This summer brought a meaningful series of posthumous recognitions for longtime North Avondale residents and husband-and-wife community leaders Sherman Kinney Jr. and Mattie Bell Kinney.
In August, Sherman was honored at Cincinnati City Hall, where City Council recognized his military service and decades of civic and community contributions through a resolution presented by Councilmember Anna Albi.
Later that month, at Hamilton County Veterans Appreciation Day, Sherman was posthumously recognized for his service as a World War II Montford Point Marine, part of the first generation of Black men who desegregated the United States Marine Corps. In his honor, our family accepted a Congressional Gold Medal, a certificate from the National Montford Point Marine Association, and a letter from President Barack Obama recognizing the historic service of the Montford Point Marines.
The month became even more significant when our family attended the unveiling of Cincinnati’s new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. monument in Avondale, where both Sherman and Mattie are permanently included among local leaders recognized for their contributions to civil rights and community life.
Sherman was a businessman, civic leader and advocate for equal opportunity. He served as second vice president of the Cincinnati NAACP, with Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses and the American Cancer Society, supported youth programs, and later worked in minority-business procurement and contract compliance for the State of Ohio and City of Cincinnati.
Together, Sherman and Mattie owned S.K. Janitorial Service, a Black-owned business headquartered at 3924 Reading Road in Avondale. They raised their eight children at 409 Clinton Springs Avenue in North Avondale.
Mattie’s work included civil rights, youth development, neighborhood organizing and health advocacy. She was installed as a Cincinnati NAACP board member in 1965 and worked with the Avondale Community Council, Urban League Guild, Woman’s City Club, Catholic Interracial Council and American Cancer Society. Her breast cancer advocacy helped bring cancer education, early detection awareness and trusted outreach into underserved communities.
Her work connected her with leaders including Rev. Otis Moss Jr., Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Ambrose H. Clement and Mayor Theodore M. Berry.
For our family, these honors help return Sherman and Mattie’s stories to Cincinnati’s public history while preserving an important piece of North Avondale and Avondale history.
Submitted by Laura Kinney-Porter, granddaughter of Sherman and Mattie Kinney and founder of The Mattie Legacy Project and Kinney Family Archives.Sherman and Mattie Kinney were longtime North Avondale residents who raised their family at 409 Clinton Springs Avenue while also owning and operating S.K. Janitorial Service at 3924 Reading Road in neighboring Avondale. Their lives connect North Avondale directly to Cincinnati’s civil rights, business, military, health advocacy, and community history.
For current residents and businesses, their story is a reminder that important local history was built not only by well-known institutions, but by families, neighborhood leaders, Black-owned businesses, veterans, volunteers, and advocates who lived and worked in this community. Their recent recognitions help preserve that legacy and give North Avondale residents.
