It looks like you’re not in East Cleveland. No big deal: you can browse Chocolate City from anywhere. But things get much more magical when you’re in town. Come back when you’re on 105th Street between Empire & Quincy.
Relee Recreation Club, later renamed to Relee Lounge and then Relee Club (also known as Club Relee), opened its doors to members only in October 1946. Relee Recreation Club began its tenure at 8301 Central Ave, a location that previously housed Woodmen’s Hall. Relee faced some legal challenges in March 1947 when they were found to be lacking all of the requirements for bonafide private organizations. As a result, Relee’s D-4 license for alcohol sales was revoked and Relee closed their doors.
Though we have the above from Green Book Cleveland, we want to still learn more.
Scatter’s BBQ was more than just a great restaurant, it was the initial operation that provided Herman "Scatters" Stephens the opportunity to expand his business. Giving him the opportunity to become the figure that would be allegedly fictionalized in the movie Super Fly.
Cafe Society opened in 1945 at 966 E. 105th Street. Advertising itself as “Glenville’s swankiest,” Cafe Society featured a circular bar. The club was a mainstay for jazz music into the 1980s. The building is one of the few sites on the route that still stands today, housing the Khnemu Foundation Lighthouse Outreach Center.
Dearing’s
A little bit chicken, a little bit of dancing all happened at Dearing’s Restaurant, owned and operated by Ulysses S. (U. S. or “Sweets”) Dearing, the restaurant opened in 1944 at 1035 East 105th Street and was one of several Dearing eateries over the years. It was a 24 hour spot that provided some of the best fried chicken.
Call & Post, Cleveland's Black Weekly Newspaper wrote “Cafe Tia Juana, with its south-of-the-border atmosphere opened its doors Thursday, August 28th, and judging from the way the crowds have lined up at 105th and Massie since then, the doors are open for keeps.” Cafe Tia Juana opened in 1947 and was in operation until 1969. Cafe Tia Juana was located at 1045 East 105th Street, Cafe Tia Juana was a safe place for African American travelers as well as residents of the Glenville neighborhood to grab a drink and watch numerous jazz musicians play shows.
Cory United Methodist Church is known for it designitation on the Civil Rights trail in Cleveland and its historical marker of the visits of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and Malcom X in 1964. But it was first visited by W.E.B Dubois, to celebrate local organizers in their fight for equal pay. This church is an important architectural structure on 105 and continues to be key in the community.
Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church
Listen as you walk
Hear MLK Jr. speak in Cleveland in 1967, a recording found by an art teacher in 2010Ideastream Public Media
Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church played an important role for local civil rights movements just like Corey United Methodist and it physical space was once a Jewish temple. It became well known during the civil right era for the activism, including being the headquarters for the United Freedom Movement, an umbrella organization for some of the most active and well known civil rights groups in Cleveland.
Lina Derritt opened the Hub-Bub Record Shop with her husband Robert in 1945, this space provided music to the community and was a location that Sugar Ray Robinson and other celebrities would visit while in Cleveland. Derritt, migrated from Nashville to Cleveland with her mother in 1917, and was reportedly the first independent Black female real estate broker in Cleveland, opening her Derritt Realty Co. office inside the record store in 1947.
The Empire Saving and Loan was a black-owned and operated financial institution created to resource monetarily Black folks migrating from the South. It was founded in 1911 by Herbert Chauncey at 2316 E. 55th St. with $100,000 in capital solicited from his friends. At its height, Empire Savings and Loan was managed by Chairman Howard Murrell, Judge Jean Murrell Capers' uncle. A branch eventually opened up on 105th, providing a Black-owned bank in the area.
In 1960, Robert P. Madison designed the Medical Associates Building for Black doctors whom University Hospitals and Mt. Sinai Medical Center excluded from practicing. These doctors commissioned the building to invest in and care for their community.
Madison was the first licensed Black architect in the state of Ohio, and this project was a critical project upon which he built a successful firm over six decades. His niece, Sandra Madison, operates the firm today. This location has gone through multiple evolutions since its original construction, including home to Deuteronomy Cafe before its renovation in 2018. The Medical Associates Building is now The Madison and features the ThirdSpace Reading Room on the first floor.
The tennis courts at Rockefeller Park have been a site of joy, community, and athleticism. The courts are named after Judge Jean Capers, the first African American woman to serve on City Council and a prominent tennis player, who was the oldest living member of The Forest City Tennis Club. Formed in 1912, the Forest City Tennis club has a Tri-City Tournament each year and was created by African American men in Cleveland who made their own spaces after meeting exclusion from other club
The Jazz Temple was one of the many notable jazz bars in the University circle providing an interacial space to college students and east side residents, owned by Winston E. Willis. Through his connections and saviness Winston was able to get large acts to come to the space. Including legends like Miles Davis, Dinah Washington, and John Coltrane. This site was here until a bomb destroyed the building, most likely done by white supremacist.
