Jun 18, 2026
Correspondent photo / Chris McBride Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, right, presents the key to the city to Mary Ann Franklin as she holds her proclamation during the honors ceremony on the City Hall lawn in Warren. The mayor and Mary Ann are not related. Also in the photo are Deacon Donald Carter of Second Baptist Church, left, and Chawnelle Battle, an original member of Community Concerned Citizens II, back row.
WARREN — Mary Ann Franklin, a 99-year-old community leader whose decades of volunteer work transformed city neighborhoods, received a proclamation and the key to the city Wednesday from Mayor Doug Franklin as the city prepares to mark Juneteenth.
The mayor proclaimed June 19, which is Friday, as Mary Ann Franklin Day in Warren, honoring her role in instilling pride in the community, her beautification efforts and her early advocacy for Juneteenth observances in the community years before it became a federal holiday.
“This ceremony has several layers,” Mayor Franklin, who is not related to Franklin, said. “Mary Ann Franklin has been a pillar in the community for decades. … She’s the founder of CCC — Community Concerned Citizens” — which inspired neighborhood revitalization on the southwest side, one of the city’s most underinvested areas.”
Franklin and Eleanor Williams established the Community Concerned Citizens II neighborhood group in 2009. Members walked streets clearing gutters and ditches, while Franklin, an Ohio State University Master Gardener, also focused on the Victory Community Garden near Austin Avenue and York Street.
Under her leadership, the group gained permission from the city to maintain Quinby Park. Long neglected, the park was turned into a gathering place with new playground equipment, improved facilities and ongoing community events like the Juneteenth Freedom Celebration.
The mayor’s proclamation recognized Franklin’s “leadership, compassion and commitment,” and detailed her service on the city’s Park Advisory Committee and Community Development Block Grant board. It credited her persistent advocacy with helping secure significant investments — estimated in the hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars — toward revitalizing Quinby Park and surrounding areas.
Franklin’s efforts also brought early public attention to Juneteenth in Warren, a day that commemorated the 1865 emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, who were the last to learn of their freedom.
The mayor said she began the local initiative more than two decades ago.
“Juneteenth is truly American history,” Mayor Franklin said. “It’s incumbent upon us … to continue this awareness and continue to educate not only our community but the nation as well.”
He praised her for giving the holiday’s meaning of resilience, achievements and contributions of African Americans and visibility locally long before widespread commercialization or national recognition.
At the City Hall lawn ceremony, Franklin’s daughter, Lynncheryl Gadson, and her son, Terry Gadson, were alongside their mother to accept the honors.
“It’s an honor today to be here with my mother,” Gadson said. “She’s been a beacon in my life and raised us to be good citizens. … I’m thankful to the city and to the mayor for this presentation.”
Chawnelle Battle, an original CCCII member and friend of Franklin’s for 26 years, recalled their hands-on work painting houses and cleaning communities alongside the late Rev. Otis J. Boyd.
“When she wants something done, she’s gonna insist it gets done, and nine times out of 10, it’s usually right,” Battle said.
She described Franklin as a driving force who convinced others to join efforts.
Councilwoman Honeya Price, D-6th-Ward, and current steward of the community garden, called Franklin a mentor who taught her the difference between “soil, not dirt.”
“I was there since seven this morning,” Price said, arriving directly from garden work. “She is my mentor. I can’t live up to the garden she had 20 years ago. … I’m trying to.”
Deacon Donald Carter of Second Baptist Church, who first connected with Franklin through yard work and car cleaning, expressed his gratitude for her ongoing presence and friendship.
This year’s Juneteenth Freedom Celebration at Quinby Park centers on youth, Battle said. Events include a scavenger hunt highlighting local black community leaders so young people can learn their history.
The observance, which began as a multiday event with ministers, vendors, historical displays and a Father’s Day dinner, has grown, but remains rooted in community service and education.
Franklin’s work also included grant writing that sustained initiatives and helped inspire other community gardens across Warren, according to her daughter and the mayor.
Mayor Franklin presented the proclamation and the symbolic key to the city, telling Franklin she has long held “the key to our hearts.”
“She’s got a lot of energy,” he said. “Ninety-nine is young for this lady.”
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