Shaker Library Local History Collection

08/15/2024

Laura Meckler returns to Shaker Heights Public Library right after Labor Day to talk about researching her book Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity, and to celebrate the publication of the paperback. Please join us! https://events.shakerlibrary.org/event/12243824?fbclid=IwY2xjawErJrdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHampIy9vKbqaEFnlmK3P30ItEalpUAqrJnZtY19wXPjRB6UwBkNJ5liaYA_aem_Ymx6lYYt3vRP7c47f76IrA

Washington Post writer Laura Meckler returns to Shaker Library to discuss the process of researching her book, Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity. Laura...

02/06/2024

Linda Thomas Jones, known as Mama Fasi in her community, is a world-renowned African drummer. Jones began learning drumming while a dance major at Case Western Reserve University. Afterwards, she traveled to Africa and studied drumming in Ghana and Nigeria. As a winner of the 2017 Ohio Heritage Fellowship for Performing Arts, Jones teaches both African dance and drumming to her students. She has created community performances and runs a program called "Girls and Grandmas Drumming Together," which is a youth mentoring program encouraging young women to explore their creative potential in a healthy, nurturing environment. Jones was also one of the first female African drummers to attain international renown, which has made her an inspiration for younger performers.

Hear Mama Fasi and other Shaker Heights artists speak about their experiences in the arts on Thursday, February 8 during Shaping Shaker's Future: African Americans and the Arts, a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Lawrence Burnley and cosponsored by the Shaker Heights Public Library. Free event, registration encouraged. Learn more and register at bit.ly/DEIpanel2024

11/06/2023

Shaker Heights Public Library's Shaker Library Local History Collection is very excited to be a recipient of this award, along with the Shaker Historical Society and the City of Shaker Heights Government's Planning Department. Thank you to OHPO for recognizing the work we are doing to preserve the Warrensville West Cemetery in Shaker Heights!

06/06/2023

Juneteenth Film Screening: The Oberlin Wellington Rescue and the Trial of the Century. Thursday June 15, 2023, 7pm

Shaker Library presents the documentary "A Common Humanity" on the 1858 Oberlin Wellington Rescue, in which the community defended the freedom of Black neighbor John Price against slavecatchers, and the resulting ‘Trial of the Century’ in Cleveland, which tested the Fugitive Slave Law in Ohio.

Filmmakers Kevin Cronin and Peter J. Manos (both Shaker Heights class of 1976) will lead a discussion following the screening.

Produced with support of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Cosponsored by the Shaker Historical Society.

Presented at Shaker Library and online. Register for in-person or virtual attendance here:

https://events.shakerlibrary.org/event/10466989

02/23/2023

Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board Archival Fellowship Description

Position Title: Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) Archival Fellow

Position Description: This is an opportunity for a graduate student in a public history program and library science program at an Ohio university or college to gain practical experience while preserving and providing access to historically significant records. Under the direction of Robin Heise, Greene County Records Manager and Archivist, the fellowship recipient will search for manumission records held in nine counties in southeastern Ohio: Athens, Fairfield, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Morgan, Perry and Vinton. In 1804, the Ohio General Assembly enacted the Ohio Black Codes, under which free blacks and mulattos were required to register at their local court. Due to the lack of documentation on African-Americans in the early to mid-nineteenth century, these manumission records are an important resource for genealogists. The fellowship recipient will search county records and census records that are posted online and create a list of names of African-Americans living in the nine counties at that time.

Length of Fellowship: The program will run May 15 to July 21, 2023. An interim report will be due June 16 and a final report will be due August 4. The participant will spend approximately 100 hours total on the project. The fellowship recipient will be responsible for attending a mandatory training session.

Stipend: The fellowship recipient will receive a stipend of $2,000, paid in two installments. Please note: Following submission and review of the interim project reports the paperwork will be initiated through the Ohio History Connection’s Business Office to pay the recipient half of the stipend. Paperwork to pay the other half of the stipend will be submitted after receipt and review of the final report and is contingent upon the successful completion of the project. Payment of the stipend can be expected three to four weeks after the paperwork is submitted. The fellowship recipient will be sent the necessary paperwork to complete for the stipend, including a W9 form that requires a tax ID number.

Qualifications:
• Must be enrolled as a graduate student at an Ohio university or college in a History Graduate Program, Public History Concentration, or a Library Science Program.
• Attention to detail and ability to follow directions.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Database management, and familiarity with Microsoft Office applications.
• Physical dexterity and ability to lift 20-30lb boxes.
• Must have access to genealogy websites.

If interested, please apply online:https://ohrab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/OHRAB-Fellowship-Application-2023.pdf

Photograph courtesy of Greene County, Ohio, page 2 of the Register of Blacks and Mulattos, 1805-1845.

10/27/2022

A wonderful event on October 20. Very important Shaker history! https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local_news/shaker-heights-ludlow-neighborhood-receives-ohio-historical-marker/article_5903e5ea-53d6-11ed-a91e-4396d2860aa7.html?fbclid=IwAR184JQMOtNUzOPGS7SFCxULNryI3ujARxNpxa45ReiKjwJloN-u3LQPiC0

When a bomb went off in the garage of John and Dorothy Pegg on Corby Road January 3, 1956, blowing a hole in the dining room wall of the black

03/12/2022

Join us for an in-person Book Talk by Shaker Author Einav Rabinovitch-Fox at 7pm Wednesday March 16 at Shaker Library. Register here:

What is the connection between clothing and women's rights? How does fashion function in our political system? Shaker Author and CWRU History Professor Einav Rabinovitch-Fox discusses her recent book Dresse...

12/08/2021

Tonight 12/8 @ 7pm via Zoom: Learn about the Warrensville West Cemetery Preservation Master Plan and provide your input!

Learn more about the development of the Warrensville West Cemetery Historic Preservation Master Plan.