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1966 U.S. Civil Rights Commission Hearings in Cleveland: Police-Community Relations

Image from the transcript of the hearings. (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Nick Castele / ideastream)

In the civil rights commission's hearings on police-community relations, Cleveland residents and community leaders described encounters with officers and the handling of local crime. The commission questioned Cleveland Police Chief Richard Wagner at length. 

Listen to all the testimony below. Audio is courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. 

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Part One

  • Roy Littlejohn, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights staff attorney
  • Clarence H. Holmes, attorney and Cleveland NAACP board member
  • Nona Bailey, Hough resident
  • Rev. Robert V. Parks, Church of God and Christ
1966 Civil Rights Commission Hearings: Police-Community Relations Part 1


Part Two

  • Johnny Bruce, Cleveland resident a Division of Streets employee
  • Margaret Weathers, first vice president of the Hough Community Council
1966 Civil Rights Commission Hearings: Police-Community Relations Part 2


Part Three

  • James E. Malone, director of the surgical research labs at Western Reserve University
  • Glen Marks, Hough resident and Ohio Crankshaft Company machinist
  • Gerald S. Gold, former attorney-in-charge of the Legal Aid Defender's Office
  • Booker T. Eddy, civil rights demonstrator
1966 Civil Rights Commission Hearings: Police-Community Relations Part 3


Part Four

  • Rev. Vincent Haas, pastor of Conversion of St. Paul
  • Harold B. Williams, U.S. Office of Education consultant
1966 Civil Rights Commission Hearings: Police-Community Relations Part 4


Part Five

  • Stanley T. Lekowich and Lowell Johnson, Cleveland Community Relations Board
  • John A. Ronayne, attorney and retired New York City Police Department inspector
1966 Civil Rights Commission Hearings: Police-Community Relations Part 5


Part Six

  • John McCormick, Cleveland director of public safety
  • Richard Wagner, Cleveland police chief
  • Gerald Rademaker, deputy inspector of police
1966 Civil Rights Commission Hearings: Police-Community Relations Part 6

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.