Cleveland's Intercity Yacht Club, One of the Country's Oldest Black Boating Clubs, Has Built Inclusivity Since 1968

In the heart of Cleveland Metroparks’ 58-mile Emerald Necklace sits Intercity Yacht Club. The gathering space is decorated with plaques of achievement, small knick knacks and IYC memorabilia. The collection of five docks joins Gordon Park on Marginal Road.

The space may be modest, but it has important stories to tell about Cleveland’s nautical history, says Thomas “Rock’’ Adams.

“Boating was something that Black folks wasn’t supposed to be able to enjoy,” Adams says. “We weren’t supposed to afford it."

Today, however, Intercity is the only predominantly Black-run yacht club in the United States that sits on its own body of water. Founded in 1968, the organization is designed to create an inclusive community of boaters amongst African-Americans and blue-collar workers.

In the mid ‘60s, James “Slim” Parks, along with other Black boaters, had dreams to make boating inclusive — something one could enjoy regardless of race and class. At the time, Black boaters in Cleveland weren’t allowed to dock their boats at local yacht clubs, nor could they fuel their boats there. Black boaters were forced to travel almost 70 miles from Cleveland to Sandusky to dock their vessels.

Tired of rejection and racism, Parks and an ambitious group petitioned the city of Cleveland for a piece of land to call their own.

After receiving a lease from the city of Cleveland for a location on East 72nd Street, the City moved IYC to the East 55th Street Marina due to safety issues with the dock. Unaware of IYC’s new lease, the State of Ohio was prepared to bulldoze the site. But knowing he had papers coming from the state, Parks was determined to maintain this for Black boaters. Parks parked his car in front of the bulldozer — staying there for days until the lease papers arrived.

What was once an unkempt piece of land — with just an old dock and a ragged bait house — is now a mecca of culture that holds a rich but overlooked history.

Adams smiles over the whirring sound of a boat motor as we slowly leave the dock of Intercity Yacht Club. The air is thick with humidity, and the boat’s wake etches waves in the large body of water.

“This feels good, don’t it,” Adams asks.

Adams began coming to Intercity in 2010, after a member of his motorcycle club introduced him to boats. He was amazed to see people who looked like him find joy in the world of boating — a world that’s been inaccurately perceived as only desired by those who are white and rich.

“I was just blown away,” he remembers. “One day I was sitting on a boat, and I said to myself I’ll never be able to afford that. But this place was designed for people just like me.”

Adams served as Intercity’s commodore — the president of the yacht club — for two years. He now sits on its bridge — also known as the board — as an advisor to the current commodore. He is also commander of the Greater Cleveland Boating Association — where he is only the second Black commander in the organization’s 85-year history.

Intercity was a necessity created to unify and uplift. The club paved a path for boaters who never saw themselves represented in these spaces, says Ryan Weekes, Intercity’s current commodore.

Weekes is originally from Barbados, where boating is a prominent recreation. But Weekes says although the majority of Barbados’ population is Black, boating and yacht clubs on the Island are predominantly white and elitist. Holding a position, that is deemed as "prestigious and inaccessible" where he comes from, meant the world to him.

“I’ve reached the plateau for [an] Islander,” Weekes says. “Every yacht club across the Caribbean is [majority] white. Black people that are at the marinas are there to wash boats [or] change oil. So [being Intercity Yacht Club’s commodore] is a big accomplishment for me personally.”

Many of the club members share the pride that comes with being a member of Intercity — a pride that goes beyond oneself.

“For me to be here,” says Weekes, "it means a whole lot."


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