Joy Jordan Interview, 02 November 2025

Abstract

In this 2025 interview, Dr. Joy Jordan reflects on her family’s long-standing presence in East Cleveland’s Millionaires’ Row and the multigenerational legacy of Black entrepreneurship, education, and civic engagement rooted in her parents’ work. She describes her childhood connection to the historic property she later repurchased, her father’s dental practice, and the “international house” her family operated for students, community gatherings, and civic organizing. Jordan discusses her 31-year career as a dentist, her leadership roles on City Council and the East Cleveland School Board, and her family’s deep involvement in civil rights activism and professional advancement. Throughout the interview, Jordan offers a candid perspective on East Cleveland’s political landscape, past corruption, possibilities for revitalization, and the enduring strength of Black professional families who shaped the city’s history.

Interviewee

Jordan, Joy (interviewee)

Interviewer

Mays, Nick (interviewer)

Project

East Cleveland

Date

11-2-2025

Document Type

Oral History

Duration

104 minutes

Recommended Citation

"Joy Jordan Interview, 02 November 2025" (2025). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 757015.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/1411

Related Resources

East Cleveland @ Cleveland Voices

Transcript

Nick Mays [00:00:00] My name is Dr. Nicholas Mays and today is November 2, 2025. We are here in East Cleveland at the historic Property owned by Dr. Joy Jordan, a proud East Clevelander representative, a dentist, civic leader and community activist. Dr. Jordan’s parents, Dr. Eugene and Mrs. Jordan were, were pioneering black professionals that worked in education, dentistry, civil rights and helped shape East Cleveland and Cleveland’s black middle class and civic identity. In her own journey, Dr. Jordan continues that legacy and will explore that today. Okay, Dr. Jordan, thank you for, for being with us.

Joy Jordan [00:00:52] You’re welcome.

Nick Mays [00:00:54] Can we, can we first start with you telling us your name, age and date of birth?

Joy Jordan [00:01:01] Well, My name is Dr. Joy Jordan. I was born in Columbus, Ohio, […], 1962. I am now 62 years old.

Nick Mays [00:01:14] Thank you, Dr. Jordan. The first topic explorers family roots in early life. Can you begin by telling us about your family, your parents, where you from and, the values that guided your upbringing?

Joy Jordan [00:01:37] Okay. Well, I’m originally from Columbus, Ohio. My parents and I and my siblings as well were born in Columbus, Ohio. We’re native states there. So still Ohioans, but not most people think Cleveland, but it’s Columbus, Ohio. We moved to Cleveland when my father completed Howard University’s College of Dentistry and the VA Hospital in Philadelphia.

[00:02:03] We moved to Cleveland in 1969–70. And my father’s first job was at Hough-Norwood which is now Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Center, NEON where I currently work, if you can imagine. But he had a long career here in the Greater Cleveland community, particularly in East Cleveland where he practiced here for nearly 50 years. He died, expired in 2020. But our roots have been strong and we labored here in the city of East Cleveland. My parents and my parents actually, as I said, met in Columbus, Ohio and moved to Cleveland Greater Cleveland community in 70. And my mother taught at Chambers Elementary School here in East Cleveland. She also taught at Superior Road Elementary School where she taught early education, early childhood education K through 3. She received her master’s from Case Western Reserve when teachers in the early 70s were granted opportunity to get master’s degrees. And so there was a partnership with Case in East Cleveland, if you can imagine. And there were several teachers that received their masters. My mother is a master educator. Both my parents were proud to have three children whom ended up choosing a medicine, two dentists and a physician. I being the oldest, graduated from Howard University. My middle brother, Dr. Martin Jordan, graduated from Howard University’s dental college, College of Dentistry. But he followed my mother’s school and attended Central State University in Ohio. And so a Centralian and a Bison. And my youngest brother is a physician. He said, the heck with all of us. He said, I don’t want any parts of dentistry. He became our physician in the family, and he chose psychiatry. So somehow my parents have children who, who matriculated through college and ended up studying in head and neck. So we had two dentists and a psychiatrist, and he received his doctorate from Temple University. So we all ended up in the health field.

Nick Mays [00:04:33] Well, thank you, Dr. Jordan. Can you, can you tell us where a little bit about your parents ancestors or, or where they came from? Where did your your parents?

Joy Jordan [00:04:46] Yeah. Well, my mother and we have a strong history from Tennessee, from Nashville, Tennessee, in a place called Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, where my grandparents, Jonah and Caledonia Van Lier, produced 11 children. And my grandmother being the youngest of the 11 siblings. And you may know the name Van Leer, we have Norm Van Lier, the famous Chicago Bulls player that was my mother’s first cousin. And so we have a long history from Tennessee. And my father, his father was the only child. He lost his mother at an early age. But originally their roots began in Georgia and possibly the Bahamas, as they say. My grandfather had roots from Bahamas.

Nick Mays [00:05:47] Thank you for that Dr. Jordan, can you talk about your childhood growing up between East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights? Right. What is, who is Dr. Jordan in elementary school, junior high and high school?

Joy Jordan [00:06:03] Okay. Well, I was, as I mentioned, the youngest of three siblings. We graduated. We actually attended Cleveland Heights University High School System, Taylor Road, that Taylor Road has since been torn down in Wylie Junior High School and Cleveland Heights High School, where I graduated in 80. But my upbringing was wonderful. It was full of love. We had two parent household where both parents were active in civil rights. And so we grew up in a predominantly Jewish community. And we understood. My dad understood the roots of being African American, but also knew what the importance of being in a community where there was diversity. And the Jewish faith, the Jewish religion has always been. Have been in civil rights. And Jews and the blacks formed the NAACP. And my father understood their struggles were similar to ours early on in life. And so he placed us in a community where we could learn also and learn how even the Jews actually encouraged and supported and their doctrine and their history was often told and taught. And my father made sure our history, our African American history was taught. So when children had to miss school because of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashan, when it came to Martin Luther King, my family made sure Dr. Eugene Jordan and Mrs. Delores Jordan made sure we let those teachers know before there was a national holiday that we were not going to be in school. We, on January 15, that we were supporting, we were celebrating our history of a leader who supported our cause and the cause of all Americans in this country. And so we were proud to have been a part of that. And eventually, when I attended Howard University, my parents came to Washington, D.C. and we marched with Stevie Wonder to make that a national holiday. And so that was a blessing. So we. We had strong roots in our community, but the community of East Cleveland has always been near and dear. And my father, many instances, and mother, when. In instances where I grew up with predominantly Caucasian community, when I needed to, when they felt I needed to be exposed to my people and my culture, we were oftentimes brought to East Cleveland where we had opportunities to go to church, be involved in civic activities, to food banks, to feeding those less fortunate because our parents wanted us to know. Because you live in the suburbs, don’t forget your counterparts, your people are still struggling, and that you have a responsibility to uplift them and don’t look down upon them. So we oftentimes were walking and cooking and cleaning and marching alongside people of all walks of life, including our community.

Nick Mays [00:09:18] So that’s a good segue. What is your connection to East Cleveland as a young young girl. What brought you to East Cleveland in those days?

Joy Jordan [00:09:29] Well, I came here. Well, I mentioned I’m from. I grew up in Cleveland Heights. But my parents were. My mother was a schoolteacher here in East Cleveland. My father had a practice here. And so we were always in East Cleveland. We were at Charles Bibbs at Bibbs Record Store, buying my first records. We were. We had to. My father was a member of Starlight Baptist Church. And so when there were opportunities for us to be a part of our community for Black History Month, for different things like that, we were oftentimes here placed in this community. When my father gave away turkeys and hams at Christmas and Thanksgiving and in food drives, we were always a part of that community, too. So we were always integrated in East Cleveland. We were never apart. And though we lived in Cleveland Heights (correction), we still had businesses here in East Cleveland where we always asked to come back home and work.

Nick Mays [00:10:32] I see. I want to talk about your mom and your dad. We’ll start with your father, Dr. Eugene Jordan. He was not only a dentist, but an activist, an educator. What do you remember most about his work and his influence on you?

