The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

On April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Senator Robert F. Kennedy stood at The City Club of Cleveland\'s podium and delivered the Mindless Menace of Violence speech, now considered one of the most important speeches of the 20th century.\r\n\r\nHistory, race, and politics converged in the 1960s in ways that indelibly changed America. A new book by civil rights historian Patricia Sullivan places Kennedy at the center of the movement for racial justice of the 1960s--and shows how many of today's issues can be traced back to that pivotal time\r\n\r\nWhen protests broke out across the South, Kennedy, then a young attorney general, confronted escalating demands for racial justice. What began as a political problem soon became a moral one. In the face of vehement pushback from Southern Democrats bent on massive resistance, he put the weight of the federal government behind school desegregation and voter registration. Kennedy's youthful energy, moral vision, and capacity to lead created a momentum for change. He helped shape the 1964 Civil Rights Act but knew no law would end racism. When the Watts uprising brought calls for more aggressive policing, he pushed back, pointing to the root causes of urban unrest: entrenched poverty, substandard schools, and few job opportunities. Strongly opposed the military buildup in Vietnam, but nothing was more important to him than "the revolution within our gates, the struggle of the American Negro for full equality and full freedom."\r\n\r\nJoin us as Sullivan discusses her research and Robert F. Kennedy's life and legacy against the backdrop of the wide-ranging racial reckoning of the 1960s with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. and Ethel Kennedy.

In 1915, a pair of Oberlin College graduates opened a settlement house in an area of Cleveland called "The Roaring Third," located at the corner of East 38th Street and Central Avenue. The institution set out to establish a common ground where people of different races, religions, and social and economic backgrounds could come together to seek and share common ventures. It became a magnet for African-American artists, including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. In 1941, building on the strength of Black influence in its development, the organization is renamed Karamu House. Karamu is Swahili for "a place of joyful gathering.\"\r\n\r\nIn 2015, shortly after celebrating its 100 year anniversary, Karamu House was faced with well-publicized stories of defeat--a revoked tax-exempt status, a massive staff layoff, declining budgets, and theatre attendance numbers--in the Fairfax Neighborhood of Cleveland with its own concerns for economic development. However, with the support of the Cleveland community and notable funders--and under the leadership of newly appointed President and CEO Tony F. Sias--Karamu House is experiencing its own renaissance. American Theatre magazine described the transformation as "...one of the most overlooked success stories in (American theatre): how a century-old theatre of color, once in a state of crisis, has been revitalized and rejuvenated."\r\n\r\nDuring the pandemic, Karamu House pivoted to present virtual productions. One of the most notable was Freedom on Juneteenth, an original theatrical production and artistic response to the recent murders of Black Americans through music, dance and spoken word. Within the first 24 hours, more than 50,000 people watched the production.\r\n\r\nJoin us as Karamu House President and CEO Tony F. Sias discusses Karamu House\'s next chapter--including plans for a new outdoor stage--and its ongoing commitment to bringing to light the critical issues that plague Black America.

In cities that have long struggled with disinvestment and the loss of jobs, leaders might be tempted to focus on growth at all costs. However, a growing body of evidence shows that revitalization works best when everyone shares in its benefits. This reality became even clearer during the COVID-19 pandemic, which deepened racial and economic inequities.\r\n\r\nThe need for equitable revitalization is especially urgent in smaller legacy cities, places with populations under 200,000, many of them in Ohio, that have lost substantial numbers and manufacturing bases since the mid-20th century. Join us for a conversation with Alison Goebel, Executive Director of the Greater Ohio Policy Center, who will share lessons and strategies from the forthcoming Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report, Equitably Developing America\'s Smaller Legacy Cities: Investing in Residents from South Bend to Worcester.\r\n\r\nGoebel will be joined by Jay Williams, CEO of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and former mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, to discuss the importance of and lessons learned while advancing equitable development. The increased sense of urgency among many policy makers to address longstanding economic and racial disparities at this moment creates unique opportunities to foreground equity in revitalization strategies. Local changemakers can utilize a host of policies and programs focused on both physical development and investment in residents to promote shared prosperity in their communities.\r\n\r\nJoin us for a lively conversation about what works, what to avoid, and what more equitable development might mean to you and your city.

It was the legendary civil rights leader and human rights advocate John Lewis who famously said in his autobiography Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, \"I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe that we have an obligation to condemn speech that is racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, or hateful.\"\r\n\r\nThis year, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage and The City Club of Cleveland raised the question of how freedom of speech has not only amplified voices of change, but voices spreading misinformation, untruths and hate as well, in their respective annual essay contests.\r\n\r\nIn their 13th Annual Stop the Hate(R) Youth Speak Out & Youth Sing Out Contest, the Maltz Museum specifically raised the question of how students have chosen to be agents of positive change when experiencing acts of injustice, racism, bigotry, or discrimination.\r\n\r\nIn the 2021 Free Speech Essay Contest, the City Club asked students what they would do in order to ensure the misinformation, extremism, and violence often spread on social media doesn't threaten the balance of free speech and democracy.\r\n\r\nJoin us as the contest winners share both their experiences with hate speech and their views on free speech in the 21st century.

