Events on tap today, later this week: the drug epidemic; school expansion; the black family
Whatever happens in the
nation’s inner cities sooner or later comes home to roost in suburbia. Not even
a metropolitan trump wall could alter this social phenomenon. So if not for
reasons of compassion or just plain old human decency, pure self-interest
should impel those with greater choices to be vitally concerned with the
nation’s extreme inequities.
These inequities, it may be
noted, transcend racial boundaries. Ultimately, neither Westlake nor Solon can
be indifferent to Mt. Pleasant or Stockyards/Clark-Fulton.
Opiates vs. Crack
Perhaps the best current
reminder of this salient social fact is the expanding opiate crisis. A
community symposium is on tap tonight with an array of panelists on the front
lines of this struggle, including: Judge Lauren Moore, Drug Court Judge, Cleveland
Municipal Court; Judge Joan Synenberg, Recovery Court Judge, Common Pleas
Court; and County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley.
Also participating are
other court personnel, counselors and a research associate from Case Western
Reserve University.
The ninety minute program,
“Bridging the Gap: Opiates vs. Crack”, starts at 6:30 PM tonight at Imani
Temple Ministries, 2463 N. Taylor Rd., Cleveland Heights 44118. The event is
free and open to the public.
For more information,
contact Drug Court coordinator Dr. Daryl Jackson at 216.420.8871 or
jacksonda@cmcoh.org.
Warrensville
Schools
Attendees at tomorrow night’s community engagement forum
at Warrensville Heights HS, 4270 Northfield Rd. [44128] will hear School
District Superintendent Donald Jolly share the District’s building plan. Dr.
Jolly says the District has been advised that it will be awarded $8.2 million
from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission this summer towards the cost
of a planned pre-K-5 building that will likely cost at least twice that much.
In the two years since Jolly was named superintendent, system-wide
enrollment has reversed its prior downward spiral. Enrollment has increased
almost 18%, from 1411 to 1661 students.
At the forum, Jolly will also talk about the District’s 2020
Strategic Plan, which is aimed at keeping it out of academic distress and
restoring it to a path towards excellence.
Residents will be able to question both Jolly and Mayor Brad
Sellers, who has taken a direct and active interest in the district’s
restoration since his election in 2010.
Appreciating
the Black Family
East Cleveland native Fanon Hill is
bringing his acclaimed documentary film, Lom
Nava Love, home this weekend to the East Cleveland Public Library.
 |
| Screen shot from the move Lom Nava Love |
That story is the inspiration for
Hill’s film, which will be shown this Saturday, May 6, at 1:30 PM, at the East
Cleveland Library, 14101 Euclid Ave.
The film pays tribute to Moore’s
courage and fortitude while focusing on the work of Baltimore public housing
community organizer Shirley Foulks.
Following the screening, W.
Paul Coates, Black Classic Press founder (father of author Ta-Nehisi Coates);
Fanon Hill, Shirley Foulks, and artists from East Cleveland will lead a discussion
about the film.
A selection of songs from
the film's soundtrack will be performed by Navasha Daya, among a number of
musical performances.
As part of the program,
former research director of the National Urban League, Robert B. Hill, will be
recognized for his seminal 1972 work, The Strengths of Black Families.
Hill’s book was written to counter the prevailing media image, fueled by The Moynihan Report, of black families
as weak and dysfunctional. Hill’s work focused on the assets and resilience of
black families.
The screening is free and
open to the public. Go to eastclevelandpubliclibrary.org, or call 216-541-4128
for more information.
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