Green Book Cleveland is a restorative history project of the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Our main collaborators are Akron Zoo, Canalway Partners, Cleveland Metroparks, and Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Summit Metro Parks, ThirdSpace Action Lab, Trust for Public Land (Ohio Office), The University of Akron, and Western Reserve Land Conservancy. With help from community members, we are preserving stories of Black leisure and entertainment in Northeast Ohio.
Project Team
Hazim Abdullah-Smith, Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow
Erin J. Bell, Cleveland State University (Web Developer)
Arrye Rosser, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Oral History Subcommittee)
J. Mark Souther, Cleveland State University (Founding Director/Oral History Subcommittee)
Jennifer Vasarhelyi, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Chair, Steering Committee)
Bali White, Cleveland State University (Graduate Research Assistant)
Steering Committee
Jennifer Vasarhelyi, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Chair)
Renee Boronka, Western Reserve Land Conservancy
Mera Cardenas, Canalway Partners
Donté Gibbs, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Charlotte Gintert, Summit Metro Parks
Judith MacKeigan, Cleveland Metroparks
Arrye Rosser, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Megan Shaffer, Summit Metro Parks
J. Mark Souther, Cleveland State University
Sean Terry, Trust for Public Land, Ohio Office
Student Researchers
The following students researched and wrote location narratives in Dr. Mark Souther’s Introduction to Public History course at Cleveland State University in fall 2021: Abby Bennington, Tara Bostater, Cheyenne Florence, Aislinn Hall, Maya Hixon, Joey Hooks, Cameron Maffei, Courtney Martin, Erich Schnack, Duncan Virostko, Bali White, Sarah G. White, Andrew Zelina
Sarah G. White and Jasmine M. Wilson researched and wrote location narratives as CSU graduate research assistants in summer 2022.
The following students researched and wrote location narratives in Dr. Mark Souther’s Introduction to Public History course at CSU in fall 2023: Susan Clerkin, Marc Demitrus, Michael Dudzik, Jacob Gales, Riley Habyl, Mariam Kuku, Sierra Malnar, Emma Norton, Emily Penner, Elena Solá, Matthew Steenbergh, Milan Urbancic.
The following students researched and wrote location narratives in Dr. Gregory S. Wilson’s Public History Seminar at the University of Akron in fall 2023: Stephanie Godsey, Emily Hill, Caitlynn Jackson, Hannah Kemp-Severence, Sarah Meade, Melanie Mohler, Russell Pier, Dillon Piorkowski, Rose Vance-Grom.
The following students researched and wrote location narratives in Dr. Hillary Nunn’s ‘Round Howard Street “UnClass” at UA in spring 2024: Avery Bishop, Greer Brightbill, Chloe Dimario, Olivia Gruber, Rachael Herman, Zakary Harper, Rachel Ickes, Gryffon Simmons, Sophie Senning, Madelynne Smith, Rose Vance-Grom.
Bali White researched and wrote location narratives as a CSU graduate research assistant in spring and summer 2024.
Community Contributors and Researchers
Randy Bergdorf, Lisa Ford, Becky MacKay, Aundra Willis-Carrasco