Abstract:

Mary Wilson of the Supremes discussed her experience with Motown’s Maxine Powell in this special program.

“I teach class, and class can turn the heads of kings and queens,” often said Powell, Motown’s longtime director of artistic development and etiquette master. What was Powell’s role in shaping the identity of Motown’s greatest stars like the Supremes?

Leah Branstetter joined Wilson to reflect on Motown’s influence in shaping Cleveland’s and Clevelanders’ identities in the 1960s and 70s. In 1966, the Supremes performed at Leo’s Casino, Cleveland’s foremost Motown performance venue of the era, during the Hough Riots, a series of protests and widespread civil unrest occurring in the nearby neighborhood.