U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez represents Ohio's 16th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. As the son and grandson of Cuban immigrants who fled the Castro regime, Congressman Gonzalez cherishes the opportunity to serve his country and his community. Congressman Gonzalez serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and on the Financial Services Committee, where he is the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. He is also a proud co-chair of the House China Task Force.\r\n\r\nCongressman Gonzalez was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he played wide receiver under Coach Jim Tressel, before becoming a first-round draft pick for the Indianapolis Colts. After five seasons in the NFL, Congressman Gonzalez attended Stanford Business School and launched a career in the technology industry before returning home to Northeast Ohio.

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Ohio, Cuyahoga County and the rest of the state are beginning to see signs of hope that we\'re at the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Vaccine distribution is accelerating, confirmed cases and positivity rates are declining, schools are returning to in-person classes, and certain restrictions are being lifted.\r\n\r\nIn his annual address, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish will provide the community with an update on efforts to support public health and safety during the pandemic, and the many ways in which the County supported residents and small businesses in the ensuing economic crisis. He will also provide a look ahead as we begin to emerge from the worst of the pandemic and consider how the County moves forward.

On March 16, a series of mass shootings occurred at three spas in Atlanta killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women. The 21-year suspect claims the murders were not racially motivated, however, the shootings stirred outrage and fear in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, which had seen dramatic increases in racism and hate crimes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to new data from the activist organization Stop AAPI Hate, nearly 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents occurred between March 2020 and March 2021, with 68 percent targeting Asian women.\r\n\r\nEven before the pandemic, women of AAPI descent were subjected to sexism, misogyny, discrimination, and racism

Even before the effects of COVID-19 ravaged the nation, care providers and social service organizations were putting increased effort into addressing people\'s most basic needs including healthcare, food, shelter, childcare, counseling, transportation, and education. This was due, in part, to increased awareness of the reality that community conditions and social needs largely influence health outcomes.\r\n\r\nTechnology company Unite Us has created a social care platform that is being utilized by payers and providers across the United States. The company helps communities craft a unified system connecting individuals to quality services, tracking outcomes delivered across an accountable network, and ensuring equity so all communities can thrive. In Northeast Ohio, The MetroHealth System and the Cleveland Clinic have joined with Unite Us to create the Unite Ohio network.\r\n\r\nJoin us for a conversation highlighting the partnership behind the launch of the Unite Ohio network, and examining how multi-stakeholder efforts to address social determinants of health are developing both locally and nationally.

In April, four years after President Donald J. Trump began to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, President Joe Biden and his top officials are reengaging with world leaders and making aggressive commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. As part of a two-day summit, he announced the United States will target reducing emissions by 50-52 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.\r\n\r\nWhile much of the responsibility for combatting the effects of climate change are being negotiated on the world stage, many of the most actionable solutions are small and local. How we live and work together in communities and cities can have a huge impact in tackling climate change, yet most are unaware of the tools at their disposal to help create meaningful change. How can the solutions be advanced to create greater racial and economic equity down to the neighborhood and household level? What can a local government, local utility, business or congregation do to bring about greater environmental and economic justice? And how are these benefits amplified when residents are engaged early and often on local policymaking?\r\n\r\nJoin us as local leaders discuss the tools available for local governments, residents, utilities, neighborhoods, and faith communities to reduce carbon pollution while simultaneously creating more racial, economic, and environmental justice.

In March of 2011, protestors took to the streets in Syria to show solidarity with the growing pro-democracy movements in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. Across the region, these protests sparked a domino effect of citizens taking to the streets to demand democratic reforms and greater freedoms; on a larger scale, this period became known as the Arab Spring. In Syria, however, the initial uprisings were followed by a government and military crackdown, successive resignations from Syrian government officials, human rights abuses, and an exodus of thousands of Syrian residents. This shaped the start of the Syrian Civil War.\r\n\r\nTen years after the first protests began, the brutal violence has subsided, but peace remains elusive. An estimated 593,000 people have died, more than 11 million currently need humanitarian assistance, approximately six million people are displaced within Syria, and more than million Syrian refugees have relocated across the globe. Outside of the humanitarian disaster and need for assistance, the Syrian conflict has numerous domestic actors competing for government control as well as larger geopolitical implications, as the U.S., Iran, Russia, and Turkey all have a hand at the table.\r\n\r\nJoin us for a conversation on the state of affairs in Syria, 10 years since those first uprisings, and what the ongoing instability there means for the region.