Joy Jordan [00:10:58] I remember my father always spoke to Us in times that we would say oh gosh, another lecture, dad. But he would impart so much knowledge in us about our history and he would give us different things to make us reflect. And one was he would say to us, dreamers are those that dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make their dreams come true. And he would have us recite that and we would say dream was, I thought it was a dream. Dreams, we would say, okay, we know it all, dad, please. But it stays with us and we always remember. So dreamers, we had to dream those dreams and we had to put forth the effort in our own professions, in our own walk in life to make those dreams a reality. And so he planted seeds and showed us his success being a successful dentist. He showed us what hard work and determination would get you. But we had to put forth the effort. We wasn’t just going to be handed to us. So we had to put perform in school, we had to get good grades, we had to be involved in extracurricular activities. We had to be well rounded human beings. We had to do, we couldn’t just do one thing well, we had to do a variety of things well. We had to show that we were diverse and we could multitask and we could do other things in life and be not just the one that’s educated with the books, but we had to do the other social things too and we’d be well rounded. We had to dream and we had to put forth the effort to make our dreams a reality. And I think my brothers and I did this just that well.

Nick Mays [00:12:30] But what about something about his work that you remember or influenced your adulthood?

Joy Jordan [00:12:43] I would think his community involvement, his love for people, his love to serve the underserved, the loved it that he had for uplifting each one of us and to not think that you’re above anyone but that you had to look at those that have less than and to try to bring them up to par and put them in a mindset that they could be successful too. So I think his words of encouragement to people he oftentimes he gave money to people. He helped young people in school if they were short. He helped other people, not just Jordan dental our family but, but if there were children who needed some encouragement or needed some additional dollars for school or writing letters of recommendation, he was there for them. He attended in some instances with young ladies who did not have fathers. He escorted them to their cotillions. He helped with people who, older people in particular. He had plenty of sweet potato pies. And Lemongray pies at the house all the time. Because there were sometimes people couldn’t give money, so they gave of themselves. They gave food, they gave things to make Dr. Eugene Jordan happy. And because they say thank you and show their gratitude for all the things he did for so many other people.

Nick Mays [00:14:04] Wow. Well, thank you for that. I have two more questions before we pivot to the next topic. I definitely want you to talk about your mother who was a educator.

Joy Jordan [00:14:19] Yeah.

Nick Mays [00:14:20] And taught in East Cleveland. Talk about your mom in her work as a profession or just a woman.

Joy Jordan [00:14:28] Yeah. I had a wonderful, wonderful mother. She raised, I’d say, four. Four doctors. Dr. Eugene Jordan, Dr. Martin Jordan, Dr. Michael Jordan, and Dr. Joy Jordan. She was the glue that kept this family together. When my parents went to school with three babies to Howard University for my father to go to dental school, and she was the sole worker. She was the one that taught in Washington, D.C. in Washington, D.C. public schools. And she supported the family while dad worked at night and as a security guard in the nation’s capital and go to Howard University. But it was my mother who was the one that kept his family afloat. And I had to. I couldn’t believe. When I was on the school board, I went to a school conference and there was this lady who looked at my name and said, where are you from? And she said, oh, my God. I said, I’m from Howard University. She said, I’m from Washington, from Cleveland. But my father went to Howard. My mother taught in these Cleveland schools. And she said, I think you’re the young lady that I taught when I was in preschool. I said, How do you know that? She said you were tall. And she said, I believe your father was in Howard Dental School. Your mother was an educator. And the biggest thing was that you were the only one that knew how to read in preschool. So I said, what? I said. So I couldn’t believe that I showed my mother. She said, yeah, I do recall that lady. And so that was amazing. But my mother had. My mother, in 1981, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And for 40 years she lived with that dreaded disease and did it with a smile, never complained. Leg was amputated. Breast was removed from an 80 for breast cancer. Leg amputated not because of diabetes, but because of a foot ailment being in the bed. And it just grew. And she got the gangrene, but she never gave up. And she was always optimistic. She always was encouraging. And she planted the seeds for not only us, but so many Other children. So at her home going, she had children from East CLEVELAND Come back. Ms. Jordan was my teacher. She had students. We had a student that came to our home when I was a young person and her mother had attempted to kill herself, commit suicide. And she brought her home to us that weekend, and that’s unheard of today, but she did that kind of stuff. And she was just incredible. She was the proprietor of the International House and a home where local elected officials had their campaign fundraisers, where she had different groups that had weddings and fashion shows here at the International. So she repurposed herself. She rebranded herself and didn’t allow Ms. To take her. She lived with it for 40 plus years and left this world to be with the Lord with her faculties clear, say so. She was a beautiful, beautiful woman.

Nick Mays [00:18:07] Wow. That’s inspiring. Thank you for that, Dr. Jordan. I want to move on now to our next topic. We’re going to talk a little bit about entrepreneurship education and professional formation. So, and you brought this up earlier. You and all your brothers attended or you and two of your brothers attended Howard University?

Joy Jordan [00:18:37] Yes.

Nick Mays [00:18:37] Okay.

Joy Jordan [00:18:38] No, all three of us attended Howard.

Nick Mays [00:18:40] Oh, all three attended for undergrad?

Joy Jordan [00:18:43] No, I attended Howard University for undergrad and my brother Michael, the youngest, attended Howard for undergrad. My brother, my middle brother graduated from Central State University here in Ohio, but went on to dental school at Howard, whereas I did Howard. Howard. I loved Howard. I did Howard. Howard. I just.

Nick Mays [00:19:06] So this is a remarkable family achievement. What does Howard and your experience represent to you?

Joy Jordan [00:19:17] Howard? Oh, I could cry. Howard is the Mecca of our people. In higher education. We have college of dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, engineering, architectural school, School of the fine arts, physics, biology, pharmacology, nursing school, a great school of communications. Howard is a wonderful institution of higher learning. And many of your African American doctors graduated from Howard University. And [inaudible] Howard being at one point the larger school for graduating African American dental students. It means a lot to my family. We owe Howard so much, and it’s such a blessing. I just left Howard a week ago, and my. The love of my life is a graduate of Howard University and we will soon be married. He is a graduate of Howard University, working in the judicial branch of South Carolina’s Supreme Court. And there’s so much legacy that’s come out of Howard. Thurgood Marshall, Vernon Jordan, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen. We won’t name a few others. Taraji Henson, the late, great Black Panther. I can’t think of the name which escapes me. But so Many great leaders, Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson Junior’s children, all graduate matriculated through Howard University. During the time I was there, it was a wonderful place to be. And so many higher educated individuals in this country have come through Howard University.

Nick Mays [00:21:10] Can you talk about Dr. Jordan, the undergrad student at Howard?

Joy Jordan [00:21:16] Yeah. Now, going to Howard University and leaving home was exciting. I met so many people. Congressman Stokes. I would run into Congressman Stokes in Rockville, Maryland, spending my parents money at the mall. I’d run into Congressman Stokes. I’d run into all kinds of intellectual people. I worked at the National Institute of health in Washington, D.C. in the summertime. A great place to meet individuals and to grow up there and become the woman that I am today. Yeah.

Nick Mays [00:21:55] Did you take part in any of the student organizations?

Joy Jordan [00:22:02] When you leave home and you think that you have gone through the best school going to Howard University? There are individuals that have gone to school, that have gone to school, experienced many things that you haven’t experienced. And so school was a challenge at times, you know, and I cried many days during science, taking these science classes and had to run home and call the mom and, you know, and have her help type a paper and, you know, so it wasn’t easy, but it was well worth it. It gave me the determination and I knew I was going to be a doctor. And I just had to put forth the effort to be a doctor. I will tell you this one quick story. My African American studies professor, my African American studies Professor, excuse me, Dr. Herbert west, was very instrumental in me becoming a dentist. I always wanted to be a physician, like my physician, Dr. Reed and Isaac Reed. And it wasn’t until I went to Howard that in being exposed to so many other students, particularly those in the dental school, and I asked them, what was the advantage of being a dentist versus being a medical doctor? And I listened. And it was my black history professor who during a lecture spoke on us, who had the opportunity, who had family members that were entrepreneurs, that were business persons to take their business and perhaps expand and grow them. And that was the first time I thought about, hmm, maybe I could be a dentist. And the young ladies and school students at Howard told me that, you know, the advantage is that I could still serve and be a servant to mankind. I could still make a good, earnest living, could I’d have my weekends off. And I said, maybe I should explore my father’s profession. And so I did, and I am glad I did. I have had a wonderful life, a wonderful career. I ended up representing the student National Dental School students When I was in dental school. I became a national president of the National Dental association president when I was at Howard University. That exposure gave me that opportunity and ended up becoming a national president with my father becoming the first father daughter national president of the National Dental association, representing the 10,000 African American oral health care professionals in this country in 2004.

