By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief

Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, other city officials, members of city council, and officials of the association of the African-American Cultural Garden will host a ribbon cutting and ground breaking ceremony at 1 pm on Monday, May 11 at 890 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Cleveland to announce the extended development of the African-American Cultural Garden, a strip along East and MLK Boulevards on the city's largely Black east side. (To make a donation visit any Key Bank location).

Some community activists said that they will attend.

The garden remains almost empty after some 40 years in spite of an elaborate $2.5 million garden that Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson envisioned with a black granite map of the slave trade, a hillside stream, and a fountain designed by architect W. Daniel Bickerstaff . The mayor made such a public announcement in 2011, but development has been stalled since that time.

"I have been a member of the association of the African- American Cultural Garden for 40 years and this has been in the making for 40 years," said community activist Dionne Thomas Carmichael, a member of the grassroots group the Carl Stokes Brigade. "Why this has taken so long is another story."

Organizers hope to raise a half a million dollars to begin phase 1 of the project.

Booker T. Tall, a Cuyahoga Community College black studies teacher, dedicated the four-acres of land for the African-American garden  in 1977,  and  $250,000 seed money set aside by former Cleveland Mayor Michael White has not catapulted the effort into a reality.

White is Black, and so is Jackson, a three-term mayor of the majority Black major American city.

And in spite of curiosity, no major business association has stepped up to push the initiative to build the cultural garden for the Black community and others.

Jackson, and Natoya Walker Minor, chief of public affairs for the city of Cleveland, who is a member of the garden's task force, are spearheading Monday's event for the city, along with members of the association of the African-American Cultural Garden, which is led by Carl Ewing as president.

Local dentist a Dr. Eugene Jordan, also a Cleveland NAACP executive board member, is vice president.

"We need this garden as a means to highlight the history and plight of African-Americans, in Cleveland in particular" said Jordan, who also leads the grassroots group the Underground Railroad. "It is long over due."

The garden is among some 30 gardens of  the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, including the Yugoslav, Slovenian, Czeck, Armenian, and Albanian gardens, some of which were dedicated as far back as 1922.

Ward 10 Councilman Jeff Johnson is also a member of the garden's task force, and is slated to attend the event too, organizers said.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio-The Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves with one win and two losses in their Eastern Conference semi finals series against the Chicago Bulls after a solid 106 to 91 victory in game two, and a three point loss in game three.

Game four, of the potential seven games for the best of seven, is Sunday, May 10 at 3:30 pm ET at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.  It is a must win for the Cavs, if they want to truly stay in this tournament for an ultimate chance down the road for an NBA championship title. And Cleveland, a majority Black major American city, needs another NBA championship title, the one and only title of which was won in 1976.

It is almost erie how similar each team took the measure of the other by dominating the first quarters of each game. In game one it was Chicago jumping on a lethargic Cavalier team in the opening quarter. They would end that first quarter with a 27 to 15 lead over Cleveland. In game two it was the Cavaliers turn to turn up the intensity from the opening tip to dominate the first quarter 38 to 20.

In game two the Cavs held a 13 to 2 lead at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter. In game one it was the Bulls who held a 13 to 2 early on and then expanded it to 18 to 5 before Cleveland could get out of their starting blocks. Cavalier leading scorer, Lebron James only took two shots in the first quarter of game one.

In game two it was Lebron's opposing superstar and former MVP Derrick Rose who only scored two points in the first quarter. He finished the first quarter making one out of five shots. At one point in the first quarter of the game two the Chicago team missed 12 straight shots, even after corralling several offensive rebounds the Cavalier defense continued to deny the Bulls to see their shots go through the basket. In game one Lebron's fellow star Kyrie Irving missed six of his first seven shots before getting his rhythm in the second quarter to spur a Cavs comeback attempt.

Similarly, all-star center Pau Gasal, who imposed his will on the Cavaliers in game one, went zero for four in the opening quarter of game two. Rose's back court mate and the Bulls leading scorer at 20 points per game, Jimmy Butler could contribute only three points in the first quarter of game two.

