Greetings!
Cleveland once led the nation in the sophistication of its black political organization. Those days went the way of Chubby Checker and the Twist, transistor radios, the Chevrolet Corvair and other relics of the 1960s and early seventies. For the past half century, the lessons of those days of black political success have been honored more in form than substance.
Yet somehow, today, Greater Cleveland's African American community has its deepest penetration ever into the halls of power. Cleveland's new mayor is black, as are the presidents of both Cleveland and the county's council. These three office holders are relative newcomers to controlling levers of power, as is the area's newest Congresswoman, Shontel Brown. What could it mean for the allocation of resources, policy changes around public transportation and judicial selection, housing initiatives?
The prevailing American narrative seems always to be one of trickle down. Not only has that philosophy been an empirical failure, but it flies in the face of hard evidence that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Black people have been intentionally kept the weakest link in our society.
How might Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, and the US prosper if we invested more in strengthening our weakest links? I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be so many countries eating our lunch.
Read Part III and lots of other fascinating pieces posted daily on our site.
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As always, stay safe and thanks for reading The Real Deal Press!
R. T. Andrews
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