Make your plans to join us for a special Juneteenth event at Karamu House on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Karamu House is producing a Nat Cole King Tribute Concert, featuring the Jacob B. Johnson Quintet at 6:00 P.M. in the Cleveland Foundation Jelliffe Theatre. This production will honor the life and enduring legacy of music icon, Nat King Cole.

The Nat King Cole Tribute Concert will feature 18 of his top hits, including He Was the King, Bésame Mucho, When I Fall in Love, L-O-V-E, Mona Lisa, and more! This production is suitable for all ages and a wonderful way to celebrate Juneteenth with friends and loved ones.

Tickets for this one-night-only event will sell fast! Make sure you buy your tickets today before they sell out.

This course is a “deep dive” into the 11 novels of the Lorain native and Nobel Prize-winning author that provides participants four weeks of preparation for each session due to the dense nature and intricate artistry of Morrison’s prose.

Explore the work of a local hero and one of the greatest writers of all time as a uniquely illuminating version of the American narrative, beginning in the 1680s with a mercy and ending in the 2000s with God Help the Child.

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Session 2
June 20th - Jazz

You can purchase your Morrison books at a discount for this class this link: Toni Morrisson Collection – ThirdSpace Reading Room

Reader series classes are designed to help you gain a more advanced understanding of literature and the world. Experienced instructors will provide history, context, and analysis, and guide in-depth discussion that will help make you more knowledgeable on a single text or author’s body of work.

Each participant can decide how they choose to engage with the classes. You can read the books ahead of time, read them as the class progresses, or read them after the class has concluded. No matter your level of prior knowledge, you will receive a wealth of materials and insights in a condensed period, like a masterclass or a great course, only right here in Cleveland.

JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL COMMUNITY CELEBRATION & FREE FILM SCREENING 

Presented by GCUFF in partnership with ECPL and Loiter, join us for a special screening of Farming While Black on Saturday, June 20, 2026!

WE'LL START THE CELEBRATION AT MAROON SQUARE ( Open 12 Noon – 6 PM)

Before the film, gather with the community for an afternoon of intentional “Loitering” at Maroon Square in East Cleveland.

Come fellowship. Come connect. Come linger with purpose. Then walk over to the East Cleveland Public Library @ The Greg L Reese Performing Arts Center for the powerful screening of Farming While Black at 3:30 PM.

Enjoy music, vendors, art, community activities, and cultural engagement throughout the day.

FREE SCREENING OF Farming While Black

Doors Open: 3 PM

Film Starts: 3:30 PM

This powerful documentary highlights Black farming traditions, land stewardship, food justice, and resilience.

RSVP REQUIRED FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Farming While Black

Leah Penniman, a young Black farmer and co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, knows all too well the plight of Black farmers in the United States. From the height of Black-owned farms at 14% in 1910 to less than 2% today, Leah and her Soul Fire Farm cohorts help propel a returning generation of young Black farmers to reclaim their sacred connection to land. All the while, fighting for the passage of landmark legislation: the Justice for Black Farmers Act. This rising generation of young Black farmers find strength in the deep historical knowledge of African agrarianism — and its potential to save the planet.

A celebration of Black & Queer liberation
rooted in music, art, movement, and culture.

And this year, we gather on the lake.

Mx. Juneteenth 2026 takes over North Coast Yard (@northcoastyard) on June 20th

Location Coming Soon! Stay tuned in!

The morning after the Freedom Lecture, the conversation continues at the table.

Dani McClain returns for ThirdSpace's Intergenerational Lunch , the filmmaker and producer who transformed McClain's Homing Instinct story into the three-channel cinematic installation currently on view at moCa Cleveland. Together they will trace the journey from page to screen, from speculative fiction to immersive art, and from the personal archive of one writer's imagination to a shared public reckoning with displacement, belonging, and what it means to build something enduring when everything around you is in motion.

This is a meal and a dialogue — the kind of intergenerational, cross-disciplinary exchange that ThirdSpace was built to hold. After lunch, a bus will carry guests to moCa to experience the Homing Instinct exhibition in full.

Community agency, in this context, is the act of gathering at the table before we walk out the door together. It is the insistence that art and analysis belong in the same room, that the lunch hour is a legitimate site of transformation, and that the bus ride to the museum is part of the work.

