Cuyahoga County Democratic Party losing executive director

Cuyahoga County Democratic Party executive director Ryan Puente has stepped down after two and a half years on the job. 

Puente, who announced the move simultaneously via Twitter and Facebook, says that he is leaving "to pursue another opportunity".

With a number of high profile races on tap for 2021, including the Cleveland mayoral race and a likely Congressional race, the timing and vagueness of Puente's statement on social media is sure to fan speculation about his next move.

There have been rumblings Puente will soon sign on to run a campaign. More than one person has linked him to political newcomer Justin Bibb, who made a splash recently with the announcement his committee had banked to close $180,000 in less than three months for a likely run for Cleveland mayor. 

It is hard to imagine better preparation to run a mayoral campaign than Puente has acquired over the past few years as the go-to person for virtually every Party activity. He has worked closely with both party officials and rank and file, earning kudos from all corners for his dedication, knowledge, and professionalism. 

In a recent letter to Party members, Chairwoman Shontel Brown wrote, “Ryan has been outstanding in his role as Executive Director, I can’t begin to tell you how many positive comments I have received about Ryan and his commitment to the job. He is so very responsive to everyone, and he juggles so many things at once. He has credibility in the community which says a great deal about our organization.”

Cleveland city councilman Blaine Griffin, commenting on Puente's exit, described him as "one of the most talented people I've run across in the political arena."

Puente's exit comes at an especially critical time for the party. While he has been acclaimed as the high efficiency engine behind many of the organizing and campaign successes local Democrats have enjoyed recently, county and city Democrats have also been roundly criticized for low turnout, especially among Cleveland voters last month. Among those criticized for poor effort have been state party chair David Pepper, who has stepped down, Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson, and Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who was announced earlier this month as President-elect Joe Biden's choice to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Should Fudge be confirmed by the Senate, she would resign from Congress, leaving a vacancy to be filled in a special election around the same time as Cleveland's mayoral campaign will kick off.

Party chair Brown is among the announced candidates for Fudge's 11th District seat if and when it becomes open. Former state senator Nina Turner and former Cleveland councilman Jeff Johnson have also tossed their hats into the ring.

Given that the party's endorsement in the primary will be highly sought, questions of party leadership are sure to receive added scrutiny. Puente told The Real Deal Press that the short term plan will involve the Party's hiring a part time office manager until his replacement is found.

• • •

CPT • Change is Coming to Ohio's iconic 11th Congressional District — Part III

Cuyahoga Politics Today 

Fudge departure must be wake up call for 11^th District’s Black Civic Leaders — Part III

By R. T. Andrews

The gale force entry of former state senator Nina Turner into the developing race to succeed Cleveland area Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, pending her confirmation as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, knocked our plans for this column momentarily askew. 

Having discussed here in Part I and here in Part II the District's proud origins and history, and its importance to Cleveland’s black community, we had planned to advocate for a new process whereby we might begin more effectively to cultivate the generation of new black political leadership. 

Turner’s reemergence on the local scene, taken together with the initiative Justin Bibb is showing in the race to replace Frank Jackson next year, might seem to suggest a reinvigorated local political scene. But Black Cleveland needs a long term strategy if it is ever to realize its potential as an agentic community or capitalize on its status as the city’s largest ethnic group. 

If we can do that, we would not only address our seemingly intractable problems of poverty and despair, we would galvanize a sorely needed larger civic vision that for once was truly inclusive, not just so in our typical top down pro forma way. 

A smart community has a system for developing and nurturing talent.

John O. Holly, founder and president of The Future Outlook League

So, while Rep. Fudge is still our Congresswoman, we should consider that a smart community has a system for developing and nurturing talent. Let us realize that the mid-twentieth century ecology that produced our community’s greatest political talent — the Stokes Brothers — is not the environment we inhabit today. Carl and Louis Stokes, separately and collectively, were a once in a lifetime occurrence, products of a compact hothouse black community where they could attach themselves to a John Holly, perhaps black Cleveland’s greatest civic leader, and imbibe his sense of community service and spirit. 

Black Cleveland needs a long term strategy if it is ever to realize its potential as an agentic community and capitalize on its status as the city’s largest ethnic group. 

Carl and Lou came of age at a time when avenues for black excellence were tightly constricted. Many avenues of career and professional development were unavailable. Black people were unwelcome in every professional association. Black real estate agents could not participate in multiple listing services and could not even call themselves realtors, forcing them to invent the term “realtists”. You couldn’t find a black professional anywhere from downtown east until you neared 55^th and Woodland Ave.

How did we overcome? We got organized, informally and formally. John Holly formed The Future Outlook League, which quickly became 10,000 strong, forcing employers large and small to open their hiring gates.

Informally, civic leaders convened Operation Alert, a regular conclave of community leaders who shared information, plotted how to capitalize on vulnerable points in the area’s apartheid regime, and discussed how to navigate both opportunities and crises, whether sudden or foreseeable. 

The eventual 1960s breakthrough was communal, collective, cultural, and simultaneously national, global, and local. 

