Nothing can extinguish the flames that Mansfield Frazier lit.
An entire extended community is grieving the loss of Mansfield Frazier this week at the age of 78. A self-taught writer, he paid his debt to society with interest many times over. He wrote, edited, published, started magazines. He built a vineyard in the middle of the inner city that won awards for its grapes while hiring the formerly incarcerated.
He started a nonprofit to assist with re-entry that was distributed in halfway houses throughout the country. Everyone from the New York Times to CNN to Oprah sang his praises, and half of our city calls him their mentor. Join us at his memorial service on Sat 10/23, and in the meantime, revisit some of his columns supporting his beloved Hough neighborhood, and his urgent words on the upcoming Ward 7 city council race (spoiler alert: vote for Stephanie Howse).
Plus this week: Cleveland native and punk pioneer Adele Bertei returns to promote her new book, a virtual forum addresses the Cleveland Consent Decree, mayoral candidates talk about parks, and convergence-continuum looks at race, gender & art. The torch has been passed to all of us.
–Thomas Mulready