Group Protests' Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson Around Imperial Ave. Murders While Plain Dealer Newspaper Falsifies Article And Will Not Quote Blacks
Cleveland, Ohio Mayor Frank G. Jackson
Posted Saturday, December 19, 2009
(National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News)
From the Metro Desk of The Determiner Weekly and
The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
Some 43 protesters rallied at the home of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on Saturday, in spite of snow and inclement weather.
With four to five police cars in view the protesters demanded that Jackson speak up relative to numerous instances of mistreatment of Black women by city officials, including the murders of 11 Black women on Imperial Ave. They also demanded the firings of Cleveland Chief of Police Michael McGrath, Law Director Robert Triozzi, Safety Director Martin Flask, Chief Prosecutor Victor Perez and Public Health Director Matthew Carroll, none of whom are Black and all of whom are accused of alleged malfeasance or negligence around the Imperial Ave. tragedies.
“There are no Blacks or women in top leadership roles in law enforcement in spite of a Black mayor and six of the women died on Imperial Ave after the chief prosecutor, police and others deemed the complaint of attempted rape by a Black woman not credible in 2008,” said Kathy Wray Coleman, a local journalist and founding member of the Imperial Women. “ We also take issue with 23-year-old Black female college student Rebecca Whitby having allegedly been beat up and called a nigger by two White male policemen, according to a White elderly neighbor and witness with cancer, and we take issue with a malicious verdict of resiting arrest against me, even though sole White male arresting deputy sheriff Gerald Pace did not even accuse me of it or make a complaint.”
Coleman called Cleveland Community Relations Director Blaine Griffin to task for allegedly harassing Black female community activist Marcia McCoy, who is also Black, in retaliation for her opposition to Jackson's efforts to solicit weekly fees for city trash pick up due to a financial crisis that he said did not exist when he was campaigning for a second-term as mayor.
The rally was led by the Imperial Women, which was formed after the remains of 11Black women were announced as having been found in and around home of Anthony Sowell about a week before the Nov. 3 election for mayor of the major metropolitan predominantly Black city, which Jackson won by a land slide. Now in custody without bond, Sowell, 50, has been charged with numerous counts of aggravated murder, assault, rape, and kidnapping, among other charges. The case is before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold and Sowell, a convicted sex offender who served 15 years in prison, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He also faces the death penalty.
In addition to the Imperial Women, others attending the rally include members from the organizations of the Cleveland Chapter of The New Black Panther Party, Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, The Lucasville Freedom Uprising Network, The Immigrant Support Network and The People's Forum.
“This is a police state and the police are criminals,” said Abdul Qahhar, president of the Black Panthers. “I am afraid for my wife to leave the house and Black women are being mistreated,” he said.
“No justice, no peace,” chanted Sharon Danann, a leader of the Imperial Women, as protesters echoed the same in return while circling across from Jackson's home on East 38th Street in Cleveland.
Additional speakers were Judy Martin, Caleb Maupin, Valerie Robinson, Marva Patterson, Bill Swain and Susan Schnur.
Plain Dealer Newspaper Reporter Mark Puente was on hand to falsify the status of the rally where he lied saying only 20 attended and refused to quote any Blacks in his article published in the Plain Dealer's online forum shortly after the rally. He also refused to mention that the rally pertained to numerous instances of the mistreatment of Black women and a request by the Imperial Women for Blacks and women in the roles of law director, chief of police, chief prosecutor, safety director, ems commissioner, deputy ems commissioner, public health director and chief of staff.
“Mark Puente has written scathing articles against leaders of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and Blacks like Cleveland Clerk of Courts Earl B. Turner and it is obvious as to how he lied around our rally that he cannot be trusted to write fair and impartial articles,” said Coleman. “ He was unfair to me because he is friends with Perez where by email earlier this year he told me not to contact him after I accused Perez of maliciously prosecuting me as a journalist. He was sent to cover the event for a reason and we do not believe that that reason was above board. His role is obviously to divide our group with race baiting tactics.”
Coleman said that in spite of several requests for Puente and Plain Dealer Reporter John Coneglia to include Blacks from the Imperial Women and others at the rally in their two recent stories around the issue, the duo and a team of some four Plain Dealer decision makers, all non-Black men, agreed to leave out Blacks and to continue the lie about the number in attendance at the rally. Puente, she says, actually went to Danann at the close of the rally to question her about the comment she, not Danann, had made at the rally as to the need for a grassroots activist to be appointed to Jackson's recently developed commission around the Imperial Ave murders, which some say he hand picked without community input to get the results he deems best for his own agenda.
“There were 41 people who protested at the rally and I was uncomfortable with Mark Puente ignoring the Blacks at the rally and only consulting me after it was over,” Danann told the editor on rotation prior to an article slated to run today in the Plain Dealer Newspaper that lies about the number in attendance via a headline of half the people that protested across from Jackson's house and purposely does not quote one Black, even though the rally was held in the heart of the Black community and Black women are founding members of the Imperial Women.
