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  Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com   CLEVELAND, Ohio – Longtime Cleveland community activist Khalid Samad has died. He was 73 and died peacefully on Mon., March 16. Samad began his activism alongside the late activist Omar Ali- Bey. He co-founded Peace in the Hood and A Coalition for a Better Life , groups he utilized to help curb gang and other violence in Cleveland's public schools and on the city streets. He later served as assistant director to the safety director with the administration of then-mayor Jane Campbell. Activist Alfred Porter Jr. of Black on Black Crime said Samad was a grassroots activist in the truest sense. "He was an example of what a man should do to protect the community, and he understood the community," said Porter. City Council President Blaine Griffin said Samad will be missed and submitted the following statement: “I am heartbroken to share in the loss of my dear friend and brother, Khalid Samad. Khalid wasn’t j...

US Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13)   Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com   WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ohio 13th Congressional District Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (OH‑13), an Akron Democrat and one of three Black women in Congress from Ohio, is proud to see the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 pass the House of Representatives, given that she is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill that strengthens enforcement of U.S. sanctions on Iran's illicit oil trade. The Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 passed the House on Monday and now heads to the Senate for consideration , where it is likely to pass, partly due to escalating Middle East conflicts.  Proponents of the bill argue that Iran's oil trade, particularly amid conflict, including the current war in Iran, hurts the U.S. by destabilizing global markets, driving up U.S. gasoline prices, and undermining previous and current sanctions. As a major player in the Hormuz region, Iran's efforts to evade s...

Dr Betty K. Pinkney The Pinkney family at the graveside service of Dr Betty K. Pinkney Former Cleveland judge C. Ellen Connally and retired Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold at Pinkney's graveside service. Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com   CLEVELAND, Ohio- Dr. Betty K. Pinkney was laid to rest Monday afternoon at a graveside service at the Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland.  Services were entrusted to E.F. Boyd & Son Funeral home and drew the Who's Who of Greater Cleveland, including dignitaries and judges.    Pinkney passed away March 2 at her home, surrounded by family. She was 90. Among those attending to pay their respects at Monday's graveside service were 8th District Court of Appeals Judge Emmanuella Groves, Retired Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold, former Cleveland judge  C. Ellen Connally, who is also a former Cuyahoga County Council president, and Democratic political strategist Brenda Hal...

Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com CLEVELAND, OHIO-  Speakers have been announced for the 10th Annual International Women's Day march in Cleveland, which is Sunday, March 8, 2026, from 2-4pm at Market Square Park near downtown Cleveland, a sister march to a national day of action promoted by the National Women's March in Washington, D.C.  The theme of the march is "Brave Women Free America Cleveland", and it will be led by Women's March Cleveland, which has organized the International Women's Day march in Cleveland since the first march in 2017. Speakers include state Senator Nickie Antonio, who is also the minority leader of the Ohio Senate, Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell, Cleveland Ward 8 Councilwoman Stephanie Howse Jones, Ohio State School Board of Education member Delores Gray Ford (all four pictured above), Eugene Miller, Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Chairman David Brock, activists Lee Thompson of Refuse Fascism a...

Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com CLEVELAND, OHIO-  Speakers have been announced for the 10th Annual International Women's Day march in Cleveland, which is from 2-4pm at Market Square Park near downtown Cleveland, a sister march relative to a national day of action promoted by the National Women's March out of Washington, D.C.  The theme of the march is "Brave Women Free America Cleveland." Keynote speakers are State Senator Nickie Antonio, who is also the minority leader of the Ohio Senate, Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell, and Cleveland Ward 8 Councilwoman Stephanie Howse Jones.   Women's March National has since called for marches to include opposition to President Trump's war on Iran, citing the killing of Iranian school children and lack of authorization from Congress. Organizers say that while women's rights are paramount, the major premise of Cleveland's march, and marches countrywide, is standing against the ...

Ohio 13th Congressional District Congresswoman Emilia Sykes Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher WASHINGTON, D.C.  —  Ohio 13th Congressional District Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (OH-13), an Akron Democrat and one of three Black women in congress from Ohio, is denouncing President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu's collaborative military attack and war on Iran, Trump promising during his State of the Union address Tuesday night that the U.S. will do anything posible to stop what he says is Iran's nuclear weapons program.  Sykes says Trump is acting like a dictator and must get congressional approval to launch a war against Iran. Over 200 casualties have been reported thus far, coupled with hundreds of injuries to others. "Once again, President Trump has launched illegal military strikes on a foreign country without congressional authorization. These attacks escalat...

Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher WASHINGTON, D.C.-  President Donald Trump addressed a joint and sometimes hostile chamber of Congress Tuesday night, delivering his first State of the Union since taking office in January of 2025 for a second non-consecutive term.     The president's speech came on the heels of a stinging U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down many of his actions on tariffs and sent him reeling against the Justices who decided against him, whom he has since branded "dumb and stupid."  The Republican president, whose disapproval rating on the economy is at 57%, according to some polls, appeared relaxed at 79 years old and opened his hour and 48 min. speech by saying America is back as Republican lawmakers chanted "USA," "USA."  Fewer people were there, and the response was starkly different from his address to a joint chamber of Congress in January o...