Nick Mays [00:24:52] So we’re definitely going to unpack that a little bit later on. So what was your major? What was your major at Howard as an undergrad or did you go into Howard undergrad knowing that you wanted to be a dentist or did you have a separate major?

Joy Jordan [00:25:14] Remember, I. When I left Cleveland, Ohio, I. My goal was to be a pediatrician, like my pediatrician, the late Dr. Isaac Reed at. From Kaiser. I didn’t think about dentistry until my black history professor gave this lecture on us who have the opportunity to expand their family businesses, be it mom and pop businesses or being whatever. And that was my first time. But my degree was in microbiology and chemistry, which were the prerequisites for medical or dental. I had to take physics. I had to take chemistry. I had to take biology classes, which we needed to take to be in med school or dental. And so I decided to apply to dental school.

Nick Mays [00:26:11] So great, great pivot, because that’s the next question that I have. I want you to talk about your experience at Howard Dental School. Start from when you, when you found out you was accepted.

Joy Jordan [00:26:35] Oh, my goodness. When I found I was accepted, I was overjoyed. I did have an opportunity. My dad, Dr. Eugene Jordan, was teaching at Case when I, when I told him that, you know, look, I, I got my acceptance letter from Case, and I got one from Howard. And I traveled for the interview and discovered I was the only black that was accepted in the freshman class at Case. And then I said, dad, I got this letter from Howard. I think I’m going to stay at Howard. And he said, well, you could go and have. I could work to see if you can get free tuition. I said, no, I like Howard. So I stayed at Howard. He was excited nonetheless, because that was his alma mater, Howard University and Howard University College of Dentistry. And so many of his classmates, a few, that is, were my instructors. And they didn’t treat me very, very special. I thought I’d get hooked up, but they made me work for mine, you know, so. And it made me a better person. I didn’t get hand in anything. I still had to study and do what was required. And that made me a better person. I did. At one point, I was working so hard and I slacked up on one class to try to do well in another class. And I had to repeat a class in the summertime, and I was so devastated. I was like, what? But I took it that summer and kept up with my classmate and life went on.

Nick Mays [00:28:29] What do you remember about graduate school, dental school?

Joy Jordan I remember how hard it was, and I remember dad coming to check on me and bringing me a car. And at one point in dental school, my brother, Dr. Martin Jordan, entered the sophomore class when I was a senior. So we rented a house in Washington, D.C. and we all lived in that house. So dad didn’t have to worry. He just paid one tuition. He paid our undergrad tuitions, and he paid room and board in dental school. And so it was easy to have us all at one university in one room, in one building. So it made life a little. And as I got out of school, I had to then help my dad with my siblings. So I had to then pay my brother’s tuition because he paid the other brother’s tuition. That was in med school. We were all, we’re only 13 months apart. I meant, I never mentioned that in this whole story. I am 62, my brother is 61, and the baby is 60. We’re only 13 months apart. So he had three tuitions at the same time. So as each one of us graduated from school, we had to help our dad with the next one in paying our siblings to tuition to give him a little breather.

Nick Mays [00:30:05] So, yeah, so that, that we’re going to pivot to the next question. And I wanted to talk through that. You know, you graduate from Howard Dental School. Talk about the early years as a practicing dentist. Now, what, what are your professional years like or your beginning early professional years?

Joy Jordan [00:30:32] Well, I did not match for a residency program after dental school. I came right home and Dr. Eugene Jordan was my resident advisor. He was my instructor after dental school. So I was blessed. I brought a girlfriend with me from Jamaica, and we both learned from our dad, from my dad. And so my first extractions were terrible, and he had to help me along the way and give me advice.

[00:31:12] And now I’m a bad oral surgeon without the oral surgery title. So dad said, if there’s one thing you better know working in the black community, you better know how. And he said, in the ghetto, if there’s one thing you learn in the ghetto, you better learn how to pull teeth. So I am great at taking it, taking out teeth. And as a surgeon I could cut, split gum sections, sew up and do all that. And the sewing comes from my mother because she showed me how to, taught me how to sew. So when I speak to young people, I tell them I never thought that my mother in helping me to learn how to hem up my pants would come handy when I work in people’s mouths. So my first year in life as a dentist was with my dad. So everything I learned because of him.

Nick Mays [00:32:00] Is that like your residency or. I don’t know what they call it.

Joy Jordan [00:32:04] Internship residency. Yes, you can do an internship. But I didn’t match. I wanted to go to Metro Hospital. It was Metro or VA. Well, VA, I would have matched if I had selected VA. When I selected Metro and I didn’t match with them. So I was out from doing a residency altogether. So I came straight home and went straight into private practice.

Nick Mays [00:32:30] Oh, I see, with your dad. How long did you work with your dad?

Joy Jordan [00:32:36] Oh, I worked with my dad for over 20 years. Yeah, he and I worked at Jordan Dental center across the street. I ended up working at. I took a job part time at the women’s prison down on 30th and Orange, the pre release center as a part time contractor one or two days a week. And I still worked at Jordan Dental Center. I took a job at Job Corps later on and worked at Job Corps part time. That was only a, Maybe I think 12 hours a week. And I worked and I worked in the office. So I had a little income from there and I worked here. So it gave me some flexibility and got me out of the office. So I wasn’t just confined to that money. So I got to engage people.

Nick Mays [00:33:32] Dr. Jordan, can you give me the years? We’re going back a little bit. But what year did you graduate? High school undergrad at Howard and then dental school at Howard.

Joy Jordan [00:33:46] Okay. I graduated from Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Heights Tigers, in 1980. I graduated from Howard University’s undergrad with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and chemistry in 1984. Four years later, I graduated from Howard University’s College of Dentistry in 1988.

Nick Mays [00:34:11] So, Dr. Jordan, I wanted to ask you about being a young African American dentist in those days. Were there any racial realities or dynamics that you had to deal with?

Joy Jordan [00:34:30] No. I operated in my community. So there was a lot of love, a lot of support. In many instances. My father could. He Would say, I didn’t get jealous. But, you know, he said, wait a minute, I’m the Dr. Jordan. Why did everybody want to go to her all of a sudden? So, you know, I ended up seeing the bad, the challenging children, the rambunctious children, whereas he would see the adults, you know, So I wasn’t a pediatric dentist, but I did see a family, have a family practice where I saw children and adults. But it was. It was wonderful. It was. I’m blessed to have had my father next to me. And there were its challenges, though, because there were some times I saw a few of my colleagues from high school whose life wasn’t shaped in a matter of mine, shaped out to be. And there may have been some. Some setbacks in their lives. So they didn’t feel comfortable going to me. They stayed with my father. And in some instances, I would say hi, and they would look as, you know, they were on Medicaid, maybe, or maybe one. I recall, had like eight children. And her uncomfortable, her sort of being. What would the term be, she wanted to shy away from, as if she was ashamed or something. But I said, can I see the babies? And. Come on. And I would see the children and she warmed up. And so since it’s like that, there were times where, you know, seeing some of your colleagues and seeing how their lives turned out, you know, some were shame and some were proud and some didn’t come to me at all.nYou know, they went elsewhere. But it was wonderful.

Nick Mays [00:36:31] So. And to be clear, the dental practice that you came home to work with your dad is in East Cleveland, Ohio? Yes, Ohio. On Euclid Avenue?