The site is now the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.
Negro Industrial and Economic Union (The Cleveland Summit)
On June 4, 1967 Muhammad Ali and other Black athletes came to Cleveland to discuss Ali's decisions about the Vietnam War. You can listen to more of Ali's speech on the website. A key thing to remember is they were able to host this event because of the space that the Negro Industrial and Economic Union which sought to mainstream Black Americans into economic life.
Winston used his winnings to found University Circle Properties Development. His goal was simple: to put Black people in charge of what urban redevelopment looked like. Winston built a $2 million dollar empire in two years, all centered around the needs of Black people, like Boon Docks Seafood restaurant, Paymaster money exchange, WinJam Studios, Mr. John’s Haberdashery, and the Scrumpy Dump theater. By 1970, he was the largest employer of Black Americans in the midwest.
From the 1940s-60s, Pla-Mor Roller Rink was the spot to go for Black folks of all ages and for a time was the only Black-owned skating rink in Cleveland. More than a place to skate, it also attraced well-known musicians and performers.
A gay bar that was frequented by Black patrons. It was 3 blocks east on, at 2216 Petrarca.
It was apparently well known in the scene at the time, but don't know as much as we would like about this site today. and we hope to learn more. If you know about this lounge, hit us up!
Although off of the route (it’s about half a mile to the west if you're on the route), Karamu House, one of the oldest producing African American theatres in the country, is on Quincy. Karamu continues to be a space for artists just as it was for Langston Hughes, Ruby Dee, Ron O'Neal. Karamu’s mission is to produce professional theatre, provide arts education, and present programs for all people while honoring the African-American experience.
Throughout this timeline we focus on Black history, but our history is tied to Native History the same way Black, Indigenous, and People of Color history is American History.
1796
Joseph ❝Black Joe❞ Hodges guides Moses Cleveland’s survey party from western New York to Conneaut Creek in the Western Reserve. He also serves as their translator with Native Americans.
1798
Nathaniel Doan settles the area that will become Doan's Corners, now East 105th (“Doan Street”) and Euclid Avenue.
1800
Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves Passes
The United States ”Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves’ passes Congress. It takes effect in 1808.
1803
Ohio Admitted to the Union as a Free State
Meaning that the slave trade was prohibited.
1804
Ohio Passes the Black Laws of 1804
which required Black residents to have a certificate that they were free.
1807
Ohio Passes the Black Laws of 1807
which required Black residents to have a $500 bond for good behavior and forbid them from bearing witness against a White person.
1808
Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves
The United States ”Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves” goes into effect. It was passed in 1800.
1809
George Peake Arrives in Cleveland
He is an agricultural innovator, and becomes the Cleveland’s first Black settler.
1830
St. Johns African Methodist Episcopal AME Opens
It is the first Black church to open in Cleveland.
1833
The Cleveland Anti-Slavery Society
is formed “to procure the speedy abolition of” slavery, according to its constitution.
1834
John Brown the Barber
is among the wealthiest African Americans in Cleveland. He uses his downtown business to shelter freedom seekers before they traveled to Canada.
1835
John Malvin Forms Black Education Committee
Cleveland leader John Malvin organizes a statewide committee to fund Black education. Ohio Black Laws excluded Black students from public schools.
1836
Cleveland is Incorporated
It is now officially a city.
1843
Businessman Madison Tilley
is one of five Black residents who own taxable property in Cleveland throughout the 1840s. Tilley’s excavation company grows to nearly 100 workers.
1848
Abolitionist Fredrick Douglass
presides over National Convention of Freedmen held in Cleveland.
1850
Cleveland Population Reaches 17,034
Including 234 free Black residents.
1851
Abolitionist Sojourner Truth
delivers her famous ”Ain't I a Woman” speech at the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron.
1853
The Aliened American Publishes First Issue
It is Cleveland’s first Black newspaper. It provides both local and regional news until 1855.
1854
National Emigration Convention of Colored People
is held in Cleveland.
1860
First “Black Belt” in Cleveland
By now, the Cedar-Central neighborhood has become Cleveland’s first Black cultural hotspot, compared to NYC’s Harlem and Chicago’s South Side.
1860
Cleveland Population Reaches 43,000
Including 799 free Black residents.
1861
Sara Lucy Bagby
becomes the last person tried under the Fugitive Slave Act in Cleveland federal court.
1861
Cleveland Population Reaches 43,000
Including 799 free Black residents.
1861
The Civil War Begins
1862
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing more than 3.5 million enslaved people in the Confederate states.