The Dr. Climon Lee III Scholarship Golf Outing, presented by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Eta Tau Lambda Chapter, is a signature event rooted in brotherhood, service, and community impact. Each year, the outing brings together fraternity brothers, supporters, and community leaders for a day of fellowship and purpose on the course.

In a recent and meaningful update, the outing was renamed in honor of Brother Climon Lee III. This change reflects the profound respect and admiration the chapter holds for his legacy, character, and contributions. Brother Lee’s impact on the chapter and the community embodies the very principles of Alpha Phi Alpha: leadership, service, and a commitment to uplifting others.

Proceeds from the outing support the chapter’s scholarship programs, helping to provide educational opportunities for deserving students. By participating, guests contribute directly to these efforts while honoring Brother Lee’s enduring influence.

More than just a golf outing, this event stands as a celebration of legacy and purpose, honoring a distinguished brother while empowering future generations and strengthening the community.

Cincinnati-based author and journalist Dani McClain comes to moCa for an interactive public conversation shaped by the questions at the heart of Homing Instinct: Letting Go of the Shore: What does it mean to belong somewhere? What do we carry across generations? What must we release to move toward the futures we are trying to build?

Presented as part of ThirdSpace’s Freedom Lecture series, McClain will draw from her acclaimed writings, including Homing Instinct, her original short story included in Octavia’s Brood, which served as the foundation for Lydia Dean Pilcher’s film of the same name. The gathering will invite audiences into guided conversation, reflection, and shared discovery, setting the frame for a Juneteenth weekend of intergenerational conversation, collective memory, and dreaming out loud.

EXPERIENCE HOMING INSTINCT: Come early to experience the three-channel video presentation of Homing Instinct prior to the talk and tour moCa's galleries.

BAR OPENS: 6PM

TALK: Begins at 6:30PM

TICKETS: $10 (includes one drink ticket to be used on the evening of the event)

This training presents information on the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, the resources and teams available to support you.

This training presents information on the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, the resources and teams available to support you, along with great information on the who, what, when, where, and why for all things lead poisoning and prevention.

Class can range between 1 hour to 90 minutes, depending on class questions.

Light refreshments will be served.

This is a Bet on Black watch party and it carries the full weight of what that means. Questlove secured access to the band's private archives for the film, building something that goes deeper than biography. This is an excavation. A reckoning. The first documentary about the band since 2001's Shining Stars, and it arrives at a moment when the question of who owns the story of Black creative genius is not academic. It is urgent.

Earth, Wind & Fire did not make music that asked for outside validation. They built a cosmology. They drew from Afrocentric tradition, from Egyptian symbolism, from the spiritual mathematics of Black life and dressed it in color and light and rhythm that reached across the world without ever leaving themselves behind. Maurice White understood that Black art does not need to be translated to be transcendent. It needs to be protected, preserved, and passed on.

That is what we are doing on June 7. Gathering. Watching. Carrying it forward.

Doors open at 8:00PM with lite bites and drinks. Film begins at 9PM. Come ready to feel something.

Future Kitchens: Food, Land, and Collective Care is a cross-sector public program presented by ThirdSpace Action Lab x moCa Cleveland. The evening brings together artists, growers, organizers, and neighbors to explore food justice, urban agriculture, and ecological interdependence through the lens of contemporary art and community practice.

The program features the community-rooted work of Shalom & Tranquility Garden Network, led by Ebonie Randle, and Hood Honey, led by Trey Williams, highlighting their ongoing contributions to land stewardship, pollinator ecosystems, and food sovereignty.

Throughout the evening, moCa is activated as a civic and sensory environment where foodways, land-based knowledge, and cultural practice are shared, experienced, and collectively reimagined.

During this event moCa will display two film screenings of Bees on the Bus, with a moderated conversation following the second screening. Additionally, guests will be able to enjoy the following:

• Cleveland Botanical Garden tea workshop activation

• ThirdSpace Reading Room pop-up

• Additional environmental and food systems touchpoints

• First 50 meals from YUM Village Food Truck are free

NAB2 & THIRDSPACE READING ROOM PRESENTS

An Author Talk with Walter Mosley

Join Readers Nationwide for an Evening with Walter Mosley

Be part of a national, live conversation with Walter Mosley, one of the most celebrated voices incontemporary literature.

