Out and about in the civic space

We’ve noticed and applaud the heightened sense pervading the civic space since November. Larger numbers of folk are finding ways to become engaged in their community’s public affairs. In support of this trend here are a few events occurring in Greater Cleveland this week.

Tonight, starting at 5:30 PM, Black Hack Cleveland offers what promises to be a unique look at the alcohol industry. We found the following description online about tonight’s program, billed as a “Discussion with Disruptors of the Alcohol & Beverage Industry”:

Millennials have an aversion to the conventional and a craving for the upscale alternative. … With that come new tech trends that have been disruptive, while also providing an opportunity for startups, entrepreneurs, and disruptors. 

The event takes place in midtown at JumpStart, 6701 Carnegie Ave. There is complimentary admission if you RSVP. Otherwise, it’s ten bucks.

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Speaking of hackers, this is National Digital Inclusion Week, a national initiative that seeks to promote online access and technology skill building to reduce digital disparities in communities.

Hack Cleveland is presenting free a round table discussion this Thursday, May 11 from 9:00-10:30AM that will highlight digital inequities and local and nationwide efforts to close those gaps.

Panelists include Bill Callahan, Connect Your Community; Wanda Davis, Ashbury Senior Community Computer Center (ASC3); Leon Wilson, The Cleveland Foundation; and Shaka Clark, MoveOn.org. Maura Garven, Hack Cleveland will serve as moderator.

The discussion will take place PNC Fairfax Connection 8220 Carnegie Ave, Cleveland 44103. Admission is free. Continental breakfast will be available beginning 8:30AM. Register here.

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Dr. Rhonda Y. Williams

When it comes to civic engagement, few Cleveland citizens, especially academics, can match the two-decades record of Case Western Reserve University history professor Rhonda Y. Williams. “Dr. Rhonda”, as she is known, is leaving Case to join the faculty of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. A farewell reception is being held this Thursday from 5-7PM at CWRU’s Dively Center.

Professor Williams has served as co-chair of the Cleveland Community Police Commission since its establishment pursuant to the consent decree the city entered into with the US Department of Justice following USDOJ’s findings about the abuse of deadly force by the Cleveland Police.

She leaves behind the CWRU Institute of Social Justice she founded in 2010 and has led since then.

To RSVP for the reception, email lbk24@case.edu or call 216.368.7568 by 5PM tomorrow.

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Nothing says civic engagement like politics these days, and young Democrats are among the most energized. The Cuyahoga County Young Dems are under new leadership these days, and celebrating their official launch this Thursday from 5:30-7:30PM at Market Garden Brewery, 1947 West 25 St., across from the West Side Market. Their focus is on young adults 15-35 but there are sure to be adults of all ages there. Admission is free and no RSVP required.

It is good to see this group revive. They, along with the Cuyahoga Democratic Women’s Caucus, are among the most inclusive civic groups in Greater Cleveland.

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United Pastors in Mission will be busy this week. We’re not certain if they will be discussing President Trump’s cynical modification of the so-called Johnson Amendment that codifies the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state — as usual Trump promised a bill but delivered an executive order — but Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson will appear at the group’s regular 10AM Tuesday meeting tomorrow. The Q deal and his election campaign will likely find their way into the discussion.

Then on Friday, May 12 at 3PM, US Senator Sherrod Brown will meet with the group. Both meetings are open to the public and will take place at Mt. Zion Oakwood, One Mt. Zion Circle in Oakwood Village 44146.

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Other items of note:

• A free public panel discussion is on tap tomorrow at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights main branch, 2345 Lee Road. Terry Schwarz, director of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, will talk about why eastside development lags so far behind the west side. The program runs from 7-8:30PM.

• Ilinda Reese and Yvonne Pointer will lead a discussion on combatting victimization this Saturday, May 13 from 11AM-1PM at the East Cleveland Public Library, 14101 Euclid Ave. Call 216.541.4028 for more information.

Khalid Samad

Randell McShepard

• Last but certainly not least, Union Miles Development Corp. will hold its annual awards dinner this Saturday, May 13 at 6PM at the Cleveland Marriott East, 26300 Harvard Rd. in Warrensville Hts. Randell McShepard will be honored for Distinguished Achievement while Khalid Samad will be recognized as Civic Leader of the Year.