Regrettably, once black people began to find status and success in positions of public service, i.e. as elected officials, the definition and pecking order of community leaders and spokespeople began to shift, often with unfavorable results. Sometimes we placed impossible demands upon some of these officials. More often we asked too little of them and failed to hold them accountable. And most fatally, we failed to recognize the extent to which they in fact often answer to interests outside the community that are inimical to our own.

How can we change a system where too many of our elected officials do not work for us, do not respect us, do not love us enough to care for our welfare?

In much of the black community, the quality of our elected officials is left to chance. We do not identify, train, nurture and develop our political leaders. They self-select, more often than not becoming beholden to those who finance their campaigns.

There has to be a better way.

To find it, we spoke over the past month with a number of folks from all walks of life about the black community might develop a more effective politics. The brightest among them were quick to decouple the issue from any particular office or imminent election.  The frustration and despair that sometimes peeked through our questioning gave way before long to hope as we realized the enormous talent that already resides within our community. 

In the midst of our discussions, cleveland.com published a column that purported to identify some leading candidates to succeed Fudge. With a couple of exceptions, the list was tired, perhaps reflecting a veteran reporter’s old paradigm and his obvious disconnect from the black community of the present and future. It seemed almost an attempt to select a leader for us.

This is what happens when by our inaction we leave the field to others. 

In the next and final installment of this series, appearing this Sunday, we will explore how we might become, as a friend of mine is wont to say, “active participants of our own deliverance”.

• • •• • •

CPT • Turner candidacy upsets local political apple cart

Cuyahoga Politics Today 

Candidate’s return home will raise District’s profile, heighten the stakes 

By R.T. Andrews 

Nina Turner announcing from her home in Cleveland's Lee-Harvard neighborhood that she will be
running for Ohio's 11th Congressional District seat if Rep. Marcia Fudge vacates the office upon her
confirmation as US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. [Screenshot by R. T. Andrews]

She hasn’t won an election for anything in over a decade, and the last time her name appeared on a ballot was in 2014, when her candidacy for Secretary of State was part of a statewide ticket that cratered from top to bottom, but if you watched the rollout of former state senator Nina Turner’s declaration of candidacy for a Congressional seat that is not yet vacant, you know that star power has come to Cleveland and its 11th District.

Turner left town in 2015 in bold and shocking fashion when she very publicly shifted her allegiance from Hillary Clinton, the presumptive favorite for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, to the insurgent Bernie Sanders, because his campaign more closely aligned with her principles. 

If I say many of her fans felt betrayed and effectively burned her political jersey in effigy, then you know what’s coming next. Turner took her native political talents to the national stage where she performed under the brightest lights, the harshest scrutiny, and against the toughest competition. She performed in leading roles and was regularly center stage in the high stakes production of two national political campaigns. In between, she headed a dynamic national political organization for several years and spent frequent time as a commentator on national television networks. 

Long story short, Turner left town on a mission, learned what it takes to compete at the highest level, sharpened her skills, developed a team of loyalists, and in the process built a national fan base. 

Yesterday, flanked virtually by a carefully selected array of former legislative colleagues, current public officials, and Hollywood star power in Danny Glover, Turner announced from her home in Cleveland’s Lee-Harvard community, that she was running to succeed Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who will vacate the seat if confirmed as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for the incoming Biden administration. The event was impeccably scripted, the production values were tight, the presentations were succinct, coordinated, and on point, and the candidate was at her most radiant, composed, and centered. (She obviously understands the suburban voters she will need to win over to broaden her base.)

Clearly, like another prominent prodigal Northeast Ohioan, Turner has returned better equipped to pursue the brass ring. 

By law, Gov. Mike DeWine would set dates for special primary and general elections if Fudge resigns. The winner of the special general election would serve until December 31, 2022. 

Turner, 53, joins county councilwoman Shontel Brown, 45, and former state senator and ex-Cleveland city councilman Jeff Johnson, 62, as announced candidates to succeed Fudge. The field will undoubtedly expand when and if a vacancy in fact occurs. 

Make no mistake: Turner’s candidacy, while anticipated, irreversibly changes the dynamics of the race in many ways. 

First and foremost, Turner’s presence assures the race will be about policies and ideas. Atypical of most local politicians of any stripe, the Turner brand is associated with big policies and big ideas. She will force discussion of critical issues like healthcare, public education, affordable housing, food insecurity, living wage, income inequality and public transportation in any candidate forums. The candidates who have not prepared themselves adequately to debate these issues will likely find themselves exposed, if not overwhelmed. 

Notwithstanding Turner’s presence in the race, she is by no means a shoo in. Her presumptive status as front runner in an incomplete field will have no value when the votes are tallied. 

Indeed, Turner herself may become an issue. A passionate person who inspires many, she also incites fierce opposition on both personal and policy matters. Some suburban white women may never forgive Turner for her perceived abandonment of gender solidarity when she left the Clinton plantation for Sanders. Businesspeople who applauded Turner’s courage as a solitary African American advocate for county reorganization in 2009 will be appalled by the prospect of an unapologetic leftist representing the District. And Cleveland’s staid black political establishment, a low expectations bunch, are unlikely to appreciate Turner’s disruptive force. 

