Justice for Daisy?

NORTH BALTIMORE — The North Baltimore Area Historical Society is working to get a governor's pardon for Daisy D. Perkins. Perkins graduated from North Baltimore High School in 1896 and went on to become the first female Black attorney in Ohio. But in 1928, she was indicted for perjury, disbarred and jailed. The editor of the North Baltimore newspaper at the time wrote that Perkins was a victim of "white justice." Members of the historical society said a pardon would right this wrong and they are making it their mission to try to clear Perkins' name. It's quite a story, acknowledged longtime resident Larry Slaughterbeck, who is a member and volunteers at the historical society. He said Perkins was granted parole in 1932 but refused to leave unless she received a full pardon. She was released from prison in 1937, but "she never got the full pardon," he said. Born in Shawnee, Perry County, in February, 1877, Perkins was just 14 months old when her mother died. Her father, John, was a slave who was born in Virginia and sold to a slave owner in Kentucky when he was 9 years old, according to records at the historical society. Sometime around 1863, he ran away to Fort Donaldson in Missouri. John and three of his five children eventually settled in North Baltimore, where he became a barber with a shop on North Main Street beside the Central Hotel. "They were well known in North Baltimore, really loved," Slaughterbeck said of the family. Youngest daughter Daisy was the hope for the family, he said. After graduating from high school, she attended Findlay College and then Wilberforce University. Daisy's sisters, Williett and Sarah, cleaned houses in town to support her education. Perkins worked as a stenographer while she studied under Judge Moses B. Earnhart in Columbus for her law degree. She was admitted to the bar in 1919. She worked in the prosecutor's office in Columbus and, in 1924, became the first Black woman to seek election to the Ohio General Assembly. But on Jan. 18, 1928, Perkins was indicted for perjury and then disbarred. Wayne Wilkinson, who was editor of The Beacon at the time, wrote that Perkins was not guilty of any crime and attributed the trumped-up charges to racial discrimination. Regardless, Perkins was sentenced to 20 years in Marysville Prison. Slaughterbeck said Perkins was granted parole in 1932 but refused to leave unless she received a full pardon, which was not granted. She was released from prison in 1937. "We were talking at the North Baltimore Historical Society when we were doing research on Daisy, I wonder if she was ever pardoned or if we could get her pardoned," Slaughterbeck recalled. To date, he said, they have not been able to uncover any information about the charges against Perkins. "We don't know what happened," he said. Perkins remained in Columbus after leaving prison. Slaugherbeck said he doesn't think she ever married or had children. Perkins died in Columbus on Jan. 27, 1963. The historical society has begun the process by contacting and sending letters to area representatives, senators, and the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus for help in securing a pardon for Perkins. "We feel she was held to a different standard because of her race and was unjustly convicted," their letter reads. There are no known photographs of Perkins, Slaughterbeck noted. The only family photo the historical society has is one of Sarah Perkins. John Perkins died in 1913 at the age of 66. Williett also died that year. She had married a Mr. Davis and died in childbirth at 37. Sarah Perkins was 64 when she died in 1934. All three are buried together in Maplewood Cemetery, North Baltimore. Slaughterbeck said the gravestones fell into disrepair over the years. In 2018, the historical society established an account to make repairs estimated at $700. Within a week of announcing the project, he said community members had donated the needed funds. "People in North Baltimore really stepped forward," he said. Volunteers from the historical society placed flowers at the three graves in May 2018. Slaughterbeck said he doesn't think the chances of obtaining a pardon for Perkins are very good, but members still wanted to try. "That's what we thought, it doesn't hurt to try," he said.