Finding aid for the Greater Cleveland Project Records


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Greater Cleveland Project
Title: Greater Cleveland Project Records
Dates: 1976-1981
Extent: 1.40 linear feet (2 containers)
Abstract: The Greater Cleveland Project was a non-profit organization whose purpose was to ease the implementation of court-ordered desegregation in the Cleveland (Ohio) Public Schools. The desegregation of the schools was ordered by federal judge Frank J. Battisti as part of his decision in the case of Reed v. Rhodes. The Greater Cleveland Project formally organized in May 1976, having grown from an ad-hoc committee within the Interchurch Council of Greater Cleveland. The project dispensed information about desegregation, held seminars, and gave lectures to citizens and educators to promote non-violent desegregation of the schools. Prominent in the leadership of the organization were Leonard Stevens, Daniel Elliot, Jordan Band, Stanley Tolliver, and Francis Hunter. In 1978, Judge Frank J. Battisti order the formation of the Ofrice on School Monitoring and Community Relations at the suggestion of the federal court's Special Master and the leadership of the Greater Cleveland Project. Funded initially by the Interchurch Council, the Greater Cleveland Project was also funded by the Cleveland Foundation and the George Gund Foundation. Additional funding was provided from the federal government's Emergency School Aid Act. The Greater Cleveland Project ceased operation in 1981 when federal and local funding was not renewed. The collection consists of correspondence, budgets, funding proposals, and legal briefs relating to the desegregation case of Reed v. Rhodes.
MS Number MS 4720
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of the Greater Cleveland Project

The Greater Cleveland Project (1976-1981) was a non-profit organization whose stated purpose was to ease the implementation of court-ordered desegregation in the Cleveland, Ohio, public schools. Federal Judge Frank J. Battisti ordered the desegregation as part of his decision in Reed v. Rhodes, wherein a student, Robert Reed, filed suit with other parties against the Cleveland Board of Education, the State Board of Education, and the governor, James Rhodes. The Greater Cleveland Project formally organized in May of 1976, having grown from an ad-hoc committee within the Greater Cleveland Inter-Church Council. To achieve its goals, the Project dispensed information about desegregation, held seminars, and gave lectures to citizens and educators to promote non-violent desegregation of the schools. Prominent in the leadership of the organization were Leonard Stevens and Daniel Elliot, as well as Jordan Band, Stanley Tolliver, and Francis Hunter. In 1978, two years after the original court order, Judge Battisti ordered the formation of the Office on School Monitoring and Community Relations at the suggestion of the federal court's Special Master and the leadership of the Greater Cleveland Project. This group was formed as an independent entity whose mission was to report directly to the court concerning the progress of Cleveland's school desegregation. Judge Battisti chose Leonard Stevens and Daniel Elliot to direct the organization. The Greater Cleveland Project was funded initially by the Greater Cleveland Inter-Church Council. Shortly thereafter it was funded by the Cleveland Foundation and the George Gund Foundation. Additional funding later came from the federal government's Emergency School Aid Act. The organization ceased operation in May of 1981 when federal and local funding was not renewed.


Scope and Content

The Greater Cleveland Project Records, 1976-1981, consist primarily of correspondence, budgets, funding proposals and legal briefs relating to the desegregation case of Reed v. Rhodes.

This collection is of value to researchers interested in public school desegregation nationally and, in the specific case of Reed v. Rhodes, in Cleveland, Ohio. This case, which was not settled until 1994, illustrates the difficulties that courts and citizens had commencing and continuing the integration of America's public schools. Also of note are materials concerning the court-ordered formation of the Office on School Monitoring and Community Relations and materials relating to school busing.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by document type and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Busing for school integration -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Cleveland Public Schools.
Greater Cleveland Project.
Interchurch Council of Greater Cleveland.
Office on School Monitoring & Community Relations.
Public schools -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
School integration -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Segregation -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4720 Greater Cleveland Project Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Jordan C. Band, 1995

Processing Information

Processed by Robert A. Linn in 1995

Detailed Description of The Collection

Greater Cleveland Project Records 1976-1981

Box Folder
1 1 Agendas 1976-1981
1 2 Annual Reports 1976-1978
1 3 Budget Reports 1977-1980
1 4-10 Correspondence, administrative 1976-1981
1 11 Correspondence, anti-busing 1977-1979
1 12 Correspondence, Community Relations Board 1976-1979
1 13 Correspondence, legal updates 1976-1977
1 14 Correspondence, Office on School Monitoring and Community Relations 1978-1980
1 15 Correspondence, personnel, including resumes, rosters and memos 1976-1980
1 16 Financial statements, Greater Cleveland Inter-Church Council 1979
1 17-24 Grant proposals 1977-1981
1 25-26 Legal briefs 1976-1980
1 27-28 Meeting Minutes 1976-1981
Box Folder
2 29 Membership lists 1976-1980
2 30-35 Publications 1976-1980 undated
2 36 Reports, internal audits 1977-1979
2 37-38 Reports, produced by other organizations 1976-1979
2 39-40 Statements of purpose 1976-1980