Protestors Demand Action By Mayor And City Council Around Imperial Avenue Murders
Posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009
(National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News)
MEMBERS AND/OR ORGANIZATIONS OF THE CARL STOKES BRIGADE, THE CLEVELAND CHAPTER OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY, BLACK ON BLACK CRIME INC., THE PEOPLE'S FORUM, THE OPPRESSED PEOPLE'S NATION, THE GREATER CLEVELAND IMMIGRANT SUPPORT NETWORK The DIVINE VICTORY MGO
November 10, 2009
Cleveland City Hall
601 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Re: Demands To Be Presented At Rally Of Today Relative To Black and Other Women Subject To Undue Violence And Other Mistreatment Including The Black Women Murdered On Imperial Avenue,Still Missing Women, And The Malicious Prosecution Of Black Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman
Dear Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland City Council Members:
This is an open letter that includes demands from the aforementioned to you as leaders in the midst of a community crisis where 11 Black women were viciously murdered, some strangled unmercifully, in and around the house once occupied by Anthony Sowell on the now infamous Imperial Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. We also seek support with respect to violence against all women, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomics, age or sexual orientation. Moreover, we are concerned as to the malicious prosecution of local journalist Kathy Wray Coleman in retaliation for her activism and her articles in Cleveland's Call and Post Newspaper, and The Determiner Weekly, an online Black magazine that she edits.
While there have been a number of vigils around the Imperial Avenue killings that we certainly support, we must look beyond the cosmetic dialogue and address the need for a substantive change in public policy around the missing persons issues by way of city ordinances that create cooperative criteria. We also must address the need for education and training to create a sensitive law enforcement venue that understands what it means to families and the victims themselves to be missing and in many cases missing because of illegalities like rape and other violent behavior. Additionally, we know what it means to have journalist like Coleman whose role is to seek and perpetuate truth and reporters of this type must be able to do so free from harassment.
Our demands are as follows:
-A comprehensive investigation by a neutral entity if applicable as to police and other city personnel that were allegedly aware of leads regarding the murders and other activity on Imperial Avenue and did nothing to prevent the deaths of some of the women who may have survived if a proper investigation had been conducted early on.
-The implementation of disciplinary action, including termination, if applicable, relative to the aforementioned, in cooperation with affiliated collective bargaining agreements, city policies and any applicable state and federal law.
-The adoption of city ordinances that address missing persons and that shall include education and training around the issue for police, other city personnel and affiliates, quick response times with documented follow-up as to missing persons complaints, the elimination of any requirement for the reporting individual to be a family member when due time has lapsed as to that alleged missing person, and outreach programs to the community as to education and other information on the matter.
-A city ordinance that requires that women, Blacks and other minorities are included in leadership positions in the legal and criminal justice arenas where to to date no Blacks or women occupy the leadership positions where the Black community is historically most vulnerable such as law director, safety director, chief of police, chief prosecutor, EMS commissioner and deputy EMS commissioner.
- A city ordinance that precludes the malicious prosecutions of journalists who write about alleged racism and/or other community matters and the city's recommendation to Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough to dismiss the illegal resisting arrest verdict against Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman that she allegedly railroaded where sole arresting White male deputy sheriff Gerald Pace did not accuse her of it or testify at trial or otherwise.
- A city ordinance titled “The Imperial Alert” that is comparable to “The Amber Alert” and includes adults.
Your prompt attention to these matters would be appreciated and we await a response for the betterment of the community. Please know that we look to you for leadership and would hope that you will embrace the issues raised herein and address them readily and in compliance with city policy and state and federal law.
Most sincerely,
Genevieve Mitchell, Contact Person
(Respond via the email address of Mitchell at: the_blackboard@yahoo.com , and/or by telephone to Ada Averyhart at 1-216-645-0804)
xc: Media, Families of Imperial Avenue Victims, Designated Others
(National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News)
MEMBERS AND/OR ORGANIZATIONS OF THE CARL STOKES BRIGADE, THE CLEVELAND CHAPTER OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY, BLACK ON BLACK CRIME INC., THE PEOPLE'S FORUM, THE OPPRESSED PEOPLE'S NATION, THE GREATER CLEVELAND IMMIGRANT SUPPORT NETWORK The DIVINE VICTORY MGO
November 10, 2009
Cleveland City Hall
601 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Re: Demands To Be Presented At Rally Of Today Relative To Black and Other Women Subject To Undue Violence And Other Mistreatment Including The Black Women Murdered On Imperial Avenue,Still Missing Women, And The Malicious Prosecution Of Black Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman
Dear Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland City Council Members:
This is an open letter that includes demands from the aforementioned to you as leaders in the midst of a community crisis where 11 Black women were viciously murdered, some strangled unmercifully, in and around the house once occupied by Anthony Sowell on the now infamous Imperial Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. We also seek support with respect to violence against all women, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomics, age or sexual orientation. Moreover, we are concerned as to the malicious prosecution of local journalist Kathy Wray Coleman in retaliation for her activism and her articles in Cleveland's Call and Post Newspaper, and The Determiner Weekly, an online Black magazine that she edits.
While there have been a number of vigils around the Imperial Avenue killings that we certainly support, we must look beyond the cosmetic dialogue and address the need for a substantive change in public policy around the missing persons issues by way of city ordinances that create cooperative criteria. We also must address the need for education and training to create a sensitive law enforcement venue that understands what it means to families and the victims themselves to be missing and in many cases missing because of illegalities like rape and other violent behavior. Additionally, we know what it means to have journalist like Coleman whose role is to seek and perpetuate truth and reporters of this type must be able to do so free from harassment.
Our demands are as follows:
-A comprehensive investigation by a neutral entity if applicable as to police and other city personnel that were allegedly aware of leads regarding the murders and other activity on Imperial Avenue and did nothing to prevent the deaths of some of the women who may have survived if a proper investigation had been conducted early on.
-The implementation of disciplinary action, including termination, if applicable, relative to the aforementioned, in cooperation with affiliated collective bargaining agreements, city policies and any applicable state and federal law.
-The adoption of city ordinances that address missing persons and that shall include education and training around the issue for police, other city personnel and affiliates, quick response times with documented follow-up as to missing persons complaints, the elimination of any requirement for the reporting individual to be a family member when due time has lapsed as to that alleged missing person, and outreach programs to the community as to education and other information on the matter.
-A city ordinance that requires that women, Blacks and other minorities are included in leadership positions in the legal and criminal justice arenas where to to date no Blacks or women occupy the leadership positions where the Black community is historically most vulnerable such as law director, safety director, chief of police, chief prosecutor, EMS commissioner and deputy EMS commissioner.
- A city ordinance that precludes the malicious prosecutions of journalists who write about alleged racism and/or other community matters and the city's recommendation to Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough to dismiss the illegal resisting arrest verdict against Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman that she allegedly railroaded where sole arresting White male deputy sheriff Gerald Pace did not accuse her of it or testify at trial or otherwise.
- A city ordinance titled “The Imperial Alert” that is comparable to “The Amber Alert” and includes adults.
Your prompt attention to these matters would be appreciated and we await a response for the betterment of the community. Please know that we look to you for leadership and would hope that you will embrace the issues raised herein and address them readily and in compliance with city policy and state and federal law.
Most sincerely,
Genevieve Mitchell, Contact Person
(Respond via the email address of Mitchell at: the_blackboard@yahoo.com , and/or by telephone to Ada Averyhart at 1-216-645-0804)
xc: Media, Families of Imperial Avenue Victims, Designated Others
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