor per Motion 202400761"
 

"Former Ohio legislator William L. Mallory, who was the state’s first Black House Majority Leader and longest-serving in its history.

Elected to the Ohio House in 1996, the Rep. Mallory served 28 years in the Legislature, with two decades as the Democratic leader in the House.

The Cincinnati native worked his way through Central State University, then held various jobs including juvenile court employee, welfare case worker and highway inspector. He taught in Cincinnati Public Schools and was a leader in the city’s West End neighborhood.

As a legislator, he pushed successfully for drug prevention efforts, more public transportation, senior citizen issues, and civil rights. After leaving the Legislature, he served on the Ohio Elections Commission, founded a nonprofit center for community development in Cincinnati, and taught political science and African American studies at the University of Cincinnati.

The son of a laborer and domestic worker, Mallory had an early interest in politics, reading newspaper opinion pages and talking politics with Black city councilman R.P. McClain, according to the Cincinnati History Library and Archives. He was in student government in high school, while working a variety of jobs before dropping out to support his family.

He later resumed his education and then went to Central State. There, he met his future wife, Frannie, and they were married in 1955. Mallory graduated with honors with a major in elementary education. He helped pay his way by painting dormitories and working in the school cafeteria.

Mallory was elected president of the West End Community Council in 1965, leading to his election to the House the next year. Eight years later, he was elected majority floor leader. By his retirement in 1994, he had become the longest-serving majority leader and longest-serving Ohio representative from Hamilton County."
 

There will be a Community Engagement Meeting on March 19, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. to provide community members with an opportunity to provide their input on this proposal. Then, the Committee of Names will consider the proposal – including public comment – and make a recommendation to City Planning Commission. City Planning Commission will review the proposal and make a recommendation to City Council. Finally, City Council will vote on whether to approve the name change

 

Location of Proposed Project

Bank Street, Cincinnati, OH

 

Past Public Meetings
Related Materials
 
Contact

For questions related to the public engagement meeting, please contact:

Sophia Ferries-Rowe, City Planner
Sophia.Ferries-Rowe@cincinnati-oh.gov | 513-352-4842