| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Forbes, Geoge |
| Title: | George Forbes Papers |
| Dates: | 1966-1990 |
| Extent: | 2.81 linear feet (4 containers and 1 oversize folder) |
| Abstract: | George L. Forbes (b. 1931) was arguably the most powerful man in Cleveland, Ohio, politics during the 1970s and 1980s. His position as the President of Cleveland City Council from 1974-1989 was crucial in the relationships he formed with mayors Dennis Kucinich and George Voinovich which were sometimes contentious. He also used this prominent position to promote civil rights and minority-owned businesses. Forbes was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1931, coming to the Cleveland area in the 1950s to earn his degrees from Baldwin Wallace College in 1957 and the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1961. A lawyer by profession, Forbes was admitted to both the Ohio and Federal Bars in 1962. In 1963 he was elected to Cleveland City Council, where he served for 27 years. He assisted Carl B. Stokes in his mayoral runs, helped to establish the 21st District Congressional Caucus to improve race relations within the Democratic party, and formed the first African-American law firm in Cleveland. He was also involved in a number of civic organizations, including the Cleveland Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he served as President from 1992-2012, The Urban League, The Council of Economic Opportunity, the Businessmen's Interracial Committee on Community Affairs, the John Harlan Law Club, and the National Association of Defense Lawyers for Criminal Cases. Currently (as of May 2012), he is involved in the Freedom to Marry movement to end marriage discrimination against gay couples in Ohio and has resigned from the NAACP Presidency. George L. Forbes has also been embroiled in numerous controversies during his political life. He was acquitted of bribery, extortion, and theft in office in 1979, has plead guilty to ethics violations in dealing with the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation in 2007, and was sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2008, which put his law license in jeopardy. During his career he has advocated for the poor and minority groups. He has worked against racial discrimination within a number of organizations, including the Regional Transit Authority and the Cleveland Police Force, created a mandate that a minimum percentage of construction work within the city be done by minority contractors/workers, and battled to improve inner city schools. The collection consists of awards, certificates, correspondence, financial records, legal documents, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, posters, research materials, speeches, and surveys. |
| MS Number | MS 5136 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
George L. Forbes (b. 1931) was arguably the most powerful man in Cleveland, Ohio, politics during the 1970s and 1980s. His position as the President of Cleveland City Council from 1974-1989 was crucial in the relationships he formed with mayors Dennis Kucinich and George Voinovich which were sometimes contentious. He also used this prominent position to promote civil rights and minority-owned businesses. Forbes was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1931, coming to the Cleveland area in the 1950s to earn his degrees from Baldwin Wallace College in 1957 and the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1961.
A lawyer by profession, Forbes was admitted to both the Ohio and Federal Bars in 1962. In 1963 he was elected to Cleveland City Council, where he served for 27 years. He assisted Carl B. Stokes in his mayoral runs, helped to establish the 21st District Congressional Caucus to improve race relations within the Democratic party, and formed the first African-American law firm in Cleveland. He was also involved in a number of civic organizations, including the Cleveland Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he served as President from 1992-2012, The Urban League, The Council of Economic Opportunity, the Businessmen's Interracial Committee on Community Affairs, the John Harlan Law Club, and the National Association of Defense Lawyers for Criminal Cases. Currently (as of May 2012), he is involved in the Freedom to Marry movement to end marriage discrimination against gay couples in Ohio and has resigned from the NAACP Presidency.
George L. Forbes has also been embroiled in numerous controversies during his political life. He was acquitted of bribery, extortion, and theft in office in 1979, has plead guilty to ethics violations in dealing with the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation in 2007, and was sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2008, which put his law license in jeopardy.
During his career he has advocated for the poor and minority groups. He has worked against racial discrimination within a number of organizations, including the Regional Transit Authority and the Cleveland Police Force, created a mandate that a minimum percentage of construction work within the city be done by minority contractors/workers, and battled to improve inner city schools.
The George Forbes Papers, 1966-1990 and undated, consist of awards, certificates, correspondence, financial records, legal documents, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, posters, research materials, speeches, and surveys.
This collection is of value to researchers studying African Americans in local politics, both in general and more specifically in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Anyone interested in Cleveland political history, Cleveland City Council, African-American history in Cleveland, African-American lawyers and politicians in Cleveland, civil rights, Cleveland business, the NAACP of Cleveland, Ohio political history, or race relations, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s will find this collection of note. Those specifically interested in the career of George Forbes will of course find this collection very useful as well.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 3520 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Cleveland Branch Records; MS 4475 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Cleveland Branch Records, Series II; and MS 4370 Carl Stokes Papers.
Separated MaterialA video tape has been removed to the audio/visual collection and most photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collections although some have been retained in the collection due to their integral nature in the understanding of the collection.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5136 George Forbes Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of George Forbes in 1992.
Processed by David F. Balog in 2012.
George Forbes Papers 1966-1990 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Awards and Certificates (oversize material removed to Oversize Folder 1) 1974 1979 1981 1984 1985 1988-1989 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 2-3 | Correspondence 1971-1973 1979 1981 1983-1984 1986-1987 1989-1990 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4-7 | Events 1986-1988 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8-11 | Issues 1984-1989 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12-15 | Newspapers 1983-1989 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Organizations 1966-1969 1972 1977 1981-1988 1990-1991 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1-3 | Organizations 1966-1969 1972 1977 1981-1988 1990-1991 | |||||||||
| 2 | 4 | Personal 1972-1973 | |||||||||
| 2 | 5-6 | Political activities and office duties, "A Survey of Voter Attitudes in the City of Cleveland" by Garin-Hart Strategic Research Group 1989 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7-16 | Political activities and office duties, general (oversize material removed to Oversize Folder 1) 1971-1974 1979-1989 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1-6 | Political activities and office duties, general 1971-1974 1979-1989 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Political activities and office duties, general 1971-1974 1979-1989 | |||||||||
| 4 | 2-5 | Speeches 1979-1989 | |||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Materials Described in Container 1, Folder 1, and Container 2, Folder 7 above 1971-1989 | ||||||||||