Quiet strength: How Dee Tolbert became a leading figure in Elyria

ELYRIA — Ardelia "Dee" Tolbert's tenacity can largely be attributed to the man who raised her — her grandfather. The leader of the Elyria NAACP, Tolbert has been a recognized woman in the community for decades. She's been an active member of the organization for more than 60 years. Her experiences, and the hard life she's lived, have shaped Tolbert into the person she is today. Tolbert comes from a proud family. Her grandmother was 99 percent Blackfoot Indian and her grandfather was African tribe. They were strict. Her grandfather was a strong person, and Tolbert said she sometimes thinks she got that from him. She was born in South Carolina, but spent her early years in Elyria. She was just 3 months old when her parents moved to south Elyria. Her mother had an aunt who lived on the south side of Elyria. Her father worked at U.S. Steel, and her mother worked for American Standard. Tolbert lived there for six years until her mother came down with pneumonia and died. Tolbert's grandparents offered to take her in — they wanted to keep their oldest daughter's granddaughter. Tolbert said her father was a young man, and he agreed. And so Tolbert stayed on a South Carolina farm with her grandparents, and her four older aunts and uncles. Tolbert became the baby sister in the family, instead of the granddaughter. South Carolina was a world away from Elyria, where Tolbert had been attending school at Hamilton Elementary. Her grandfather had a lot of land, and was determined to keep it. Tolbert even recalled him shouting at the KKK to keep off his land. "He was well-known," she said. "They knew he was (a strong) person. People respected him highly. " On the farm, Tolbert was put to work. She learned how to kill hogs, feed calves and pick cotton and tobacco. "And I learned to be good with it," she said. "Because that's what he strived for. If you're going to do it, you're going to do right." Tolbert said she sometimes wonders how different life would have been if her father had kept her with him in Elyria as a young child. But her upbringing in South Carolina helped shape who she is "I learned a lot of knowledge behind being raised on a farm that huge," Tolbert said. "... That was work. I learned to work. ... My work ethic became a part of me, and I have worked all my life." Tolbert has had health hardships in her life as well. She got cancer, and had to have a complete hysterectomy. She's had back surgery. Then she got cancer again in the face. Most recently, she had a hip replacement. "So, I am the bionic woman," she said, laughing. Tolbert attended some college in South Carolina, but didn't enjoy it. She contacted her great-aunt in Elyria, asking if she could come live with her. "And she sent for me. And that's how I got here." In Elyria, Tolbert met Isaac Chapman, the city's first Black councilman and the NAACP president at the time. Chapman took Tolbert under his wing and helped her find a job. She worked for the Fay Company in downtown Elyria as the first Black saleswoman there. Tolbert was even sent to modeling school for a while, and then became the first African-American wedding coordinator in Elyria. Tolbert later worked at General Motors for more than 30 years before retiring. Chapman also made sure Tolbert got hooked into the local chapter of the NAACP as a young 19-year-old. At the time, Tolbert wasn't familiar with the organization, as it didn't have as much presence in South Carolina. Tolbert said Chapman helped pave the road for her — as she got older and learned about civil rights, she began to really understand the purpose of the organization. It was to educate and understand. Civil rights are a learning process, Tolbert said. They keep people informed of what's going on around them, and teaches people how to handle them. Now, Tolbert sits as the Elyria NAACP president. She works hard within the organization, trying to help people and donate where she can. "I eat, I sleep in the NAACP," she said. "... NAACP is not for just African-Americans, it's for all people. It's all of us working together." She said the Elyria NAACP follows its bylaws strictly, and it doesn't barge into situations it's not invited to. Tolbert said the organization is always doing things, even if the general public isn't aware of it. "I enjoy working for civil rights because I feel like I'm making a difference in someone's life," Tolbert said. "I always like to think I won't leave this world without knowing that I've done something to change someone's life." She's found over the years that there's still prejudice in Elyria, but it doesn't get her as riled up as it used to. "We still have some older people who think in a different way," she said. "... I thank God I learned to love people. I learned to love people." And she advises today's youths to learn to do the same, especially in the continued fight for civil rights. Tolbert said it's important for youths to first love themselves because "if you don't love yourself, you can't love me." She encourages them to forgive, but not forget; to make sure that their mindset is clear, and to value actions over words. Tolbert said her life has been a roller coaster, and joked that everyone tells her she should write a book. She'll be 83 in May, and can't seem to be able to stop working — a skill, she said, she probably learned from those years with her grandfather. "I'm blessed to have had a hard life," Tolbert said. "But I'm blessed to still be here to see and be grateful for what I have gone through. And to accept things for how they are." Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.