So, assuming that Fudge leaves office in the next 45 days or so, expect the following: 

· The race to succeed her will draw the most national attention to a local political contest since Carl Stokes was elected mayor in 1967. It’s already begun.

· Anti-Turner forces will coalesce around an ABT candidate. (Anybody But Turner) 

· Many disengaged eastside Cleveland voters, who once comprised the District's heart, will find their concerns center stage. 

· A spirited special Congressional contest will impact next year’s mayoral race in Cleveland, possibly accelerating a wholesale changing of the guard.

And in a wild off the cuff prediction: do not be surprised if northeast Ohio’s original prodigal child, who now reigns in Los Angeles, but whose childhood home is part of the District’s crazy Akron tail, and who has become widely respected for his willingness to speak out politically from his platform of fame and fortune, finds a candidate to endorse in the race.

• • •• • • 

CPT • Change is Coming to Ohio's iconic 11th Congressional District — Part II

Cuyahoga Politics Today 

The 11th Congressional District is endangered as a fount of black power — Part II

Hollowed out central city, state’s slow population growth, along with altered political culture, are diminishing black community’s grasp on former stronghold

By R. T. Andrews

The Cleveland Browns were synonymous with excellence almost from the very moment they burst onto the pro football scene in 1946. From the beginning the team was exceptional, so routinely dominant as to play for a league championship ten consecutive years.

In eastside neighborhoods like Glenville, where future NFL Hall of Famers like Marion Motley and Bill Willis lived unpretentiously alongside their neighbors in the city’s ghettos, the Browns were beloved, a source of pride. The team became such a part of the town’s fabric that even when they sank into competitive irrelevance — their lakefront  home relabeled as the Factory of Sadness, it was inconceivable to think of our town without them.

Then one day they were gone, leaving only the team colors and faded scrapbooks featuring such team legends as Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Paul Warfield. [On the west side of town, the revered names were undoubtedly Lou Groza, Otto Graham, Dante Lavelli and Dub Jones.] Under team owner Art Modell, they made bad decisions, suffered financial reversals, mortgaged the future on bad short term bets, and proved themselves thoroughly inept at making the organizational and management changes required for success in the constantly evolving world of the NFL.

While the city got a new team three years later, the new Browns are only now  escaping the shadows of institutional incompetence that have dogged their rebirth.

Don’t look now, but a deft redrawing of political boundaries by Ohio’s rightwing General Assembly could mean that a Congressional District that once seemed institutionalized as the bedrock of black Cleveland politics could vanish after a half-century run as swiftly as those Browns did 25 years ago.

Ohio's 11th Congressional District

Dismal turnout by black Cleveland voters in recent elections will make it harder for a black candidate, especially one without the benefit of incumbency, to win either a primary or a general election campaign for the seat. 

Cleveland’s black community — the place that gave the country its first elected big-city black mayor; the home base of a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus; the birthplace of the Twenty-First District Caucus, once so powerful as to show urban Democratic political machines that there was a drastic price to pay for disrespecting the black community — could lose its grip on a Congressional seat?

Yes.

Consider the following:

• When the District was drawn in 1968 to comply with Constitutional principles, the vast majority of Cuyahoga County’s black residents were crammed into a handful of neighborhoods: Central, Hough, Glenville, Fairfax, Mt. Pleasant, and Lee-Harvard. All of the first ring suburbs that today have significant black populations and are part of the Congressional District — Euclid, Maple Heights, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Bedford Heights, Richmond Heights, South Euclid, Garfield Heights, to name a few — were hostile to integration; collectively, they had less than five percent of the county’s black residents.

This concentrated black voting power was what the Ohio General Assembly kept a lid on through racial gerrymandering, until federal litigation and legislation — Baker v. Carr, the “one man, one vote” case decided in 1962; the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — helped lay the groundwork whereby an impressive cadre of local black attorneys and some staunch white allies, finally secured citizenship rights supposedly guaranteed one hundred years earlier by the Civil War Amendments. 

• Today, most county municipalities are at least nominally integrated, as are most of Cleveland’s west side wards. Black outmigration from the central city has seen substantial numbers of black families move across county lines, establishing homes in communities as varied as Streetsboro, Macedonia, Willowick, and Hudson.

The decennial redistricting that follows the Census every ten years is impacted by these migration patterns. Indeed, the current “Cleveland” district represented by Marcia Fudge snakes a narrow path down to north Akron to pick up several neighborhoods of black residents to pack into the 11^th District. That was a Faustian bargain struck at George Forbes’ house with then-Speaker of the Ohio House William Batchelder that benefitted both Republicans and the black Democratic establishment.

In several of her relatively rare public appearances in the district over the past few years, Fudge has referenced the dwindling margins of her majority minority district, pegging the percentage of black voters in the district somewhere around 50.5%. (We always found such hyper-parsing of her constituency curious: it made us wonder how it influenced her constituent relationship management, how she viewed her ability to win the support of nonblack constituents, etc.)