Joy Jordan [00:36:40] Yes, it was East Cleveland, Ohio. And occasionally I work in our lee Road office. 4674 Lee Road. And we had two practices. Dad had two locations and we worked them both. Yeah, I can tell you I now have a patient of mine. Whereas it’s come full circle. Her mother was my patient and I made her mother her first denture. And I thought, wow, is your name. I believe I had your mother. And she said, how do you know? I said, well, did your mother. Did your father have wear dentures? I believe your mother had me to take the gold out of his denture when he died. She kept the gold and I put it in her denture as the permanent kiss. I believe that was your mother. And she called and found out that, yes, that was the case that I was her mother’s dentist and I was making her first set of dentures and she was my age. Why is she wearing a full set of dentures at 62. That’s another story.

Nick Mays [00:37:53] So talk, talk a little bit about entrepreneurship. You worked with your dad. Did you ever own your own practice?

Joy Jordan [00:38:01] No, I worked with him and, and then owning my own practice was when I was away from him and I worked over at our Lee Road office. And so I had the benefits of running that practice and I did run that practice independent of him. When my parents divorced, my father took the Euclid Avenue office and my mother in the divorce settlement took the Lee Road office and I worked out of that office. So yeah, I was the sole proprietor at some point. And it was hard. It was hard. That area was not East Cleveland at all. A lot of crime. A lot of my car was, was stolen and recovered before I got off work and I hung up from the police officer. They and I went outside at six o’ clock and realized my car was missing. And so he said, we were waiting on your call. I said I thought it was a practical joke. But the dynamics of East Cleveland was not like the ones or the Lee Road was nothing like East Cleveland. A lot more loving and people knew everyone in East Cleveland. I had a base in East Cleveland, so that wouldn’t have happened in East Cleveland as it happened on the other side of town.

Nick Mays [00:39:10] I want you, how long did you run the practice on Lee Road?

Joy Jordan [00:39:15] Maybe about 10 years.

Nick Mays [00:39:18] I want you to talk a little bit more about entrepreneurship and, starting with the story of when you were young, right, you were an entrepreneur when you were young. And I’ll let you tell the story of how you did that. But I want you to expand on that and kind of talk about how your parents instilled or your dad instilled entrepreneurship in you.

Joy Jordan [00:39:46] Yeah, well, well, my father always, both of my, even my grandparents, my father’s and my mother’s grandparents, they were all entrepreneurs. They owned their own business. My grandfather was a landscaper in Columbus, Ohio, which is now Mirfield Village. And they all owned property and things. So entrepreneurship was really important in my family. And so as a young person, when my father didn’t have the same upbringing as my mother side of the family. My father and mother, though, grew up in the same city and went to the same high school. My father didn’t have a mother, whereas my mother had our maternal mother father. And so it was a different value system placed on entrepreneurship. My father learned a lot from my grandfather, my mother’s father. And so it was important for us to own our own business. He said, you never let people dictate your future. You should have your own businesses. And so he encouraged that, be it cleaning up real estate, property in the evening, owning properties where dad used, I wouldn’t say he, he didn’t call it flipping house, but today it would be considered flipping houses. He did all of that. And he encouraged us to learn how to change light bulbs, paint, change locks on doors. So we did all that as a child. But then when it came time to Christmas, my friends all had beautiful gifts under the Christmas tree. And dad said, look, Christmas is commercialized. You can get the same thing after Christmas at a reduced rate. And so what my father and mother did, they agreed that. And we made sure our grandparents had gifts and we would take to Columbus and we would buy or make our parents gifts, but they didn’t want much. And so, but for us, we had trips all year long out of town. And so they said, for Christmas, you’re getting $100. And so we said, well, what can we do with $100? And my father said, make it happen, make it work. And so mom and dad, we had this beautiful facility, the International house. And mom and dad agreed that they were not going to give their children any money for Christmas other than a hundred dollar bill. And we said, well, what can we do with this? Well, can we have a party at the International House? And so they said, yes. And so we had to get security. We had to pay our security guard. So for those who remember Khalid Samad with no justice, no peace, he was our security guard. And Michael Franklin, who was a big basketball player back in the 70s in Cleveland Heights, he was playing, he was also a security guard. He served as our security guard. So they knew the students in East Cleveland and in Cleveland Heights, and we had to pay them. We had to buy potato chips, soda, and other spirits that other kids in the suburbs benefited from, like kegs of beer, which is unheard of today.

[00:43:26] But we actually became entrepreneurs, business persons during the Christmas season. We had a party at the international house, charged $3, all the drink and potato chips that you could have. And that was the cost of admittance. And so we had students from admission, rather; we had students from Cleveland Heights High School, Warrensville. Everyone knew about this party, that we would have a Christmas, and we made maybe 1500. But we were kind of leery of our security because we believed that the security guard at the end, we were only, we only netted, I think one time, $300. And we said it was way More people than that. We believe that they’re taking our money, you know, pocketing it. So my father just laughed and whatever. So they got theirs and we got ours. So that was our first bout at entrepreneurship. But my brother served as the local dentist at our Lee Road office when he got out of dental school. And I came back to East Cleveland to be with dad. So he and I worked together and we gave my brother Martin, Billy Rodolph. Yeah.

Nick Mays [00:44:53] Let’s talk about property and legacy. And now we’re moving on to the next topic. We’re standing in a property with deep and with deep family and community history. You, you call this space the International House. Can you describe what this home represent. Represented over the years?

Joy Jordan [00:45:17] Yes. Well, the International House name was created by my parents, Dr. Mrs. Eugene Jordan. And it was a place where students from Cleveland State, from Nigeria and other third world countries had a place they could call home. And it’s a beautiful six bedroom facility nestled in the city of East Cleveland. It’s known to be one of the mansions on a part of the millionaire’s row here in the city of East Cleveland. Down the street we have Rockefeller’s daughter’s home, we have the Rudd Chandler Rudd building. We have a Forest City hospital across the street. My father’s first office, well third office across the street here was the home of the East Ohio Gas Company and he was also the home of the Newman’s who was actually Paul Newman’s cousin. And they owned the building where my dad had. So this building has a lot of history, but this history is now. But my dad created a new history, a modern day history for us. For a safe place for people of color to come. We have had different events here. Like we have had Kwanzaa here, we’ve had weddings here, receptions, we’ve had repasses here. We’ve had political gatherings here. And as Speaker 1, one of my friends here reminded me that when Jimmy, when President Jimmy Carter came to Cleveland and was to have spoke at Starlight Baptist Church to meet the late minister Reverend Small, his first stop on his route to that facility was at the International house with dad, Dr. Eugene Jordan. And he took a tour here. Dick Celeste, Governor Dick Celeste. His headquarters was based here on the east side of Cleveland. Jesse Jackson’s run, Jesse Run’s headquarter was based here. There was a headquarters here in East Cleveland. Who else? A number of different politicians, local politicians, myself included. School board events, school board mission, all were based here at the International House. So it’s been multifaceted, multifunctional usage. And today it’s my goal to restore that. There’s those that say, why East Cleveland? I said, why not? And if you know the landscape of what’s coming down the pike for East Cleveland, this jewel is worth a fortune. And I’m going to make it a place that will make my parents proud and make our race proud and will be a meeting place for weddings, repasts, and light spirits, if none at all. I want to keep it. You take a tour. You see, it’s a beautiful home, a beautiful facility, and I want to do wonderful things here.

Nick Mays [00:49:05] How long did your dad own this property?

Joy Jordan [00:49:08] Oh, he owned it for about 20 years, you know, before he sold it. And he sold it to pay some taxes, pay some bills, and he sold it for $70,000. And I said, wow. And, you know. I was not in a financial place to purchase it, but I hated that he had to sell it, and he chose to sell it. And I’ve always wanted it back. And so the individuals. I’m so happy, took wonderful care of the place. And one of the tenants was a Howard University graduate who stayed here, and he passed away in 2025. And I watched and I waited, and I saw a landscaper out, and I said, is the family doing anything? I’m certainly sorry for the loss of the gentleman. I knew him that lived here. And they said, well, it’s going on the market. I said, are you serious? Oh, my God. I called him and I said, I’m interested. This is my home. This is my family home. I want it back. And the Lord helped me get it back. Wow. Yes.

