Shirla R. McClain

Who was Shirla R. McClain?

Shirla Lorraine Robinson McClain, Ph.D. is an American educator. Dr. McClain is best known for her doctoral dissertation on the history of African Americans in Akron. The dissertation was the first comprehensive history of African–Americans in Akron. While she planned to have her dissertation commercially published, she was unable to see this desire come to pass prior to her death in 1997. The work has been posthumously published online through a joint effort of the McClain family, the University of Akron, and the Akron-Summit County Public Library. She is a native of Akron, Ohio.