Over the last few years the City of Cleveland has instituted a very admirable program which names sections of streets and roadways after memorable Clevelanders. Just this summer, a section of Euclid Avenue was renamed “James A. Garfield Way” in memory of the assassinated president who is buried in nearby Lake View Cemetery. Several years ago, a section of East 89th Street was renamed in honor of the late William F. Boyd, whose family has operated a funeral home at that location for more than 100 years — making it one of the oldest black operated businesses in the City.
Kudos to the city and the councilpersons who introduced these pieces of legislation and instituted this program that not only recognizes historic events in the city but honors the memory of people who have made substantial contributions to our city and its history.
But in every good idea there is also a down side. In my book, the idea of dedicating a section of Cedar Avenue “Don King Way” is distasteful, despicable and, frankly, reflects poorly on the judgment of Councilwomen Mamie Mitchell and Phyllis Cleveland who introduced the legislation and all of those who support the idea.
Let’s take a look at why I feel that way.
On April 20, 1966, Don King walked into the Manhattan Top Room on Cedar Avenue — right near the section of Cedar Avenue that council wants to rededicate in his honor — and engaged in an argument with Sam Garrett, a sickly, drug-addicted individual who worked for King in his gambling operation. Garrett made the mistake of owing King a $600 gambling debt. The fight then went outside, where King essentially stomped Garrett to death. He was convicted of second-degree murder. However, the judge, for reasons known only to him, reduced the conviction to non-negligent manslaughter and King served under four years in prison. In 1983 King received a pardon from Ohio Governor James Rhodes.
But the death of Sam Garrett was not King’s first encounter with a person dying at his hands. In 1954 King was running an illegal bookmaking operation out of the basement of a record store on Kinsman Road. Accounts of the incident assert that Hillary Brown entered the premises in an attempt to commit a robbery. King shot Brown in the back as he left the premises. The homicide was ruled justifiable.
Now, I’m all for re-entry and allowing people to rebuild their lives. And granted these events took place in the 1950s and 1960s. King paid his debt to society. He went on to be a very successful boxing promoter and is currently the publisher of the Cleveland Call and Post. These days King — and his boy Mike Tyson — are unabashed supporters of Donald Trump but that’s his right.
But to honor Don King in this way, on the very street where he committed acts that resulted in the death of an individual for which he was convicted in a court of law — even though that conviction is now erased through an operation of law — flies in the face of good judgment and reflects poorly on our city council, our city and the many people in this community who have made important contributions to Cleveland and deserve similar recognition.
If Councilwomen Mamie Mitchell and Phyllis Cleveland want to honor Don King, they should find another way.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection and was recently appointed to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.
One Response to “Don King Way – The Wrong Way to Go by C. Ellen Connally”
Scott Biederman
How about naming the street for the man who he stomped to death. And or the man he shot in the back.