History of Social Movements in Cleveland
by James C.
The city of Cleveland has been at the epicenter of every impactful social and political movement for change in this nation's history. From Women's Suffrage, Black Power, Gay Rights, Anti Lynching, BLM, Civil Rights and the Abolitionist Movement have all at one point in time reached the city of Cleveland. Organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM), United Freedom Movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement all had chapters here in the city. Famous African American leaders like Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey, Langston Hughes and Fredrick Douglass have all come to Cleveland to speak and organize. The city of Cleveland with its rich and diverse history has for two centuries been a prime location for every social and political movement hoping to make long lasting change in this country and world.
Beginning in the early 19th century Cleveland was an important location for the nationwide and international abolitionist movement to end African American enslavement in the United States. Due to being right across Lake Erie from Canada (which outlawed slavery in 1834) made it the destination of hundreds of formerly and escaped enslaved African Americans looking for freedom. Beginning in the 1830’s Cleveland became a popular destination for the American Anti-Slavery Society. After establishing a chapter in 1833 the Cleveland Anti slavery Society headed by local businessmen Solomon L. Severance and Cleveland's first lawyer Sherlock Andrews gathered hundreds of members to speak out against slavery and aid fugitive slaves on there path to freedom. Many of the city's oldest churches and homes were once stations on the Underground railroad. Cleveland activist and social leaders in the 1850’s rallied against the Fugitive Slave Act that made aiding escaped slaves illegal and punishable with a prison sentence. Famous African American Abolitionist Fredrick Douglass made three visits to speak in Cleveland in the 1840s, 1850s and 1860s. In each of his visits Douglass spoke on abolitionism, racial equality and the need for Cleveland’s growing African American community to organize. Like Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, the city of Cleveland was a central location for the abolitionist struggle to end slavery in the United States.
Alongside the burgeoning Abolitionist Movement Cleveland and the rest of northeast Ohio played a major role in the struggle for Women's Rights. During the time before the Civil War many of the local abolitionists were also devoted to women’s suffrage as well. In 1851 famous African American abolitionist and feminist Sojourner Truther gave her famous “Ain’t I a Woman speech” in Akron Ohio. Caroline Severance(1820-1914) was an early feminist activist from Cleveland who after hearing Sojourner Truths speech founded the Ohio Women’s Suffrage Association. In 1854 Caroline spoke in front of the Ohio state legislature on women's rights in regards to property rights and financial freedom. Severance would later move to Los Angeles where she continued her suffrage until she passed. Also in the 1850’s Cleveland hosted the fourth national women's rights convention which placed Cleveland at the center of women’s suffrage. In the years after the civil war other local female activists began to organize and rise to prominence. Elizabeth Hauser(1873-1958) a writer and suffrage leader from Warren Ohio became nationally recognized for her activism. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone of the Equal Rights Association were known all over the nation for their fight for racial and gender equality. By the 1890’s the Women's Suffrage movement in Ohio had succeeded in getting women the rights to hold office and have positions on local school boards. As the 20th century dawned and the 19th amendment to the constitution was passed which gave women the right to vote( women of color were not included) Cleveland remained an important location for the women's rights movement.
The Cleveland branch of the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) was founded Dec. 12th 1912 in order to fight against discrimination occurring in Cleveland’s African American community. The Cleveland branch at its height was the largest in the nation boasting a membership of over 10,000. The group was responsible for taking the Cleveland board of education to federal court to end the segregation of Cleveland public schools in 1976.The local chapter during the 1920’s began challenging racist discriminatory policies in local theaters, restaurants and stores. The organization also began reporting and by the 1940’s and 50’s the NAACP began fighting for fair housing, the desegregation of public places, equal employment and education. Membership peaked in 1963 at over 15,000 members during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. In modern times the NAACP Cleveland branch continues its civic commitment of fighting against unemployment, crime, poverty and inequality in Cleveland's African American community.
As the 1960’s and 70’s came to the city the decades were marked with violence, socioeconomic and political change as well as mass migrations to and out the city. Cleveland became a prime location for the burgeoning civil rights and black power movements. By the early 60’s Cleveland’s African American community had grown to over 250,000 (30% of the city's population) mainly on the city's East side. With the massive population growth African Americans began moving into previously predominantly white communities on the cities northeast and southeast sides. Communities like Glenville and Hough would gain national attention for the instances of racial violence and segregation caused by the population shift. From the Hough riots of 1966 and the Glenville shootout and subsequent riot in 1968 were highlights of the racial tension occurring in the city. Black nationalist organizations like the Revolutionary Action Movement, Black Nationalist of New Libya, Afro Set and the Muntu Poets all rose to prominence in the city. Civil Rights icons like Malcolm X gave his Ballot or the Bullet speech in 1964 at Cory United Methodist church and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Cleveland to speak and organize for his poor people's campaign. Car Stokes was elected mayor in 1967 and became the first African American mayor of a major city. This decade in the city was one of great struggle and turmoil but also one of great economic, social and political change.
Cleveland has been at the center of every major social and political movement of the last two centuries in this country. Today in the 21st century Cleveland continues to be a major location for civic and social movements. Movements like Black Lives Matter have been prominent in the city since the 2014 murder of Tamir Rice in 2014 as well as the movement LGBTQ+ rights have all been on the rise locally. The NAACP continues its over a century long commitment to justice and equality in this city. Although there is still far more work to be done the city of Cleveland continues to be at the forefront of the fight to achieve true equality within our nation.
Sources
Kusmer, Kenneth L. A Ghetto Takes Shape: Black Cleveland, 1870-1930. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press, 1978.
Michney, T (n.d) “Hough Riots” HOUGH RIOTS | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University
Kusmer, Kenneth L. A Ghetto Takes Shape: Black Cleveland, 1870-1930. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press, 1978.
Wyatt Brown, B( N.D) “ABOLITIONISM” ABOLITIONISM | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University
Toni Berry, “The Afro Set,” Cleveland Historical, accessed March 15, 2022, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/777.
Rabinovitch, E (N.D) “WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE” WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE | Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University
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