Game two was Lebron's game to show the basketball world that he can still impose his will on any team, including the defensive minded Bulls. James was involved in Cleveland's first three scoring possessions. He either scored himself or passed to teammate Iman Shumpert for a three pointer. So like many playoff series, what we have witnessed in game one and two reveals how very good teams follow their leader, good or bad.

In game one the Bulls followed the aggressiveness of their star, Rose who lead them in scoring with 25 points. In game two the Cavaliers followed the intensity on defense and offense of Lebron who was almost perfect in his decision making and shot taking. He was five for seven in shooting, scoring 14 points with three assist in the first quarter. Also in game two, as a team the Cavs shot 13 for 20 for 65 percent and were five of six from the three point arc for 83.3 percent in the first quarter. What a contrast from game one when Cleveland made only 5 of 20 shots in the first quarter.

So why was there such a difference by the Cavs in game one, which they lost, and game two, which they one? Some may point to game one being the first game the Cavaliers were playing without Kevin Love and JR Smith. They say that they needed time to adjust. Others say the lineup change in game two with Tristan Thompson replacing Mike Miller gave the Cavs more size and made them longer in the paint and around the basket.

Could Lebron going back to his headband, which he has called his cape, for the first time since March 7 bring a different intensity and attitude to he and his teammates? It is hard to believe that a headband has that kind of power. But if the headband is what gave LeBron and the Cavs the attitude change and aggressiveness defensively that made Chicago uncomfortable on offensive, then James should never take it off because that more than anything else was the key factor form game one to game two for Cleveland.

In game three, the Cavaliers simply did not bring the effort and intensity needed to seriously challenge the Bulls. That effort and and intensity starts with James, who needs to score about 30 points a game now that Love is out for the playoffs. He must also bring his all around game defensively and offensively to give Cleveland a chance to win the series.

Other key players like Iman Shumpert, James, Jones, Kendrick Perkins and JR Smith will need to play tough defense, and shooters need to make outside shots to make James and Irving more effective after they get stops on defense. James has played more minutes by far than any other NBA player in the last five years, and it is showing because his energy level is not what it's been in past Playoffs, this is why his teammates need to be reliable. So the Cavaliers truly need to be “all in” to win this series against the Bulls.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Led by the Imperial Women Coalition, greater Cleveland community activists, elected officials (Cleveland councilpersons Mamie Mitchell and Brian Cummins), and Seymour Avenue residents rallied on May 6 at 2207 Seymour Avenue on Cleveland's west side where the home of convicted kidnapper and child rapist Ariel Castro once stood. Mainstream media local television stations 3, 5, 19 and Fox 8 news covered the well-attended event.

Castro held victims Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry captive for a decade at his since demolished home, and in chains, where he repeatedly raped and tortured them. May 6, 2015 marked the second anniversary of their rescue. DeJesus and Berry were teens at the time of their abduction by Castro, 52 at the time of his arrest in 2013, who hanged himself in prison while serving a life sentence.

At the rally activists saluted the victims for getting out alive, but called for more resources around violence against women and for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to implement the 27 recommendations relative to the Imperial Avenue Murders. They also addressed violence against women in greater Cleveland in general.

"We want the recommendations of the mayor's committee around the Imperial Avenue Murders implemented, we want suspected East Cleveland serial killer Michael Madison brought to trial, and we call for the Ohio Supreme Court to affirm the convictions and death sentence of serial killer Anthony Sowell, " said Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads the Imperial Women Coalition, and who was the key organizer of the rally.

The rally was a call to stop violence against women and children, including rape, murder, domestic violence, and human trafficking.

Sowell strangled 11 Black women to death at his home on Imperial Avenue on the city's east side, and raped three others, and Madison is in jail on a $6 million bond, and is accused of killing three Black women in neighboring East Cleveland in 2013. Sowell's convictions and death sentence are on appeal.

