Black historical past is throughout us in Cleveland, however generally it’s obscured. Leah Hudnall is on a mission to assist change that.
She launched Legacy Live, a storytelling sequence. The purpose is to deliver numerous teams of individuals collectively for real-life tales steeped in happiness, historical past and resilience.
“I needed extra actions for my college students, households and mates,” stated Hudnall, who’s an educator and marketing consultant. “I’ve an intergenerational household, ranging in age from 3 to 84. There are only a few issues we are able to do as a household which might be free and/or reasonably priced [and] which might be Black-centered and inform Black tales.”
She partnered with the nonprofit Cleveland VOTES for a free, narrated bus tour – often known as The Black Storytelling Bus Tour & Democracy Chat.
Schooling, pleasure and civic participation
Erika Anthony, Cleveland VOTES govt director, stated she sees the tour as a technique to encourage “civic participation all year long.” The tour, she stated, blends “training and pleasure into an immersive expertise.”
On the latest tour, on Oct. 11, a gaggle of about 20 folks realized about Black historical past at 5 locations across the metropolis. The primary cease was on the West Facet in Ohio Metropolis. The remaining 4 stops have been on the East and Southeast Sides of city. Because the bus traveled from cease to cease, there have been pop quizzes about Black historical past and Cleveland politics. Individuals received $20 present playing cards for proper solutions.
This was the second, and ultimate, tour of 2025. There have been additionally two excursions final 12 months, all made doable by funding from the Gund Basis.
Keshia Chambers had fun. Because the tour neared its finish, she stated, “It’s nice to see how Black historical past in Cleveland spans from West Facet to East Facet.”
“We, as a neighborhood, will not be simply contained to a sure half or sure tales in Cleveland, however our tales span all through the neighborhood,” Chambers added. “We have now formed the neighborhood.”
The place did the bus tour go?
St. John’s Episcopal Church
Credit score: Nate Paige
Situated at West 26th Avenue and Church Avenue in Ohio City and inbuilt 1836, St. John’s performed a pivotal position within the Underground Railroad, known as Station Hope. Lately, Cleveland Public Theatre has organized annual Station Hope festivals on the church.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Memorial Wall at Wade Oval in College Circle
The wall pays tribute to Tubbs Jones, the primary Black girl to signify Ohio in Congress, who served from 1999 till her demise in 2008.
Arthur R. Johnston’s house
Johnston was the primary Black mayor of Miles Heights Village, which is now part of Cleveland on the Southeast Facet close to Lee highway and Miles avenue. Appointed in 1029, Johnston turned the primary Black mayor in Ohio. In 1932, the village was annexed into the Metropolis of Cleveland.
Sidaway Bridge
Credit score: Nate Paige
This footbridge as soon as linked Kinsman to Slavic Village. Throughout racial tensions within the Sixties, somebody eliminated planks from the bridge – and tried to burn it down. Quickly after, metropolis officers determined to not restore the bridge and closed it down.
Relay Cleveland
The Relay Cleveland exhibit is on the Cleveland Public Library, Important department. The exhibit chronicles the Cleveland faculties’ “relay” coverage, a college district technique designed to maintain college students racially segregated. The exhibit, additionally organized by Hudnall, is on show via Might 2026.
