Last updated: November 12, 2024
Article
Cory United Methodist Church (Cleveland, Ohio)
African American Civil Rights Network
Cory United Methodist Church, in Cleveland, Ohio, grew to become one of the largest African American churches in the city. It was an important community center in its neighborhood. It also hosted national African American leaders and was heavily involved in local civil rights organizing.
Cory United Methodist Church was founded in 1875 when Reverend Henry Stein gathered a small congregation in a private home. Originally called Union Chapel, the church became the first predominantly Black Methodist Episcopal church in the Cleveland area. The church later changed its name to honor John Bruce Cory, a Methodist missionary. Cory Methodist’s congregation moved a few times and grew steadily. In 1946, the church purchased a former community center and synagogue built between 1920 and 1922 for a Jewish congregation. By 1952 the church’s congregation had grown to 3,000 members.
Dating to its earliest years, Cory Methodist had long been interested in serving the local community. Soon after it moved into its new facilities, the church became a community and recreation center for the community as African American migration to Cleveland accelerated. Its facilities included a library, gymnasium, swimming pool, music school, and a concert hall. In 1961, the city’s recreation department began to rent and operate the church’s recreational facilities for African American residents in the neighborhood.
Cory Methodist became an important meeting place due to the church’s large membership and role in Cleveland’s African American community. In 1950, W.E.B. Du Bois spoke at the church and so did Thurgood Marshall the following year. Local and national leaders in the civil rights movement regularly visited. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Cory Methodist on several occasions. His visit in May of 1963 drew an estimated 5,000 people. Approximately a year later, in April of 1964, Cleveland’s chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) invited African American journalist Louis Lomax and Malcolm X to speak at the church. During the visit, Malcolm X delivered the first version of his famous speech “The Ballot or the Bullet.”
Beyond hosting national leaders in the civil rights movement, the church also played an integral role in local civil rights campaigns. Cory Methodist hosted meetings of the United Freedom Movement, a coalition of groups dedicated to fighting injustices in education, employment, health, housing, and voting. Reverend Sumpter Riley, pastor of Cory Methodist, involved himself heavily in the organization and once served as its president. The church also supported Carl Stokes in his campaign for Cleveland’s mayorship by opening its doors for campaign rallies.
Cory United Methodist Church became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
Cory United Methodist Church, in Cleveland, Ohio, grew to become one of the largest African American churches in the city. It was an important community center in its neighborhood. It also hosted national African American leaders and was heavily involved in local civil rights organizing.
Cory United Methodist Church was founded in 1875 when Reverend Henry Stein gathered a small congregation in a private home. Originally called Union Chapel, the church became the first predominantly Black Methodist Episcopal church in the Cleveland area. The church later changed its name to honor John Bruce Cory, a Methodist missionary. Cory Methodist’s congregation moved a few times and grew steadily. In 1946, the church purchased a former community center and synagogue built between 1920 and 1922 for a Jewish congregation. By 1952 the church’s congregation had grown to 3,000 members.
Dating to its earliest years, Cory Methodist had long been interested in serving the local community. Soon after it moved into its new facilities, the church became a community and recreation center for the community as African American migration to Cleveland accelerated. Its facilities included a library, gymnasium, swimming pool, music school, and a concert hall. In 1961, the city’s recreation department began to rent and operate the church’s recreational facilities for African American residents in the neighborhood.
Cory Methodist became an important meeting place due to the church’s large membership and role in Cleveland’s African American community. In 1950, W.E.B. Du Bois spoke at the church and so did Thurgood Marshall the following year. Local and national leaders in the civil rights movement regularly visited. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Cory Methodist on several occasions. His visit in May of 1963 drew an estimated 5,000 people. Approximately a year later, in April of 1964, Cleveland’s chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) invited African American journalist Louis Lomax and Malcolm X to speak at the church. During the visit, Malcolm X delivered the first version of his famous speech “The Ballot or the Bullet.”
Beyond hosting national leaders in the civil rights movement, the church also played an integral role in local civil rights campaigns. Cory Methodist hosted meetings of the United Freedom Movement, a coalition of groups dedicated to fighting injustices in education, employment, health, housing, and voting. Reverend Sumpter Riley, pastor of Cory Methodist, involved himself heavily in the organization and once served as its president. The church also supported Carl Stokes in his campaign for Cleveland’s mayorship by opening its doors for campaign rallies.
Cory United Methodist Church became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.