The Dr. Shirla R. McClain Gallery of Akron's Black History & Culture
The purpose of the Gallery is to reflect and to develop the self-conscious history of the African American community in greater Akron as an important part of the history and culture of greater Akron, the state of Ohio, and the United States.
The goal of The Dr. Shirla R. McClain Gallery of Akron's Black History & Culture is to develop and to display exhibits and related programs that portray the history and culture of Akron’s African American community; to be “a community repository”, and teaching vehicle of the African American experience in Greater Akron.
The Gallery of Akron’s Black History opened in 1994 in the Buckingham Building at The University of Akron. In 1975 the idea of a Gallery for Akron’s Black History was inspired by the Dr. Shirla R. McClain’s dissertation, The Contribution of Blacks in Akron’s History: 1825-1975. By 1985, the initial development of the gallery concept began to take root in the Akron community. The Summit County Historical Society’s effort to develop the John Brown Institute of Black History, and the oral history video project of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. added vital life to the concept. Read more about the history of the gallery now >>
Akron educator and historian Dr. Shirla R. McClain understood the need to shape and to tell the African American story in Akron, OH. It was her doctoral dissertation and tireless efforts to collect information, which first inspired the concept of a gallery. Dr. Shirla R. McClain collected and verified data at a time when it had not been done in Akron. Dr. McClain learned the stories, events, personalities, rituals, and myths of the community. Dr. McClain published this work as part of her doctorial dissertation, The Contribution of Blacks in Akron’s History: 1825-1975. Read more about Dr. McClain now >>
