Code,990052
Subject,Doris Allen
Date,8/4/2013
Interviewer,Bethany Hollowell
Abstract,"Doris Allen was originally born in Shelby, Alabama, and moved to Cleveland when she was two years old. She had a very established great uncle living in Cleveland, Robert Hardy, who was the first African American to own property east of East 55th Street in Cleveland. Her father was drafted into the Army when she was 9, and their family moved back to the South for one year while he served. She returned to Cleveland, moved into the Glenville neighborhood. She enjoyed her education in Glenville, which, at the time was going through a ""transition."" Their neighbors were mostly Jewish. When she was married and had children, she and her husband sought out housing through an unspecified real estate agency that steered them towards buying a home in Shaker Heights, though they wanted to live in Cleveland Heights. When they found a home they wanted to buy in Cleveland Heights, the agent was not pleased and said the house would be $2,000 more expensive. The original homeowners, however, sold the house to the Allens for the original price. The Allens were the first black family on the street and one of the first in the community. Their children were repeatedly stopped and questioned by the police, and in one case men with swastikas bombarded the YWCA in retaliation to integration of the Heights. They began the Committee to Improve Community Relations (CICR) to raise awareness of the discriminatory instances, and how to properly assess them."
Tags,"Karamu Theater, Cleveland Heights, Heights Community Congress, Public Schools, Committee to Improve Community Relations, Nighttown, Cleveland Clinic, Glenville, Antioch Baptist Church, Pla-Mor Roller Rink"
Special Notes,Sound quality
minutes:,
0,"Doris was born in Shelby Alabama, 1935 she moved to Cleveland when she was 2 years old. Visited Shelby every summer after they moved to Cleveland"
1,"Her parents moved to Cleveland, because her Great Uncle, was the first black man to own property east of E.55th. He brought the family up"
2,"Robert Hardy (her great uncle) in the Real Estate business, he lived in Euclid. He had a chauffeur, who would pick her up in luxury cars"
3,Her father eventually worked for the YMCA
4,"originally moved to E.85th street and Cedar (2155) in a huge apartment building, had about 24 suites. The other tenants were her grandmother, father, immediate family, and the ""custodians"""
5,The Uncle wished for the family to work and stay on his property then purchase homes of their own when they established themselves
6,"Her father was drafted, and they moved back down South for a year. They were treated differently ""we didn't respond to white people the way that other black people did."" ""they'd say those are those kids are from up north"""
7,"Her father's father was a very respected business man, so people in the community respected him."
8,"When they returned after one year, they moved to Glenville, on Earl Avenue. A big house, 4 big bedrooms, huge kitchen. ""The community was in transition then, it was an orthodox Jewish community"""
9,"Went to Miles Standish Elementary school. Because they came from a southern school and that was thought of as ""inferior"" the school made them take test to prove they were qualified."
10,"As kids they went to Rockefeller park, they rode the bus to Euclid beach park"
11,"They rode the bus to church. 89th and Cedar. She skated at the ""Pla-Mor"" learned how to dance on skates, recalls it being located in the Cedar area"
12,"She grew up roller-skating, not ice-skating."
13,"Her Great Uncle, Robert Hardy, was married. When she was 14 she worked in his Real Estate office e.79th and Cedar. She collected rent. $12.50 a month"
14,"The word on the street was ""nobody better touch her"" she assesed properties, she loved the job. $25 dollars a week"
15,On one of his properties there was a poultry store. He once converted a poultry pen into a playhouse for her. They called it the country then.
16,He passed when he was 52. She thinks in the summer of 1950. She remembers reading the obiturary stating he was the first black man to own any property E. of 55th.
17,The people/tenants she collected rent from were mostly African Americans. she went to Antioch church on 89th and Cedar. she was married and baptised there
18,"One of the ways I could tell (in reference to the transition from white/jewish to black), is that some of the Jewish temples, were being purchased by the black churches. THey had Jewish neighbors on each side of them."
19,"She remembers going to school in the morning and hearing the prayers in Hebrew. The Jewish mothers would yell at them for walking in the street instead of the sidewalk. She had jewish friends, dated Jewish boys"
20,"Went to Empire Middle School, she thought it was ""the best school in the world"" at some point, her friends wanted to have a Y teen club"
21,"Her school was very integrated, including the staff. thje YMCA was near 105th and St. Clair, it was just the upper floor of a building. after school clubs would meet there."
22,"Y teen clubs were called the ""YWCA"" ..catered to women. very liberal"
23,"As a child they went dowtown to Higbees, to Halles, the playhouse, childrens theaters, Severence Hall. Went to see Winnie the Pooh,"
24,Her aunt lived on nothern blvd. in the Glenville area.
25,"Church was mostly black, but they were a part of a certain class of blacks, and they had access to some things that white people had access tool."
26,"She was part of the Debutante Cotillion in Cleveland, because two black sororities decided they wanted to give black girls the same experience as young white girls. Wear white gowns ""a coming out party, you're introduced to society"""
27,She did her Debutante Cotillion at the Public Auditorium Downtown.