• In recent decades, Ohio has ranked among the nation’s ten worst states when it comes to Congressional district gerrymandering. In May of last year, voters overwhelmingly passed Issue 1, a compromise measure designed to limit the grossest excesses of gerrymandering. It is unclear how that will play out in the upcoming line drawing. The estimable Dr. Larry Brisker, the Tri-C professor whose analytical skills informed redistricting negotiations in ways that looked out for the black community’s political interests, has gone on to higher reward. Who is capable of assuming that role? 

• The willingness of the black state legislators to play footsie with their GOP legislative overseers a decade ago and create a second district more or less tailor-made for a black candidate — Joyce Beatty’s Third District seat in Franklin County —  could affect the State’s need to maintain the protected status of the venerable 11^th. Ohio’s 11-12% black population may warrant one majority minority district out of its soon-to-be 15 seat allocation; Beatty’s district may lessen the obligation of legislators to preserve a second such district. 

Are Ohio’s black and Democratic legislators willing to lay it on the line to preserve the 11^th District? The answer is not a clear yes, even before considering that House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, a rising star, is likely maneuvering to support drawing a district that could be conducive to her own healthy ambition for a Congressional seat.

• And most significantly, dismal turnout by black Cleveland voters in recent elections will make it harder for a black candidate, especially one without the benefit of incumbency, to win either a primary or a general election campaign for the seat. Some informed estimates suggest that Cleveland’s 52% Census response rate means its city council will be reduced by at least six, and perhaps eight, wards. This will translate into fewer black elected officials than the already too aloof ones who populate public office now. This is not a recipe for enhanced civic engagement.

A few days ago, cleveland.com published a piece by retired political writer Brent Larkin that purported to list a half dozen likely aspirants to succeed Fudge. We saw it as a disservice to the black community. Too many of the names are retreads from an era of black politicians who never grasped the idea of elected officials as public servants.

Over the past few weeks, we have had numerous chats with community members regarding the District’s future, and sought suggestions of people who, blessed with a future outlook, could help guide the district into a new era of politics while echoing the best of our past. We will share those names  in the final installment of this series. But next, Part III will invite reflection on what qualities we would like to see in our next Congressperson? What should be the job description? 

Meanwhile, we invite you to share your thoughts on these questions, and to suggest names of potential candidates, whether they have previously run for public office or not. If you wish to share your suggestions in the comments, please use your real name. If you prefer to remain anonymous, email me directly. [It won’t be helpful to have Bill Neverwas anonymously float the name of Bill Neverwas.]

• • •• • •

Nate’s North Coast Notes • Cleveland Public Library presents lawyer/activist Bryan Stevenson | Holiday presentation at Karamu | Free Concert at Bop Stop | Crocker Park Holiday Lights

By Nathan E. Paige

Virtual Discussion with Lawyer/Author Bryan Stevenson – December 5 at Noon

Activist attorney Bryan Stevenson, who wrote the book-turned-movie “Just Mercy”, will speak at a Cleveland Public Library virtual program on Saturday, December 5.

As part of its Authors and Democracy literary series, the Cleveland Public Library presents Civil Rights Lawyer/Author Bryan Stevenson for an in-depth virtual discussion of his more than 30 years of fighting injustice and inequality Saturday, December 5 from noon – 1PM. Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama. Under his leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults.  He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government and the author of the award-winning New York Times bestseller, Just Mercy, which was made into a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.  Both actors went on to win NAACP Image Awards for their performances.  This is a free event; please register through Eventbrite.

 

Debbie Gifford Quartet Streaming Concert at BOP STOP – December 5 at 7:30 PM

The Debbie Gifford Quartet, consisting of vocalist Gifford; pianist Ed Ridley; bassist Aiden Plank and drummer Ricky Exton, will perform via livestream on the BOP STOP’s Facebook page Saturday, December 5 from 7:30-8:45 PM, providing an evening of jazzed-up holiday favorites.  In addition to being nominated for Vocalist of the Year, Jazz Musician of the Year and Jazz Band of the Year in the Annual Free Times Music Awards, Debbie Gifford is the only woman singer to ever perform with the Birdland Big Band. Accessing the stream is free, but donations will be appreciated.

 

The Crocker Park Holiday Light display can be viewed daily through January 1. A choreographed light show takes place nightly at 6PM through December 24.  (Photo by Nate Paige)

Crocker Park Holiday Lights – Through January 1

Now that Northeast Ohio has been blanketed in more snow in a 24-hour period than we really wanted, the festiveness of holiday lighting displays around town, including the Holiday Lights at Crocker Park, is that much more vibrant.  The choreographed light show, set to some of your favorite Christmas songs, kicks off nightly at 6 p.m. through Dec. 24.  The holiday lights will continue through January 1, 2021. Other highlights include the 13-foot Walk Through Ornament; Toy Train Town; a pop-up Holiday Market; and the Cleveland Monsters Real Ice Rink. Train rides on Santa’s Holiday Express are available in Santa’s Village from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays and noon to 5 p.m. Dec 24. $4.