Another rally is scheduled for next year where women from other states are to join the Imperial Women in highlighting the blatant injustice around the Imperial Ave. murders.
Posted Saturday, December 19, 2009
(National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News)
From the Metro Desk of The Determiner Weekly and
The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
Some 43 protesters rallied at the home of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on Saturday, in spite of snow and inclement weather.
With four to five police cars in view the protesters demanded that Jackson speak up relative to numerous instances of mistreatment of Black women by city officials, including the murders of 11 Black women on Imperial Ave. They also demanded the firings of Cleveland Chief of Police Michael McGrath, Law Director Robert Triozzi, Safety Director Martin Flask, Chief Prosecutor Victor Perez and Public Health Director Matthew Carroll, none of whom are Black and all of whom are accused of alleged malfeasance or negligence around the Imperial Ave. tragedies.
“There are no Blacks or women in top leadership roles in law enforcement in spite of a Black mayor and six of the women died on Imperial Ave after the chief prosecutor, police and others deemed the complaint of attempted rape by a Black woman not credible in 2008,” said Kathy Wray Coleman, a local journalist and founding member of the Imperial Women. “ We also take issue with 23-year-old Black female college student Rebecca Whitby having allegedly been beat up and called a nigger by two White male policemen, according to a White elderly neighbor and witness with cancer, and we take issue with a malicious verdict of resiting arrest against me, even though sole White male arresting deputy sheriff Gerald Pace did not even accuse me of it or make a complaint.”
Coleman called Cleveland Community Relations Director Blaine Griffin to task for allegedly harassing Black female community activist Marcia McCoy, who is also Black, in retaliation for her opposition to Jackson's efforts to solicit weekly fees for city trash pick up due to a financial crisis that he said did not exist when he was campaigning for a second-term as mayor.
The rally was led by the Imperial Women, which was formed after the remains of 11Black women were announced as having been found in and around home of Anthony Sowell about a week before the Nov. 3 election for mayor of the major metropolitan predominantly Black city, which Jackson won by a land slide. Now in custody without bond, Sowell, 50, has been charged with numerous counts of aggravated murder, assault, rape, and kidnapping, among other charges. The case is before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold and Sowell, a convicted sex offender who served 15 years in prison, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He also faces the death penalty.
In addition to the Imperial Women, others attending the rally include members from the organizations of the Cleveland Chapter of The New Black Panther Party, Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, The Lucasville Freedom Uprising Network, The Immigrant Support Network and The People's Forum.
“This is a police state and the police are criminals,” said Abdul Qahhar, president of the Black Panthers. “I am afraid for my wife to leave the house and Black women are being mistreated,” he said.
“No justice, no peace,” chanted Sharon Danann, a leader of the Imperial Women, as protesters echoed the same in return while circling across from Jackson's home on East 38th Street in Cleveland.
Additional speakers were Judy Martin, Caleb Maupin, Valerie Robinson, Marva Patterson, Bill Swain and Susan Schnur.
Plain Dealer Newspaper Reporter Mark Puente was on hand to falsify the status of the rally where he lied saying only 20 attended and refused to quote any Blacks in his article published in the Plain Dealer's online forum shortly after the rally. He also refused to mention that the rally pertained to numerous instances of the mistreatment of Black women and a request by the Imperial Women for Blacks and women in the roles of law director, chief of police, chief prosecutor, safety director, ems commissioner, deputy ems commissioner, public health director and chief of staff.
“Mark Puente has written scathing articles against leaders of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and Blacks like Cleveland Clerk of Courts Earl B. Turner and it is obvious as to how he lied around our rally that he cannot be trusted to write fair and impartial articles,” said Coleman. “ He was unfair to me because he is friends with Perez where by email earlier this year he told me not to contact him after I accused Perez of maliciously prosecuting me as a journalist. He was sent to cover the event for a reason and we do not believe that that reason was above board. His role is obviously to divide our group with race baiting tactics.”
Coleman said that in spite of several requests for Puente and Plain Dealer Reporter John Coneglia to include Blacks from the Imperial Women and others at the rally in their two recent stories around the issue, the duo and a team of some four Plain Dealer decision makers, all non-Black men, agreed to leave out Blacks and to continue the lie about the number in attendance at the rally. Puente, she says, actually went to Danann at the close of the rally to question her about the comment she, not Danann, had made at the rally as to the need for a grassroots activist to be appointed to Jackson's recently developed commission around the Imperial Ave murders, which some say he hand picked without community input to get the results he deems best for his own agenda.
“There were 41 people who protested at the rally and I was uncomfortable with Mark Puente ignoring the Blacks at the rally and only consulting me after it was over,” Danann told the editor on rotation prior to an article slated to run today in the Plain Dealer Newspaper that lies about the number in attendance via a headline of half the people that protested across from Jackson's house and purposely does not quote one Black, even though the rally was held in the heart of the Black community and Black women are founding members of the Imperial Women.
Another rally is scheduled for next year where women from other states are to join the Imperial Women in highlighting the blatant injustice around the Imperial Ave. murders.
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