GLENVILLE’S PAST

Founded in 1870 as a village, Glenville was home to many of Cleveland’s upper class residents who invested heavily into the area following WW1. They began building single and multi-family homes, and it quickly developed into a thriving neighborhood. 

“When I moved to Glenville you didn’t see any vacant houses. You didn’t see any houses barred up. Years and years ago there weren’t any blacks out here. People started migrating from the South and needed places to live. Glenville had big houses and duplexes,” said Evelyn Davis, one of the women interviewed for The Rise of Black Glenville. 

The area was predominantly Jewish with a small African American group, at one point having a 90% Jewish population. Davis remembers this time, “There were very few blacks and the blacks that were living here were more or less able to take care of themselves. This was known as the Gold Coast. Not too many Blacks during the 40s. There were still a lot of Jewish people.” This influence was directly reflected in many of the businesses in the area which were made up of Jewish-owned bakeries, stores, kosher butchers, and synagogues. The Jewish residents began to leave in the mid 1950s as more African Americans from the South moved North and settled in Glenville and the transition from a Jewish neighborhood to a Black neighborhood began. 

The population of Black people went from 8% in 1930 to 90% by 1950 and the terms ‘blockbusting’ and ‘white flight’ were used for the first time highlighting the racist sentiments of previous residents.

Don Freeman, another person interviewed, recalls this transitional period. “Glenville was still an area in transition. Since European Americans and Jewish Americans were moving out, I didn’t establish any significant relationships with them. My friends and associates in the Glenville area were African Americans. We essentially considered this to be a positive area to come of age in at the time. Glenville High School was still a very positive academic environment in which to participate in during the 50s,” Freeman shared.

During the great migration Black people could only move into select communities including Central, Cedar, Scoville, and Glenville. Many families chose Glenville because of the access to single family homes, the tree lined streets, and the neighbors. Additionally, restrictions on where Black people could move was influenced by racist housing policies like redlining. Redlining is the practice of basing services such as financing or government assistance on race or ethnicity. Cities were assessed to determine risk levels for insuring mortgages and most Black and urban neighborhoods were given C meaning definitely declining or D meaning hazardous. These practices did not restrict the beauty and joy in Glenville.

When describing Glenville in the 1950s, most would describe it as pleasant, peaceful, and lively. Each street was lined with trees and beauty. Evelyn Davis shared her experiences on community life in Glenville.“Glenville used to be plush and lush and gorgeous. Everyone was doing what they were supposed to do. Outdoing each other with their lawns and flowers and you knew your neighbors. When you left 105th to walk down, the sun did not touch you. You had a canopy of trees all the way down. You could just look up at the trees,” Davis remembers.

Gardens were influenced by the great migration. Fannie Allen ensured she kept growing some of the foods her family grew in Alabama,  “In my garden I had collard greens, okra, tomatoes, and some baby limas. Around the house I had flowers like marigolds and roses that would come back every year, and some azaleas. Some of the kids would come around and watch me work.” Allen remembers programs in the neighborhood, geared towards bringing everyone together including street clubs, baseball games, and going to church. 

Davis also recalled how convenient living in Glenville was during the 50s. “On 105th you could get anything you wanted. Liberty Theater, nightclubs, you didn’t have to leave your neighborhood,” said Davis. Residents didn’t have to leave the community since everything was owned by other community members including hair salons, night clubs, restaurants, produce, clothes stores, ice cream and banks. 

Don Freeman, a Glenville resident and activist, lived in the neighborhood throughout the economic transitions of the 50s and 60s. “In terms of the commercial and economic environment you could still purchase numerous commodities and items in stores in the Glenville area without necessarily having to go downtown in order to purchase them. But as the 1960s ensued that became less so. You weren’t able to purchase items in the Glenville area to the extent that you could previously,” said Freeman. 

For children, it was a great neighborhood to play in. Each street had kids of all ages because of the influx of Black people moving to the neighborhood. Darrell Branch was a kid growing up in the neighborhood, “There was a playground that was like the Starbucks of the 60s. It was where people hung out. You heard the gossip and did all of these social activities. The playground was like Starbucks and Facebook but interacting with people. That’s where all of the kids in the neighborhood were.” Cynthia, who was also a child growing up at the time, remembers flipping around in her yard and how extremely walkable the neighborhood was with everything from Watson’s cleaners to Dippy Whip ice cream, hairdressers, and grocery stores all in one convenient location. All stores were black-owned.

Glenville has seen immense change over time, and remains a home to many of the residents who lived through the monumental history that took place there in only a few decades.