‘Joyful, A Karamu House Celebration’ (Available on YouTube December 10-January 10)

Karamu House presents the virtual holiday production, “Joyful, A Karamu House Celebration” on its YouTube channel Dec. 10-Jan. 10.

On the heels of its virtual Juneteenth series, Karamu gets into the spirit of the season with ”Joyful, A Karamu House Celebration,” featuring an evening of song and dance, representing cultures from around the world.  The cast includes Darelle Hill, Elizabeth Edwards, Jacob Hill, Lexy Lattimore, Joshua McElroy and Mary Frances R. Miller, and many others. This hour-long production can be viewed on Karamu’s YouTube page beginning December 10.  The purchase of a ticket, $24.99, allows the viewer 48 hours to watch the production. 

Is there an upcoming event you’d like included in this column? Please send the details, along with a high-resolution photo/graphic, to northcoastnotes@therealdealpress.com at least two weeks prior to the event.

• • •• • •

CPT • Change is Coming to Ohio's iconic 11th Congressional District — Part I

Cuyahoga Politics Today

The 11th Congressional District as we know it is about to change, and with it, black Cleveland has a chance to remake itself — Part I

By R. T. Andrews

The very public effort of US Representative Marcia Fudge to persuade President-elect Joe Biden to appoint her as Secretary of Agriculture is an unmistakable signal that her time in Congress is rapidly coming to a close. Whether or not she secures the Cabinet slot, gets another appointment as consolation prize, or decamps to the nonprofit world, Greater Cleveland will soon have a new Congressional representative. And should some surprising turn of events occur whereby Fudge completes the term to which she was just elected, there is likely zero chance she would run again in 2022, when a new district, redrawn following this year’s Census, will almost certainly be less conducive to the walkover races she’s enjoyed since she won two races to succeed Stephanie Tubbs Jones in 2008.

Why Fudge has one foot out the door and the other in the air is open to speculation;  reluctance to face voters in a new district, and/or a loss of enthusiasm for the job are among those that have been advanced. Frankly, the reasons are subordinate in importance to a host of more substantial questions.

The Stokes brothers, Louis [standing]
and Carl, were architects of what we know
today as the 11th Congressional District.

What is the future of the 11th Congressional District?  How might we shake free of our dependence on the dinosaur style of politics that serves to keep us among the poorest, least healthy, and most ineffective communities in the nation? What opportunities exist for the black community to redefine our current politics? How can we develop and nurture the political talent that can make our politics relevant again? What changes need to be made to create a political climate where our electorate becomes engaged and our turnout is no longer dismal? Where among us at present are the candidates who can effectively represent our interests? How might we support them so that they remain responsive to us and not to the puppet masters who govern the larger community?

Answering these questions would go a long way to making the selection of Fudge’s successor a transformational moment and not just another horse race that reinforces the status quo.

Before we address these questions, let us first take a look back to another transformational moment.

• • •

What we now know as the 11th Congressional District was shaped as a result of multiple lawsuits filed in the 1960s over gerrymandering by the Ohio legislature to prevent the election of a black Congressman by carving up the black community. As Louis Stokes detailed in his memoir, that person most likely would have been his brother, Carl B. Stokes. But, as luck would have it, by the time the litigation was ultimately resolved, shortly after the US Supreme Court ruling in Lucas v. Rhodes, handed down in December 1967, Carl had just made history by becoming the first black elected mayor of a major American city.

[I pause here to give a special shout out to two black attorneys who were stalwart fighters in Cleveland’s civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s: Russell T. Adrine and Richard L. Gunn, who shared legal offices but had separate practices, were part of the successful legal team that created what was originally the Twenty-First Congressional District.]

The chance to become Ohio’s first black Congressman drew a plethora of candidates, including several experienced and well-known politicians: George Forbes, who would become the longest-serving and most powerful city council president in Cleveland’s history; Leo Jackson, an outspoken maverick Glenville area councilman who would go on to a long and distinguished career on the Court of Appeals; and George White, the Lee-Harvard councilman who later became Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

What opportunities exist for the black community to redefine our current politics?

But Carl Stokes, who had been a driving force behind much of the litigation, was reluctant to concede the seat he felt was his to anyone outside his circle. And thus began the political career of his brother Louis, who would easily win the primary, winning every ward and every precinct, and go on defeat Republican Charles P. Lucas, who had been the plaintiff in the lawsuit that created the seat, in the general election.

Having a black Congressperson in Cleveland has been a given ever since 1968, when Louis Stokes won a special election for the Twenty-First Congressional District and became Ohio’s first black member of Congress. He went on to serve the entire district with distinction for thirty years, winning respect far and wide, perhaps as much for the dignity of his service as for his signal accomplishments and the bounty he returned to the district.

