{"id":1746,"date":"2013-09-11T19:23:52","date_gmt":"2013-09-11T19:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/womenshistory\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2023-10-17T16:26:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T16:26:37","slug":"shirla-robinson-mcclain-1935-1997","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/womenshistory\/2013\/09\/11\/shirla-robinson-mcclain-1935-1997\/","title":{"rendered":"Shirla Robinson McClain, 1935-1997"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Anyone who is studying African Americans in Akron, invariably turns to Shirla Robinson McClain’s book,\u00a0The Contributions of Blacks in Akron: 1825-1975.\u00a0It started as a dissertation but ended as a life-long crusade to tell the story of African Americans in the city.<\/p>\n

McClain was a product of the Akron Public Schools. She graduated from
The University of Akron, earning a Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate in Education. Her dissertation, which becameThe Contributions of Blacks in Akron: 1825-1975,\u00a0is still considered an important resource for scholars researching African Americans in the city.<\/p>\n

McClain had a 20-year career with the Akron Public Schools. She was a classroom teacher, at various times working with Headstart, elementary and secondary students. She was a remedial teacher, educational specialist and a supervisor. She then moved on to college, teaching education at Kent State University and Walsh University.<\/p>\n

Throughout her long career, McClain wrote articles, presented scholarly presentations and did in-service consulting. She worked hard to start a Black History curriculum in Akron’s public schools and to begin a gallery and repository for materials on Akron Black History in what is now called the Pan African Culture and Research Center at The University of Akron. In 1997, that\u00a0gallery<\/a>, located in the old train station on the university campus, was renamed in her honor.<\/p>\n

McClain died in Akron in 1997, after a long battle with adrenal gland cancer. She was only 62. At her funeral, the Rev. Ronald Fowler, of Arlington Church of God, called McClain, “a tremendous giant in our community.””She taught us to believe in ourselves, in our potential as people, to make contributions to the broader community and to be proud of our African-American heritage,” Fowler observed.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of the\u00a0Beacon Journal.<\/i><\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

–Kathleen L. Endres<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who is studying African Americans in Akron, invariably turns to Shirla Robinson McClain’s book,\u00a0The Contributions of Blacks in Akron: 1825-1975.\u00a0It started as a dissertation but ended as a life-long crusade to tell the story of African Americans in the city. McClain was a product of the Akron Public Schools. She graduated fromThe University of … <\/p>\n

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