Nick Mays [00:50:24] What does it. What does it mean, reclaiming this now? What does it mean?

Joy Jordan [00:50:32] You know, I’m going to live out my parents, to live out their legacy and to make them proud and make our race proud. To let people know that you can reclaim things. You don’t have to let things go and it be permanent. There’s. Sometimes you can look back and reclaim what’s your.

[00:51:09] What you want when you want to continue this legacy. A service to serve mankind, to be an example for future generations, to be a ownership. Owner of a property that’s in a area near Case West Reserve, that you can do the multifaceted things that others do with properties. Besides being an Airbnb, it could be a community landmark. It could be a place where people can be proud of, and that’s what I hope.

Nick Mays [00:51:45] Dr. Jordan, thank you for that.

Joy Jordan [00:51:50] These are tears of joy, very meaningful.

Nick Mays [00:51:54] If you don’t know the year; what decade did your father sell this property, which we stand.

Joy Jordan [00:52:02] Oh, goodness.

Nick Mays [00:52:05] 80S, 90s.

Joy Jordan [00:52:09] He sold this property. It would be on the taxes assessment. It was a devastating time for me. It wanted to be. So it had to be in the 90s.

Joy Jordan [00:52:29] I’m thinking it’s in the 90s.

Nick Mays [00:52:30] Okay. In the 90s. So it was owned by another family for at least 20 or 30 years.

Joy Jordan [00:52:40] Before 20. The family. The family that owned this property. It may have been. Yeah, it was. Is we. I didn’t meet the family. I was too devastated after we lost it. I just would look at the building and I knew they were contractors and he owned the building and they had parties and things like that, and I would hear about them, but I never, ever knocked on the door to say, can I see what you’ve done to my house? No, I just. But he met. They may have owned it about 20 years.

Nick Mays [00:53:19] When did you. What year did you repurchase it?

Joy Jordan [00:53:23] 25. 20 this year. I just told you. I’ve been in this building less than a month. Three weeks. I just got three or four weeks.

Nick Mays [00:53:31] Congratulations.

Joy Jordan [00:53:32] Yes. And let you know, the family that I purchased it from was my father. Sold it to her father and she and her husband reside in Akron and they only had one child and they’re too far away. And so I got. I purchased it back from her. The father died and she lives away. So it worked out well. And when it was time, they thought they were going to have estate sale. I said, well, here’s the price. I’ll give you what you want. Can you just leave the furniture? And that’s it. So most of the furniture in here came with the house. How.

Nick Mays [00:54:24] How does your you and your dad’s and your parents your family’s history in this home challenge popular assumptions about black families in East Cleveland?

Joy Jordan [00:54:47] I have friends that say, why are you still following East Cleveland? You’re out of politics. I love East Cleveland. Look at these beautiful structures here. Beautiful, magnificent homes that you don’t see any other place but here in East Cleveland.

Nick Mays [00:55:13] What was your question about the negative popular assumptions about not only is Cleveland, but black families?

Joy Jordan [00:55:24] There were so many families here that I’ve grown to know and love, and they still reside here. John Henson from the show with Living Single grew right here on the next street over here in East Cleveland. Overton right here in East Cleveland. Beautiful, beautiful homes. And what hap. What will happen is that you Will see black people come back. Those that have run away from East Cleveland will come back. When white people live here, when re-gentification comes. Right now they have their back towards me. They wanted their backs to. They don’t want to look at East Cleveland and want to know, why did you spend that kind of money on East Cleveland? I said, why not? The same thing happened to Georgetown in Washington D.C. the same thing happens, is happening right now in Washington D.C. in the LA Joy Park. This area is a viable, meaningful area near all your arts and entertainment. It’s near your culture here. The art museum; it’s near Case West Reserve University is near the, the biotech centers downtown. It’s near all those things, the Natural History Museum, the VA Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, all of that. We’re nestled in the best place that you can be in Cleveland. And will it take other people? Yes. It looks like it’s going to take other people to put their eye back, focus on our city. And when it does, it’ll be too late for us. So there’s a movement now of people that currently live here that know their value, but there were plenty that didn’t. And they left the home school for 70,020. Now they’re up to a hundred and two hundred and near three. You know, it’s worth it.

Nick Mays [00:57:25] Growing up and coming up partly in East Cleveland because of your dad’s, you know, work here, business here, ties to the, to the community. You know, your, your dad’s a doctor, your mom’s an educator. Talk about East Cleveland coming up. In those days, were there other, you know, talk about other professionals?

Joy Jordan [00:57:49] Oh, in East Cleveland, when I started here, black professionals. There were plenty of black professional professionals here in East Cleveland. You had teachers, you had Lawyers, you had Dr. Paul Smith, the current, still the current only African American oral surgeon in Cleveland, used to live right here in Forest Hills Park. Helen Fields Forbes, who currently is your executive director of the ywca, who was an attorney from Howard University and whose husband, Darrell Fields, Attorney Fields, who my parents grew up with in the American edition in Columbus, Ohio. Helen’s husband is the proud owner of the Jordan Dental Center. He sold it. My father sold it to him. There are lawyers that never left East Cleveland, their Doctors. He left, Dr. Paul Smith left because his wife wanted to live in a different neighborhood. And they had that right. But there are plenty of school teachers, administrators at Shaw High School that resided right here in East Cleveland. There are nurses here. There are a number of people. Do I see many physicians? Not as many today, but then, yes, Dr. Redmond, who was the first African American president of the National Dental Association. From Cleveland. From Cleveland. His practice. And he resided in East Cleveland, Ohio, and his practice was on Hayden. And people say on Hayden. Yes, Hayden was a viable street with a lot of businesses on Hayden Avenue. So there were a lot of black professionals here in East Cleveland. And today we’re not as many, but they’re coming back. And what will probably bring them black are the Caucasian people who will see the value and a mayor who will also be a strong mayor for our city of East Cleveland. And we need a strong. We need strong leadership, because without that strong leadership, it’s going to continue to plummet. So hopefully the new leadership will bring people of color back, professional people of color back.

Nick Mays [01:00:31] I want to pivot to our next topic and talk about civic leadership and public service. So you served on the East Cleveland School board, City Council. You even ran for mayor in. In 2013. I want to start from the beginning. What motivated you to enter public office in the time you did?

Joy Jordan [01:01:00] I was actually minding my own business, learning the field of dentistry with my dad, and my mom was there and was my mother who actually pointed me in the direction of politics. People say your mother, not dad. It was my mother, the quiet spirit. And she actually got with the other school board members, and there was a vacancy. Mr. Whitaker passed away. Mr. Nathaniel Whitaker passed away suddenly, a heart attack. And they let there be a vacancy in East Cleveland schools. And they were looking around for someone. They saw me doing career days with the school, going into school, talking to the children and doing all that good stuff. And they said, why not join? And it was there. I was initially appointed, and I then had to run for the position. So I was initially appointed. So my eye was never on politics. I did the political thing from the National Dental association, the school board. I mean, the city council, not. I did it from the student government when I was in at Howard Student National Dental Association. But I hadn’t explored politics in the way that I was drafted into. And so that was interesting.

Nick Mays [01:02:32] How old were you when you were appointed?

Joy Jordan [01:02:35] I was a dentist at 25. I was appointed to the school board when I was 28 years old.

Nick Mays [01:02:41] And, and how. How. How many years did you spend.

Joy Jordan [01:02:45] I stayed in that position helping the children of East Cleveland for 12 years. Yes.

Nick Mays [01:02:54] So you stayed on.

Joy Jordan [01:02:55] You were appointed and then had to officially run.

Nick Mays [01:02:59] So you were appointed to the East Cleveland school board at 28, but then you served 12 years. So then you eventually ran and was elected so what motivate motivated you or inspired you to enter and stay in public office?