Stokes became the dean of local black politics in Greater Cleveland. While George Forbes, Arnold Pinkney, and later Mike White exercised tremendous political power and influence during the Stokes era, all understood that Lou was the godfather, the umpire and final arbiter on any important matters of political dispute within the black community. Much of his influence was exercised through BEDCO, the Black Elected Officials of Cleveland, the organization Stokes used to maintain a basic level of accountability, order, and coherence among local black elected officials.

The history of the 11th Congressional District has helped make the office of U. S. Representative the holy grail of Cleveland black politics.

As Stokes approached retirement, he proposed county prosecutor Stephanie Tubbs Jones as his successor. Her natural political touch, high name recognition, and immense popularity, along with an already distinguished resume that included service as a Common Pleas Court judge, made her the consensus pick. She won the 1998 primary in a landslide and seemed on her way to becoming a force in Congress when she suffered an aneurysm and died suddenly in July 2008.

The Cleveland black political establishment that had achieved some modicum of black political power, was now aged, and had failed to nurture any first-rate talent or establish any mechanism to pass the baton to the next generation. But in the absence of any countervailing force, they assembled enough energy to push forward a Tubbs Jones ally, then-Warrensville Hts. mayor Marcia Fudge, as her successor.

Unlike the pattern that prevails in districts with white representatives, the job expectation for Cleveland’s black Congressperson has always included more than normal constitutional duties. The history of the seat, coupled with systemic limitations upon the aspirations of black politicians — except for judges, only rarely has a black candidate (Virgil E. Brown Jr., Peter Lawson Jones, and Tubbs Jones) been able to succeed on a countywide ballot, and only one black nonjudicial candidate (Republican Ken Blackwell*) has ever won statewide — and the standard set by Lou Stokes, has made it the holy grail of local black politics.

While an evaluation of Fudge’s tenure in the seat is best left for another day, there is no doubt that the timing and manner of her departure will soon reveal just how bare is the cupboard of black political leadership in Cleveland.

Our next column will take a look at what her departure may mean for the constituents she leaves behind.

• • •• • •

* Blackwell was elected Ohio Treasurer in 1994 and Secretary of State in 1998 and 2002. Our original post said no black nonjudicial candidate had ever won a statewide election. This is true of Democrats who have run statewide.

Additionally, Jennette Bradley was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2002 as Governor Robert Taft's running mate. Taft appointed her as Ohio Treasurer, effective January 2005, to fill a vacancy; however she was defeated in the Republican primary the following year.

Both Blackwell and Bradley are African American.

Nate’s North Coast Notes • Winterfest | Cleveland Cinematheque | Sony’s Alpha Female Plus Grant Program

By Nathan E. Paige

Winterfest 2020 – (November 28 – January 3)

Winterfest 2020 – downtown Cleveland’s official kickoff to the holiday season – begins Saturday, November 28 at 7PM. (Photo: Nate Paige)

Winterfest is one of Cleveland’s most anticipated annual winter holiday events. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event has been scaled back, but still designed to entertain with a special tree lighting broadcast on WKYC-TV3 November 28 at 7PM. The wide variety of scheduled events includes daily light shows, performances by the Singing Angels, a Santas of the World Scavenger Hunt, the Rivergate Park/Merwin’s Wharf Riverfest, on-site and online shopping from downtown merchants and much more!   Get more information.

Take a break from your daily stresses with some frivolous entertainment by watching the low-budget, explosion-heavy film “Action U.S.A.” (Photo: Kino Marquee)

Cleveland Cinematheque Virtual Cinema: “Action U.S.A.” (Streaming through December 3)

Considering 2020 has been quite an exhausting and emotionally draining year, it can’t hurt to want to spend an hour or two on mindless escapism.  That’s where “Action U.S.A.” comes in.  Serving as the directorial debut of veteran Hollywood stuntman John Stewart, this 1989 film was shot in Texas, and the paper-thin plot revolves around missing stolen jewels.  Get ready for a series of car jumping scenes, huge explosions for the sake of explosions, and a hitman who resembles a muscular Freddie Mercury. The sub-par acting would make this film perfect fare for “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” Streaming fee is $10 and allows film to be viewed for five days. View the trailer.

Get an inside look at the inner workings of the Rock Hall during “Rock Your Giving Week” December 1-5. (Photo: Nate Paige)

Rock Your Giving Week at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (December 1-5)

Tuesday, December 1 through Saturday, December 5, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame presents “Rock Your Giving Week,” a series of free virtual, educational programs highlighting the Museum’s mission.  The schedule is as follows:

• December 1: Backstage Pass - Learn about current preservation projects
• December 2: Drum Like A Rock Star – Drumming tutorial
• December 3: Preserve Your Rock Star Legacy – Explore the Rock Hall’s Library & Archives
• December 4: Power of Rock & Roll - Learn about the free online educational resource Rock Hall EDU
• December 5: Rock & Yoga - Join in an all-levels vinyasa session featuring instructors from Inner Bliss Yoga Studio

Programs begin at noon each day and are available on the Rock Hall’s YouTube page, Free, but donations welcome.  Get more information.

