| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Hough Area Development Corporation |
| Title: | Hough Area Development Corporation Records, Series II |
| Dates: | 1983-1989 |
| Extent: | 0.10 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | The Hough Area Development Corporation (f. 1967) was formed in the wake of the Hough riots by DeForest Brown in conjunction with African American professionals and neighborhood leaders to aid in bringing economic prosperity to the Hough neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Dedicated to African American self-determination, the group initially met in secret in order to prevent competition for dollars and outside attempts to control it. The group promoted African American business entrepreneurship and better housing. The collection consists of board minutes, reports, correspondence, audits, and newspaper clippings. The collection pertains to the final years of the organization's existence, when local financial support eroded and the Office of Community Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services obtained its assets. |
| MS Number | MS 4609 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
The Hough Area Development Corporation (f. 1967) was formed in the wake of the the Hough riots by DeForest Brown in conjunction with black professionals and neighborhood leaders to aid in bringing economic prosperity to Cleveland's Hough neighborhood. Dedicated to black self determination, the group initially met in secret to prevent competition for dollars and outside attempts to control it. The group received $62,000 from Mayor Carl Stokes's Cleveland: NOW! fund in 1967, and in 1968, the Office of Economic Opportunities gave HADC $1.6 million, establishing the trend of federal funding which would last until the early 1980s.
The group promoted Black business entrepreneurship and better housing. Among its early programs were the Handyman Maintenance Company which took hardcore unemployed from Hough's neighborhood, trained them, and put them to work as maintenance men, and Community Products Inc., which put former welfare recipients to work manufacturing rubber parts for cars. The HADC also petitioned and picketed McDonalds' for ownership of two restaurants in the neighborhood, which the group managed for several years before selling due to losses.
The centerpiece of HADC was the Martin Luther King, Jr., Plaza a shopping center with townhouses on its roof which was developed, constructed, and run by blacks. A later project, a 100 acre Industrial Park, did not come to fruition but sparked plans for the Midtown Corridor Project.
The organization faced criticism of its work in the early 1970s, first by United States Congressman William E. Minshall (R. Lakewood) who questioned HADC's tax exempt status, and then by the Plain Dealer which questioned their effectiveness (See Container 25, Folder 492). HADC survived these challenges and continued its work into the early 1980s when federal funds were cut off. The organization depended on local foundation grants for a number of years, but funds were exhausted and its staff laid off in 1984.
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Hough Riots
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Hough Neighborhood
The Hough Area Development Corporation Records, Series II, 1983-1989, consist of board minutes, reports, correspondence, audits and newspaper clippings.
This collection pertains to the Hough Area Development Corporation's final years of existence when local financial support eroded and the Office of Community Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services obtained its assets.
In 1988 the Office of Community Services (OCS) found HADC in violation of the Continued Use of Assets Agreement. The investigation resulted in identifyimg the need to conduct an audit for the period of 1983-1989. Subsequently, the HADC authorized the OCS to appoint an administrator to dispose of the residual assets of the corporation.
Controversy followed when Cleveland Councilwoman Fannie Lewis, a former HADC Board member, accused Ken McGovern, Beverly Briggs, and other present Board members with complicity to undermine the development of the Hough community.
This collection is useful for understanding African American community based organizations and economic empowerment.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should see MS 4222 Hough Area Development Corporation Records; and PG 374 Hough Area Development Corporation Photographs.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4609 Hough Area Development Corporation Records, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Hough Area Development Corporation, c/o Beverly Briggs, 1990
Processed by Samuel W. Black in 1992
Hough Area Development Corporation Records, Series II 1983-1989 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Board minutes 1984-1989 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Reports 1988 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence with the Office of Community Services, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1988-1989 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Audits 1983-1989 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Controversy, letters and newspaper clippings 1989 | |||||||||