African Americans in Cleveland 1809-1925

It was a hot July day in 1916, and Garrett Morgan, Cleveland's most famous African American inventor, had just received a telephone call about an emergency. A gas explosion had caused several workers to become trapped m a water filtration tunnel under Lake Erie. Garrett Morgan had been called because people knew that he had invented a gas mask that filtered poisons from the air. This mask would allow rescuers to enter the tunnel and free those men who had been trapped. Garrett Morgan, himself, took part in the rescue effort. He risked his life, entering the tunnel three times while wearing his gas mask. He was able to save the only two men who were still alive. In spite of his heroism, Garrett never received proper credit for his actions.  

In addition to the gas mask, Morgan invented the folding electric traffic signal. He realized that the change from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles would require some way to control the increased traffic. He sold to the patent for his invention to General Electric in 1923 for $40,000. Within two weeks, General Electric installed these traffic lights in parts of downtown Cleveland. 

By the time Garrett Morgan sold his traffic signal in 1923, African Americans had been contributing to Cleveland's quality-of-life for over a century. George Peake became Cleveland's first permanent black citizen in 1809 when he arrived from Pennsylvania. Peake was also an inventor. He invented and patented a hand mill used to grind grain into meal. By 1860, 799 Cleveland residents were African Americans. This meant about one of 50 people residing in Cleveland was an African American.  During the early I 800s, Cleveland offered African Americans better opportunities than most other U.S. cities. By the 1840s about one-third of Cleveland blacks were skilled workers. They worked hard and provided goods and services for Cleveland residents. Dr. Robert Boyd Leach was Cleveland's first African American physician. Several African Americans in Cleveland became wealthy citizens. Alfred Greenbriar was well known because of his cattle and horse farm. Madison Tilley employed over 100 workers in his mining business. John Brown, a barber, was Cleveland's wealthiest African American of the time. His property was worth over $40,000 at the time of his death in 1869. During this time period, blacks and whites lived in the same neighborhoods, peacefully and cooperatively.

During the middle 1800s, many Cleveland residents, both black and white, favored abolition. They wished to see slavery removed from our country. John Brown and John Malvin were leading African American abolitionists who helped slaves escape the South. When the Civil War came, many African Americans from Cleveland served with distinction in the Union Army. 

In 1830, Saint John's AME (African Methodist Episcopal Church) was founded as Cleveland's first black church. It was the first of many churches established to meet the needs of Cleveland's African American community. Saint John's remained the only black church until the Mount Zion Congregational Church was formed in 1864. The Cleveland Gazette was started in 1883 as Cleveland's first newspaper for African Americans. 

Many African Americans migrated to Cleveland from the South between 1890 and 1915. By the end of World War I in 1918, about 10,000 blacks lived in the city. During this time period, Cleveland grew as a manufacturing city with lots of jobs in the steel mills. Unfortunately, Cleveland's African Americans were not able to get these jobs because of discrimination. African Americans often found it difficult to work in the skilled trades because they were excluded from trade unions. By 1910, only about one-tenth of African American men worked in the high-paying skilled trades. 

Charles Chestnutt was a novelist and short story writer who wrote about unjust discrimination from the African American point of view. As a result, many residents of Cleveland became more aware of the need for change. In 1912, the Cleveland Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded to help eliminate discrimination against African Americans in Cleveland. The first headquarters for the Cleveland NAACP was the home of Frances E. Young. Also, in 1913, Jane Hunter, an African American nurse, started the Phyllis Wheatley Association as a job training center for African American girls. 

In 1870, African American men gained the right to vote. During this time period, blacks usually voted for Republican candidates because the Republican Party had been the leader in abolishing slavery and had supported the rights of black citizens. John Patterson Green was the first African American in Cleveland to hold political office. He was elected as justice of the peace in 1873. In 1881, Green was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. Later, he became the first black in the North to be elected to the state senate. In 1915, Thomas W. Fleming became the first African American to win election to Cleveland City Council. 

As you can see, African Americans have contributed much to Cleveland and Ohio between the time that George Peake entered the city in 1809 and the time that Garrett Morgan's traffic signals decorated Euclid Avenue in 1925. African Americans have continued their contributions to our state and nation to this day. During this school year, you will have many opportunities to learn about the many cultural groups that have helped develop our society. 

Information for this narrative was obtained from The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History and Cleveland Where the East Coast Meets the Midwest.

WebTrek

African American Experience in Ohio
(Website - This digital collection illuminates specific moments in the history of Ohio's African-Americans and provides an overview of their experiences during the time period 1850 to 1920 in the words of the people that lived them.)

African American Museum, Cleveland
(Website - The African American Museum was founded for the preservation and dissemination of information regarding the contributions of individuals of African descent.