28,"She attended Glenville High School, a small class, only about 52 students. It was integrated"
29,"Their high school rivals were John Adams High School, graduated in high school in 1954 and was married shortly after"
30,"Her husband went to Kent State, she used to go down and visit friends there and met him. She worked at University Hospital, she worked in the Kitchen."
31,"The cleveland clinic was not a popular place in the black community, they did not allow black people in, it was very very discriminatory, and that is how many people of her era remember the clinic."
32,"They were only married for 4 years, and then she went back to school. To study social work. She started out in Elementary education. She decided that was not what she wanted to do , she had two kids by this time."
33,"When she was in school the YWCA asked her to work for them, and they'd pay for her school, at  western reserve."
34,"Then, she recieved a special grant to study communications. She was living in Cle Heights at the time. They moved to Cleveland Heights in 1964in the house she lives in today. They bought the house from a French couple."
35,"She doesnt remember the Real Estate Agent they went through to buy the house, but she remembers they didn't want them to buy that house, they wanted them to buy a house in Shaker Heights. But the French couple wanted their family to move in there. The banks would say ""well we cant give you a loan unless you find a house in Shaker Heights."
36,"The real estate agent told them that if they wanted to move into the house in Cleveland Heights, that they would have to pay 2,000 dollars more, but the French couple said, no absolutely not they will pay the same price."
37,"They were one of the first black families in Cleveland Heights, it was less than 1 percent minority living in Cleveland Heights when they moved in."
38,"They chose cleveland heights because they loved the housing stock, and the schools. They didnt like Shaker because all the houses looked alike"
39,"Zagara's, when they came from shaker heights all the stores were closed on sundays, but not in Cleveland Heights. Her husband"
40,"went to the store and a store-worker said ""Why dont you go grocery shopping in your own town. Everyone knew who they were and where they lived.  when they lived in Shaker, they lived on Sutton, and rented."
41,"They were not greeted cordially, smoke bombs were thrown into the house, garbage in the front yard. the kids were terrorized when they went to the pool."
42,"Their kids were stopped by the police for no reason. As a result , they formed a black parents group. Committe to Improve Community Relations (CICR)"
43,"The CICR was formed in 1970, they met at Heights United Presbyterian Church, which wasn't a historically black church but always made itself open and accessible to the community."
44,"The children did not attend the meetings, but they set up an arrangement that if anything should happen, they could assemble 10black fathers in 10 minutes or less."
45,"The reason they started the committee, is because the kids were scared. Some white parents also became involved"
46,"They met with the Chief of Police, and they taught the children to write down the badge number of the cops who stopped them."
47,"They had 3 daughters and 2 sons. There was one incident at the Y, by that time there was maybe 5 black children. Men came into the Y with Swastikas and metal bats saying ""You better not take over our YMCA"""
48,"The police came, and the police gave back their baseball bats. She was the youth program director at the YWCA from 1965-75."
49,"They had about 15 teen groups, 2 for emotionally challenged girls, they were integrated groups."
50,"The YMCA rented out space to the YWCA. there was just one building, and one entrance."
51,"The kids with the swastikas, they never found out who they were because they gave them back their bats. the police just let them go."
52,"in 1972 there was a race riot at Heights High school. her son was hit with tire chains, the police took her son to jail. Their middle daughter was held with a screw driver to her neck at Roosevelt, they prosecuted the man but the case was dropped. But ""through all of these things there was a supportive white population."
53,When they had first moved in the Heights Citizens for Human Rights. They stayed all night to watch for the kids who threw smoke bombs
54,"There were prevelant incidents in the community, One person who came to Run the Karamu House, the oldest black theater. He moved into Cleveland Heights"
55,"His house was bombed, and they bombed his house a second time and the bomb was so intense that it blew off the piano keys of their baby grand"
56,"She doesn't remember his first name, last name Hill. She doesnt recall the year this happend."
57,She worked for Judge Sara Hunter. she was the first black professional staff in a suburbs YWCA. she met Sara through the YWCA. she was also the first
58,black/female baliff. She was in charge of scheduling.
59,"They had an all womens' court. Which was unheard of at the time. Sara's husband passed away before sara died. ""Joe"""
60,He was the head of Ohio Civil Rights Union. Doris' husband was involved in the Heights Citizens for Human Rights.
61,
62,"The situation with the guy and the screw driver, she thought it was a knife and within 3 or 4 hours, the cops knew who he was and picked him up."
63,"The friendships, though, that she made within the community. those are very important to her kids, and to her."
64,She attends most all the festivals and tours that happen in the area. She goes to Cain Park for music
65,"She will still go back to Glenville from time to time, the neighborhood is quite different, but is quite stable. The house they live in was built in 1910."
66,"Her daughter lives in Cleveland Heights, but doesn't like it as much as Cleveland Heights."
67,"Her favorite restaurant is nighttown, and it was established the same year that they moved into Cleveland Heights"
68,Sara Hunter's son plays at nighttown. Sara's daughter lives in Sara's old house.
69,She really does love it in Cleveland Heights.
70,