Dennis Kucinich article by Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com: Ohio candidate for governor Dennis Kucinich and his running mate Akron Councilwoman Tara Samples call for the grand jury process to be abolished in Ohio as they unveil their criminal justice platform in Cleveland along side of community activists and others in the historic Glenville neighborhood, both saying the criminal justice system in Ohio has a shameful record of targeting Blacks and Latinos, Black men in particular....Their proposal also addresses tackling the opioid crisis, ending the prison-industrial complex, putting more emphasis on rehabilitation and mental health issues relative to defendants, de-emphasizing deadly force by police, curbing the abuse of power by judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials, and recognizing and rooting out institutional racism....Kucinich is a former congressman and former Cleveland mayor who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004 and 2008.....By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

-

Ohio Democratic candidate for governor Dennis Kucinich (front row-fifth from left), a former congressman and former Cleveland mayor who has also run for president,  and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Akron Councilwoman Tara Mosley Samples (front row-fourth from left), pose with Lakewood Councilman Tristan Rader (back row- fifth from left), and  some of the several Cleveland community activists in attendance as they unveiled their platform for criminal justice reform in Cleveland on Feb. 15. Activists there included Kathy Wray Coleman of the Imperial Women Coalition (front row- second from right), Yvonka Hall (back row-far left), the Rev Pamela Pinkney Butts (front row-far left) and Alfred Porter Jr of Black on Black Crime  Inc. (back row- second from right)

Ohio Democratic candidate for governor Dennis Kucinich (front row-second from left), a former congressman and former Cleveland mayor who has also run for president,  and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Akron Councilwoman Tara Mosley Samples (front row-far left), pose with Lakewood Councilman Tristan Rader (back row-second from left), and some of the several Cleveland  community activists, including  Kathy Wray Coleman of the Imperial Women Coalition (front row- far right) and Alfred Porter Jr of Black on Black Crime  Inc. (back row- far right)

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS
CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM-CLEVELAND, Ohio- Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dennis Kucinich and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Akron Councilwoman Tara Samples, joined community members and local activists in Cleveland on Thursday in the historic Glenville neighborhood at East 105th Street and St. Clair Avenue on the city's largely Black east side to unveil their platform for criminal justice reform.

Asked  by Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com his position on the grand jury process in Ohio, Kucinich, a former Cleveland mayor and former congressman who twice ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004 and 2008, said "it should  be abolished."

The gubernatorial hopeful and Samples, also a progressive who introduced U.S. Sen  Bernie Sanders when he visited Akron, took issue with heightened and excessive prison sentences in Cuyahoga County and elsewhere that disproportionately target young Black men, some of whom are juveniles tried unnecessarily as adults.

"The criminal justice system in Ohio, as well as nationally, has a shameful record of disproportionately targeting, prosecuting, jailing and otherwise discriminating against the African-American and Latino communities," both Kucinich and Samples said while distributing their proposal for criminal justice reform  they say they will seek to implement if Kuncinich wins.

 A former stenographer and  bailiff, Samples, who is Black, said Black men in particular have been dealt a raw deal by the criminal justice center since the beginning of time.

"I saw this first hand when I was a bailiff,"  said Samples.

Other aspects of  their criminal justice reform proposal include addressing the opioid crisis and racial discrimination, ending the prison-industrial complex, and putting more emphasis on rehabilitation and mental health issues relative to defendants. 

 The well-crafted proposal, which reveals an understanding by Kucinich and Samples of intrinsic issues impacting the legal system nationwide regarding the disenfranchisement of poor people, and people of color, also speaks of de-emphasizing deadly force by police, speedy release for defendants in jail or prison on low-level marijuana convictions, curbing the abuse of power by judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials, and recognizing and rooting out institutional racism.

Frances Caldwell, a Glenville resident and executive director of the Cleveland African-American Museum, said she is pleased that Kucinich is taking on the legal system and that she wished "current Governor John Kasich had done more on the issue."

