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WELCOME (Westsiders and Eastsiders Let's Come Together) (f.1978) was started by teachers, parents, students and concerned citizens to create an atmosphere of peace and racial cooperation in response to the possibility of violence during the desegregation of the Cleveland Public Schools. WELCOME activities, which involved community centers and churches, included a series of bridgewalks across the Detroit Superior Bridge, the distribution of thousands of free WELCOME tee-shirts, the establishment of WELCOME committees at each school, and WELCOME wagons that visited neighborhoods. Once desegregation took place, WELCOME clubs were formed in the newly desegregated schools. The most active students in each club formed the city-wide WELCOME Leadership Institute in 1980, funded by the Cleveland and Gund foundations. The Leadership Institute created a variety of activities and projects for students to work for quality education and improved race relations in the desegregated schools. In 1984 the funding ended. The Leadership Institute evolved into Youth United to Oppose Apartheid, changing its focus to fighting apartheid. WELCOME and the Leadership Institute ceased to exist.

From the guide to the WELCOME Photographs, 1978-1982, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

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