Cleveland church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X spoke to be stop on proposed

Cleveland church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X spoke to be stop on proposed civil rights trail


CLEVELAND, Ohio – In the beginning, nearly a century ago, the imposing red-brick building on Cleveland’s East Side was a synagogue. Not just any synagogue, but billed as the largest Jewish center west of the Allegheny Mountains with a basketball court, an indoor swimming pool and auditorium that could seat 2,400 people.

Dedicated in 1922, it served as the hub of Glenville’s Jewish community until the population drifted east to the Heights and a largely Black congregation bought the building for $125,000 and named it Cory United Methodist Church after a white missionary. The church then became a fulcrum of faith for the Black community and a notable landmark in the civil rights history of Cleveland and the country.

Today, the structure at 1117 East 105th St. faces an uncertain future. The church’s membership has shrunk from some 3,000 in its heyday to about 150, and while the building is structurally sound, it’s sorely in need of costly renovations.

But the Cleveland Restoration Society announced this week that Cory will be the site of an Ohio historical marker describing its significance in the civil rights movement. The society also disclosed that the church will be one of 10 sites along a proposed civil rights trail in Greater Cleveland (The only other site yet identified is Glenville High School, which will also get a marker), planning for which has been aided by a grant from the National Park Service.

Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/02/cleveland-church-where-the-rev-martin-luther-king-jr-and-malcolm-x-spoke-to-be-stop-on-proposed-civil-rights-trail.html