Wed 8/12 @ 5:30-7:30PM
It’s surprising how many people you talk to who don’t know the story of the Green Book — even Black people. Launched in the mid 1930s and published through the mid 60s, the tourism directory listed hotels, restaurants, bars, gas stations, car repair shops, barbers and beauty shops, groceries and other businesses that accepted Black patrons, aimed at Black travelers so they could find places that would serve them while they were on the road. (In Cleveland, two of the buildings still exist, both on Cedar Avenue: the Phillis Wheatley Center, now apartments and offices for community organizations, and the Cedar YMCA, currently being rehabbed for similar uses.)
But the locations were all over, not just in large urban areas. And for this month’s Low Power Happy Hour, a monthly program of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, CVNP supervisory park ranger Arrye Rosser, will talk about Green Book sites that were located south of Peninsula, where OxBow Meadows just outside Peninsula has a group of Black history sites with ties to Akron or Cleveland.
Rosser will lead a conversation with Dr. Mark Souther, history professor at Cleveland State University, and volunteer Becky MacKaywho has done new research on the Duncan Farm on Riverview Road.
The evening starts with networking at 5:30, followed by the program at 6, and a Q&A at 6:30. At 7, there’s more time for networking. This program will take place at Oxbow Meadows, 5555 Akron Peninsula Rd. Go HERE for tickets.
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