Cleveland’s African American community is almost as old as the city, which was founded in 1796. The first Black settler arrived in Cleveland in 1809, and by 1860, nearly 800 African Americans lived in the growing community. Between 1890 and 1915, Cleveland was a popular destination during the earliest part of the Great Migration, a mass movement of African Americans from the South who sought better economic opportunities and a less violent daily existence. After World War II, a second wave increased Cleveland’s Black population from 85,000 in 1940 to 251,000 in 1960, a period during which Black entrepreneurs developed restaurants, jazz clubs and more.
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