Browse Exhibits (70 total)

As the African American population took shape in Cleveland, a new Black self-consciousness emerged.  It mirrored the developing ideologies of the day, from integration to nationalism.  Unfortunately, despite its cultural heritage, the city of Cleveland became a causeway for artists between the East Coast and the Midwest.  Despite this fact however, both individuals and organizations based in Cleveland have influenced those most identified with the Black Arts Movement.

This exhibit will discuss racism and segregation against African-Americans at Cleveland's Euclid Beach Park, a world-famous amusement park owned by the Humphrey family from 1901-1969.

The decision by the park's owners to prevent blacks from using certain attractions culminated in the summer of 1946 when protests and violence occurred.  Euclid Beach closed early that year, and the following spring Cleveland City Council passed an ordinance designed to prevent further discrimination at the park.  

Not only will this exhibit illuminate the kind of racial discrimination faced by African-Americans in the supposedly liberal North, but it will also seek to demonstrate that World War II played a major role in shaping race relations in Cleveland.  After the war ended, many white Clevelanders looked nostalgically to the years before the Great Depression and the war, seeking to return to normality and stability after so many years of disorder. Meanwhile, an increasing population of black Clevelanders, emboldened by their participation in the war effort and anti-Nazi rhetoric that seemed to discredit racist ideologies, sought to solidify gains made during the war and stake a claim to full equality in the postwar city.

These differing visions of Postwar Cleveland would collide at Euclid Beach. By looking at these events and their aftermath we can hope to get a clearer picture of how the fight for racial equality after World War II in Cleveland would develop, what resistance it would be met with, and why it seemingly failed.

This exhibit explores how children were used in the workforce during the late 1800's and early 1900's.  It also shows the birth of Settlement Houses to meet the needs of children during this period.

This exhibit features the accomplishments and struggles of women seeking to secure their unalinable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness during the 19th and 20th centuries.   From the National Women's Rigths Convention in Seneca Falls to the National League of Women Voters in Cleveland, these women worked tirelessly to earn the rights they were entitled to in the Declaration of Independence. 

This exhibit will explore the reasons for the creation of the automobile and the automobile industry. We will pay particular attention to the begining of the auto industry in the United States with a particular emphasis on the Winton car company in Cleveland.