1865
The Civil War Ends
1865
The First Juneteenth
On June 19, enslaved African Americans in Texas finally receive news of their emancipation. This event is later celebrated as the Juneteenth holiday.
1873
John P. Green
becomes Justice of the Peace. He is the first African American to hold elective office in Cleveland.
1883
First Issue of The Cleveland Gazette
It becomes the city’s first permanent Black newspaper.
1903
Ulysses S. ❝Sweets❞ Dearing
is born in Washington, PA.
1909
NAACP Founded
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded for the purpose of advancing justice for African Americans.
1910
Cleveland's Black population booms to 8,448.
1910
The Great Migration Begins
Cleveland will become the ”Alabama of the North” during the first wave. The Migration continues into the 1940s.
1912
Forest City Tennis Club Founded
It is now the oldest African-American tennis club in the country.
1912
The Cleveland NAACP branch is founded.
1912
Gas Mask Invented
Inventor Garrett Morgan invents an early gas mask and files for a patent.
1913
Jean Murrell Capers Born
The future tennis champion and judge is born in Kentucky, as one of five children. Her father Edward Murrell will move the family to Cleveland in 1919.
1914
Garrett Morgan’s gas mask patent is approved.
1914
World War I Begins
1915
Thomas W. Fleming
becomes the first African American man elected to Cleveland City Council.
1916
Langston Hughes Moves to Cleveland
Future poet, playright, and novelist Langston (James) Hughes moves to Cleveland with this family. He begins writing seriously as a Central High School student.
1916
Garrett Morgan Save Countless Lives
using his own patented gas mask to rescue survivors trapped under Lake Erie by the Cleveland Tunnel Explosion.
1916
First African American Glenville Resident
The first African American moves into the Glenville neighborhood.
1917
The Cleveland Urban League is founded
1918
World War I Ends
1920
Cleveland Jewish Center Built
Now the Cory United Methodist Church, it is built on East 105th Street to provide a synagogue community center in Glenville.
1920
Herman ❝Scatters❞ Stevens
A Cleveland businessman and larger-than-life figure is born.
1923
Architect Robert P. Madison is born
1925
Bombing of Dr. Charles Garvin’s Home
Dr. Charles Garvin moves to Wade Park Avenue and his home is subsequently bombed by White people.
1927
Cleveland Call and Post Formed
The Cleveland Call and Post is created through the merger of two newspapers. Its archives will provide important historical information about Chocolate City Cleveland protagonists.
1929
The Great Depression Begins
1929
Sweets Drops His 98¢
Businessman Ulysses S. “Sweets” Dearing arrives in Cleveland with 98 cents in his pocket that he tosses on the sidewalk: ”I just figured I needed a lot more than 98 cents and maybe somebody else could use it more than me.”
1931
Throughout the 1930s
Langston Hughes, raised in Cleveland but living in New York, premiers several of his play at Karamu House. Karamu was known at the time as the Playhouse Settlement.
1936
National Negro Congress Cleveland Branch Founded
The organization’s goal is to fight for Black Liberation.
1938
Jean Murrell Capers becomes the first Black woman to win the Greater Cleveland Tennis Championship.
1939
The Great Depression Ends
1939
Winston E. Willis
is born in Montgomery, Alabama. His family later heads to Detroit, as part of the Great Migration.
1939
World War II Begins
1940
Cleveland Black Population Expands
By now, the Black population has expanded well into Hough and Glenville areas.
1940
Cleveland's Black population grows to 84,504.
1940
Pla-Mor Roller Rink Opens
It provides a space to skate and watch performances.
1941
Playhouse Settlement Becomes Karamu
The Playhouse Settlement is officially renamed Karamu House. Karamu, a Swahili word meaning, “a place of joyful gathering.”
1944
Dearing’s Restaurant Opens
At 1035 East 105th Street, it’s owned by Ulysses S. (U.S. or "Sweets") Dearing. The Call & Post calls it ”Cleveland’s Pride.”
1945
Cleveland Community Relations Board Formed
Established by Cleveland City Council to improve relations among racial and cultural groups, help end blatant discrimination, and establish policy to prohibit segregation.
1945
Hub-Bub Record Shop Opens
It’s owned by Lena Derrit with her husband Robert at 1208 East 105th Street.
1945
Cafe Society Opens
On East 105th Street, its circular bar becomes a mainstay of the local jazz scene.
1945
World War II Ends
1946
The Hub-Bub Record Shop Moves
to 1208 East 105th Street.
1946
Euclid Beach Park Protests
Throughout the summer, activists organize a series of protests against racial discrimination at Euclid Beach Park.
1946
Cleveland Jewish Center Sold to Cory
Cory United Methodist Church The Cleveland Jewish Center, making Cory the largest Black church in Cleveland and one of the largest in the nation.
