Kevin Griffin was listening to a variety of radio stations on the Monday after the initially peaceful downtown protests in Cleveland turned ugly, apparently by agitators seeking to corrupt the legitimate anger of people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities, who are demanding an end to a nationwide attitude that tolerates — some would say condones and fuels — a police culture that sees large segments of the public as “them”.
It’s part of Kevin’s job to take the pulse of local radio. He’s a strategic marketing exec for the Cleveland marketing firm, Adcom. But that day he was struck by a stark contrast: while several of the stations owned by the black media company, Radio One, were strongly on the side of the protesters, stations owned by other chains were offering their listeners a very different interpretation. As Kevin saw it, people “were not living in the same world” in their news intake. He began to ask, “what are our collective community values?”
The question drove him to consult Eddie Harrell, Radio One general manager. They soon decided to organize a radio town hall of sorts. Utilizing their industry contacts, they assembled the region’s top radio station corporations in partnership to produce a live 90-minute program, “Justice For All: A Conversation About Race, Equality, and Inclusion”.
The organizers want the conversation to focus on how the region can begin to deconstruct systemic racism, in part by identifying:
· the region's vision for race, equality, and social justice,
· the barriers that perpetuate inequality and structural racism, and
· the mechanisms and structural changes in need of review
Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams, Urban League CEO Marcia Mockabee, and David Gilbert, president and CEO at both Destination Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission will be on hand to discuss these issues.
Clearly, as is the region’s wont, this first program defaults to hearing first from the establishment. But Griffin, a relative newcomer to our town, hopes to follow up with future similar programs that will include voices from the heart of the community. [We’ve got a list ready if he asks.]
As for today, we’ll be listening to see if the moderator, veteran tv news anchor Romona Robinson, can induce the taciturn mayor and his by-the-book chief to step outside their official personas enough to offer some useful analysis.
The program will be simulcast live across 20 broadcast radio stations and digital platforms today, Wednesday, June 17 from 1PM-2:30PM. EST. Participating networks include iHeart Radio, Radio One, Entercom, ESPN Cleveland, and Salem Communications.
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When the digital age began few of us envisioned a day when a pandemic would lead to self-quarantining and sheltering in place. As upsetting to our routines as the evolving new normal has been, a number of people, including your humble scribe, are discovering that staying put is not without its advantages. We’ll start with a cleaner environment. A number of friends have commented on the benefit of daily commutes that can now be measured in seconds and feet instead of hours and miles. [Gas station owners, tax collectors, razor manufacturers, and dry cleaners are among the legions for whom this is not a boon.]
But we have discovered another benefit. Not only do we save time and money getting to events we’d like to attend, we even get to see programs to which we might not otherwise have gotten to, for reasons of time, money, distance, hassle, or the simple fact that we wouldn’t otherwise have been invited.
Of course, everyone is welcome at the City Club of Cleveland, one of our more venerable institutions. Even before this consarned pandemic, they were had begun to enliven their once staid programming by expanding subject matters, venues and times. Yesterday, they offered an invaluable program for these or any other times. A panel of black women professionals offered exceptional candid and useful insight into the too-often ignored issues of individual and communal mental health.
Sharing the virtual forum stage were: Dr. Shemariah Arki, a professor of Pan African Studies at Kent State University; psychologist Habeebah Grimes, CEO of the Positive Education Program; Dr. Marsheena Murray, assistant professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine; and Rev. Courtney Clayton Jenkins, senior pastor of South Euclid United Church of Christ. The panel was ably moderated by Dr. Lisa Ramirez of MetroHealth.
The video and podcast for “Black Mental Health Matters” can be accessed here. The program’s utility is not limited to any one ethnicity or gender.
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| Clockwise from Left: Kim Brazwell, Dr. Anahi Ortiz, Elizabeth Joy, LISW |
A related program today may be useful to many people who are front line workers in the battle against the coronavirus. “Processing Death and Grief During COVID-19” is being offered with a view towards supporting particularly towards those black helpers who may be dealing with the loss of loved ones and patients, or perhaps are grieving the loss of a job or other disruptions.
Addressing these issues will be Franklin County Coroner, Dr. Anahi Ortiz, and Elizabeth Joy, LISW. The program is scheduled for 6PM-7:30PM today and may be accessed via Facebook Live. It will be moderated by activist and thought leader Kim Brazwell of Columbus.
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| Native Clevelanders Jamil Smith of The Rolling Stone and Erika D. Smith of the Los Angeles Times |
Another ancillary benefit of the pandemic also comes to us by way of the City Club, albeit with a healthy mixture of anger and sorrow. Erika D. Smith and Jamil Smith were originally being scheduled for a traditional Friday Forum appearance towards summer’s end. Two of our nation’s many current crises, COVID-19 and the chronic public health crisis of racism, have conspired to advance their appearance to Juneteenth! They will appear at a virtual forum this Friday.
The two journalists are not related though they are both native Clevelanders, share a surname, and now live and observe the world from Los Angeles. Erika D. Smith is a metro columnist for the Los Angeles Times, where she writes about the diversity of people and places across California. Jamil Smith covers national affairs and culture as a senior writer for Rolling Stone. He also is a regular on cable public affairs programs.
The livestream will be available beginning at 12:30PM. Have questions? Tweet them at @TheCityClub or send a text to 330.541.5794.
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Finally, we don’t want to overlook the interesting program being offered tonight by the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage at 7PM via Zoom. Sean Martin, co-editor of the new book Cleveland Jews and the Making of a Midwestern Community, moderates a discussion with authors J. Mark Souther and Todd Michney who penned essays for the book. As is the case throughout the nation, the residential migrations of black and Jews is thoroughly intertwined in Greater Cleveland. Tonight’s program will dynamics of eastward migration as Jewish populations moved from what is now the Gateway District, to Glenville and Kinsman, to the suburbs in The Heights and beyond, influencing Black-Jewish race relations in Cleveland.
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