A Republican and 2016 unsuccessfully candidate for the Republican nomination for president, Kasich, in his second term and term-limited, leaves office next January.

The Rev Jaland Finney, associate minister at Second Baptist Church in Akron and an ex-offender, said it is difficult for people, Black men in particular, to find jobs when they get out of prison after serving time for felony convictions.

"They told me to apply for jobs seven years later when I returned home from prison," said Finney, a clergy leader who attended the press conference on Thursday in Cleveland. "They must do a better job of providing employment opportunities for ex-offenders, particularly for Black people who regularly face discrimination by potential employers."

 To become governor, Kucinich must first win the May 8 Democratic primary against front-runner Richard Chordray, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni (D-33), former state representative Connie Pillich, and former Ohio Supreme Court justice Bill O'Neil in a five-way race for the Democratic nomination for governor. And if he proceeds to the general election of Nov. 6, he would likely run against Mike DeWine, the state's attorney general and a former U.S. Senator facing underdog candidate Lt Gov Mary Taylor for the Republican nomination for governor.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Public Corruption: Cuyahoga County Judge Nancy Margaret Russo is illegally releasing secret grand jury testimony of corrupt White cops to try to intimidate maliciously indicted Blacks into plea deals with the help of the county public defender's office, and covering up public corruption regarding falsification of public case records of felony cases in her court, falsification by prosecutors, County Clerk of Courts Nailah Byrd and fellow judges such as Common Pleas Judge Joe Russo.....Judge Nancy Russo is also refusing to remove indigent counsel such as Scott Roger Hurley who are accused of colluding with the court and the prosecution against Black defendants, even when such indigent counsel, including Hurley, an assistant county public defender, violate her own court orders for discovery and to conduct proper pretrial investigations for their clients....The cases involve false charges of assault by Blacks on corrupt White cops, indictment fixing covered-up by Judge Nancy Russo, etc..... Also at issue is foreclosure theft by the judges with JPMorgan Chase Bank and other banks and mortgage companies, hundreds and thousands of homes stolen and Blacks and others who complain sometimes maliciously indicted....Judge Nancy Margaret Russo's corruption comes less than 3 weeks after an FBI and IRS raid on Cleveland City Hall and as to a continuing FBI county corruption probe that has netted some 61 guilty pleas and convictions, including two former common pleas judges and two former county elected officials.... The investigation by Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com reveals similarities to the movie 'Mississippi Burning' regarding the height of Civil Rights violations and the attack on the Black community by White supremacists, including judges, police and corrupt and racist prosecutors....This is Part 3 of the multi-part series on Cuyahoga County public corruption....Cuyahoga County includes the city of Cleveland....Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com, with over 5 million views on Google Plus alone

-
Image
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com , Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS . THIS IS PART 3 ON THE MULTI-PART SERIES ON CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC CORRUPTION CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2 OF THE MULTI-PART SERIES ON CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC CORRUPTION CLICK HERE TO READ PART 1 OF THE MULTI-PART SERIES ON CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC CORRUPTION CLEVELANDURANNEWS.COM-CLEVELAND, Ohio- A comprehensive investigation by  Clev...
Read more

Thousands protest Trump via 'Hands off' rallies nationally, and in Cleveland, Ohio on April 5...Trump responds...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
Protesters rally at Market Square Park in Cleveland, Ohio on Sat, April 5 as part of "Hands off" rallies, a national day of action against President Trump, Elon Musk, and the Trump administration Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com Breaking and quality news straight out of Cleveland, Ohio from Ohio's Black digital news leader CLEVELAND, Ohio- "Hands off"  ra llies were held across the country on Sat., April 5, 2025 to protest actions by President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and the Trump administration, events that follow a national day of action on International Women's Day, Cleveland's International Women's Day march of March 8 of which was hosted by Women's March Cleveland and drew nearly 2,000 women and community activists. Hundreds of “Hands off” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and voting rights activists. ...
Read more

