It was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s willingness to go to jail over his passionate beliefs, core values and sense of moral justice and outrage that changed America for the better. And when the Rev. Dr. Jawanza Colvin and Pastor Richard Gibson both stuck out their arms to be handcuffed over a confrontation at Cleveland City Hall this past Monday, something was forever changed in Cleveland.
It may take those without a broad knowledge of history (or an in-depth understanding of the present) a bit longer to realize it, but the worm has finally turned. Empowerment is finally coming to long docile Clevelanders. And unless I miss my guess, from now on occasionally there’s going to be hell to tell the captain in terms of local politics. The political deck just got reshuffled.
When City Hall officials refused to accept petitions containing 20,000 signatures calling for the controversial Q deal to be put on the fall ballot — signatures that were obtained in only 26 days of canvassing, mind you — the vox populi was finally roused from its long slumberous state.
Mark my words, a new zeitgeist is about to be heralded in Cleveland.
The fact that the petitions were not accepted by city officials actually is secondary to the fact that a coalition (comprising Greater Cleveland Congregations, Service Employees International Union Local 1199, Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, AFSCME Ohio Council 8 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 268) was able to collect so many signatures in such a stunningly short period of time … even if a quarter of them are invalid. Keep in mind that only 18,000 residents voted in the last Cleveland primary election. This demonstrates real power and the establishment of a grassroots network that has to be reckoned with, a network whose power will last long after the Q deal is a distant memory.
This is a coalition comprising clergy and unions (two stalwart champions of the working class and poor people) and it has long been looking for “a hill to die on” … an issue of such import that it inflames passions, stirs hearts and minds, and provides a rallying cry for the citizenry — and now it has one: The incendiary Q deal.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the issue of whether the petitions will be accepted or not — and if the deal is eventually put on the ballot — will be decided by a judge. Doesn’t just about everything end up in court these days? And no doubt City Hall officials would hope, in addition to prevailing in front of a judge, that the delay would take all of the steam out of the coalition members … that they would lose their resolve over time. But that is only foolish, wishful thinking on the part of the protectors of the status quo; the giant is not going to go back to sleep.
The prime mover behind this grassroots effort is Rev. Colvin, and his entire life has been steeped in activist politics; by leading this effort he’s only fulfilling his destiny. The son of a Black Panther who raised him on the mother’s milk of civic engagement and schooled him well in the art of the possible, the Good Reverend no doubt views this as a perfect organizing opportunity … a chance to further coalesce disparate organizations and individuals into a clenched fist — one strong enough to demand social and economic change, and dedicated enough to insure that those changes occur; by peaceful negotiations when possible, and via the ballot box when not.
This truly is the American Way.
My guess is that once the Q deal is settled one way or the other, the coalition that was able to gather a record number of signatures in a record amount of time is going to be looking for other issues that negatively impact the working poor of Cleveland to attack — and Lord knows there’s no shortage of them — and to use their collective voice (backed by a righteously enraged citizenry) to bring about positive, life-altering changes.
Throw open your windows wide; step outside … there’s a new smell in the air. That’s the smell of true democracy and of a people ready to fight for their dignity via economic empowerment.
And it’s about damn time.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author at http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.
One Response to “MANSFIELD: A New Day”
Kathy Wray Coleman
Timely and wel-written. Does this show that the mayor and city council are losing clout?