Category: African American History

The HARRIET TUBMAN MUSEUM AND CULTURAL ASSN., an African-American history center, traces its origins back to the 1960s, when Hanif Wahab began collecting African-American artifacts and documents. These items were stored in his home until 1987, when some were displayed on the second floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. branch of the CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY.

HAWKINS, JALACY "SCREAMIN JAY" (18 July1929 - 12 February 2000), was born  in Cleveland Ohio. Being one of eight children, Hawkins was orphaned as an infant. He was adopted at 18 months old by a Blackfoot Indian couple who raised him. He learned how to play the piano as well as to read and write music by the time he turned four years old.

HILL, DAVID (1928/9? - 2001) was a Black nationalist, religious leader, civil rights advocate, self-avowed rabbi of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL organization/sect, and eccentric.

HODGE, JOSEPH, also known as Black Joe, was a hunter and trapper hired in June 1796 by the surveying party of MOSES CLEAVELAND to guide the group from Buffalo across the Pennsylvania border into the Western Reserve.

HOLLY, JOHN OLIVER, JR. (3 Dec. 1903-20 Dec. 1974) founded the FUTURE OUTLOOK LEAGUE in 1935 to help secure equal employment for AFRICAN AMERICANS in Cleveland; on 23 Oct. 1988, the General Mail Facility at 2400 Orange Ave. at Cleveland's main post office, was named for him. Holly was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

HOLY TRINITY PARISH was established by Bishop RICHARD GILMOUR on May 27, 1880 to serve the growing community of GERMAN CATHOLICS residing east of what is now East 55th Street along Woodland Avenue.

The HOUGH AREA DEVELOPMENT CORP. (HADC), a locally based organization formed in the spring of 1967 to direct neighborhood redevelopment after the HOUGH RIOTS, undertook several ambitious programs before becoming inactive in 1984.

HUGHES, (JAMES) LANGSTON (1 Feb. 1902-22 May 1967), Black poet, playwright, novelist, and lecturer, was born in Joplin, Mo. to James Nathaniel and Carrie M. (Langston) Hughes. Carrie and James divorced shortly after Langston's birth, and James left the United States for Mexico. His mother and step-father moved the family to Cleveland in 1916.

HUNTER, JANE EDNA (HARRIS) (13 Dec. 1882-17 Jan. 1971), prominent African-American social worker, founded the PHILLIS WHEATLEY ASSOCIATION. The daughter of a sharecropper, she was born Jane Edna Harris at Woodburn Farm near Pendleton, SC. She acquired her last name by a brief marriage.

THE I PROMISE SCHOOL (IPS) is a public school in Akron Ohio, dedicated to serving the needs of underprivileged children in grades 1 through 8. It is operated by the Akron public school district and is supported by funds from the Lebron James Family Foundation.

JACKSON JR, BENJAMIN CLARENCE BULL MOOSE (22 April 1919 - 31 July 1989), was a prominent African-American blues singer and saxophone player whose musical career boomed in the 1940’s. 

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JACKSON, PERRY B. (27 Jan. 1896-20 Mar. 1986), lawyer and the first black judge in Ohio, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, to Brooks C. and Ida M. Jackson. He graduated from Adelbert College of Western Reserve University (1919) and WRU Law School (1922), was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Cleveland. From 1923-27 Jackson edited the Cleveland Call.

JASPER,  AUSTIN LEONARD "JACK" (15 March 1906 – 6 July 1996) was a schoolteacher and one of the first African American volunteers for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in Anniston, Alabama, and later a BSA professional serving Black scouts in Cleveland, Ohio. Born in Woodlawn, Virginia, to Daniel W. and Martha E. (Thomas) Jasper, Jasper had eight siblings and attended high school in Washington, DC.

The JAZZ TEMPLE was an influential establishment in the Cleveland JAZZ scene. Founded in 1962 by Winston Willis, the Jazz Temple’s existence was cut short due to several threats and acts of violence in 1965.

Jones, George Gibson (a. 1871-27 October 1949), businessman, artist, and inventor was a long-time resident of the GLENVILLE Neighborhood in Cleveland and best known for being the country's only African-American owner of a brass foundry.

LAMBRIGHT, MIDDLETON H. JR. (7 Nov.

LAWRENCE, WILHEMINA PRICE (24 Oct.

LEE-HARVARD is a Cleveland neighborhood and Statistical Planning Area (SPA) on the city’s southeast side. It is roughly bounded by Miles Ave. on the south, Scottsdale Blvd. on the north, E. 154th St. on the west, and E. 190th St. and Shadywood and Larkspur Lns. on the east.

LEE-SEVILLE is a Cleveland neighborhood and Statistical Planning Area (SPA) on the city’s southeast side. It is bounded roughly by Miles Ave.

LEVERT, GERALD (13 July 1966 – 10 November 2006), was a significant African-American vocalist, songwriter and producer. 

LEVERT, SEAN (28 September 1968 – 30 March  2008), was a famous African-American singer. 

LEWIS, FANNIE (6 June 1926 - 11 August 2008) was the Ward 7 representative for the CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL, an area that included the city's Hough neighborhood, for almost thirty years.

LOCKWOOD JR, ROBERT (27 March 1915 – 2 November 2006), was a prolific AFRICAN-AMERICAN blues musician who was taught guitar by Robert Johnson, one of the most influential figures in blues history. Lockwood would build on his