Is Cuyahoga Valley a civil rights park? It was created in 1974 as part of the federal government's Parks to People policy. It was born out of the civil rights and environmental movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. For the first 40 years or so of the park’s history, the focus was on building access. Trail networks. A diverse menu of programs. Volunteer and education opportunities. For the National Park Service, we are an “urban park.” For people who visit us from urban centers, we feel rural or suburban. We are part of the metropolitan area, but we are also apart. In-between spaces are good spaces to explore what brings us together--and what divides us. Or just to explore nature.
As we prepare for our 50th anniversary, we are exploring park themes through the experiences of people whose stories have not always been told. Here we share stories about African Americans with connections to Cuyahoga Valley. Some people were just traveling through. Some lived here. Some worked here. Some played here.
Cuyahoga Valley is included in a 2022 study by the National Park Service called African Americans and the Great Outdoors. This research report includes a StoryMap with links to essays and other resources.
This page is a work in progress, so please check back and see what our research has uncovered.
We are also participating in the Green Book Cleveland project to map the history of Black entertainment, leisure, and recreation sites in Northeast Ohio. Visit that website to read about three newly rediscovered places in Cuyahoga Valley: the Drift Inn/Cabin Club, Stonibrook, and Lake Glen.
Showing results 1-10 of 18
Loading results...
 Connections between African American history and Cuyahoga Valley National Park are reflected in the stories of Carl B. Stokes, Jane Edna Hunter, John Malvin, and Lewis Clarke.  From 1936-1966, the Green Book helped Black motorists safely navigate trips away from home during America’s Jim Crow era. This travel guide advertised businesses in each state where people of color were welcome. Through the Green Book Cleveland project, Cuyahoga Valley National Park and its partners are researching where African Americans swam, hiked, camped, danced, picnicked, and enjoyed concerts in Northeast Ohio. What do you remember?  There is the prevailing misconception that African Americans do not participate in outdoor recreation; however, this misconception is far from reality. While racially exclusionary practices attempted to impose limits on African American participation in outdoor recreation, African Americans participated in opportunities offered by the larger society and also carved out spaces of their own.  Not an actual train, the Underground Railroad was a system of secret routes fanning away in all directions from slave states. Cuyahoga Valley National Park interprets Ohio’s Underground Railroad heritage because a centerpiece of our park, the Ohio & Erie Canal, was a likely route.  In November 1967, Carl B. Stokes was featured on the cover of Time when he became the first African American mayor of a major city. He played important roles in the civil rights and environmental movements of that period.  Brothers Carl and Louis Stokes were pioneers in what is now called “environmental justice.” Carl B. Stokes is most famous for using the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire to advocate for a broad range of issues impacting the “urban environment.” To help us better interpret Carl’s legacy, Cuyahoga Valley National Park recorded an oral history with his son Cordell Stokes in 2021. This article highlights some of the insights he graciously provided.  Elected in 1967, Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes’ platform on the environment stressed a people-first approach that we now call environmental justice. Though Stokes did not see himself as an environmentalist at the time, he used his fame as the first Black mayor of a major US city to draw attention to how communities of color are hurt the most by environmental problems.  In 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire in Cleveland just a few miles north of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Carl B. Stokes was mayor of Cleveland. In 1967, he had become the first elected African American mayor of a major US city. Stokes is a hero in the river fire story. The fire is an icon of the environmental movement. Stokes’ response to the fire helped it gain this status.  Explore the history of jazz in Northeast Ohio, including at Black night clubs in Cuyahoga Valley. This overview ties to ongoing research by the Green Book Cleveland partners.  Lake Glen was a Black country club on the eastern edge of Cuyahoga Valley that entertained people from Cleveland, Akron, and beyond. The site is being studied as part of the Green Book Cleveland project.
|
