The Black Arts Movement in Cleveland

The Harlem Renaissance coalesced and formed out of the general economic boom in America and because many African Americans moved north to inner city dwelling.  The close-knit community in Harlem experienced an artistic revolution that created and influenced Black artists around the country.  Much like other cities throughout the country, Cleveland was influenced by the Harlem Renaissance. 

One of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance established himself in Cleveland prior to leaving for Harlem.  By the time of his death in 1967, Langston Hughes was seen as “. . . one of the most gifted men to come out of Cleveland.”[1]  Hughes was born in Missouri, lived as a child in Kansas, and found himself in Cleveland as a teenager graduating from Central High School in 1920.[2]  While in Cleveland, he studied at the Settlement House.  Despite the fact that he left for Harlem, Hughes never fully severed his ties with Cleveland.  In 1936, his play “Little Ham,” had its world premier at the Settlement House and was performed by the Gilpin Players.[3]  The first play was followed by the production of five more of his plays during the 1930s.[4]  Cleveland became a vital secondary hub of the Harlem Renaissance because of the exposure it received through the Gilpin Players and Langston Hughes.  However, without the Settlement House, these performers may not have been as successful as they became.

In part because of the success of the Gilpin Players, who by 1940 were internationally known, the Harlem Renaissance and Langston Hughes, and the continued harsh reality of increased segregation, the Jelliffe’s consciously switched the name of their organization to Karamu.  The adoption of the Swahili name “Karamu” only really came into effect after the center’s theater was destroyed by fire in 1940.

[1] “Langston Hughes, Man of All Talents,” Plain Dealer, May 24, 1967, Microfiche “Hughes, Langston Negro Poet 1926-1967,” Cleveland Press Collection, Cleveland State University Special Collections.

[2] “Episodes in the Life of Langston Hughes,” Cleveland Press, n.d. [ca. 1926], Microfiche “Hughes, Langston Negro Poet 1926-1967,” Cleveland Press Collection, Cleveland State University Special Collections.

[3] “Gilpins in New Play by Hughes,” Cleveland Press, March 24, 1936, Microfiche “Hughes , Langston Negro Poet 1926-1967,” Cleveland Press Collection, Cleveland State University Special Collections.

[4] Glenn Looman, “Karamu House: The Establishment and Evolution of a Settlement House for Cleveland’s African-American Community, 1914-1923,” (PhD diss. Cleveland State University, 1997), 333.