In addition to council persons Cummins and Mitchell, and Coleman, who also publishes Cleveland Urban News.Com, speakers were Khalid Samad of Peace in the Hood, Nicole Ziegler of a Delicate Rose.Org,  Don Bryant of the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, the Rev. Lorenzo Norris of the Cleveland Clergy Alliance, the Rev. Pamela Pinkney-Butts,  the Rev A.J. Thompson, Valerie Robinson of Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, the Rev Gwendolyn Pitts,  Marva Patterson and Genevieve Mitchell of the Carl Stokes Brigade, Bill Swain of Revolution Books,  the Rev Darlene Robinson, and a representative of Puncture the Silence.

People that live on Seymour Avenue spoke also,  as well as an unidentified woman who said that her sister had been raped and murdered some 10 years ago.

Nicole Ziegler said that human trafficking is a $1.9 billion industry nationwide, and activist Don Bryant  said that the apathy by city and county officials relative to violence against women is no different than the apathy relative to the shooting death last year by Cleveland police of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog, Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

Kathy Wray Coleman is  a community activist and 22- year investigative journalist who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper.

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com).

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Bishop Floyd E. Perry (pictured) of the Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Cleveland, and  the second vice president of the Cleveland Chapter NAACP, died Thursday, April 30 after falling ill in Columbus, Ohio and being transported to a local hospital there. He was 84-years-old.

Arrangements are by E.F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home  (www.efboyd.com) in Cleveland, with all activities at the church. Visitation is on Monday, May 11 from 6-8 pm. The wake is Tuesday, May 12 at 11 am , followed by a state funeral at noon.

“Bishop F.E. Perry was a true leader, a man of God, and most of all, he was my friend," said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson in a press release. "Bishop Perry will be missed by me personally, by the Church of God in Christ, and by his congregation and Clevelanders overall.”

Perry was recently involved in the call for calm ahead of the verdict relative to Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo, who is on trial for gunning down unarmed Blacks Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell with 49 bullets and faces two counts of voluntary manslaughter.

Perry served the Ohio southern  jurisdiction as a bishop for more than 35 years and was a member of the judiciary board. He was also active in the community and donated food and other goods to the families of 11 Black women strangled to death on Imperial Avenue on Cleveland's east side by serial killer and death row inmate Anthony Sowell.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Pictured are former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, (wearing Black suit), and Carnegie Roundtable President Charles E. Bibb Sr., a former East Cleveland city councilman

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, who lost reelection to current Gov John Kasich in 2010, and who announced in February that he will seek the Democratic nomination to seek to unseat Republican U.S . Sen. Rob Portman in 2016 will speak at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 before the Carnegie Roundtable at Angie's Soul Food Restaurant in Cleveland (Editor's note: Angie's Soul Food Restaurant is at 3400 Saint Clair Avenue in downtown Cleveland. Contact Carnegie Roundtable President Charles E. Bibb Sr. by phone at (216) 659-4619 for more information. Bibb said that because space is limited people must R.S.V.P. by calling him. Doors open at 1:30 pm).

A February Quinnipiac University poll has Strickland leading Portman by nine points.

Bibb said that Strickland is the better candidate for Black people and others.

"Ted Strickland subscribes to President Obama's  agenda but is his own person," said Bibb, who is Black. "By the Republicans in the U.S. Senate prolonging the confirmation of qualified now U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch, who is Black, the Black community, and others,  know now, and more than ever, that we need Democrats like Ted Strickland in the United States Senate."

Those slated to attend the event, said Bibb, include Cleveland Councilman Kevin Conwell, South Euclid Mayor Gail Williams Byers, South Euclid Councilwoman Ruth Gray, attorneys, community activists, and others.

The lunch menu for the event, which is optional to purchase, includes oxtails, smothered, baked, fried and barbecued chicken, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, sea food, and peach cobbler.