New historical monument commemorates the lives lost during the 1966 Hough Uprising.

The Cleveland Restoration Society on Thursday unveiled a new section of its Civil Rights Trail honoring the 1966 Hough Uprising, which left four black residents dead but contributed to political progress for the city’s black community.

The five-day uprising in Hough began July 18 after a white bar owner refused to give a black customer a glass of water. It lasted until July 24.

“This disgruntled patron left and later returned and taped a racially offensive statement from the owner to the bar door,” said Ronnie Dunn, executive director of The Diversity Institute at Cleveland State University. “This incident was the match that lit the fire for decades of systemic racism, segregation and social injustice.”

Riots are the language of the unheard. And what has America not heard? It has not heard that the lot of the poor Negro has gotten worse during the last twelve or fifteen years. It has not heard that the promises of freedom and justice have not been fulfilled.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – March 14, 1968

Dunn said the uprising was a “natural reaction” to the racial inequalities felt by Cleveland’s black community and prompted significant political action soon after with the election of Mayor Carl Stokes in 1967.

“So the Hough uprising wasn’t just a tragic episode in the history of our city and our nation,” Dunn said. “It was a catalyst for change. It was an accelerator of political power in the black community and underscored the need to address systemic racism at its source.”

Pastor Kellie Sullivan of New Life at Calvary Church grew up nearby, at 105th Street and Superior Avenue. She said she always questioned herself and members of her community about what was happening in Hough’s neighborhood, trying to uncover a fuller story.

“Even as a teenager, I saw the lasting effects of that fateful day in July 1966,” Sullivan said. “In many places, when you walked around this area, it looked like a war zone.”

Sullivan still wonders what would have happened if the fires had never started, if the National Guard had not been called in, and if a white bar owner had offered a black customer a glass of water, but he adds there are more pressing questions.

A historical marker commemorating the 1966 Hough Uprising, part of the city's Civil Rights Trail, was unveiled by the Cleveland Restoration Society and the Famicos Foundation on Thursday, September 5, 2024. — A historical marker commemorating the 1966 Hough Uprising, part of the city’s Civil Rights Trail, was unveiled by the Cleveland Restoration Society and the Famicos Foundation on Thursday, September 5, 2024.

“The big question is, what do we do now? How do we come together to rebuild?” she said. “The people who were here in 1966 came together and made a decision and said we have to rebuild the legacy of the uprising. It’s not about destruction, it’s about resilience, rebuilding and renewal. We have to remember those who fought for this community.”

In her speech at the unveiling of the plaque, 7th District Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones said the uprising and subsequent political progress should remind residents that civil rights must be fought for.

“I’m going to tell all my brothers and sisters throughout Cleveland to get together with the people and make demands on all the people who represent you. Then you should vote in your own interest, and then after that vote,” Howse-Jones said. “Hold them accountable for the things that you’re asking for.”

The marker is located at the corner of Hough Avenue and East 79th Street. Dunn said it serves as a reminder that while the path to racial equality may be long, it is worth the journey.