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Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com Staff article by Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher CLEVELAND, Ohio -Ex-East Cleveland councilman Ernest Smith walked out of common pleas court a free man on Tuesday, after Common Pleas Judge Hollie Gallagher sentenced him to three years probation, answering the pleas by Black community activists for leniency and ignoring Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley's demand for imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $6,971 in restitution. "Thank you to everybody who supported me," a relieved Smith, who is Black, said after sentencing.  Former East Cleveland mayor Brandon King, 57, and Smith were both convicted by a county jury of public corruption charges in office in May, King for steering more than $75,000 in city contracts to friends and family members and having an unlawful interest in a public contract, and Smith for using a city car and gas card for what he says was community and city b...

Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com Staff article by Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher CLEVELAND, Ohio -Black activists, led by Black on Black Crime founder and longtime Black activist Art McKoy (pictured), picketed Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley at the Justice Center on Lakeside Avenue in downtown Cleveland on Monday afternoon. The activists say O'Malley is an unfair and vicious prosecutor who mistreats and maliciously prosecutes Black activists and Black elected officials while leaving Whites alone, and that he is run by judges and the White establishment to the detriment of the Black community.   " If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything," said McKoy of O'Malley at a rally before leading a protest around the steps of the Justice Center.  McKoy highlighted his own situation.  After East Cleveland Councilman Twon Billings punched him in the nose following a dispute between the two at the Home Dep...

U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black to hold the post Staff article: Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher WASHINGTON, D.C.   - After passing the Senate on Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" (The One Big Beautiful Bill Act) on Thursday, 218-214, with all Democrats voting "no " and all but two Republicans voting "yes." Dubbed a win for the president and Republicans, the reconciliation legislation now heads to the president's desk for his expected signature to become law. House Republicans broke out with applause after the "yes" votes were read. Notably, the tax and spending cuts legislation increases the national deficit by some $4 trillion, extends the president's 2017 pro-rich tax cuts, provides for more spending on defense and border security, an...

O hio 11th Congressional District Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) Clevelandurbannews.com and   Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com Staff article Washington, DC  – Ohio  Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11), a Warrensville Hts. Democrat who represents Ohio's 11th congressional district , and one of three Black women in Congress from Ohio,  spoke in opposition to the Republican Reconciliation Bill on the U.S. House of Representatives floor Wednesday , calling attention to the bill's cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps). The Senate-passed Reconciliation Bill ( The One, Big Beautiful Bill Act) includes a $186 billion federal funding cut to SNAP, the largest cut in the program's history. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that some five million Americans will lose SNAP benefits if the president's "big beautiful bill" becomes law, a disproportionate number of them Black and low-income single mothers. Congressional Demo...

Carl B. Stokes, the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher CLEVELAND, Ohio-  The city of Cleveland officially recognized former mayor Carl B. Stokes on Mon., June 30, 2025 as the city's first Black mayor, naming it Carl B. Stokes Day, Stokes the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city.  June 30 is now Carl B. Stokes Day, and his life and legacy will be celebrated annually in Cleveland.  Current mayor Justin Bibb, who led Monday's event, pointed to the portrait of Stokes during a ceremony held in the Rotunda at City Hall that included family members of Stokes, community affiliates, and elected officials.  Bibb is Cleveland' fourth Black mayor, behind Frank Jackson, his immediate predecessor, Michael R. White, and Stokes, the city's 51st mayor who won office in 1967 when Cleveland, a majority Black major American city, was largely White. All of Cleveland's Black mayors were Dem...

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Nationwide "Good Trouble" rallies are planned for Thurs., July 17, 2025  to commemorate the legacy and the death date of the late Congressman John Lewis and Black-led groups of Cleveland, Ohio say Black activists and organizers are being shut out by White-led suburban groups with help from the mainstream media and others. The activists say this goes against the unity standard set by Lewis, a revered and respected congressman and Civil Rights advocate from Atlanta, Georgia who died on July 17, 2020. Lewis coined the term "Good Trouble" during his time in Congress. "We call for a unified, diverse, and inclusive coalition for any "Good Trouble" rallies in Cleveland, a largely Black major American city," said Black activist and organizer Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads the Cleveland-based groups Women's March Cleveland and Imperial Women Coalition, which fight for women's rights and against violence against women.  Activist Alf...

Ohio 13th Congressional District Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (D-13), an Akron Democrat Rep. Emilia Sykes Speaks on House Floor on June 24, 2025: "Dobbs Decision Set Wave of Chaos, Cruelty, and Control in Motion"    WATCH : Rep. Sykes' Full Remarks from the Floor of the United States House of Representatives   WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Tuesday, June 24, 2025 marked the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24, 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade per its controversial Dobbs decision. On this historic and tragic day three years ago, the nation's high court stripped women of federal protection for abortion access and gave respective states the authority to legislate abortion and reproductive rights. Ohio voters, in November of 2023, passed an Issue 1 referendum that enshrined the legal right to abortion in the Ohio Constitution, but proponents of Issue 1 fear that state and national measures are underway to undermine Issue 1 and that a national abortion ban is po...

Protesters rally and march on June 21, 2025 in Cleveland, the weekend before the June 24, 2025 third anniversary of the fall of Roe v Wade, a 1973 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that was reversed by the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 via its Dobbs decision CLEVELAND, Ohio -Women's March Cleveland hosted its "Third Anniversary of Roe Reversal March and Leave Women Alone Rally" on Sat., June 21, 2025 with a noon rally on the steps of City Hall in downtown Cleveland and a march through city streets. About 500 people were in attendance Organizers said the event was a rally and march for reproductive and Civil Rights and an effort to continue the fight for choice for women in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, including Black women. "We thank all who participated in this annual event," said Women's March Cleveland head organizer Kathy Wray Coleman, a seasoned Black Cleveland activist and community organizer who leads Women's March Cleveland. "The fall o...