Smart’s Poro Beauty Shop, owned by Leola Smart, was located on Euclid Avenue in Akron. By the time of her feature in the 1947 Green Book, Leola Smart and her husband, Thomas, had been residents at their 249 Euclid Ave location for 26 years. Smart was a member of the Akron Chapter of the Ohio Association of Beauticians. In October 1942, Smart’s daughter Thelma also graduated from Poro College in Chicago and returned to Akron to work in her mother’s beauty shop. Additional information coming soon.
Green Book Details
Smart’s Poro Beauty Shop appears in the 1947 Green Book as Smart at 249 Euclid Ave. (erroneously under Cleveland) in the category Beauty Parlors. It was sometimes referred to as Smart’s in advertisements.
Resources
- “Beauticians Push New Organization.” Call & Post. March 17, 1938.
- “Display Ad 16 — no Title.” Call & Post. December 25, 1943.
- “Display Ad 21 — no Title.” Call & Post. October 1, 1949.
- Gill, Tiffany. Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in the Beauty Industry. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
- Kingsberry, A., ed. Akron Negro Directory. Akron, OH: Kingsberry, 1940.
- Photo, Stewart. “Photo Standalone 34 — no Title.” Call & Post. October 3, 1942.
- “Photo Standalone 34 — no Title.” Call & Post. August 7, 1943.
- “Poro College.” Annie Malone Historical Society. www.anniemalonehistoricalsociety.org/poro-college.html
- Walker, Susannah. Style and Status: Selling Beauty to African American Women, 1920-1975. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007.