This weekend the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. held its regional meeting at Cleveland’s Convention Center. Founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington D.C., Alpha Kappa Alpha is the nation’s oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American, college-educated women. It comprises more than 300,000 members in more than 1,000 graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States and around the world. Often hailed as “America’s premier Greek-letter organization for African American women,” it has two graduate chapters in Cleveland, Alpha Omega and Lambda Phi Omega. Visit www.aka1908.com for more information.
Although an inactive member, I join several members of Cleveland’s judiciary as a proud member of AKA. The list includes Judges Shirley Strickland Saffold (Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court), Michelle Earley and Lauren C. Moore (Cleveland Municipal Court) Jessica E. Price Smith (Bankruptcy — Judge of the U.S. Federal Court), retired judges Una H.R. Keenon and Sara J. Harper, and the late Judge Lillian W. Burke, the first Black woman judge in Ohio. Currently, the sorority’s most famous member is Vice President Kamala Harris.
This weekend’s gathering brought together chapters from the Great Lakes region. Comprising 89 chapters, it represents Ohio, Michigan, Western New York, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and brought almost 3000 visitors to Cleveland. Friday night, Cleveland’s Terminal Tower was lit with pink and green lighting, the sorority’s colors to welcome visitors.
The sorority’s gathering was a boost to the city’s economy and a chance to showcase many of the positive assets that Greater Cleveland has to offer. The organization’s presence this weekend provided an excellent opportunity for the region’s political leadership to establish any number of new and valuable networking connections, potentially benefiting a city struggling to bring in convention business and improve its image.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb was positioned to take advantage of these opportunities. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, which views itself as AKA’s fraternal sibling. Unfortunately, it appears that the often-peripatetic mayor had other obligations which caused him to decline an invitation to represent the city in person. Instead, he sent a video message and posted a welcoming message on Facebook.
By contrast, County Executive Ronayne did appear in person at the Friday night opening event. He extended a hearty welcome to those in attendance and made an impressive presentation on what Cleveland has to offer. He proudly highlighted the region’s many places of interest, as well as places where the sorority’s delegates and members could go to dine, shop and visit. He even went the extra mile to arrange for some establishments to stay open after hours in order to accommodate late-night guests who wanted to take advantage of the many varieties of cuisine the city has to offer. Ronayne further impressed the audience when it became clear that he knew every verse of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — The Black National Anthem. He extended his stay and mingled with guests, making sure that everyone felt at home in his town. Ronayne’s outreach efforts did not go unnoticed by our visitors.
In words famously attributed to former U.S. House of Representative’s Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neil, “All politics is local.” Videos and Facebook don’t equate to being “in the room where it happens.” Bibb should learn from the example set by our county executive on how to roll out the welcome wagon.
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, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.