The City Club of Cleveland

login Create an Account

private events
go

Not a Member?

Our members are champions of free speech. Join today!

join

Account Login

login

Forgot Password? Create an Account

Forgot Password

submit Cancel

Update Password

submit

blog

Want to know what is on our minds? Find blog posts written here, by the City Club staff, members, and partners. Every week you can find a new edition of #FreeSpeech in the News — a collection of related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century that’s making the news. You’ll also find takes on current events, past forums, and issues surrounding Northeast Ohio. Read on for all things City Club.

« back to blog list

Monday, July 23, 2018

James Robenalt Explores Critical Role Cleveland Played in the Civil Rights Movement

James Robenalt Explores Critical Role Cleveland Played in the Civil Rights Movement

Historian and author James Robenalt visited the City Club to discuss his new book, Ballots and Bullets: Black Power Politics and Urban Guerrilla Warfare in 1968 Cleveland, and explore the role Cleveland played during the Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. raised money for bail during his Birmingham campaign in the spring of 1963 in Cleveland. A year later, Malcolm X spoke from the same pulpit to explain his break with the Nation of Islam. His Ballots or Bullets speech, first delivered in Cleveland, became one of the most influential speeches of the 20th century. And, after Dr. King's assassination, Senator Robert F. Kennedy delivered the Mindless Menace of Violence speech at the City Club on April 5, 1968.

Three months later, on the night of July 23, 1968, Cleveland police battled with black nationalists in the Glenville neighborhood. A shootout left 10 dead and more than 15 wounded, mostly police. Days of heavy rioting followed, inciting what would become a decades-long struggle between race and the police.

Robenalt explored the state of civil rights in America during his visit. Watch or listen to his presentation here, and click the photo below for his accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

James Robenalt Explores Critical Role Cleveland Played in the Civil Rights Movement

Please login to post a comment

Want to know who is speaking next at the City Club? Sign up here.

Slice 1 Created with Sketch.

Our New Address

1317 Euclid Avenue, Suite 100
Cleveland, Ohio 44115

The City Club of Cleveland building
x

Photo Gallery

1 of 22