Joy Jordan [01:03:20] Well, I loved what I did on the school board was to be that voice. I was not involved with the financial, the politics of. I really had the children interest at heart and I wanted to really make a difference. I wanted to get as many children accepted in Howard University. I wanted to see them achieve certain things. To graduate, we have proficiency testing. I wanted to make sure that we were on board with our testing where we getting the great graduates that we needed to matriculate through high school and enter college. I wanted to make sure that they had everything I had in life. And I wanted their lives to be as meaningful. I wanted their experiences, I wanted their. I wanted to make sure they had all the tools that they needed. I wanted them to have a band. I was the only person in East Cleveland’s school board, outside of MaryAnn Harris, that supported the new band. We ended up being a band that achieved so many great heights going to Hawaii. And the band director, Don Sean Wilson, did phenomenal things with Shaw High School’s band. We became popular, the head of the Cuyahoga county community, our band. And so I wanted school, the sports, the athletics, the academics. I wanted to be there to see our children achieve. And they did thrive. We had students to receive the Bill Gates, Melinda Gates scholarships. Two of my children, Carly and Arthur, went to Howard University. We have our current band director as a graduate of Howard, and he came back from Howard to come back and teach at Shaw. So I wanted to model and show people and show these young kids that they could go to college and be successful and look just like them. And so, yeah.

Nick Mays [01:05:36] What would you, what would you say was your proudest accomplishment being on the East Cleveland school board?

Joy Jordan [01:05:43] To be honest, to be a dentist like my father and to be on the school board where my mother taught and was over the school district as the president, where my mother formerly taught and was an educator and only left because she developed multiple sclerosis. To be there, to be able to. To engage administrators that taught with my mother, who, who were their boss, you know, and to show them what Jordans are about and what we can do and how we can influence the next generation of young people.

Nick Mays [01:06:25] What, what years did you serve on the school board, if you can recall?

Joy Jordan [01:06:30] Oh, I was. Or in 92. I finished in 1992.

Nick Mays [01:06:38] So you ended your service?

Joy Jordan [01:06:39] Oh, 92. And so it would be. That was when I started, so 12 years later.

Nick Mays [01:06:50] And then you. You ran for city council?

Joy Jordan [01:06:54] Yeah.

Nick Mays [01:06:55] What inspired what inspired your running for for public office?

Joy Jordan [01:07:03] I looked at the characters of West City Council and if I had to live there, I needed to be a part of good government. And so I wanted to leave that comfort zone. I think you should sit in a position for so long, but when it’s time to move on, it’s time to move on and try something different and don’t get pigeon toed into one or pigeonholed into one thing. But to actually do something different. And I saw the individuals that currently were on council at that particular time and I thought I could make a difference there too and did and was happy to be a part of that. It was challenging because I was just one vote amongst others. And so.

Nick Mays [01:07:55] What difference did you make in the two terms that you served on?

Joy Jordan [01:08:02] Well, as your president attempt to balance the budget, to bring some intellect, to bring some responsible government, to be articulate and articulate the issues, even amongst the issues as harsh as they were to be able to navigate and ask questions and get jobs done that I thought were meaningful, I would like to have been able to do more. But again we were the legislative branch, we weren’t the administrative barrage. So we didn’t run to day to day operations. We just passed laws and that’s all this city council, we can pass the laws and hopefully you have administrator or a mayor or a manager who will see your laws go into action and implement them. And sometimes they didn’t and sometimes they did.

Nick Mays [01:09:08] Was the building of the new Shaw High School on you under your tenure?

Joy Jordan [01:09:12] Yes, it was, it was. And that had its challenges too because at that time we had many African American contractors who wanted a piece of this building project, $108 million project for the renovation. Well, for the construction of a new high school, the construction of a new middle school, a remodeling of elementary school, a building of a new middle school, of a new elementary school. And so all that had and a demolition of one too because the population decline. There were monies to be made and monies to be shared with not just those at the top. Were the local African American contractors.

Nick Mays [01:10:08] You served four years as board president. What kind of work did you do as board president?

Joy Jordan [01:10:17] Babysit my board members.

Nick Mays [01:10:21] What do you do in leadership and.

Joy Jordan [01:10:23] What do you do? You have to. You take hits, you speak intelligently amongst to the public. You try to bring order and chaos, you try to navigate and guide people to make decisions that are for the better of the group, for the betterment of the city of East Cleveland, to look beyond Yourself and, and not make this personal. This is a business. Treat this as a business. Treat this as not your business, but the business of the public. And they have a right to be heard. But you have to do it with civility and respect to people. You sometimes have to bite your tongue. In some instances when you have people who are not in your corner, you still have to operate as a leader. You still have to deal with people as. As a leader would lead. And you’re not going to get along with everyone, but you have to do what’s in the best interest of your position and the position that you hold. And that’s to be the president of a council of a city and the governance that comes with that.

Nick Mays [01:11:43] Remember your or can you recall your campaign or what year your first campaign?

Joy Jordan [01:11:50] My campaign. I had different campaigns. Together we can improve the quality of life for the citizens of East Cleveland together. And a lot of times it was not to togetherness. There were so many fractions and divide in East Cleveland. And as a result of that, because we could not get together and everyone one couldn’t be on one accord, the city suffered. Together for me meant together we can improve the quality of education, which meant the school board branch, as I recall, was the school board, the city council, your library board, all branches of our team working in harmony together for the common good. That’s for the citizens. And many times you’re working with people who, who don’t know what’s in their best interest. But it’s your to articulate, to guide, to advise them when we’re doing this because this is what’s best for you. I recall there was a teachers union negotiation one time where they brought the parents out and they yelled at us at the school board meeting. And I said, do you understand that this union is negotiating for less pupil hour time, pupil time with your child. Pupil teacher time with your child. They’re negotiating for less instruction time for your child. So us taking this position that no, you have to do this and do this because this is in the best interest of our children was important. Surely you had one faction going to another for. But we had to hold strong on that position that this is for your child. We’re not taking away classroom time from teaching our children, Ma’am Do you understand? You know, and so we’re doing this for you, for your child. So the strike they threatened, but we held our position. Position. So and it’s that position that you have to take and you have to talk to them and tell people this is why we’re doing this. We’re not doing this for. For muscle to flex our weight. We’re doing this because this is in the best interest of your children.

Nick Mays [01:14:10] Now, what do you want your legacy to be with respect to your service on city council?

Joy Jordan [01:14:17] I told you so. No, my legacy on city council was one that I was fair, I was honest. I served the public at the best of my ability. I was fair and I did it with. I did it in a manner that would make one proud, that I served. I was often asked for when I come back after I lost the election and I said that ship has sailed. I now got a taste of the good life. To have been a public service in my servant in my latter 20s, all of my 30s, all of my 40s, till I’m 50, hadn’t had a child, hadn’t got married. This is my time to live. I’ve paid my price. I’ve served humanity and it’s time for me to move on. I finished that race and it was time to start a new one. So my latter years after politics, I have gone to Haiti during the earthquake in 2011. Earthquake was in 2012, 2010. I served the community of Haiti and going on missions there for 10 years, back and forth to Haiti and now until we couldn’t go anymore in 2020 because of the civil unrest there. And a lot of that is caused by our country too. But that’s another story. Now the weapons have invaded the country and we can’t go back. I’ve gone on mission trips to Ghana and so there’s another way I could serve humanity and be a service to my people, people that look like me.

Nick Mays [01:16:16] Now ou did run for. For mayor?

Joy Jordan [01:16:21] I did.

Nick Mays [01:16:21] In 2013.

Joy Jordan [01:16:23] I did.

Nick Mays [01:16:23] Can you just talk briefly about the campaign?

Joy Jordan [01:16:26] It was dirty, it was vicious. My campaign signs were pulled up. It was thought that I didn’t really campaign as I was a dentist and I was working. They painted a picture that I left town. I mean, the gentleman who ran, who was the current mayor at that time, was awful. But he had a gift of gab and he was. He could win your heart, said, I got it.

Nick Mays [01:16:51] But what was your campaign?

