[CIVIL UNREST]. Pride 25 Crime Watch window sign, [Cleveland, OH], [ca 1960s].

11 x 8 1/2 in. sign on cardstock. Verso with "Important Telephone Numbers" for local services including the Mayor's Office, Police Department, and "Community Response," and a graphic of street lots with directions "List Neighbors' House and Phone." The sign appears to have been sponsored by "Concerned Citizens of Ward 25" and was "Compliments of Councilman Andrew Wright, Jr.," founder of Pride 25.

In the 1960s, Cleveland's former Ward 25 (no longer extant due to redistricting and decreasing city population) was a predominantly African American enclave. As with many similar communities, the neighborhood was plagued by serious housing shortages, segregated schools, and high unemployment. Frustration reached a tipping point in July 1968 after the "Glenville Shootout," a gun battle between the Cleveland Police and an armed Black militant group. The incident precipitated four days of rioting in the surrounding Glenville neighborhood causing widespread property damage. Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes called in the Ohio National Guard to restore order and reduce racial tensions. Though this sign is undated, it may well have been created prior to or in the wake of these 1968 riots.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.