On Thursday, May 28, Mosley will appear live in Sacramento at The Guild Theater with the eventstreamed to 30 Black-owned bookstores nationwide and available for viewers at home. This hybridexperience brings readers together across cities and communities for a shared night of storytelling,conversation, and connection.

The discussion will center on Ghalen: A Romance in Black (Amistad, May 26, 2026), exploring themes oflove, identity, and human connection that define Mosley’s work.

ThirdSpace Reading Room is hosting a live watch party: join us in store to experience the evening together,or tune in from home with virtual access. Your ticket includes a signed copy of Ghalen: A Romance inBlack, available for pickup at the store or shipped directly to you. 

We are excited to welcome our TSAL artist-in-residence, Jamaica Gilmer, back to Cleveland! 

Chocolate City Cleveland is continuing its work to preserve, center, and memorialize Black joy, history, and experiences. As you know, we have commissioned artist Jamaica Gilmer to capture the beauty, complexity, and wisdom of the Intergenerational community of Chocolate City Cleveland with a portrait series.

We have limited space available participants. To reserve your history keeping and photography session, complete the form below. Each session is 15-20 minutes. Participants of all ages are welcome.

Sessions will be Saturday May, 23rd. A confirmation email will be sent with location and other details.

In May, we’re reading Big Girl Blitz by Danielle Allen — a fun, flirty romance that’s all about confidence, chemistry, and owning your desires.

Come ready to talk love, attraction, and stepping fully into your main character energy. As always, book club picks are 10% off online and in store. 

Join us at Karamu House for a special conversation on the life, work, and lessons of Lanston Hughes with author Dr. Randal M. Jelks as we discuss his newest book, My America: Langston Hughes and Democracy.

In My America, Dr. Randal M. Jelks delivers a revelatory portrait of the celebrated poet, essayist, playwright, and American artist Langston Hughes. My America traces Hughes’s journey from a child captivated by the wonder of Kansas City to cosmopolitan witness in Paris, New York, Mexico City, and Madrid. We encounter Hughes as a young man discovering the pulse of modern life in a world on the verge of exploding metaphorically and literally. His experiences informed his work and his thinking on art, democracy, and activism.

This course is a “deep dive” into the 11 novels of the Lorain native and Nobel Prize-winning author that provides participants four weeks of preparation for each session due to the dense nature and intricate artistry of Morrison’s prose.

Explore the work of a local hero and one of the greatest writers of all time as a uniquely illuminating version of the American narrative, beginning in the 1680s with a mercy and ending in the 2000s with God Help the Child.

-----

Session 2
May 16th - Sula

You can purchase your Morrison books at a discount for this class this link: Toni Morrisson Collection – ThirdSpace Reading Room

Reader series classes are designed to help you gain a more advanced understanding of literature and the world. Experienced instructors will provide history, context, and analysis, and guide in-depth discussion that will help make you more knowledgeable on a single text or author’s body of work.

Each participant can decide how they choose to engage with the classes. You can read the books ahead of time, read them as the class progresses, or read them after the class has concluded. No matter your level of prior knowledge, you will receive a wealth of materials and insights in a condensed period, like a masterclass or a great course, only right here in Cleveland.

Who controls the money controls the vision — and for too long, Black-led organizations have had to bend their visions to fit funding structures that were never built with them in mind. This Freedom Lecture brings together Brianna Rogers and Treye Johnson to explore how personal history, proximity to community, and genuine accountability can reshape funding portfolios to nourish Black-led work rather than constrain it. This is a conversation for practitioners, philanthropists, and anyone who has ever watched a brilliant community vision get diluted by the terms of a grant. Plant Money. Fund Freedom.

When the Great Migration began in the early 20th century, there were very few fully established intercity bus lines. In 1930, through the consolidation of more than 100 different bus lines, the Greyhound Corporation began offering a different kind of experience for millions of passengers every year, many of whom were leaving the South to establish new lives in northern cities, such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago, and cities in the West.

The work of historian Robert Edwards focuses on the architecture of the Great Migration--the spaces, built environments, and vehicles essential to the experience of the journey north and west. In recent years, Edwards acquired and is restoring a vintage 1947 Greyhound Bus, destined to become an interactive museum experience.

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, we welcome Edwards to the City Club to offer his unique and compelling perspective on this integral part of our shared history and the journey that shaped our community.