Joy Jordan [01:16:53] My campaign. My campaign was for, as I recall. Gosh, you asked me to go back. My campaign then was to move together to work with community development block grant monies to get affordable housing back in our community, to at least have the dollars, the lead paint programs, the paint programs back. I wanted to us to have inspectors of which we do not have. I wanted them to cite and to make people accountable for the homes that we currently live in in the city of East Cleveland and to make homeowners who did not reside in East Cleveland, who purchased property make those individuals accountable too. I recall talking about the parks, the Forest Hill beautiful parks, and that we need to maintain those parks because Dutch Harley, there was a white guy who was an architect, retired architect, engineer, who has since passed away and served on the township Cemetery board as well. He would ride his motorized lawn mower through East Cleveland because we didn’t have the lawn equipment or the individuals who were taking and cleaning up our beautiful parks. I didn’t want them to get rid of any more of East Cleveland’s park. I wanted them to restore. I wanted them to restore the Rockefeller parks, the bridge. I wanted them to paint. Paint the sidewalks or paint the. Get the curb appeal back. I wanted them to remove the weeds. I wanted them to do things that make those businesses that we had in East Cleveland accountable. And I wanted them to stop making sure they would not give any additional tax incentives to individuals that would be. That would hurt the current economy. And I wanted them to stop the foolishness so that GE and those other entities would stay in East Cleveland. At the time they were threatening to leave, I didn’t want them to get rid of Huron Hospital. Other hospitals did not get rid of their hospitals. Fairview park and those places kept their hospitals. But East Cleveland, they got rid of Huron Hospital, which was a level one trauma center and was needed in our community. So, no, I had a vision, but so did the current mayor, the incumbent mayor. And he had a team of people and in City hall that helped him. And it was just me.

Nick Mays [01:19:36] So you also served on boards of directors. Talk about your volunteer work and your volunteer service on board of directors and national association.

Joy Jordan [01:19:46] I’ve served as the national president in 2004 of the National Dental Association, which represents with the 10,000 African American oral health care professional professionals, the dental assistants, the dental hygienists, the dentists in this country. I, along with my father, we are still the only father, daughter, national president of that organization. I’ve served as a member early on in my career on Harambee Adoption Agency board. I’ve served on the YWCA board here in East Cleveland. Yes, we had a YWCA in the city of East Cleveland on Lee Road. I’ve served on so many other boards. But my biggest joy, I would say, would be being a part of East Cleveland School board. To be able to stand there and pass out certificates or diplomas to young People as they make their way in life. That would be my biggest joy. And of course, the National Dental Association. But the young minds, to be able to guide them, to be able to influence them, and to be able to set policy for them. We even passed the dress code policy in East Cleveland. We were the first in Cuyahoga county to do the uniform dress code to give our children a chance to not actually worry about clothing, but worry about what’s in here.

Nick Mays [01:21:27] What do you think is the significance, as someone who served as a civic leader on the school board and on council, the significance of Shaw High School and many of the. All of the interviews, there’s been a passion and appreciation for Shaw. What do you think the significance and legacy of Shaw High School is?

Joy Jordan [01:21:58] There’s so many wonderful people that were part of my journey, and they were there to educate me, to guide me, and many have gone on. But there is a legacy. A legacy. There was a family there. The individuals who served not just as your teachers or your administrators, but those that were your custodial help, your secretaries, those were there, too. They had a lesson for me, too. They reminded me that as you acknowledge the teachers and all those, There’s a support group of people who have an info that you couldn’t run a school without the cleaners and the cooks and those people. So that humbled me, and that reminded me that we all have a part in this universe and that everyone deserves that same respect. And so that would be the legacy that in East Cleveland, it was a small group of people, a healthy group of people, over 10,000 people, but it was a family, and everyone had a role, and everyone knew everyone, good, bad, or indifferent. We knew and loved each other and had respect for each other. And that will be the legacy that hopefully, that type of camaraderie, that kind of. Not camaraderie, that kind of community, will once again come back where people live, reside, love, care, and want the best for this community.

Nick Mays [01:23:41] You’re currently on the East Cleveland Public Library board, Board of trustees. Talk about your work.

Joy Jordan [01:23:46] Yeah. Oh, that is. That’s wonderful. The East Cleveland Library is a gem in East Cleveland today, we host a number of gatherings. We have made sure that each child has a library card. We have programs that uplift that we. That show individuals how to cook, how to do crafts. We have quilting. We have genealogy. We have history lessons. We have theater. We have music. We have the Greg Reese performing Theater that is number one in this city. In Greater Cleveland. We were part of the Tri-C Jazz Festival. There’s so many wonderful things. I mentioned Quilters. Can you imagine? And we have so many other programs which is messy. I don’t know if you made it to Haunted Library. But we have so many fun activities and I tell you, we are now worldwide with our Instagram and our TikTok and our other venues that really have promoted our library. We’re on the map here in East Cleveland. It’s a great place to be a part in. The individuals that I serve with on that library board are phenomenal. They’re educators, they’re entrepreneurs, they’re. They’re responsible, intelligent, proud members of this East Cleveland family and they want the best. And there’s no bickering, no anything. It’s just a wonderful place and we love each other.

Nick Mays [01:25:34] I’m going to throw out a couple of organizations and then briefly tell me your connections with, with these organizations. The Coalition of 100 Black Women.

Joy Jordan [01:25:47] Ah, yes, the hundred black Women. I was brought on board by Howard University, who she since passed away. Margaret Baron. I’m a member of that organ. I was a member of that organization. I’m a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. We started in 1908 and in Washington D.C. from Howard University. It’s a national organization of African American women.

[01:26:18] And I am a proud member of that. Now, mind you, in my walk in life here in East Cleveland, I know never pledged until I was age 50. So one of the first things I did when I graduate, when I, when I left the civic, the leadership role here in East Cleveland, I joined some organizations that I wanted to be a part of since my days at Howard University.

[01:26:46] So I’m a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

Nick Mays [01:26:52] YWCA, of course. Cleveland.

Joy Jordan [01:26:54] I’ve been, I was acknowledged as the YWCA Women of Achievement Award recipient in 2004 at the Renaissance Hotel’s ballroom in downtown Cleveland in a room of 600 women. The executive director at that time was former prosecutor and executive director Director Barbara Davenport. Yeah, yeah.

Nick Mays [01:27:28] Black Woman’s Political Action Committee.

Joy Jordan [01:27:31] Black Woman’s Political Action Committee. I was brought on board by the late Barbara Boyd, who was the first female president or first mayor of Cleaver Heights High. Clean. Cleveland Heights, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. And Barbara Boyd was the president then and she was on city council. She became a mayor. I was there with Judge Unikinen, many of the founders, Evelyn Logan, a whole host.

[01:28:07] The current president, Elaine Ghost. Yes. And it was Judge Unicynan who was responsible for me becoming a member of the East Cleveland Library board.

Nick Mays [01:28:24] What about the National Dental Association?

Joy Jordan [01:28:26] National Dental Association. I served as its secretary, its vice president, president elect. President. I currently serve on the board of trustees. This will be my last term on there. I’ve come full circle, and I backpedaled and took that position because my dad had a position. After he became president, he couldn’t give it up. He went back on the board, and when he died his untimely death, I assumed his position. And it’s. But this will be my last term on the. Live on the East Cleveland. Excuse me I get these boards mixed up on the National Dental association board of trustees.

Nick Mays [01:29:10] Today. You’re on the East Cleveland Public Library board. What other board you.