Cleveland's Jan 18, 2025 noon women's rally and march are at Market Square Park, a sister march to marches nationwide...Women's March Cleveland comments...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com Staff article CLEVELAND, Ohio -Cleveland will provide the ambience for a rally and march for women's rights and Civil Rights on Sat, Jan. 18, 2025 at noon at Market Square Park in the Ohio City neighbourhood near downtown Cleveland. Elected officials and women's rights activists will rally and march with greater Cleveland women on this date against an anticipated national abortion ban and for abortion access and women's reproductive and other rights across the board.  City officials have approved permits for the gathering and organizers include activists Kathy Wray Coleman, Alysa Cooper Moskey, Siera Mason, Alfred Porter Jr., Elaine Gohlstin, and Cindy Demsey of the Cuyahoga Democratic Women's Caucus.  The event is part of a national day of action in cities across the country promoted by Women's March National and comes some two and a half years after the U.S. Supreme Court's June 24, 2022 historic Dobbs decision that overturne...
Read more

Black leaders, local activists call for probation for former Cleveland councilman Basheer Jones as sentencing nears...Former HUD Secretary Marcia L Fudge speaks out...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
Former Cleveland councilman Basheer Jones Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com   By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor Investigative article CLEVELAND, Ohio — After taking a plea deal and pleading guilty late last year to federal public corruption charges and agreeing to pay restitution, former Cleveland Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones is facing sentencing on Tues, April 1 before U.S. District Court Judge J. Phillip Calabreze, a Republican appointed to the federal bench in the Northern District of Ohio in 2020 by President Donald Trump during his first term in office. And while prosecutors are calling for prison time, some greater Cleveland Black leaders, like former HUD secretary Marcia L. Fudge, and some Black community activists say probation is more appropriate, given Jones' overall record in support of the community and because similarly situated White elected officials traditionally get off easy and often are not even prosecuted at a...
Read more

Trump issues order to dismantle US Depart of Education....Cleveland's Black mayor responds, saying Trump is taking us back before the deseg era and is blocking children from obtaining a quality education...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, the city's  fourth Black mayor  By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher WASHINGTON, D.C.-  President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Thursday to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, fulfilling a campaign promise he made to Republicans on the campaign trail on his way to winning a second, non-consecutive term in November and angering Congressional Democrats, educators, teachers unions, public-school parents and some city mayors, including in Cleveland, Ohio. But the president's unprecedented efforts to radically change America's educational system require Congressional approval. Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that all executive orders from the president of the United States must be supported by the Constitution, whether from a clause granting specific power or by Congress delegating such to the executive branch. Signed Thursday, the president's agency wrecking order instructs Education Secretary Linda...
Read more

More than 1,500 women march in Cleveland on International Women's Day 2025 to demand gender equality and to protest President Trump, led by Women's March Cleveland... By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
More than 1,500 protesters stormed Market Square Park in Cleveland, Ohio on Sat., March 8, 2025 for the International Women's Day Unite and Resist rally and march hosted by Women's March Cleveland as part of  a national day of action  Cleveland WKYC Channel 3 News coverage of March 8, 2025 women's march in Cleveland Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com CLEVELAND, OHIO- Led by Women's March Cleveland, more than a 1,500 women and community activists took to the streets in mass on Sat., March 8, 2025 to march on International Women's Day as part of a national day of action. It was the eighth anniversary of Cleveland's first International Women's Day march in 2017. Organizers said some 1,500 to 2,000 people were in attendance, also including male supporters, Blacks, Whites, and others alike, The event, dubbed the Unite and Resist in Cleveland march, began at Market Square Park near downtown Cleveland with a rally and speeches, followe...
Read more

