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, Smartβs daughter Thelma also graduated from Poro College in Chicago and returned to Akron to work in her motherβs 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.
Thelma Smart | πππ¦π·π¦ππ’π―π₯ ππ’ππ π’π―π₯ ππ°π΄π΅ (1934-1962), October 03, 1942. 
Smart’s Poro Beauty Shop ad | πππ¦π·π¦ππ’π―π₯ ππ’ππ π’π―π₯ ππ°π΄π΅ (1934-1962), October 01, 1949. 
Smart’s Poro Beauty Shop ad | πππ¦π·π¦ππ’π―π₯ ππ’ππ π’π―π₯ ππ°π΄π΅ (1934-1962), December 25, 1943.
Resources
- Akron Negro Directory. Akron: A. Kingsberry, 1940.
- βBeauticians Push New Organization.β Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1962), March 17, 1938. http://ezp2.cpl.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/push-eworganization/docview/184080016/se-2
- “Display Ad 16 — no Title.” Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1962), December 25, 1943. http://ezp2.cpl.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/display-ad-16-no-title/docview/184117892/se-2.
- “Display Ad 21 — no Title.” Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1962), October 01, 1949. http://ezp2.cpl.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/display-ad-21-no-title/docview/184188933/se-2.
- Gill, Tiffany. Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in the Beauty Industry. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
- Photo, Stewart. “Photo Standalone 34 — no Title.” Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1962), October 03, 1942. http://ezp2.cpl.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/photo-standalone-34-no-title/docview/184097177/se-2
- “Photo Standalone 34 — no Title.” Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1962), August 07, 1943. http://ezp2.cpl.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/photo-standalone-34-no-title/docview/184110171/se-2.
- “Poro College.” Annie Malone Historical Society. https://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.