Joy Jordan [01:29:16] Oh, I’m on the East Cleveland township Cemetery board. Can you imagine? I. Dr. Jordan’s on a cemetery board. Now, my friends are like, how the heck did you get on a cemetery board? I said, I aim to serve whether you’re alive or dead. But I know. But it’s a wonderful experience being on the. On this East Cleveland cemetery board to honor and respect the people who have come before us and have died and have their lives be honored. And the beautification of the cemetery. Boy, we have time where we have the Underground Railroad. There are blacks that are buried in this small cemetery nestled in the heart of Case West Reserve area across from Lakeview Cemetery. One of the first African American deans of Case West Reserve Medical School is buried in there. So there are a few people of color. And of course, you may have heard of the Collingwood fire where a lot of. A large number of children were killed in that fire. Some were buried at Lakeview Cemetery, but there are a few that I hear are buried in there. And we have tours of that cemetery. And during Halloween, we have night tours with planters where we talk the history of the people who once lived in the Greater Cleveland community. So it’s a. It’s a. One would say, is that a fun board? But yes, it is a fun board to honor the legacy of people’s lives. Yeah, I’m enjoying that.

Nick Mays [01:31:03] What about recognitions? Is there some recognitions you want to share with us throughout the decades, you being recognized.

Joy Jordan [01:31:11] Oh, gosh. And like I mentioned, the YWCA Achievement Award in front of 600 women. The National Dental Association. I was In Ebony magazine, 100 most influential African Americans. Grambling University has me in a book called African Americans, Influential African American Leaders or something of that Normal. But Grambling University published this anthology of books. here will be a Dr. Evelyn Wynn who was the one who approached me from some recognition she saw my name. I’m on the. I was on the National African American Drug Policy Board where we advocated and eventually got the reduction of African Americans or we’re not African Americans but the reduction of. I’m at lost the word.

[01:32:25] The African American Drug Policy Coalition dealt with the minimum mandatory sentencing of crack cocaine and it talked about the mandatory sentencing and we were on Capitol Hill advocating for the reduction of that. I also ended up working with the harm reduction in Wyoming where I did methamphetamine and the impact that that had even though it’s predominantly not a drug that African Americans use but it does impact the oral cavity. So that catapulted me from the national African American drug policy that I found another where I was speaking in New Hampshire and in Wyoming on the Indian reservation Fort Washakie or Meth mouth, you know.

Nick Mays [01:33:12] Wow, that’s impressive.

Joy Jordan [01:33:14] M E T H yeah. So yeah I’ve done a little bit of this and that.

Nick Mays [01:33:18] I want to shift before I ask you my last couple of questions.

Nick Mays [01:33:23] When did East Cleveland go from the East Cleveland? where your dad owned businesses and thriving middle class the one you came up in to the East Cleveland where we are at today. When and why?

Joy Jordan [01:33:45] Some of this would have. The question is what happened to East Cleveland? Yeah, you know I don’t know when it began exactly. I was away in college. I would say it was before the 90s. It was before the 90s. It had to be in the 80s because at that time we had the corruption with the library which was before I was home from college. You had the businesses along Hayden were drying up then. You had the theft in office. You had the wave of elected officials who had ulterior motives that weren’t in the best interest of the community but they were self driven motivation to do things that were to benefit themselves. We had them not selecting people who were of quality and of sound business savvy of business skill to be in these positions. I think like I mentioned earlier we voted on popularity and not on the intellect or the roles that they would play. I think it went from bad to worse. I witnessed it. I saw it happening before me. At one point I got a call from an agent that wanted to speak to me about something and I was afraid. It wasn’t an easy decision but it was a decision I had to make because I Was asked to come and I had unethical conduct. I didn’t have illegal information, you see, because I wasn’t at that table. I couldn’t give them information that I didn’t know about. But I watched them do things that were inappropriate. And I spoke on them at the meetings and I got cussed out behind closed doors, and I did. And it’s interesting, many of those people left town in a hurry, and then we had a new wave of people. But this last couple years have been terrible for East Cleveland. The leadership on council has been terrible. I mean, on the mayor, the mayor’s throne has been awful.

Nick Mays [01:36:14] What do you think it’s going to take to get the city thriving again? And what do you want to see happen?

Joy Jordan [01:36:23] Individual people who are qualified to serve is important. People who have backgrounds in accounting, in law, or people who have just their heart. To serve and not take, but to serve, that’s what you’re there for, to serve. You’re not there to gain recognition. You get that? Anyway, I didn’t seek it, don’t deserve it. The Jordan family name that you’ve seen this afternoon. We’re not seeking. We’re not seeking a street sign named after us. I don’t need that. My parents are gone. They don’t need it either. We weren’t there to do that. We were there to serve and be a servant. And that reputation will. And your oral history will be what will carry our name. We don’t have to have a name on a street sign. We don’t need any of that. People want it for the glory.

Nick Mays [01:37:33] Revitalization efforts are emerging today, taking place. What do you want to see in terms of development and revitalization efforts? Obviously, we have external institutions, organizations doing development in East Cleveland. I’m wondering if you support it. If not, why and how would you like to see development take place?

Joy Jordan [01:38:05] Oh, I support development. I like to see our community thrive here in the city of East Cleveland. I like to see the paint programs restored, the lead paint programs. I like to see individuals get the benefit of healthy, well prepared, well trained, skilled professionals from the city government to these contractors to work on these homes. And not the kind of contractors that worked on some of these people’s homes that took advantage of them and took those loans that they took out and lost some, lost their homes anyway. I like to see inspectors, trained, qualified inspectors in this city. I like to see good government. I like to see people invest in East Cleveland. For a long time, people didn’t want to invest in East Cleveland because of the characters that we had in leadership. I pray that that stops. I pray that that stops.

Nick Mays [01:39:19] What’s your view on the Circle East project?

Joy Jordan [01:39:28] Welcome. We have homes that are dilapidated, and we need help with restoring those homes. If you have a home that’s terrible and you have a home that looks phenomenal, it’s not going to stay that way. People are going to invest in their homes or they’re going to lose them. And the people who are in those nice homes are going to demand that you fit into and put the pressure on the leadership, your local government, to get people in there to help. So you know, welcome.

Nick Mays [01:40:01] Dr. Jordan. What is misunderstood or overlooked about East Cleveland or its residents?

Joy Jordan [01:40:11] There are so many individuals here that are intellectual, that want the best for themselves, for their property, for their home, for their children, for their family. Some cannot leave because the market has changed. But there are people who care and want good government. They want the same amenities that are offered in other communities that we’ve not gotten, from street sweeping to the forestry to adequate city hall and inspectors. We want that here. But the intellect is here. The want and desire for good government is here. I think we get a bad rap because we’re East Cleveland. So in many instances, when you hear crimes on east side of Cleveland, they think East Cleveland. They’re not always in East Cleveland. Stop it. That happened down on 125th. That’s not east Cleveland, you know, but, you know, we get a bad rap. But the people here in this community want their home. They believe in their home. They believe in East Cleveland. They believe in the school system. They did. They believe in the Shaw band. They believe in. They even believe in the government. You know, they don’t believe in the police, though. I mean, you see why. But. But they believe that they want the best for this community. I want the best for East Cleveland. I think someone says, a diamond in the rough. I just think it’s a diamond. It’s just a diamond to me.

Nick Mays [01:41:50] And then finally, I want to give you the opportunity for personal reflection and legacy. I have two final questions. The first one is, Dr. Jordan, you’ve achieved so much as a dentist, a community leader, professional, civic advocate. When you reflect on your life’s work, you have more to do. But thus far, what are you most proud of?

Joy Jordan [01:42:20] I’m proud to be a member, to be a black woman, and to have been the role model for a future generation of young boys and girls. I did it with honesty and respect and integrity, and I did it with no hidden agendas, but just to serve and be a servant to them, to be a servant to mankind to a person who is given of themselves and with the hope that a future generation of young people will see that and aspire to be that type of person.

Nick Mays [01:43:01] When people talk about East Cleveland’s history decades from now, what do you hope they’ll remember about the Jordan family?

Joy Jordan [01:43:10] Oh, they remember that we were we were dedicated to our people, dedicated to serving humanity, to uplifting our race of people, to encouraging the best in our people, encouraging young people to thrive and achieve great things and go to historical black colleges and universities and to come back and serve our community. Other communities deserve you, but we deserve your need you more.

Nick Mays [01:43:43] Dr. Joy Jordan, thank you for your life’s work, your advocacy, your civic work, your contribution to humanity and thank you for contributing to this oral history project.

Joy Jordan [01:43:57] Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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