Teen Gloria Pointer's rapist, killer Hernandez Warren sentenced to life in prison after 30 years free, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor McGinty at the helm, her mother Yvonne Pointer vows to continue her community advocacy: Imperial women, community activists applaud Yvonne Pointer for her courage and community advocacy, say they hope Warren rots in hell like serial rapist Ariel Castro and serial killer Anthony Sowell: Imperial Women object to statement by Warren's lawyers that he has been rehabilitated, say comment was irresponsible, insensitive

-
Image
Convicted rapist and teen murderer Hernandez Warren Victim Gloria Pointer Gloria Pointer's mother Yvonne Pointer, now a community activist and children and woman's advocate, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty, who broke the case with DNA sampling that had been unsolved since 1984, and he did it less than two years after taking the helm as county prosecutor in 2012 Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, O hio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper, Tel: (216) 659-0473    ( www.clevelandurbannews.com ) /   ( www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com CLEVELAND, Ohio-After three decades of pain and grief following the unsolved rape and murder of her 14-year-old daughter Gloria, Yvonne Pointer, now a woman's advocate, a nationally recognized author, and a missing children's spokesperson, found some solace on Friday as the rapist and murderer of her daughter was sentenced to life in prison. The sentence, which mandates that...
Read more

Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown responds to Trump's 2025 inauguration events, saying Democrats conducted a peaceful transfer of power, unlike Trump in 2021 after Biden won election...Talks about civil and voting rights under a Trump administration...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-11), a Warrensville Hts. Democrat clevelandurbannews.com  and    www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher Washington, DC – A Warrensville Hts Democrat whose 11th congressional district includes Cleveland and most of the eastern suburbs of Cuyahoga County, Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown on Monday responded to the Jan. 20 inauguration events in Washington, D.C. The events coincided with the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday, a federal holiday observed on the third Monday in January of each year. President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican and real estate mogul who served a controversial first term but lost reelection in 2020 to President Joe Biden, took the oath of office for a second term Monday, after defeating Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in the November general election where he won both the popular vote and the electoral college. As the Dems seek to regro...
Read more

Ohio: US Sen Sherrod Brown failed to effectively court Black Cleveland voters, Black leaders in his loss to Bernie Moreno on Tuesday.... He acted like "another Richard Cordray," a Cleveland elected official said...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

-
Image
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat   Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher, and political and investigative reporter CLEVELAND, Ohio -Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio lost reelection last Tuesday by 3.8 percentage points to millionaire businessman Bernie Moreno, a Trump-endorsed Republican who has never held public office. Brown says big business and national Republicans seeking to gain control of the U.S. Senate targeted him. Some others, both supporters and opponents alike, say his multi-million dollar campaign failed to engage key voting blocs during the election of his lifetime, like the Black community of Cleveland for example. The big question is how the popular Brown, a Cleveland Democrat and three-term incumbent, and the only current Democrat elected statewide in Ohio other than three Democratic Ohio Supreme Court justices, two of whom tragically lost reelection Tuesda...
Read more

Cordi Stokes, the oldest daughter of the late and former Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes and a niece of retired U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes, dies

-
Image
Cordi Stokes The late Carl B. Stokes, who became the first Black mayor of a major metropolitan city when he was elected mayor of the City of Cleveland in 1967 Retired U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes , Carl Stokes' only sibling and the first Black congressman representing Ohio Cleveland Muni cipal Court Judge Angela Stokes, a daughter of retired U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes and Cordi Stokes' first cousin Cordi Stokes (far rt.), with her older brother Carl Stokes Jr., her mother Shirley, and her father Carl B. Stokes in earlier years By Kathy Wray Coleman, Editor of Cleveland Urban News.Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com ( www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com ) and ( www.clevelandurbannews.com ) CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio-Cordi Stokes, the second child and oldest daughter of the late Carl B. Stokes, the former mayor of the city of Cleveland and the first Black mayor of a major metropolitan city, and a niece of retired U.S. Congressman Louis Stokes, was f...
Read more