Partnerships, Portraits, and the Power of Photojournalism:

Black History According to Allen E. and Frances T. Cole

This exhibit considers key themes in the history of Black Cleveland within the larger context of American history and the art of photography. The exhibition, part of the Past Masters, Master Teachers, and Modern Artists series; commemorates the centenary of the establishment of the Coles’ home-based studio in 1922 and the 10th anniversary of the publication of Through the Lens of Allen E. Cole: A Photographic History of African Americans in Cleveland, Ohio. Admission to this exhibit is included with museum admission.

Partnerships, Portraits, and the Power of Photojournalism: Black History According to Allen E. and Frances T. Cole opens at the Cleveland History Center, headquarters of the Western Reserve Historical Society, with a preview event on Thursday, September 1, 2022.

Planning Your Visit to the Cleveland History Center

The Cleveland History Center, in University Circle, is open Thursdays from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Friday-Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Advance tickets are recommended and can be purchased at cletix.com. Tickets are also available for purchase upon arrival. WRHS monitors daily guidance from the City of Cleveland, State of Ohio, and CDC. Please note that Visitor Guidelines, public hours, and museum operations are subject to change. Updates are available at www.wrhs.org and @clestartshere.

Founded in 1867 as an historic branch of the Cleveland Library Association on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) shares the dynamic stories of Northeast Ohio and beyond – stories of the people, the artifacts and the archives that are the provenance for our region.

Operating six sites throughout Northeast Ohio, WRHS presents exhibitions, programs and experiences that tell the story of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio through art, documents and artifacts from a variety of collections at its headquarters, the Cleveland History Center in University Circle. Through the use of its vast collections of family history, community history, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation, the Cleveland History Center provides a much-needed sense of place in today’s mobile society. It is a base for learning about innovation that can be transferred into modern economic expansion.

WRHS is a Smithsonian Affiliate (www.affiliations.si.edu), a national outreach program that develops collaborative partnerships with cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. WRHS is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Sponsorships, bequests, grants, admissions, and other funding are used by WRHS to preserve and enrich the region’s artistic and cultural heritage. WRHS has earned a top four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation’s most-used independent evaluator of charities and nonprofits. Visit us at 10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44106, at www.wrhs.org or on social media @clestartshere.