Lorain's Civil Rights Fighters

This project introduces Lorain, Ohio, during the politically critical time when Americans became involved in the vortex of the mid-twentieth-century civil rights movement. In particular, the project centers on African American residents of Lorain because they mobilized grass-roots activists for racial equality and justice although their names have barely been remembered. To explore, see the chapters below. This project has resulted from the student projects at Lorain County Community College since fall 2022. More chapters will continue to come.

Chapters

1. Black Lorain

2. The Burrell Homestead

3. Price for Ice Cream (1942)

4. Remembering the 1945 Cleveland Buckeyes 

5. Lorain Homes for Black Tourists (1940s to 1960s) 

6. Education for All

7. The 1967 Lorain Riot 

Project Team

Karina Morales (Fall 2022)

Amber Plum (Fall 2022)

Sarah Baldwin (Fall 2023)

Genevieve Zientarski (Fall 2024)

Jack McDermott (Fall 2024)

Professor Jewon Woo, adviser

Acknowledgement

While this project came out of the class discussion and research by the members of the African American Literature class at Lorain County Community College, it would not have been possible without many people's help. Cheri Campbell at Lorain Public Library, Terry Metter at Cleveland Public Library, and  Kaitlyn Donaldson at Lorain Historical Society offered critical research guides and databases, archives, and suggestions. Alexandria Romanovich at Tri-C introduced us to the Humanities Faculty-Consortium Student Project Narrative, encouraging to brainstorm about this project with my students in fall 2022. Janeya Hisle at the Society made this class project useful for the learning public. Her passion for and knowledge of collecting the history of Black Lorain encourage the students to pursue their research. At last, this project began with the generous fund by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the Cleveland Humanities Collaborative (CHC) consortium. We are grateful.

How to Cite This Project

When quoting any page of this project, always credit the student scholar by name to acknowledge their hard work. For any questions, please contact Professor Jewon Woo at jwoo [at] lorainccc [dot] edu. You can find a citation example on the bottom of each page.