1947
Cafe Tia Juana Opens
Catherine and Arthur ❝Little Brother❞ Drake open Cafe Tia Juana. Catherine Drake is the first African American woman to own and manage a jazz club in Cleveland.
1947
Hub-Bub Records Expands Into Real Estate
Lina Derritt reportedly becomes the first African American woman broker in Cleveland when she opens a realty office in the Hub-Bub Record Shop.
1949
Jean Murrell Capers becomes the first African American woman elected to Cleveland City Council.
1949
Karamu House Rebuilds
On East 89th and Quincy after a devastating fire destroyed the original space in 1939.
1950
Glenville becomes predominantly Black neighborhood
1952
Scatter’s Barbecue Opens
Owner Herman “Scatter” Stevens will grow it into a hot-spot for community and celebrities visiting Cleveland.
1954
Brown V. Board of Education Decision
The Supreme Court ends racial segregation in public schools with its Landmark decision in Brown V. Board of Education.
1954
Robert P. Madison
establishes the Robert P. Madison International architectural firm, the first Black-owned architectural firm in the Midwest.
1955
Vietnam War Begins
1957
Cleveland's Black population increases to 216,000
1957
Carl B. Stokes
runs for Mayor of Cleveland and narrowly loses the election.
1959
Entrepreneur Winston E. Willis
arrives in Cleveland via Detroit. On his first night in town, he wins $35,000 shooting pool. He meets and befriends Carl B. Stokes, future Cleveland mayor.
1960
Medical Associates Building Constructed
Designed by architect Robert. P Madison.
1962
The Jazz Temple Opens
The liquor-less club founded by Winston E. Willis features famous headliners such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dinah Washington, Richard Pryor, and Dick Gregory.
1963
The United Freedom Movement (UFM) a coalition of national and local civic, social, religious, and fraternal organizations establishes in Cleveland to addresss inequality primarily in housing, education, and empolyment.
1963
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks at Cory United Methodist Church on his visit to Cleveland.
1963
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visits and leaves a signature at Karamu House on his visit to Cleveland.
1963
George L Forbes is elected to Cleveland City Council, representing Ward 27 and becoming one of ten Black councilmembers.
1963
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Cleveland chapter is founded. CORE pinoeered the use of nonviolent direct action in the civil rights struggle. The Cleveland chapter is essential to local organizing and movements.
1964
The Jazz Temple was destroyed by an after-hour explosion. It had faced several bomb attemps and threats for being a welcoming interracial space.
1964
Malcom X gives his first version of the "Ballot or the Bullet" speech at Corey United Methodist Church.
1966
The Pla-Mor Roller Rink (renamed University Party Center in 1965) is burned down during the Hough Uprisings and never reopens.
1966
On July 18, a Black takeout customer at the Seventy-Niners Café was denied water by the White bar owner. After years of racial discrimination and tension in Cleveland, this incident sparks protests and angry crowds. The Hough Uprising lasted until July 24.
1967
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) chapter in Cleveland is founded.
1967
Carl B. Stokes is elected as the first Black mayor of a major American city.
1967
The Cleveland Summit takes place at the Negro Industrial and Economic Union. Muhammad Ali, Mayor Carl B. Stokes, and a group of leading African American athletes gather to discuss Ali's refusal to serve in the Vietnam War.
1967
Cleveland's Black population rises to 320,000, making us 35% of the Cleveland population.
1967
Herman ”Scatters” Stevens is murdered outside Scatter's Barbecue. His funeral includes 3,000 mourners, a procession of 63 Cadillac Eldorados, and an $8,000 copper casket. Scatter's family continues to run the restaurant.
1968
The Glenville Uprising (“Shootout”) was an armed confrontation between members of The Black Nationalists of New Libya, led by Fred Ahmed Evans, and Cleveland Police. The shoutout lasted about an hour and there were 22 casualties, including seven deaths. Four days of civil unrest followed.
1975
Vietnam War Ends
1980
Cafe Society Closes
This is one of the few Chocolate City buildings that is still standing, now the space of the Khnemu Foundation Lighthouse Outreach Center.
1983
Winston E. Willis is sentenced to a year in prison. During his imprisonment, many of his properties were seized and torn down to make room for the Cleveland Clinic to expand.
1984
Ulysses S. Dearing passes away.
1990
Cleveland elects its second African American mayor, Michael R. White. He serves until 2001.
![two black men in suits in front of a banner with a hooded figure playing trumpet, reading "Jazz Temple: Co[covered] Prophets"](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/aj2u3xbp/production/db5d1b80762b44b5e5345eeb649ba97e81ed5552-818x1000.jpg?rect=0,0,818,990&w=900&fm=webp)
