WELCOME (Westsiders and Eastsiders Let's Come Together) (f.1978) was started by teachers, parents, students and concerned citizens to create an atmosphere of peace and racial cooperation in response to the possibility of violence during the desegregation of the Cleveland Public Schools. WELCOME activities, which involved community centers and churches, included a series of bridgewalks across the Detroit Superior Bridge, the distribution of thousands of free WELCOME tee-shirts, the establishment of WELCOME committees at each school, and WELCOME wagons that visited neighborhoods. Once desegregation took place, WELCOME clubs were formed in the newly desegregated schools. The most active students in each club formed the city-wide WELCOME Leadership Institute in 1980, funded by the Cleveland and Gund foundations. The Leadership Institute created a variety of activities and projects for students to work for quality education and improved race relations in the desegregated schools. In 1984 the funding ended. The Leadership Institute evolved into Youth United to Oppose Apartheid, changing its focus to fighting apartheid. WELCOME and the Leadership Institute ceased to exist.
WELCOME Records, 1971-1987, consist of correspondence, programs, bylaws, desegregation studies, financial materials, minutes, newsletters, pamphlets, permits, petitions, press releases, foundation proposals, reports, testimonials and newspaper clippings.
This collection is of value to researchers seeking materials on the activities of WELCOME and the WELCOME Leadership Institute. Researchers studying civil rights, interracial cooperation, social activism, non-violent protest, recreation, community and academic education, journalism, and public school desegregation efforts of grassroots groups, will find this collection of interest. Of particular note are the files relating to the Office on School Monitoring and Community Relations, a court appointed watchdog of the Cleveland Public Schools desegregation initiative. Other files containing information on these activities include foundations that supported WELCOME, the George Gund and Cleveland Foundations; the Neighborhood Centers Association; the Greater Cleveland Project; and the Cleveland Public Schools.
The collection is arranged in two series.
The researcher should also consult PG 507 WELCOME Photographs.
Processed by Thelma Pierce in 1999
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4796 WELCOME Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gail Long for WELCOME, 1997
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.