Sony is looking for female photographers and videographers to apply to its Alpha Female Grant Program. (Photo: Sony/YouTube)

Sony’s Alpha Female Plus Grant Program 

(Deadline February 15, 2021)

Sony is looking for female photographers and videographers to apply to its Alpha Female Grant Program. Among the items the winner will receive is a $5,000 grant to fund a specific, well-defined project; a full-frame Sony camera and lens (value of $3,000+) to shoot your project; and a one-year full Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps subscription to edit your project. The contest is open to all legal residents of the United States and Canada (with the exception of the Province of Quebec) who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2021. Click here for compete details.

Is there an upcoming event you’d like included in this column? Send the details, along with a high-resolution photo/graphic, to northcoastnotes@therealdealpress.com at least two weeks prior to the event.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR READERS

 

Black nonprofits and service organizations find creative ways to survive Covid-19

By Rhonda Crowder

Even in the best of times, black nonprofit and service organizations face a unique set of challenges from secure funding to attracting new members. Add Covid-19 to the mix and the work becomes more daunting. 

We looked at three such area organizations — the United Black Fund, The Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater Cleveland and The National Council of Negro Women-Cuyahoga Section — to gain a sense of how such organizations, which play a vital community role, are coping in this pandemic.

United Black Fund

“Since March, we’ve been trying to remain fluid,” said Cecil Lipscomb, executive director of United Black Fund (UBF). Lipscomb said they are taking a conservative approach to how they manage and operate. Almost immediately, they took to working remotely and embracing a virtual meeting regimen. 

“At each turn, each day could be devastating news or great news. At the end of each day, things can change,” he said.

United Black Fund, the only Black federated human service organization in the state of Ohio, assists over 80 organizations annually and has distributed more than $12 million in grants. 

Cecil Lipscomb,
UBF executive director

According to Lipscomb, many of the organizations UBF serves were quiescent in the pandemic’s early days. They paused, he said, trying to figure it all out. But as conditions became more critical, it wasn’t long before UBF started getting urgent requests for support. Food shortages, children with depression and schools in need of technology were some of the most pressing issues. 

“UBF responded by providing means but by no way could we cover all the requests internally,” he said. “We were able to help through direct funds or partnerships with larger agencies.” 

For example, The Khnemu Foundation needed personal protection equipment to provide to it Glenville community. UBF helped them secure N95 masks from United Way and the Verizon Foundation. 

UBF also continued to work with the African American Association of Cultural Garden, providing direct consultation. 

“People are going to need outdoor spaces of healing. This can be a place we can gather,” said Lipscomb.

Additionally, UBF hosted a training in partnership with the Cleveland Leadership Center to train over 400 executives in Puerto Rico regarding fund development. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the original plan had been to travel to Puerto Rico. However, the presenters were forced to pivot, converting the training materials to Spanish, using interpreters and FEMA representatives to deliver the service, and providing the training online.

And, in partnership with Mad Works, UBF supported the expansion of both enrollment and curriculum to enrich a summer program they previously sponsored in Richmond Heights Local Schools, teaching coding and graphic design over the summer to 75 children.

In addition to accelerating its responses to grantees, UBF has also begun to reconsider some of its strategic imperatives. The pandemic disruption and the social unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd this summer by police in Minneapolis created a sense of urgency for UBF to build its capacity. Lipscomb acknowledged UBF had not been sufficiently aggressive in the past in terms of providing financial support, in response time, and in scaling the organization.

“Our reach could be more,” he said. “We started thinking about how we can do more, to run to the fire as opposed to away from it.”

UBF has begun hosting a series of workshops via Zoom, titled Summit Ujima, to encourage non-profit leaders to think about how to catalyze collective work and responsibility.   

They recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Black Economic and Wellness Coalition, to better align for a concerted effort and organize in response to problems. 

“We want to identify solutions and be proactive,” said Lipscomb. “We want to do things like invest and support in unique ways, being more intentional.”

They also worked with the Cleveland Black Equity and Humanity Fund [CBEHF], a donor-advised fund housed at the Cleveland Foundation.

CBEHF is the direct outgrowth of the Soul of Philanthropy – CLE, a year-long local citizen-initiated effort that worked to illuminate and expand the history, definition, and role of philanthropy in the black community. The members of the Soul Of Philanthropy – CLE’s executive committee continue to serve as the leadership of now CBEHF.  

“We wanted to continue to uplift black philanthropy and create a fund that would attract resources to deal with issues of inequity and create advancement and growth in the black community,” said Lipscomb. “Economics is going to be extremely important going forward.”

Surprisingly, Lipscomb continued, UBF saw an increase in funding, in particular from non-traditional, community folk such as Tim and Latrice Tramble as well as Michelle S. Felder and members of the Black Women Work CLE Facebook Group. 

UBF’s staff does much of its work remotely these days. Lipscomb said his days have started earlier and end later than before. UBF staff members have grown closer, as some have lost family members to Covid-19. The staff is reading together, as well. Begin Again, by Dr. Eddie Glaude, is their current text. 

