Melvin Hawkins was the proprietor of Hawkins Garage & Service Station at 679 Easter Avenue. Hawkins provided a wide range of auto services, including painting, oil changes, and standard repairs. In addition to his automotive service business, Hawkins and his wife, Mrs. Louise Hawkins, founded Hawkins Realty.
Hawkins and Mrs. Hawkins were incredibly civic minded. Hawkins helped form the Akron chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers and served as the chapter’s first vice president. Hawkins and Mrs. Hawkins were also involved in the Akron chapter of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People and served as officers in the E. F. D. Club. Mrs. Hawkins was especially active in the Akron and Cleveland communities. She was a member of the T. M. T. M Club, Harmony 12 Club, served as president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Society, and sang in Cleveland’s Mt. Zion Congregational Choir. In 1946, she was elected to be a trustee for the Akron Community Service Center. Mrs. Hawkins was involved in the Akron chapter of the Future Outlook League, as well.
Resources
- Bailey, Thomas. “Akron News.” Call & Post. January 26, 1939.
- “Akron News.” Call & Post. October 25, 1941.
- Kingsberry, A., ed. Akron Negro Directory. Akron, OH: Kingsberry, 1940.
- “Library Gets ‘Future is Yours’.” Call & Post. August 2, 1947.
- Loeb, Charles H. The Future is Yours. Cleveland: The Future Outlook League, Inc., 1947.
- Louise R. Hawkins Death Notice. Akron Beacon Journal. December 12, 1979.
- McClain, Shirla. “The Contributions of Blacks in Akron: 1825-1975.” Ph.D. diss., University of Akron, 1975.
- Melvin G. Hawkins Obituary. Akron Beacon Journal. December 17, 1972.
- “NAACP To Celebrate With Sunday Programs.” Akron Beacon Journal. August 8, 1959.
- “Name Service Center Board.” Akron Beacon Journal. June 2, 1946.
- “Negroes Form Own Realty Unit.” Akron Beacon Journal. June 4, 1965.
- “Pre-Nuptial Dinner.” Call & Post. October 13, 1938.
- Taylor, Candacy. Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America. New York: Abrams, 2020.