Historical Society seeks Unity Center memories, memorabilia

Mar. 27—Leaders of the Crawford County Historical Society hope to energize a nascent effort to document an organization that played a key role in Black history in the county.

To do so, the society is collaborating with representatives of the former Unity Center, later known as the Unity Institute for Human Development.

"This is what I have hoped for and wanted for a long time," said Fred Harris, former executive director of the organization. "The Unity Center helped many people, and the legacy needs to be preserved for people and their families to see, and hopefully be inspired to continue bringing people together."

The Unity Center opened in a Clark Road house in June 1971 with a volunteer staff dedicated to offering programs and a gathering place for all children and families. Two years later, the center moved into the Keystone View Building on Market Street, originally a Meadville school, and was officially renamed the Unity Institute for Human Development.

The name change was to show that the center was a purposeful organization dedicated to helping people on many levels, Harris recalled. At its height, Unity ran a daycare for more than 125 children, offered a teen center used by several hundred Meadville youth, extended into the far reaches of Crawford County to offer health and education services to rural families, published a weekly community newspaper, offered summer employment to as many as 100 teens, and employed at least 75 staff members.

The society has begun gathering archival materials, according to Executive Director Josh Sherretts, and "would gladly take more." The society is also looking for people with memories of the Unity Center or other institutions that played prominent roles in the county's Black history who are willing to take part in oral history interviews.

"We want people in Crawford County to be able to walk in," Sherretts said, referring to the society's Tarr Mansion headquarters in Meadville, "and feel their history is represented."

The Unity Center's core concepts focused on breaking the cycle of poverty and offering needed services and a place to gather for those who were often ignored, according to Harris. A landmark organization for people in need, regardless of color, it was also a historic accomplishment in the Black history of Meadville and Crawford County. Many of the staff who worked at the center, Harris said, came with the sense that the community needs this, so here we are — somebody has to do it.

Eventually, an archival collection of audio and video interviews with former employees and clients of the Unity Center as well as photographs and papers from the center and its events will be available to the public for research purposes.

"Crawford County's Black history is a huge part of our shared story," said Pam Higham, the society's president. "The Unity Center is a great place to start making sure all of Crawford County is represented for future generations."

For questions about contributing items or recollections, contact the Crawford County Historical Society at (814) 724-6080 or email jsherretts@crawfordhistorical.org.