Pictured is the Rev Al Sharpton

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By Kathy Wray Coleman, associatepublisher, editor

CLEVELAND, Ohio-The Rev Al Sharpton , an MSNBC talk show host who leads the National Action Network and is one of the more prominent Civil Rights leader's in the country and national SCLC President Dr Charles Steele Jr. will join local activists and Black contractors  on Tues, Oct 11, 2022 for an 11 am rally on the steps of Cleveland City Hall in downtown Cleveland, Ohio against Mayor Justin Bibb, City Council President Blaine Griffin, the 17-member city council and Sherwin Williams paint company.

Sharpton, Steele, Bibb and Griffin, a Ward 6 councilman and former ally to former mayor Frank Jackson, Bibb's predecessor,  are all Black Democrats and Cleveland is a largely Black major American city of some 383,000 people It is roughly 58 percent Black.

Sharpton will co-lead the rally, organizers said. The event comes as the November midterm elections near

Organizers said the purpose is to urge Mayor Bibb, 35, and the city's fourth Black mayor who took office in January, and city council to "tell taxpayers where money is being spent on the construction of the Sherwin Williams new global headquarters."

At issue is an all White team of nine partners chosen in September of this year to build its $600 million global headquarters in the city and a research center nearby Brecksville, a Cleveland suburb.

"For the National Action Network and SCLC  Sherwin Williams Decision is unacceptable, especially when the 155-year-old company is receiving $300 million in tax breaks and incentives," the National Action Network and SCLC said in a press release that calls for Sherwin Williams to name a Black partner for the construction and otheractivities relative to the multi-million project.

Rev Shapton and Dr Steele say that White Americans have collectively amassed extensive wealth over Blacks partly because Black leaders and elected officials allow such alleged discriminatory practices to go on without question. And with Cleveland deemed one of the poorest cities in the nation this is in executable, they say, and Mayor Bibb  and city council members should speak out.

Forner mayor Jackson, and not Mayor Bibb, was mayor when the deal was cut with Sherwin Willaims and approved by city council ca a city ordinance. ButSharpton said that the new mayor must still speak out for Black contractors and Black people.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. 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