Sat 7/14 @ noon-4:30PM
Sun 7/15 @ 2-5PM
In 1968 American cities were tinderboxes, thanks to the deplorable living conditions brought on by racism and segregation. The Black Power Movement and the assassination of Dr. King were matches that lit the flames in city after city across the country including Cleveland.
The Glenville riots in July 1968 followed a shootout between Cleveland police and a Black Power group that left seven dead. More than three days of rioting culminated in Mayor Carl Stokes calling in the Ohio National Guard to restore an uneasy peace. Fifty years later who instigated what is still being debated.
So it’s a fertile topic for discussion at a program called “MLK50/Glenville50: Commemorating the Glenville Uprising and Its Legacy” hosted by Case Western Reserve’s Social Justice Institute. The conference looks at what Glenville was like before the uprising, the impact of the riots and what they mean for the community today (the complaints of the white cops will sound very familiar!) It will use on the “Five Pillars” promoted by Mayor Stokes – health, housing, education, economics and safety – as the framework for discussion.
The conference takes place on Sat 7/14 @ noon-4:30pm at the Martin Luther King branch of the Cleveland Public Library in University Circle and on Sun 7/15 @ 2-5pm at CWRU’s Harkness Chapel. Former Clevelander Dr. Raymond Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University, moderates the event, which will feature a long list of community residents and activists.
The conference is free and open to all; light refreshments will be served. Register at socialjustice@case.edu or 216.368.7568.
Cleveland, OH 44106
11200 Bellflower Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106