Browse Collections

This collection features oral history interviews with LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Same-Gender Loving) community members, leaders, and activists in the greater Cleveland area. Interviews explore the history of Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ communities, groups, organizations, places, and spaces both past and present. Interviews in this collection were conducted by Riley Habyl, a graduate student at Cleveland State University Department of History, beginning in the summer of 2023.…

The interviews in this series were conducted by Bali White, a graduate student in the Cleveland State University Department of History. The collection reflects a collaboration with Michael Fiala and the Cleveland Catholic Worker. Along with a core focus on housing justice work on Cleveland’s Near West Side (including advocacy for affordable housing through the Near West Housing Corporation, Ohio City Near West Development Corporation, and Cuyahoga Community Land Trust, and hospitality and…

The Protest Voices series is a collection of oral history interviews with Catholic peace activists in Northeast Ohio. Interviews were conducted during the Protest Voices: Using Activist Oral Histories to Teach Historical Thinking Undergraduate Summer Research Award in 2016, focusing on Anti-Vietnam protests and Catholic activism surrounding US- involvement in El Salvador in the 1980s. Clips were then associated with Ohio Department of Education Social Studies Content Standards at…

The interviews in this series were conducted by Makialani Kanewa-Mariano, a graduate student in the Department of History at Cleveland State University. The series showcases Cleveland-based artists who specialize in public art, with projects focused on the region’s BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities. Topics of discussion include the importance of making art that is accessible and participatory; the use of various styles, techniques, and mediums; and explorations of how…

The interviews in this series were collected by Ava Carubia, Mikel Jordan, and Jameesha Alexander from NuPoint Community Development Corporation for the 2025 project, Southeast Side Stories. Primarily, the interviews focus on the history of the Union-Miles, Mount Pleasant, and Lee-Harvard neighborhoods, with extra attention on joyful memories. Topics include the history of nonprofits in the area, the rise of hip-hop on the southeast side of Cleveland, and the changes that the neighborhoods…