Lipscomb shared with The Real Deal Press that this year’s annual UBF meeting, to be held next month, will have some unique aspects, inspired in part by the societal changes induced by the pandemic.  “It will be dynamic, with lots of design”, he said.

National Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater Cleveland

The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative umbrella organization comprising nine historically Black Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities.

The organizations — Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Iota Phi Theta — are oftentimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine”.

The twelve local member chapters of these organizations each has their own community initiatives  in addition to working together.

L-R) Essence Bates (FinancialSecretary), Vikki Pruitte-Sorrells (1st Vice-president), Mark Sorrells (President),
Brian Webster (2nd Vice-president), and  Ashley Thomas (Correspondence Secretary)

Kappa Alpha Psi member Mark R. Sorrells became president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater Cleveland in January after serving the four previous years as 2nd Vice President. He said the “Cleveland Pan-Hell” and the local Divine Nine organizations are adapting to the climate.

“There have been a lot of changes,” said Sorrells. “We [Cleveland Pan-Hell] knew right away that at least our meetings would be different.”

Sorrells said The Cleveland Pan-Hell immediately started to meet via Zoom. “We thought it was going to be short. We were in denial. We still planned to do our social events,” he said.

They had scheduled a bowling party and a reunion picnic for the Spring, both of which had to be cancelled. However, the pandemic has not impacted their bottom line. 

“It didn’t hurt us financially,” he said. “We’re not shelling out money for expenses. Our expenses actually decreased.”

According to Sorrells, a lot of the Greek organizations hosted virtual regional conferences, including both Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha sororities. The AKA regional had been scheduled for Cleveland.  

“Covid made us rethink things,” said Sorrells, explaining how Cleveland Pan-Hell began to do more social action-oriented events. 

“We thought it was going to be short. We were in denial. We still planned to do our social events,” Sorrells said.

They held a virtual Day of Prayer, where all members of The Divine Nine were invited to  come together to pray about different things. They also held a Census 2020 event at Fatima Family Center and conducted Covid-19 testing.

“We’re still doing things,” Sorrells said. “We’re planning another Day of Prayer.”

Sorrells said that each of the Greek organizations had its own voting initiatives for this year'. “I don’t know what group didn’t have one.”

The Cleveland Pan-Hell usually hosts a Christmas Party at the Alpha Estates. This year, they’ll simply distribute meals and baskets. “We’re active, but active in a different way.”

They have an “adopted highway” program, supports the local HBCU College Fair, MLK Day speeches for youth as well. They’ve also hosted fun activities such as Black Jeopardy, something Sorrells is looking to revamp virtually.

Overall, The Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater Cleveland is still adjusting. It will soon be in fundraising mode, in anticipation of its 50th anniversary celebration in 2022. 

One of the biggest hurdles of the pandemic for Greek organizations, Sorrells said, is getting new members. “Covid presents a challenge to bringing in new members into Divine Nine organizations.”

Sorrells believes society’s current climate highlights the need for more collective action. “We need to come together and learn to put things in place to meet the needs of our community.”

National Council of Negro Women - Cuyahoga Section

The National Council of Negro Women is a non-profit organization founded in 1935 by the legendary Mary McCloud Bethune, with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African American women, their families, and communities. 

Kemberlee H. Jones became president of NCNW’s Cuyahoga Section almost three months ago, in the midst of the pandemic. She says six prior years of service as an officer of the organization made it a smooth transition. 

The NCNW Cuyahoga Section, which has about 100 members, is fifty-four years old. There is a Cleveland Section as well.

“It has been challenging yet creative,” said Jones of the work during this pandemic. Her Section started meeting on Zoom. The way they delivered services has changed as well.

Every Friday for the last thirty years, they fed the men at the City Mission. Unable to continue doing that under Covid-19, they mailed a check to the Food Bank. They also donated items to Laura’s Home, Frontline Services, and Bessie’s Place — all organizations they supported prior to the onset of the pandemic. 

Every June for the last twenty years, the chapter has held a resource/health fair at the Zelma George Recreation Center at Luke Easter Park on the city’s southeast side.

“I don’t think it will look the same, but we still want to do something,” said Jones. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, they have hosted a town hall to encourage Census2020 participation on Facebook. 

“Our work is still going on, just in a virtual environment,” said Jones. “The work can’t stop. Our members are adjusting. We’ve done quite a bit. I'm very proud.”

Citing the increase in reported child abuse and domestic violence is up, one thing another this she wanted to do was revitalize the chapter’s child abuse and domestic violence committee. 

“That’s an area we need to be strong in,” said Jones. 

Jones  said her Section has a good relationship with other local sections and affiliates such as the Greek organizations, in terms of staying engaged and providing support.

She wants people to know their mission is to lead, advocate for, and empower African American women, their families and communities through research, advocacy and national and community based services and programs on issues of health, education and economics empowerment in the United States and in Africa. They are welcoming new members.

“I think all professional women should be a member of National Council of Negro Women,” she said.  

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