Joanne Lewis interview, 26 June 2013

Joanne Lewis, a native Clevelander, describes what it was like growing up in Cleveland and later Cleveland Heights. She describes what her father did for a living, which provided her and her family a decent lifestyle. She recalls what she used to do for fun like going downtown, using the streetcars, and drinking milkshakes. She talks about the WPA and the various projects it worked on, including Cain Park. She describes her many travels around the world. She also discusses her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and how she allowed people on marches to stay at her home. She describes her life in Cleveland Heights, and her involvement in many activist organizations including the Nuclear Age Resource Center.

Participants: Lewis, Joanne (interviewee) / Hollowell, Bethany (interviewer)
Collection: Racial Integration in the Heights
Institutional Repository: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection

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Racial Integration in the Heights

Racial Integration in the Heights

Interviews in this series were collected by undergraduate students at Cleveland State University under the supervision of Dr. Mark Souther, with funding from the Office of the Provost. The series contains interviews with pioneers of suburban residential integration and social activists who supported peaceful managed integration/desegregation and fair housing in Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights in the 1950s to 1970s.