Kenneth H Cooley interview, 21 March 2014

Abstract

Kenneth H. Cooley, longtime Cleveland resident and native, discusses how Cleveland has changed over the years. He recalls being a kid and growing up in the Cedar Fairfax neighborhood. There he worked as grocery delivery boy where he got exposed to houses of prostitution, but he did not realize where he was until many years later. He continues by talking about the various clubs, bars, and other joints all around a neighborhood called Little Hollywood. Although, he never stepped foot in any of these places. He was too busy making money on the weekends and going to school at Kent State during the week. He also recalls moving to Glenville and then ultimately to Cleveland Heights. In Glenville, he and his wife were involved in a program that was designed to bring Blacks and Whites together. He cannot recall how he was recruited into this program, but he says he enjoyed it. He then talks about how he had to go to a sheriff's sale to buy his home in Cleveland Heights because the real estate agents would not show him houses there. They wanted to steer him into Mt. Pleasant or Ludlow, a neighborhood he called black Shaker. When he did find his house in Cleveland Heights bricks were thrown through the window on two occasions, but the police caught the perpetrators and they never had a problem after that.