Category: African American History

NORTH BROADWAY is a southeast Cleveland neighborhood and Statistical Planning Area (SPA). Previously (and still periodically) referred to as Kinsman, its borders are, roughly, I-77 on the west, Union Ave. on the south, E. 79th St. on the east and an irregular line on the north that runs south of, but parallel to, Kinsman Ave.

OAKWOOD, one of the smaller communities in Cuyahoga County, was originally part of Bedford Twp. and incorporated as a village in 1951. Occupying 3.45 sq.

OLIVET INSTITUTIONAL BAPTIST CHURCH, one of the largest AFRICAN AMERICAN congregations in Cleveland, was established by a group of former members of Triedstone Baptist Church who gathered for worship in a small building on Quincy Avenue on 12 February 1931. The new church, known as the New Light Baptist Church, held its first services on 16 February, with Rev. C.

ORCA HOUSE, founded in 1942 in the FAIRFAX neighborhood, is one of the earliest African American-founded treatment centers for alcoholism and substance use disorder in the United States.

OUR LADY OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH, established on April 11, 1922, was the first AFRICAN-AMERICAN parish in the Diocese of Cleveland.

OWENS, JESSE (12 September 1913-31 March 1980), was a world record setting track-and-field athlete during the 1930s. In 1950 sportswriters voted him as the world's top track star of the century. Born on a tenant farm in Oakville, Alabama, to Henry and Emma Alexander Owens, Jesse migrated with his family to Cleveland in 1922.

PEAKE, GEORGE (1722-Sep. 1827)—last name sometimes spelled Peek or Peak—the first AFRICAN AMERICAN to settle permanently in Cleveland and something of an inventor, developing a new hand mill for grinding grain, was a native of Maryland and former resident of Pennsylvania. Peake came to Cleveland with his wife and 2 sons in Apr. 1809.

Pi is a Cleveland-centered chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest extant AFRICAN AMERICAN intercollegiate fraternity. For the first few decades of its existence, it was one of the largest and most influential chapters in the fraternity.

REED, VIVIAN BROWN (1942 - 20 Aug. 1998) was a track and field star who competed in the 1964 Olympic games and later became a successful high school coach. She was born in Detroit to Lois and Cornelius Brown. Her family moved to Cleveland when she was young.

REEDUS,  MAURICE JR.  "SAX MAN" (19 January 1953 – 16 April  2018), was a successful saxophone player whose popular performances enabled legislation permitting busking on the streets of Cleveland.

ROBERT P. MADISON INTERNATIONAL, INC., is an architectural firm founded in 1954 by Robert P. Madison and his brothers, Julian and Bernard. A Cleveland native and graduate of EAST TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, Robert P.

ROBINSON, FRANK  (31 August 1935-7 February 2019) was a Hall of Fame baseball player and the first African-American manager in the major leagues, for the CLEVELAND INDIANS.

ROCK & ROLL comprises a cacophony of musical forms. Yet few would disagree that it emanates primarily from a handful of traditionally Black styles: blues, jazz, and gospel.

RUFFIN, BERNIECE WORTHINGTON (18 Mar. 1916-26 June 1998) became the first African-American supervisor at the Cleveland Board of Education's downtown administration building in 1964. She was born in Wren, Ohio, to Louis W. and Leona Worthington. Her father was a farmer. In 1938, Ruffin graduated from Wilberforce University, where she joined the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

SCHOENFELD, MAX (30 May 1915-7 Mar. 1999) was a labor, civil rights and peace activist as well as a prolific photographer who served many years both on the executive board of the UNITED AUTO WORKERS LOCAL 45 and as a member of the Congress on Racial Equality. He was born in New Haven, CT to Ethel and Samuel Schoenfeld, who owned a neighborhood drug store.

SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH is the oldest congregation of black BAPTISTS in Cleveland and second only to

SLAUGHTER, FLEET, (24 July 1919-23 Aug. 1975), an AFRICAN AMERICAN business and civic leader, was born in New Orleans, La. After graduating from McDonogh No.

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ST. CATHERINE PARISH obtained parish status from the Diocese of Cleveland in 1898 and chose its name to honor the mother of Cleveland's third bishop, the Right Reverend IGNATIUS F. HORSTMANN.

ST. HENRY PARISH was established with the permission of Bishop EDWARD F. HOBAN in the Lee-Miles neighborhood of Cleveland in 1946. The Bishop appointed Father John A. Hreha to lead the newly established parish.