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For tickets or other information, call 216.341.0757 or visit www.unionmiles.org.

In Search of Harriet Tubman

“As a race, here in America, we are still seeking our identity. It has been a painful gradual process — seeking our true place in society, a process marked by a sudden and dramatic societal change as we gain an even greater awareness of who we are. What we are.”

— Carl B. Stokes, from the preface to his political autobiography, Promises of Power.

In Search of Harriet Tubman

One of the recurring themes in my conversations with young African Americans is the noticeable absence of professional elders willing to mentor and support their growth and development. Of course there are a substantial number of people who do encourage and support those who follow in our footsteps. But far too often, especially in corridors of power, finance, and influence, there seems to be an excess of “wait your turn”, “I got mine the hard way, you do the same”, or “I can’t help you without hurting me”.

I would argue that this is one of the key factors that keep our community from enjoying the progress we should based on the talent at hand. Much of this shortsightedness could be overcome in the African American community if our esteemed church leaders and nonprofit institutions focused on the critical need to develop the next generation by exposing them to opportunities to develop and demonstrate leadership skills.

I have run on in the past about how some of what should be our best known organizations — NAACP, the Urban League, United Black Fund, Phillis Wheatley — have seen people entrench themselves in positions of prominence unmatched by performance. And I have been glad to see in the past couple of years that many of these and other organizations have secured new leadership at the helm that seems committed to bringing younger people on board.

What happens in Cleveland’s African American community mimics to a considerable extent what takes place in the larger community. The territorial old boy nature of our county politics — I’m not focused on the scandalous corruption that was here, but rather the myopic pettiness and parochialism among the political class that retards community development — has pretty much been reprised in the black political community. The same could be said, perhaps to a lesser degree, of the corresponding business and civic communities.

Last year I heard our justly venerated former Congressman Louis Stokes share reminiscences of his storied career with groups of young people looking for life lessons from one who had "been there and done that so well for so long". Perhaps it was his intent not to discourage his listeners but I was startled to find him so kind to the establishment. He talked about how he and his brother Carl [future state rep, mayor, judge, ambassador] had been mentored by John O. Holly and other community leaders. He extrapolated that support to suggest that if you wanted to do something positive in Cleveland there were legions of people ready to lend a hand.

Perhaps that was true if you were the Congressman, and if your brother was the mayor. While I have never dwelled in those rarified corridors of power, I do understand how the Stokes boys had to battle the establishment both within and outside the black community. Back then, in Carl’s own words, he had to “run over … the black politicians in the Democratic Party” even as he had to battle the Party’s racist hierarchy. It was much the same when Martin Luther King came to town: much established black clergy wanted little to do with him. This is not even to mention our plague of gatekeepers.

So, to retrieve a familiar phrase, where do we go from here?

Policy Bridge, generally referred to as Cleveland’s black think tank, proposes that we answer that question by looking back and asking ourselves another question: Why Did Harriet (Tubman) Go Back?*

That’s the topic of a special Black History Month forum being co-presented on Tuesday, February 26 at 5 PM by PolicyBridge and the City Club of Cleveland. Randell McShepard, PolicyBridge’s chairman and co-founder, will moderate a panel that includes the organization’s executive director, Gregory Brown; the always astute and incisive Rhonda Y. Williams, Case Western Reserve University history professor and director of its Social Justice Institute; the Rev. Todd C. Davidson, recently called to pastor Antioch Baptist Church; and President Gerald Ford [that is, president of the Urban League’s Young Professionals].

What inspired Tubman repeatedly to put her life in danger repeatedly on behalf of others? What are the lessons that apply even today about her courageous and selfless acts of compassion and leadership? 

Come discuss these questions with the panel and ask your own. Bring answers if you have them!

For tickets [$15.] or information, visit www.cityclub.org or call The City Club: 216.621-0082.

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*  Harriet Tubman led more than 13 missions to rescue 70 slaves using the network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. And she never lost a passenger!  [from PolicyBridge event flier].