By Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer
November 27, 2009, 3:55PM
CLEVELAND, Ohio — When voters approved a new, drastically reshaped Cuyahoga County government Nov. 3, they also started the meter running.
Less than a year from now, voters will elect the first county executive and choose 11 people to sit on the first county council.
If minority groups hope to see shades of themselves in those new leaders, the time to start working is now.
That’s the position of the Cleveland NAACP, which on Thursday will host a forum designed to examine the opportunities presented in the government-to-come and to gauge how minority groups can best be heard.
Organizers say they hope to seize the chance to identify a new, youthful class of black and Hispanic leaders and to help them to start their climb.
“We have never, as a community, marshaled an opportunity to make sure our young people have a place at the table,” said Stanley Miller, president of the Cleveland NAACP.
Miller said he thinks it’s a characteristic of Greater Cleveland that elected leaders make careers of maintaining power, closing out new and youthful voices.
“There’s a lot of folks, black and white, who get elected positions and just hold on to them,” he said.
A new government may pre sent new doorways. The Cleveland NAACP opposed Issue 6, the ballot initiative that brought the change, arguing that the charter form of government would diminish black political opportunities, in part, by eliminating many elected offices and by concentrating power in a single executive.
But voters approved of the new structure by a landslide, Miller noted, and it’s time to assess the challenges and the advantages of the new era.
The forum will present a panel of civic leaders, some elected, some not. It’s to include State Rep. Robin Belcher, who is serving her first term in the Ohio House; Chris Ronayne, the president of University Circle Inc.; Cleveland City Council members Mamie Mitchell and Zack Reed; and at least one representative from the Latino community.
The discussion will be led by local radio talk show host Basheer Jones and by NeKima Hill, who leads the Young Adult Committee of the NAACP, made up of members 35 and younger.
Hill, who came home to Cleveland last year after finishing law school, said she hopes the forum identifies more people like herself: young professionals who want to get involved in their community and help it to grow. She said she hopes to attract not just aspiring politicians but also young lawyers, artists and health-care workers.
“There are a lot of talented people who have a lot to give to this community,” Hill said. “We see there’s a lot of potential with this age group to make a positive impact.”
“County Reform: Building the Framework for Leadership for Young Minority Leaders” begins at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Atrium of the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. A reservation is requested via info@clevelandnaacp.org or 216-231-6260.
Published On: 11/10/2009
Author: Brooke Thomas
Basheer Jones, Cleveland radio personality, motivational speaker and political activist, served as the keynote speaker at the 2nd annual Not Another Statistic Conference that was held on Mount Union College’s campus on November 6-7.
The 2009 conference, “Manifesting the Inner You” was co-sponsored by Mount Union’s Black Student Union and Baldwin-Wallace College’s Black Student Alliance. The event touched on a variety of topics – diversity issues, multicultural motivation and intercultural communication.
In his speech, Jones explained that he believes that students are the individuals that need to push to make change in the world. He asked students to ask themselves what they were fighting for because their anger should be put to use to create some type of positive change.
“Organizations have been led by young people, like the NAACP, and people have put their lives on the line for us,” said Jones when explaining that young people can and have made changes. “Stop thinking you’re powerless!”
He explained that nobody will listen until students organize, rally and most importantly speak out. “Only in numbers will people actually listen to you,” said Jones.
In conclusion, Jones noted that “people should not be afraid of the system, the system should be afraid of us.”
Jones is actively involved in the Cleveland community, serving as a member of B.R.I.C.K (Brotherhood, Respect, Intelligence, Conduct, and Knowledge) community service group, a committee member of Spiritual Affairs for the Student Government Association and as public relations director for Muslim Student Association. He has also been named one of Cleveland State University’s Great African American Men and Cleveland Life Magazine’s Twenty-Five Leaders of Tomorrow.
A fireside chat took place on Friday and the students attending the conference had the opportunity to go bowling that night at Super Bowl of Alliance.
Workshop sessions including “Building My Legacy: Mentorship,” “The Gap of People of Color and the Gay Community,” “Hip Hop Activism and Actualization,” “The Skill of Code Switching: Do you have it?” and “Next Step, College Grad… What now?” were held all day on Saturday, followed by a social mixer.
As I travel all over the world and work with leaders of all walks of life; up and coming leaders who have the potential of providing a new vision, Basheer Jones gives me great hope and encouragement as a young leader with not only a local vision but global potential. I support the leadership he is currently providing and look forward to the brilliance yet to come through his service.
By Laura Nichols
Collegian Staff Writer
“Achieving a Golden Future” will be the task taken on by Penn State’s chapter of the NAACP Sunday night, an effort to encourage students to enact change in their communities.
The Fifth Annual Freedom Fund Dinner will be held in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center’s Heritage Hall, free to all Penn State students.
Krystal Sojourner, press and publicity chairwoman for the Penn State chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said she wants to encourage all students to attend the organization’s celebration of its tradition in what she believes will be “a really good experience.”
Kourtney Pulliam, Penn State’s NAACP president, said the event is an effort to inspire students — especially minorities — to mobilize and push for change where it is needed in their communities at Penn State and back home.
“We’re trying to change the world and make it better one person at a time,” Pulliam (senior-political science and sociology) said.
A catered dinner will be served and entertainment will be provided, said NAACP Happy Valley Communications Account Associate Jackie Loftus.
“They’re trying to promote their chapter at Penn State — you don’t hear a lot from them now,” Loftus (junior-public relations) said. “They’re trying to get as many people as they can to come out.”
Pulliam said poet and Penn State student Nathan James will open the evening, followed by New York’s R&B group Gotham Citi. The event will also host keynote speaker Basheer Jones, a youth activist and radio talk show host.
“I think it’s important to have other people speak to our students,” Pulliam said. “We want to actually give something that will encourage them.”
The University Park Undergraduate Association is co-sponsoring the event. Student Life and Diversity Chairman Christian Ragland said he is excited to have his organization be seen as a resource committed to other student groups on campus.
Ragland (junior-political science) said he is scheduled to close out the event and will talk about the importance of students supporting each other on campus through their organizations.
1st Annual Charity Basketball Game
All proceeds will benefit Northeast Ohio Students
Saturday, December 12 4pm-8pm
